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A look at six great events which changed the course of history. Based on the background information, readers are then asked to decide what might happen next.

Describes how a wide variety of things such as nursery rhymes, the national anthem, anesthesia, cellophane, raisins, and dynamite came into being.

Year Zero is a landmark reckoning with the great drama that ensued after war came to an end in 1945. One world had ended and a new, uncertain one was beginning. Regime change had come on a global scale: across Asia (including China, Korea, Indochina, and the Philippines, and of course Japan) and all of continental Europe. Out of the often vicious power struggles that ensued emerged the modern world as we know it.

-- The Rite of Spring It was 1913, the year before the world plunged into the catastrophic darkness of World War I. In a witty yet moving narrative that progresses month by month through the year, and is interspersed with numerous photos and documentary artifacts (such as Kafka’s love letters), Florian Illies ignores the conventions of the stodgy tome so common in “one year” histories. Forefronting cultural matters as much as politics, he...

Chronicles the major events and human interest stories of the 20th century. Includes many photos, illustrations, and an index.

Presents a journalistic overview of the first decade of the twentieth century in newspaper-style articles.

"This book is designed to provide readers with the background and building blocks they need in order to answer for themselves the critical questions about what is taking place around the world and why. It explains what makes each region of the world tick, the many challenges globalization presents, and the most influential countries, events, and ideas. Its aim is to help readers become more informed, discerning citizens, better able to arrive at sound,...

Provides an overview of the civilizations, empires, and kingdoms of Asia and Africa from the early fifteenth century to the late eighteenth century, including Muslim sultanates, the Ming Dynasty, and the Manchus.