Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
What do I mean by “history”? 2
Positively post-historic 2
Making sense of AD, BC, CE, and BCE 3
Pardon my French, I mean Latin 4
Perceiving and avoiding biases 4
What You’re Not to Read 5
Foolish Assumptions 5
How This Book is Organized 6
Part I: Getting into History 6
Part II: Finding Strength in Numbers 6
Part III: Seeking Answers 7
Part IV: Fighting, Fighting, Fighting 7
Part V: Meeting the Movers and Shakers 7
Part VI: The Part of Tens 7
Icons Used in this Book 7
Where to Go from Here 8
Part I: Getting into History 9
Chapter 1: Tracing a Path to the Present 11
Firing Up the WABAC Machine 12
From Footpath to Freeway: Humanity Built on Humble Beginnings 13
War! What is It Good For? Material for History Books, That’s What 15
Appreciating History’s Tapestry 16
Threading backward 17
Crossing threads 18
Weaving home 18
Making the Connections 19
Tracking the Centuries 21
Chapter 2: Digging Up Reality 23
Homing In on Homer 23
The Troy story 24
Inspired archaeological finds 24
Raising Atlantis 25
Reading the Body Language of the Dead 26
Frozen in the Alps 26
Salted away in Asia 27
Bogged down in northern Europe 28
Dried and well preserved in the Andes 28
Preserved pharaohs in Egypt 28
Tracking the Centuries 29
Chapter 3: Putting History into Perspective 31
Being Human Beings 32
Nearing the Neanderthal 33
Talking point 33
Dividing Time into Eras and Giving Them Names 34
Sorting ancient from modern 35
Classical schmassical 35
Bowing to the queens 36
The Noteworthy and the Notorious Are Often the Same 37
A study in contradictions 37
It depends on the way you look at them 38
Verifying virtue 39
Tracking the Centuries 39
Part II: Finding Strength in Numbers 41
Chapter 4: Getting Civilized 43
Building Jericho’s Walls for Mutual Defense 44
Planting Cities along Rivers 44
Settling between the Tigris and Euphrates 45
Getting agricultural in Africa 45
Assembling Egypt 46
Going up the river into Kush 47
Giving way as new civilizations rise 47
Heading east to the Indus and Yellow Rivers 49
Coming of Age in the Americas 51
Keeping Records on the Way to Writing and Reading 51
Planning pyramids 51
Laying down laws and love songs 52
Shaping the World Ever After 53
Building the Persian Empire 53
Growing toward Greekness 53
Making Alexander great 55
Rounding Out the World 58
Tracking the Centuries 58
Chapter 5: The Rise and Fall of Many Empires 61
Rome’s Rise and Demise 61
Forming the Roman Republic 62
Earning citizenship 62
Expanding the empire 63
Crossing the Rubicon 64
Empowering the emperor 66
Roaming eastward 66
Western empire fades into history 68
Rome and the Roman Catholic Church 68
Building Empires around the World 70
Ruling Persia and Parthia 70
India’s empires 71
Uniting China: Seven into Qin 72
Flourishing civilizations in the Americas 74
Rounding Out the Rest of the World 75
Tracking the Centuries 76
Chapter 6: History’s Mid-Life Crisis: The Middle Ages 77
Building (And Maintaining) the Byzantine Empire 78
Sharing and Imposing Culture 79
Bearing with barbarians 79
Traversing Africa with the Bantu 81
Sailing and settling with the Vikings 81
Traveling the Silk Road 84
Planting the Seeds of European Nations 84
Repelling the raiders 84
Uniting Western Europe: Charlemagne pulls it together 85
Keeping fledgling nations together 86
Emerging Islamic Fervor 87
Rebounding Guptas in India 88
Rounding Out the World 89
Tracking the Centuries 90
Chapter 7: The Struggle for World Domination 93
Extending the Arab Empire and Spreading Islam 94
Taking education and literacy to new heights 94
Making advances in science and technology 94
Mastering the Indian Ocean 95
Assembling and disassembling an empire 96
Excelling in East Asia 97
Innovating the Chinese way 97
Traveling the Silk Road for trade and cultural exchange 98
Sailing away for a spell 99
Europe Develops a Taste for Eastern Goods 100
Orienting Venice 101
Ottomans control trade routes between Europe and the East 102
Mounting the Crusades 103
Meeting the main players 103
Looking at the misguided zeal of specifi c Crusades 104
Setting a precedent for conquest 105
Growing Trade between East and West 106
Surviving the Black Death 107
Killing relentlessly 108
Doing the math: Fewer folks, more wealth 108
Seeking a Way East and Finding Things to the West 109
Meeting the Americans who met Columbus 109
Some celebrate discovery, others rue it 110
Training and experience shaped Columbus 110
Stumbling upon the West Indies 111
Tracking the Centuries 112
Chapter 8: Grabbing the Globe 113
Sailing South to Get East 114
Getting a foothold in Indian trade 114
Demanding respect 115
“Discovering” America 116
How the Aztecs rose and fell 117
Incas grasp greatness and then fall to the Spanish 118
Circling the Planet 120
Ottomans ascend among Eastern empires 120
Founding East India companies 122
Closing the door to Japan 123
Playing by British East India Company rules 124
China goes from Ming to Qing 124
Using force and opium to open Chinese ports 125
Spreading the Slave Trade 126
Perpetuating an evil 126
Developing a new market 127
Succeeding in the slave trade 127
Starting Revolutions 128
Bringing in the new 128
Playing with dangerous ideas 129
Rebelling Americans 130
Erupting France 131
Writing L’Ouverture to freedom 132
Tracking the Centuries 132
Chapter 9: Clashing All Around the World 135
Managing Unprecedented Empires 136
Britain battles on multiple fronts 136
Reinventing post-revolutionary France 137
Dividing up Africa 138
Challenges Test European Dominance 141
Turning against Spanish rule in Latin America 141
Reclaiming Africa for Africans 143
Rising Asians 144
Japan unleashes pent-up power 144
Ricocheting unrest comes home to Europe 144
Revolting in Russia 145
Standing apart up north 145
Rushin’ toward rebellion 146
Taking power: The Soviet Union 147
Accelerating toward the Present: Transportation
and Communication 148
Getting somewhere in a hurry 148
Sending word 150
Fighting World Wars 152
Redefining war: World War I 153
Returning to conflict: World War II 155
Hot and Cold Running Conflicts 158
Daring each other to blink in the Cold War 158
Seeing no end to violent conflicts 159
Let’s Get Together: The United Nations 160
Tracking the Centuries 161
Part II: Finding Strength in Numbers 41
Chapter 10: Religion through the Ages 165
Defining Religion 166
Divining the role of god(s) 166
Projecting will on the physical world 168
Analyzing the religious impulse 169
Distinguishing philosophy from religion 170
Judaism 170
Awaiting a Messiah 170
Maintaining Jewish nationalism 171
Hinduism 172
Buddhism 173
Christianity 174
The Roman Catholic Church 174
The Eastern Orthodox Church 178
The Protestant churches 179
Islam 180
The Five Pillars 181
Going beyond Mecca and Medina 181
Clashing cultures 182
Sikhism 183
Tracking the Centuries 184
Chapter 11: Loving Wisdom: The Rise and Reach of Philosophy 187
Asking the Big Questions 187
Founding science in philosophy 188
Mixing philosophy and religion 189
Tracing Philosophy’s Roots 190
Living on the edges of Greek society 190
Drawing inspiration from other cultures 191
Traveling broadens the mind 191
Examining Eastern Philosophies 191
Leading to (and from) Socrates 192
Building a tradition of seeking answers 192
Thinking for himself: Socrates’ legacy 195
Building on Socrates: Plato and Aristotle 196
Tracing Plato’s influence 196
Philosophy in the Age of Alexander and After 197
Spreading Hellenistic philosophies 197
Putting philosophy to practical use 199
Tracking the Centuries 200
Chapter 12: Being Christian, Thinking Greek 201
The Great Chain of Being 202
Interpreting Christian Theology 202
Stacking scripture upon scripture 203
Replacing Homer with the Bible 203
Establishing Jesus’s Divinity 204
Augustine’s Influence on Early Christian Thought 205
Divining the mind of God 205
Condoning righteous killing 205
Tracing two paths to salvation 205
The Philosophy of Aquinas 207
Keeping scholarship alive 207
Coming back to Aristotle 208
Supporting faith with logic 208
Embracing Humanism and More 209
Nothing secular about it 209
Tracing humanism’s impact 210
Tracking the Centuries 210
Chapter 13: Awakening to the Renaissance 211
Realizing the Reach of the Renaissance 211
Redefining the Human Role 212
Florence in flower 212
Spreading the word 213
Promoting human potential 213
Reclaiming the ancients 214
Presenting the printing press 214
Uniting Flesh and Soul 215
Inspiring Michelangelo 216
Living in the material world 217
Returning to Science 218
Shifting the center of the universe 218
Studying human anatomy 219
Being All That You Could Be 220
Striving for perfection 220
Stocking up on self-help books 221
Writing for the Masses 222
Creating new classics 223
Staging dramas with Classical roots 223
Packing something to read onboard a ship 223
Fighting for Power in Europe 224
Battling for control of Italian city-states 224
Spilling outside of Italy’s borders 226
Tracking the Centuries 227
Chapter 14: Making a Break: The Reformation 229
Cracks in the Catholic Monopoly 229
Losing authority 230
Satirizing the Church 230
Luther Challenges the System 231
Selling salvation 232
Peddling to pay the pope 232
Insisting on faith 233
A Precarious Holy Roman Empire 234
Searching for sources of cash 234
Fighting crime and inflation 235
Setting the stage for dissent 235
Standing Up to the Emperor 236
Luther Gains a Following 236
Losing control of the Lutheran movement 237
Choosing sides 238
The Empire Strikes Back 238
Savoring a bitter victory 238
Achieving compromise 239
Spreading Reform to England 239
Creating the Church of England 239
Realizing Henry’s legacy 243
Along Comes Calvin 243
Reforming the Swiss church 244
Establishing Puritanism 244
Causing turmoil in France 245
Sparking rebellion in Holland 245
Weakening the Holy Roman Empire 246
Puritanism in England and Scotland 246
Emigrating to America 247
Tracking the Centuries 247
Chapter 15: Opening Up to Science and Enlightenment 249
Mingling Science and Philosophy 249
Starting a Scientific Revolution 250
Gazing at the heavens: Astronomy 251
Advancing scientific method 253
Waking Up to the Enlightenment 254
Experiencing empiricism 254
Living a “nasty, brutish, short” life 254
Reasoning to rationalism 255
Expanding to the Encyclopedists 255
Engineering the Industrial Revolution 256
Dealing with the social fallout 257
Raging against the machines: Luddite uprising 258
Marketing Economics 259
Playing the money game with Adam Smith 259
Developing capitalism and Marxism 259
Tracking the Centuries 261
Part IV: Fighting, Fighting, Fighting 263
Chapter 16: Sticks and Stones: Waging War the Old-Fashioned Way 265
Fighting as an Ancient Way of Life 265
Raising Armies 266
Keeping out attackers 267
Escalating weapons technology: Using metal 267
Riding into battle: Hooves and wheels 267
Awesome Assyrian Arsenals 268
Assembling the units 268
Wreaking havoc 269
Farming and Fighting Together in Greece 269
Soldiering shoulder to shoulder 270
Standing up to the Persians 270
Facing Macedonian ferocity 271
Making War the Roman Way 272
Marching in three ranks 273
Recruiting a standing force 274
Diversifying the legion 275
Returning to riders 275
Tracking the Centuries 276
Chapter 17: The War Machine Gets Some Upgrades 277
Reinventing the Cavalry 278
Standing tall and staying astride with stirrups 278
Raiding as a way of life on horseback 279
Guarding Byzantine borders 279
Moors challenge 280
Chivalry 280
Putting on the Full Metal Jacket 281
Interlocking metal rings: Chain mail 281
Putting more power into the archer’s bow 282
Charging behind the lance 282
The longbow marries precision to power 282
Adding Firepower with Gunpowder 283
Lighting the fi re of discovery 284
Spreading explosive news 284
Bringing in the big guns 284
Battering down Constantinople’s walls 285
Refining the new weaponry 285
Adapting old strategies for new weapons 287
Floating fortresses on the sea 288
Fortifications adapt to the artillery era 288
Tracking the Centuries 289
Chapter 18: Modernized Mayhem 291
Following Three Paths to Modern War 291
Promoting devastation in Prussia 292
Putting technology to deadly uses: The Crimean War 293
Redefining armed conflict: The U.S Civil War 296
Tying Tactics to Technology in the Twentieth Century 299
Trapping valor in a trench: World War I 299
Retooling the World War II arsenal 300
Warring On Despite the Nuclear Threat 301
Drawing strength from stealth: Guerilla tactics 301
Wielding the weapon of fear: Terrorism 303
Tracking the Centuries 304
Part V: Meeting the Movers and Shakers 305
Chapter 19: Starting Something Legendary 307
Spinning Legends 307
Uniting for Strength 309
Playing for Power 311
Building Bridges 313
Writing Laws 315
Tracking the Centuries 317
Chapter 20: Battling Toward Immortality 319
Towering Over Their Times 319
Building Empires 322
Launching Attacks 323
Mounting a Defense 325
Devising Tactics 326
Instigating Inspiration 327
Tracking the Centuries 328
Chapter 21: Explorers and Discoverers: Places to Go, People to See 331
Famous Pioneers: Arriving before Their Time 331
Notable Travelers: Carrying Messages 334
Trailblazing Explorers: Seeking New Routes 335
Notorious Conquerors: Bad Company 337
Famous Firsts 338
Renowned Guides 340
Famous Mavericks: Taking Advantage of Opportunity 341
Tracking the Centuries 342
Chapter 22: Turning Tables: Rebels and Revolutionaries 343
Revolutionaries Who Became Rulers 343
Charismatic Rebels 348
Two Idea Guys 349
Standing against Authority 350
Rule Changers 351
Living and Dying by the Sword 352
Fallen Rebels 354
Tracking the Centuries 356
Part VI: The Part of Tens 357
Chapter 23: Ten Unforgettable Dates in History 359
Chapter 24: Ten Essential Historical Documents 365
Index 373
Peter Haugen is a prolific history writer. In addition to authoring and contributing to several books, his work has appeared in publications including History Magazine, mental_floss, and Psychology Today. Haugen has served on the staffs of such newspapers as the St. Petersburg Times and the Sacramento Bee.
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