Najnovšie - Encyklopédie populárno-náučné - História strana 111 z 168

''A good story, embracing character, emotion and drama... refreshing.'' THE TIMES''A splendidly sympathetic and sparky portrait... Wittily written and rich in detail'' Miranda SeymourCatherine of Braganza - Boring? Plain? Ineffectual? Think again.Charles II''s wife was a trouser-wearing tastemaker who introduced tea drinking, popularised card games and championed baroque fashion and art. Her salon culture was infamous for its parties, theatricals and frequent trips to the pub. A Catholic queen in a strictly Anglican country, she was the diplomatic bridge between an unstable Britain and the European mainland, and carefully navigated the treacherous political landscape of Restoration England.In this illuminating portrait historian Sophie Shorland brings Catherine vividly to life for the first time, revealing a woman who defied the limitations imposed upon her to have a profound impact on the world around her.Previously published as The Lost Queen.

Pairing archive and contemporary photographs of the same location side-by-side, Brooklyn Then and Now® provides a visual chronicle of the borough’s past, full of rich history and culture. Home to more than 2.5 million people, this book is a testament to the New York City borough which has had many faces over the course of its fascinating history. Discover the streets and buildings that have witnessed generations of immigrants, industry workers and artists: those who today keep up the traditions which have characterized Brooklyn neighborhoods for decades and contribute to this vibrant cultural nexus. Featuring sites such as: the Brooklyn Bridge, Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn College, Coney Island, Brooklyn Paramount Theater, and moreWith incredible modern-day shots by award-winning photographer Evan JosephPacked with carefully researched history full of intriguing figures, enlightening stories and public record Uncover the hidden history of this thriving, ever-changing borough in Brooklyn Then and Now.

Clockmaking in England has a long and illustrious history, from the first clocks in medieval monasteries, through the Renaissance to the ‘Golden Age’ of the 17th and 18th centuries and into the modern world of mass production. This book is an introduction to the innovations pioneered by English horologists and scientists, who led a revolution in clock design, transforming astronomy and navigation that was essential to the making of the modern world. Alongside these developments, English craftsmen produced timepieces of unrivalled beauty and quality, many of which are now treasured antiques.

General George Patton needed a miracle. In December 1944, the Allies found themselves stuck. Rain had plagued the troops daily since September, turning roads into rivers of muck, slowing trucks and tanks to a crawl. A thick ceiling of clouds had grounded American warplanes, allowing the Germans to reinforce. The sprint to Berlin had become a muddy, bloody stalemate, costing thousands of American lives. Patton seethed, desperate for some change, any change, in the weather. A devout Christian, he telephoned his head chaplain. ''Do you have a good prayer for the weather?'' he asked. The resulting prayer was soon printed and distributed to the 250,000 men under Patton''s command. ''Pray when driving,'' the men were asked. ''Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle... Pray for victory... Pray for Peace.'' Then came the Battle of the Bulge. Amid frigid temperatures and heavy snow, 200,000 German troops overwhelmed the meager American lines in Belgium''s Ardennes Forest, massacring thousands of soldiers as the attack converged on a vital crossroads town called Bastogne. There, the 101st Airborne was dug in, but the enemy were lurking, hidden in the thick blanket of fog that seemed to never dissipate. A hundred miles of frozen roads to the south, Patton needed an answer to his prayer, fast, before it was too late.

In a compelling exploration of nationalism's darker facets, this book delves into the aggressive, expansionist strain that has fueled conflict and suffering throughout human history. While nationalism is often linked to modernity, the author traces its roots back to humanity's earliest recorded eras, revealing how elements such as racialism, ethnicity, language, religion, and culture have historically ignited aggressive nationalism. Drawing from a sweeping analysis of over 33 European countries, the book examines the common experiences of nations from their tribal beginnings to the current age of superpowers. While acknowledging that some forms of nationalism—like secessionism and irredentism—may serve as legitimate expressions of self-defense, the primary focus remains on the destructive impulse to invade and dominate neighbouring lands. This work is not just a historical study; it serves as a cautionary tale for the present day. With 2024 as its backdrop, the author connects historical patterns to contemporary issues, warning of the resurgence of extreme right-wing ideologies across the globe. This thought-provoking examination urges readers to confront the past's lessons, emphasizing that history is not merely a record of what has been, but a vital lens through which to understand our present and shape a more peaceful future.

Discover the incredible island of Sicily, one of the world''s most dynamic cultural crossroads, as you travel through time and explore the history of Italy. The history of human habitation of Sicily is so varied and fascinating that readers will be compelled to keep turning the pages of this accessible narrative to see what happens next. Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Muslims have all left indelible legacies. Vandals, Goths, Byzantines, Normans, Hohenstaufens, Spaniards, Bourbons, and the Savoy Kingdom of Italy have all ruled the island. The emigration of Sicilians to the US in the 19th and 20th centuries often overshadows the variety and importance of people who immigrated to the island through the centuries. The author called Sicily home for 7 years, and was inspired to research and write this book by the countless visitors who expressed a desire to be able to read a history of the island. The book''s narrative is supported with 17 maps, an appendix of historical statistics, a glossary with notes on Italian word endings, and a glossary of names.

The rise and fall of William J. Levitt, the man who made the suburban house a mass commodity   Two material artifacts defined the middle-class American lifestyle in the mid-twentieth century: the automobile, which brought gas stations, highways, commercial strips, and sprawl; and the single-family suburban home, the repository of many families’ long-term wealth. While the man who did the most to make the automobile a mass commodity—Henry Ford—is well known, few know the story of the man who did the same for the suburban house.   Edward Berenson describes the remarkable career of William Levitt, who did more than anyone else to create the modern suburb. In response to an unprecedented housing shortage as veterans returned home from World War II, his Levittown developments provided inexpensive mass-produced housing that was wildly popular—prospective buyers would camp out in line for two days for the chance to put down a deposit on a Levitt house. He was a celebrity, a life-changing hero to tens of thousands, and the pitchman of a renewed American Dream. But Levitt also shared Ford’s dark side. He refused to allow Black people to buy or rent in his developments and doggedly defended this practice against legal challenges. Leading the way for other developers who emulated his actions, he helped ensure that suburbs nationwide remained white enclaves. These legacies are still with us. Levitt made a major contribution to the stubborn wealth disparity between white families and Black families, and his solution to the housing crisis of the 1940s—the detached house and surrounding yard—is a primary cause of the housing crisis today.   As a person, Levitt was a strangely guileless and tragic figure. He accumulated vast wealth but, after losing control of his building company, surrendered it all through foolish investments and a lavish lifestyle that included a Long Island mansion and a two-hundred-foot yacht. Just weeks before his death, as a charity patient in a hospital to which he had once given millions, he was still imagining his great comeback.

A dazzling new history of the Indian subcontinent and its diverse peoples in global context—from antiquity to todayMuch of world history is Indian history. Home today to one in four people, the subcontinent has long been densely populated and deeply connected to Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas through migration and trade. In this magisterial history, Audrey Truschke tells the fascinating story of the region historically known as India—which includes today’s India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Afghanistan—and the people who have lived there. A sweeping account of five millennia, from the dawn of the Indus Valley Civilization to the twenty-first century, this engaging and richly textured narrative chronicles the most important political, social, religious, intellectual, and cultural events. And throughout, it describes how the region has been continuously reshaped by its astonishing diversity, religious and political innovations, and social stratification. Here, readers will learn about Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Sikhism; the Vedas and Mahabharata; Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire; the Silk Road; the Cholas; Indo-Persian rule; the Mughal Empire; European colonialism; national independence movements; the 1947 Partition of India; the recent rise of Hindu nationalism; the challenges of climate change; and much more. Emphasizing the diversity of human experiences on the subcontinent, the book presents a wide range of voices, including those of women, religious minorities, lower classes, and other marginalized groups. You cannot understand India today without appreciating its deeply contested history, which continues to drive current events and controversies. A comprehensive and innovative book, India is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the past, present, or future of the subcontinent.

The first full-scale history of Theoderic and the Goths in more than seventy-five years, tracing the transformation of a divided kingdom into a great power  “A monumental exploration. . . . It is the most important treatment of its subject since Wilhelm Ensslin’s 1947 biography, and since Mr. Wiemer’s book (here in John Noël Dillon’s fluid English translation) surpasses its predecessor in breadth and sophistication, the author can claim the laurel of having written the best profile of Theoderic we have.”—Kyle Harper, Wall Street Journal   In the year 493, the leader of a vast confederation of Gothic warriors, their wives, and children personally cut down Odoacer, the man famous for deposing the last Roman emperor in 476. That leader became Theoderic the Great (454–526). This engaging history of his life and reign immerses readers in the world of the warrior-king who ushered in decades of peace and stability in Italy as king of Goths and Romans. Theoderic transformed his roving “warrior nation” from the periphery of the Roman world into a standing army that protected his taxpaying Roman subjects with the support of the Roman elite. With a ruling strategy of “integration through separation,” Theoderic not only stabilized Italy but also extended his kingdom to the western Balkans, southern France, and the Iberian Peninsula.   Using sources as diverse as letters, poetry, coins, and mosaics, Hans-Ulrich Wiemer brings readers into the world of Theoderic’s court, from Gothic warriors and their families to the notables, artisans, and shopkeepers of Rome and Ravenna to the peasants and enslaved people who tilled the soil on grand rural estates. This book offers a fascinating history of the leader who brought peace to Italy after the disintegration of the Roman Empire.

A magisterial history of the Renaissance and the birth of the modern worldThe cultural epoch we know as the Renaissance emerged at a certain time and in a certain place. Why then and not earlier? Why there and not elsewhere? In The World at First Light, historian Bernd Roeck explores the cultural and historical preconditions that enabled the European Renaissance. Roeck shows that the rediscovery of ancient knowledge, including the science of the medieval Arab world, played a critical role in shaping the beginnings of Western modernity. He explains that the Renaissance emerged in a part of Europe where competing states and cities formed relatively open societies. Most of the era’s creative minds—from Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to Copernicus and Galileo—came from the middle classes. The art of arguing flowered, the basso continuo to intellectual and cultural breakthroughs. Roeck argues that two revolutions shaped the Renaissance: a media revolution, triggered by Gutenberg’s invention of movable type—which itself was a driving force behind the scientific revolution—and the advent of modern science. He also reports on the dark side of the era—hatred of Jews, witch panic, religious wars, and the atrocities of colonialism. In a series of meditative counterfactuals, Roeck considers other cultural rebirths throughout the first millennium, from the Islamic empire to the Carolingians, examining why the epic developments of the Renaissance took place in the West and not elsewhere. The complicated legacy of the Renaissance, he shows, encompasses the art of critical thinking as learned from the ancients, the emergence of the modern state, and the genesis of democracy.

For one hundred years Scottish medical explorers were at the forefront of exploration within the British Empire, as exemplified by these five individuals. This dominant role was facilitated by the convergence of four events: the unification of Scotland and England, the Scottish Enlightenment, Scotland’s unique method of preparing doctors, and the need for a new type of explorer. These events provided the men of Scotland with a trajectory that was quite different from their English counterparts.Throughout the century of exploration, Britain concentrated on expanding its already extensive global empire, and leading this movement were the men of Scotland.  Over half of the British explorers from this era were Scottish and often doctors who had received their training at Scottish universities. Those graduating from the University of Edinburgh outnumbered those from other Scottish universities by a ratio of almost 9 to 1. Why were there so many Scottish doctors exploring a dangerous and unknown world and why were these medical explorers uniquely more qualified to lead this effor? key factor was that the British Imperial Century required a new type of explorer.  Prior exploration had focused on finding new lands, establishing trade routes, and creating colonies. Although trade and profit were still significant considerations, new focuses like economic botany and voyages exclusively for the sake of science took precedence. Losing Sight of the Shore shines a light on this most productive and adventurous era while providing detail and context about the people and the times in which they lived.Although Losing Sight of the Shore profiles five medical explorers in detail, this is not a biography but a history which aims to understand and explain the ideology and philosophy of a group of Scottish-trained physicians and surgeons; and how their interaction within the political, cultural, intellectual, and social context of the time helped define the British Imperial Century.

This deluxe hardback edition of The Egyptian Book of the Dead is exquisitely presented with opulent silk binding, full-colour illustrations and a decorative slipcase.The Egyptian Book of the Dead is an ancient collection of spells, prayers and incantations designed to guide the departed through the perils of the underworld, ultimately ensuring eternal life. Written as part of funeral rites, these scrolls were often left in the sarcophagus of the deceased and now offer fascinating insight into Egyptian culture. This beautifully illustrated edition contains images from the exquisite Papyrus of Ani, an ancient Egyptian scroll narrating the journey of Theban scribe Ani through the underworld. Its accompanying hieroglyphic text has been translated by acclaimed Egyptologist E.A Wallis Budge, and includes spells addressed to ferryman, gods and kings to aid Ani on his way to the afterlife.This silk-bound hardback contains magnificent illustrations from Persian manuscripts that complement the text and bring out its timeless beauty.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Silkbound Classics series brings together deluxe gift editions of literary classics, presented with luxurious silk binding, striking embossed cover designs and full-color illustrations.

Mysteries of the Ancient World examines some of the most bizarre, surprising and unexplained phenomena of the ancient world. Ranging from cold cases millennia in the making to the sudden, baffling disappearances of entire civilizations to the creation of mysterious monuments, it searches for the truth behind these remarkable stories. With a careful analysis of the various theories that have been used over the years to try and understand these curious occurrences, the author gets to the bottom of what really happened.This volume includes such fascinating cases as:• The mysteries surrounding the life and death of Tutankhamun• The strange underground city of Derinkuyu• The river of mercury lying beneath the pyramids of Teotihuacan• The coded messages of the Voynich manuscript• The disappearance of Rome''s 9th Legion

A critically acclaimed reckoning with the birth of women’s healthcare that illuminates the sacrifices of a young woman who changed the world only to be forgotten by it—until now.For more than a century, Dr. J. Marion Sims was hailed as the “father of modern gynecology.” He founded a hospital in New York City and had a profitable career treating gentry and royalty in Europe, becoming one of the world’s first celebrity surgeons. Statues were built in his honor, but he wasn’t the hero he had made himself appear to be. Sims’s greatest medical accolade was his so-called cure for obstetric fistula, which did forever alter the path of women’s health. But the road to that treatment was several years of experimental surgeries–without anesthesia–on a young enslaved woman known as Anarcha. One medical text after another hailed Anarcha as the embodiment of the pivotal role that Sims played in the history of surgery. Decades later, a groundswell of women objecting to Sims’s legacy celebrated Anarcha as the “mother of gynecology.” Little was known about the woman herself. The written record would have us believe Anarcha disappeared; she did not. Through tenacious research, J. C. Hallman has unearthed the first evidence of Anarcha’s life that did not come from Sims’s suspect reports. Hallman reveals that after helping to spark a patient-centered model of care that continues to improve women’s lives today, Anarcha lived on as a midwife, nurse, and “doctor woman.” Say Anarcha excavates history, deconstructing the biographical smoke screen of a surgeon who has falsely been enshrined as a medical pioneer and bringing forth a heroic Black woman to her rightful place at the center of the creation story of modern women’s health care.

In the late 1930s, the U.S. Army began a significant overhaul of its vehicle fleet, shaping the logistics backbone of World War II. Affecting this effort were two major schools of thought regarding logistical support: some experts proposed the trailer or semitrailer, which had a physical separation between the mechanical part of the truck and the rear technical part containing supplies or specialist equipment; opponents encouraged the use of compact and inseparable assemblies to save time in the field. Both types of trucks would be used during World War I, complete trucks intended for the front and its immediate rear, the lines of communications and the staging area being the domain of tractors and semitrailers.This book examines all the different weight categories of tractor trucks and semitrailers used by the U.S. Army during World War II. Illustrated with hundreds of period photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, the text discusses all variants including an array of specialized vehicles for units such as commissary, engineering, aviation, and cavalry.

The Moor Hospital, its Gothic grandeur shaping the city’s eastern skyline, has been a place of curiosity and mystery for generations of Lancastrians for almost two centuries. Author Gary Bradshaw grew up in Lancaster and trained as a Mental Health Nurse at the Moor. Upon retirement, he decided to delve into the archives to piece together the story of the hospital, and to put faces to the names of some of those who passed through its doors. In the early days, the Asylum adopted methods which we find quite shocking today, with their brutality and emphasis on containment and control, rather than treatment and cure. But, although we can be horrified by such practices, they must be seen within their historical context. These were different times, with little insight into the human body and mind. Over the years, care gradually improved, and for certain periods, Lancaster was even seen as a model of good practice. This excellent history of the Moor Hospital is set against a background of changing attitudes, developing medical knowledge and pioneering treatments. It is a fascinating and informative read for everyone.

Julian Zuromski was on the verge of becoming a fighter pilot when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. He witnessed the Luftwaffe''s bombings and the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, eventually escaping to Romania. After being imprisoned, he fled to France, where he fought in the Battle of France before escaping to Great Britain after France’s surrender. There, he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.Zuromski served as an instructor at RAF Dumfries and later flew operational patrols, claiming his first aerial victory in 1942 while flying a Spitfire with 308 Squadron. He went on to achieve two more victories, including the destruction of a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 with 66 Squadron in 1943. On that same day, Zuromski was shot down, captured, and sent to Dulag Luft, where he wrote anti-Bolshevik propaganda, later being moved to a special camp in Berlin.Zuromski escaped captivity during an Allied bombing raid, eventually making his way to Poland and reuniting with his fiancée. Although suspected of collaboration due to his wartime activities, he was exonerated and later served in the Royal Pakistan Air Force. This book also explores the fate of Zuromski’s father, a victim of the Katyn massacre, and the contributions of other Polish pilots in WWII.

In 1912 the unthinkable happened - the supposedly unsinkable Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg, or so it was thought. In this bestselling book author Robin Gardiner claims that it was not in fact the Titanic but the sister ship, the Olympic, which finished its days sinking in the icy waters of the North Atlantic on that fateful night. His contention is that what happened was an insurance scam perpetrated by the White Star line which may have involved the possible collusion by the British government in the cover-up. On 20 September 1911, the Olympic was involved in a collision with the Royal Navy Warship HMS Hawke in Southampton Water. Olympic was found to be to blame in the collision. Because of this finding, White Star''s insurers allegedly refused to pay out on the claim. As this would amount to a serious financial loss for the company, it is alleged that, to make sure at least one vessel would be earning money, the badly damaged Olympic was patched up and then converted to become the Titanic. The real Titanic when complete would then quietly enter service as the Olympic. To dispose of the Olympic, which had allegedly been damaged beyond economic repair in a way that would allow White Star to collect the full insured value of a brand new ship, the plan was to open the seacocks at sea to slowly flood the ship. Numerous ships were stationed nearby to take off the passengers, the shortage of lifeboats would not matter as the ship would sink slowly and the boats could make several trips to the rescuers. The controversy which this theory has generated, and some of the evidence used to support it is compelling, has made this book into a bestseller in the years since it was first published. Regardless of whether you choose to believe in this version of the events that took place on that terrible night in 1912, which still resonate so strongly well over a century afterwards, Titanic: The Ship That Never Sank? is a fascinating, well written and absorbing read.

Neolithic long barrows in Bohemia were long neglected by archaeologists due to their destruction by modern intensive agricultural activity. This new analysis, resulting from a threeyear interdisciplinary research project, of the phenomenon of Neolithic long barrows in Bohemia and Central Europe presents entirely new findings and data and tackles a number of previously unresolved questions. New discoveries, based primarily on remote sensing and targeted excavations, together with the revision of earlier archaeological records, allow us to define more accurately the construction and chronological development of these monuments, and to advance our knowledge of the southeastern boundary of this phenomenon''s spread together with reconstruction of the social and religious significance of these monuments for the agricultural communities of Central Europe. At the sacred places defined by the long barrows, ceremonies and rituals took place over millennia that confirmed the cohesion of the living with the ancestors and their faith in the gods. People, even many generations later, continued to venerate these ancient monuments, not as places of final rest for their direct ancestors but as places dedicated to mythical time, where the living meet the dead and honour the gods. It is not surprising, therefore, that people added the burials of their own ancestors to the embankments of ancient barrows and established their own funerary areas nearby even after several millennia.All long barrows excavated within our project contained only one primary burial: in Bohemia these were not collective graves as found, for example, in the British Isles or Scandinavia. Given the monumentality of barrow construction, it can be presumed that the buried individuals represented a form of social elite, though not necessarily due to their individual social power. It seems that the primary burial played the role of an initiation sacrifice: a ritual of consecration of the ancestor sanctuary, which then no longer served for further burials that may have been taboo. Subsequent activities may have been related to forms of ancestral cult, but the primary burial was not followed by other funerary events. All evidence of later burials is at least 1000 years later than barrow construction.In the region around the Czech mythical Mountain Říp, burial monuments from various prehistoric periods, including the Late Neolithic, abound. Residential and economic activities on the plains appear later. It can be assumed that this area was perceived as a ritual landscape in earlier prehistory in which long barrows played a significant role in structuring the farming landscape and as significant landmarks. Their monumentality initiated a longstanding tradition creating palimpsests of funerary and sacred sites near Mount Říp. The places where the long barrows were built played an important role in the lives of prehistoric communities, and their placement and orientation in the landscape was not random, indicating significant symbolic connotations with the surrounding landscape. The rituals and festivities held here allowed people to connect with the spiritual legacy of their ancestors, thus creating a significant spiritual tradition inscribed in the agriculturally colonised landscape.