Published to tie-in with the new series of the fascinating BBC Radio 4 programme, In Our Time guides us through the most significant moments in our history.

Who is the Downing of Downing Street? What did the first illuminated adverts in Piccadilly Circus advertise? Was Oliver Cromwell actually Welsh? This book answers these questions.

This work abandons the conventional distinctions between history and science. Diamond focuses on what ancient people were endowed with in the way of land, animals and plants, and on the confrontations between less and more advanced people to see how this led to today's inequalities.

Presents a history of the world that condenses into its scintillating fragments radically altered visions of the landmark events on this earth, and of the landmark individuals who pass history from hand to hand in the official guidebooks.

From the origins of urbanization in Mesopotamia to the global metropolises of today, great cities have marked the development of human civilization. This book tells their stories, from Uruk and Memphis to Tokyo and Sao Paulo.

In 1935, with a doctorate in art history and no prospect of a job, the 26-year-old Ernst Gombrich was invited to attempt a history of the world for younger readers. Amazingly, he completed the task in six weeks, and Eine kurze Weltgeschichte fur junge Leser was published in Vienna. This book presents his history to English-language readers.

From cats, spats and catacombs to the Wall Street shuffle, this book looks at how historical events didn't always unfold as we think they did. It takes the readers on a journey, century-by-century, showing how the truth we take for granted is a far cry from the facts. It is suitable for those who want to see the past as it was.

Presents a narrative history that shows the basic facts of human existence on this planet can be viewed from a very different angle: from the account of the evolution of the species to the occult roots of science, from the secrets of the Flood to the esoteric motives behind American foreign policy.

Recreates the excitement, brutality and adventure of the British Empire. This book is a major reinterpretation of the British Empire as one of the world's modernising forces. It shows how the British Empire in the 19th Century spearheaded real globalisation with steampower, telegraphs, guns, engineers, missionaries and millions of settlers.

Captain Robert Falcon Scott didn't start out life as a hero. In fact, as a boy and young man he was considered small, frail and shy. So what was it that turned this ordinary man into a legend?

How old is the universe? How are humans related to a sponge? Where did most of the world's water come from? How much would a complete T Rex skeleton cost? Where did the Himalayas come from? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Presents the tales of incredible courage the world over, from the mythical to the modern, from New York to New Zealand, and from ocean depths to giddy heights.

Shows the Mediterranean as a majestic and bloody theater of war. This book presents the story of military crusading, Barbary pirates, white slavery and the Ottoman Empire - and the larger picture of the struggle between Islam and Christianity.

Our age is obsessed by the idea of conspiracy. We see it everywhere - from Pearl Harbour to 9/11, from the assassination of Kennedy to the death of Diana. This book probes a dozen of the major conspiracy theories. It looks at why people believe them, and argues for a true scepticism: one based on a knowledge of history and a common sense.

Many great pinnacles of human achievement are inextricably linked to shameless untruths. Lies have been used to justify wars, to acquire weapons, livestock, and industrial secrets. This book examines specific episodes in history to identify the reasons why politicians, religious leaders and others have supported some of the most outrageous lies.

Includes over 50 momentous and thought-provoking speeches from a wide range of historical eras and nations. This book provides the biographies of various speakers, the history of why each speech was significant and what happened as a result.

A history of the world's major leaders

Looks at various mishaps from Adam and Eve's decision to eat the apple and Nero's burning down of his own city, to the destruction of the Himalayan rain forest and the billions of dollars wasted on the Y2K scare.

Discusses the various methods than can be used in Heritage Studies and illustrates their application through case studies from different parts of the world. This title focuses on the consolidation and clarification of Heritage Studies as a distinct area of investigation.

Examines major changes in global interactions from 1000 CE onward, and defines four major turning points that have accelerated the process of globalization.