The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague
In the late 1340s, a cataclysmic plague shook medieval Europe to its core. The bacterial disease known to us as the Black Death swept westward across the continent, leaving a path of destruction from Crimea and Constantinople to Italy, France, Spain, and ultimately most of Europe, traveling as far west as England and Iceland. Within these locations, the plague killed up to 50% of the population in less than 10 years—a staggering 75 million dead.
Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not provides a striking new answer to the classic question of why Europe industrialized from the late eighteenth century and Asia did not. Drawing significantly from the case of India, Prasannan Parthasarathi shows that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the advanced regions of Europe and Asia were more alike than different, both characterized by sophisticated and growing economies.
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe will lead you straight to the best attractions this diverse continent has to offer, from the majestic peaks of the Alps to the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean. This newly updated guidebook is packed with information on the culture, history, architecture, and art of the continent, in addition to the best of Europe's gardens, beaches, cathedrals, castles, and shopping. DK's insider travel tips and essential local information will help you discover Europe your way, whether you want to explore the luscious green landscape of Ireland, relax on a beach in Greece, or both.
Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe (Audiobook)
John Julius Norwich-who the Wall Street Journal called "the very model of a popular historian"-has crafted a big, bold tapestry of the early sixteenth century, when Europe and the Middle East were overshadowed by a quartet of legendary rulers, all born within a ten-year period.
Comprehensive in its scope and brilliantly readable, this is a superb follow-up to the author's bestselling Penguin History of the World. Beginning with prehistory and the early civilizations of the Aegean, The Penguin History of Europe traces the development of European identity in its many guises, through the age of Christendom, the Middle Ages, early Modern history and the old European order.