In 1759 the British Museum opened its doors to the general public―the first free national museum in the world. James Delbourgo’s biography of Hans Sloane recounts the story behind its creation, told through the life of a figure with an insatiable ambition to pit universal knowledge against superstition and the means to realize his dream. Born in northern Ireland in 1660, Sloane...(展开全部)

In 1759 the British Museum opened its doors to the general public—the first free national museum in the world. James Delbourgo’s biography of Hans Sloane recounts the story behind its creation, told through the life of a figure with an insatiable ambition to pit universal knowledge against superstition and the means to realize his dream. Born in northern Ireland in 1660, Sloane...(展开全部)

James Delbourgo is Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University.

This clearly written and engrossing book presents a global narrative of the origins of the modern world from 1400 to the present. Unlike most studies, which assume that the “rise of the West” is the story of the coming of the modern world, this history, drawing upon new scholarship on Asia, Africa, and the New World and upon the maturing field of environmental history, construc...(展开全部)

This clearly written and engrossing book presents a global narrative of the origins of the modern world from 1400 to the present. Unlike most studies, which assume that the “rise of the West” is the story of the coming of the modern world, this history, drawing upon new scholarship on Asia, Africa, and the New World and upon the maturing field of environmental history, construc...(展开全部)

One of the most popular and controversial historians of the twentieth century, who made his subject accessible to millions, A.J.P. Taylor caused a storm of outrage with this scandalous bestseller. Debunking what were accepted truths about the Second World War, he argued provocatively that Hitler did not set out to cause the war as part of an evil master plan, but blundered into...(展开全部)

One of the most popular and controversial historians of the twentieth century, who made his subject accessible to millions, A.J.P. Taylor caused a storm of outrage with this scandalous bestseller. Debunking what were accepted truths about the Second World War, he argued provocatively that Hitler did not set out to cause the war as part of an evil master plan, but blundered into...(展开全部)

The World, China, and A Short History of Collecting is a unique collection of essays that brings together theories of materiality and what collecting has meant to various peoples over time. Collecting China grew out of a simple question: how does a thing become Chinese? Fifteen essays explore this question from different angles, ranging from close examination of world-renowned ...(展开全部)

The collections of charms, formulas, hymns and spells designed to accompany the dead of Ancient Egypt on their journey to the afterlife have always exerted a powerful fascination on modern generations. Written on papyrus, inscribed on the walls of tombs and sarcophagi, or engraved on amulets, these texts with their vignette illustrations give us unparalleled insights into the i...(展开全部)

Talented young historian Maya Jasanoff tells an alternative history of the British Empire, one that brings us the very personal stories of those British people who found themselves on the edges of Empire. Instead of a story of `conquest', she brings us startling and fascinating stories of cross-cultural exchange. A Palladian mansion filled with western art in the centre of old ...(展开全部)