The earth transformed: an untold history (defekt) - peter frankopan

When we think about history, we rarely pay much attention to the most destructive floods, the worst winters, the most devastating droughts or the ways that ecosystems have changed over time. In The Earth Transformed, Peter Frankopan, one of the world's leading historians, shows that the natural environment is a crucial, if not the defining, factor in global history - and not just of humankind. Volcanic eruptions, solar activities, atmospheric, oceanic and other shifts, as well as anthropogenic behaviour, are fundamental parts of the past and the present. In this magnificent and groundbreaking book, we learn about the origins of our species: about the development of religion and language and their relationships with the environment; about how the desire to centralise agricultural surplus formed the origins of the bureaucratic state; about how growing demands for harvests resulted in the increased shipment of enslaved peoples; about how efforts to understand and manipulate the weather have a long and deep history. All provide lessons of profound importance as we face a precarious future of rapid global warming.Taking us from the Big Bang to the present day and beyond, The Earth Transformed forces us to reckon with humankind's continuing efforts to make sense of the natural world. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

THE TIMES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023A BOOK OF THE YEAR PICK FOR THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE, GUARDIAN, INDEPENDENT AND FINANCIAL TIMESA BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK | AN INSTANT #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Humanity has transformed the Earth: Frankopan transforms our understanding of history' Financial Times'Vast, learned and timely work' Sunday Times------From the international bestselling author of The Silk Roads comes a major history of how a changing climate has dramatically shaped the development-and demise-of civilisations across time.When we think about history, we rarely pay much attention to the most destructive floods, the worst winters, the most devastating droughts or the ways that ecosystems have changed over time.In The Earth Transformed, Peter Frankopan, one of the world's leading historians, shows that the natural environment is a crucial, if not the defining, factor in global history - and not just of humankind. Volcanic eruptions, solar activities, atmospheric, oceanic and other shifts, as well as anthropogenic behaviour, are fundamental parts of the past and the present. In this magnificent and groundbreaking book, we learn about the origins of our species: about the development of religion and language and their relationships with the environment; about how the desire to centralise agricultural surplus formed the origins of the bureaucratic state; about how growing demands for harvests resulted in the increased shipment of enslaved peoples; about how efforts to understand and manipulate the weather have a long and deep history. All provide lessons of profound importance as we face a precarious future of rapid global warming.Taking us from the Big Bang to the present day and beyond, The Earth Transformed forces us to reckon with humankind's continuing efforts to make sense of the natural world.-----'This is epic, gripping, original history that leaps off the page' Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland'All Historians aiming to tell a narrative face the problem of when exactly to start it. Only Peter Frankopan would go back 2.5 billion years to the Great Oxidation Event' Tom HollandA 2023 HIGHLIGHT FOR: BBC NEWS * SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE * FINANCIAL TIMES * NEW EUROPEAN * GUARDIAN * NEW STATESMAN * THE TIMES * THE WEEK * WATERSTONES * BLACKWELL'S (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The sun is setting on the Western world. Slowly but surely, the direction in which the world spins has reversed: where for the last five centuries the globe turned westwards on its axis, it now turns to the east. For centuries, fame and fortune was to be found in the west in the New World of the Americas. Today, it is the east which calls out to those in search of adventure and riches. The region stretching from eastern Europe and sweeping right across Central Asia deep into China and India, is taking centre stage in international politics, commerce and culture and is shaping the modern world. This region, the true centre of the earth, is obscure to many in the English-speaking world. Yet this is where civilization itself began, where the world's great religions were born and took root. The Silk Roads were no exotic series of connections, but networks that linked continents and oceans together. Along them flowed ideas, goods, disease and death. This was where empires were won and where they were lost. As a new era emerges, the patterns of exchange are mirroring those that have criss-crossed Asia for millennia. The Silk Roads are rising again. A major reassessment of world history, The Silk Roads is an important account of the forces that have shaped the global economy and the political renaissance in the re-emerging east. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THE NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN HISTORY OF WESTEROS AND THE LANDS BEYOND WITH HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF ALL-NEW MATERIAL FROM GEORGE R. R. MARTIN If the past is prologue, then George R. R. Martin s masterwork the most inventive and entertaining fantasy saga of our time warrants one hell of an introduction. At long last, it has arrived with The World of Ice & Fire. This lavishly illustrated volume is a comprehensive history of the Seven Kingdoms, providing vividly constructed accounts of the epic battles, bitter rivalries, and daring rebellions that lead to the events of A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO s Game of Thrones. In a collaboration that s been years in the making, Martin has teamed with Elio M. Garcia, Jr., and Linda Antonsson, the founders of the renowned fan site Westeros.org perhaps the only people who know this world almost as well as its visionary creator. Collected here is all the accumulated knowledge, scholarly speculation, and inherited folk tales of maesters and septons, maegi and singers, including full-color artwork and maps, with more than 170 original pieces full family trees for Houses Stark, Lannister, and Targaryen in-depth explorations of the history and culture of Westeros 100% all-new material, more than half of which Martin wrote specifically for this book The definitive companion piece to George R. R. Martin s dazzlingly conceived universe, The World of Ice & Fireis indeed proof that the pen is mightier than a storm of swords." (knihydobrovsky.cz)

A new one-volume hardback edition of the first five books in The History of Middle-earth.J.R.R. Tolkien is famous the world over for his unique literary creation, exemplified in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. What is less well known, however, is that he also produced a vast amount of further material that greatly expands upon the mythology and numerous stories of Middle-earth, and which gives added life to the thousand-year war between the Elves and the evil spirit Morgoth, and his terrifying lieutenant, Sauron.It was to this enormous task of literary construction that his Tolkien's youngest son and literary heir, Christopher, applied himself to produce the monumental and endlessly fascinating series of 12 books, The History of Middle-earth.This brand new hardback edition brings together the first five volumes of The History of Middle-earth - The Book of Lost Tales Parts 1 and 2, The Lays of Beleriand, The Shaping of Middle-earth and The Lost Road - into one volume.Epic in scope and extent, and featuring rare maps and illustrations drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien, this first standard hardback volume of a planned trilogy will present the reader with a unique opportunity to own the entire History of Middle-earth in three large but sensibly priced volumes. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

From one of the world's leading economists, a grand narrative of the century that made us richer than ever, yet left us unsatisfied.Before 1870, humanity lived in dire poverty, with a slow crawl of invention offset by a growing population. Then came a great shift: invention sprinted forward, doubling our technological capabilities each generation and utterly transforming the economy again and again. Our ancestors would have presumed we would use such powers to build utopia, but it was not so. When 1870-2010 ended, the world instead saw global warming, economic depression, uncertainty, inequality, and broad rejection of the status quo.Slouching Towards Utopia tells the sweeping story of how this unprecedented explosion?of material wealth?occurred,?how it transformed the globe, and?why?it?failed to deliver us to utopia.?Of remarkable breadth and ambition,?it?reveals how the last century was much less?a march of progress?than?a slouch?in the right direction. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

A brand new book from the Sunday Times and internationally bestselling author of The Silk Roads 'Masterly mapping out of a new world order' – Evening Standard Revised and updated edition The New Silk Roads takes a fresh look at the relationships being formed along the length and breadth of the ancient trade routes today. The world is changing dramatically and in an age of Brexit and Trump, the themes of isolation and fragmentation permeating the western world stand in sharp contrast to events along the Silk Roads, where ties are being strengthened and mutual cooperation established. This prescient contemporary history provides a timely reminder that we live in a world that is profoundly interconnected. Following the Silk Roads eastwards from Europe through to China, by way of Russia and the Middle East, Peter Frankopan assesses the global reverberations of continual shifts in the centre of power – all too often absent from headlines in the west. The New Silk Roads asks us to re-examine who we are and where we stand in the world, illuminating the themes on which all our lives and livelihoods depend. The Silk Roads, a major reassessment of world history, has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and for ever. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and for ever. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and for ever. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Dějiny se mnohdy ubíraly jinými cestami, než jsme si doposud mysleli. Přelomové dílo britského autora sleduje historii perspektivou „hedvábných cest“ – tras, které spojovaly země i kontinenty a vytvářely globální svět dávno před moderní dobou. Jaké zboží a myšlenky po nich mezi Východem a Západem proudily? Čtivé podání dějin přináší nečekané odpovědi a vysvětluje ekonomické i politické souvislosti, které měly vliv na podobu dnešního světa. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Kniha - autor Siddhartha Mukherjee, 594 stran, anglicky, brožovaná bez přebalu matná Paperback edition of the story of the quest to discover the gene, which spans the globe and several centuries. A "New York Times" bestseller and a BBC Radio 4 Book Of The Week, it follows the success of "The Emperor Of All Maladies", which won a Pulitzer Prize and the "Guardian" First Book Award. (alza.cz)

„Všechny cesty kdysi vedly do Říma. Dnes vedou do Pekingu.“ Svět se mění a je provázaný více než kdy v dějinách. Peter Frankopan, přezdívaný „rocková hvězda mezi historiky“, nabízí svěží pohled na síť vztahů vznikající podél někdejší Hedvábné stezky. Na východ od Evropy přes Rusko, Blízký Východ, Indii a Střední Asii až po Čínu se utvářejí nová mocenská centra – a v titulcích západních médií se o nich často nedočtete. Tato publikace jasně a s bravurou objasňuje témata, na nichž záleží budoucnost nás všech. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

'This vital history shatters many myths about the Nazi genocide . . .. surprising . .. provocative . .. fizzes with ideas. Even if you think you know the subject, you'll probably find something here to make you think' Sunday Times'Erudite...remarkable' The Observer'Outstanding' The TelegraphAn authoritative, revelatory new history of the Holocaust, from one of the leading scholars of his generationThe Holocaust is much-discussed, much-memorialized and much-portrayed.But there are major aspects of its history that have been overlooked. Spanning the entirety of the Holocaust and across the world, this sweeping history deepens our understanding. Dan Stone reveals how the idea of 'industrial murder' is incomplete: many were killed where they lived in the most brutal of ways.He outlines the depth of collaboration across Europe, arguing persuasively that we need to stop thinking of the Holocaust as an exclusively German project. He also considers the nature of trauma the Holocaust engendered, and why Jewish suffering has yet to be fully reckoned with. And he makes clear that the kernel to understanding Nazi thinking and action is genocidal ideology, providing a deep analysis of its origins.Drawing on decades of research, The Holocaust: An Unfinished History upends much of what we think we know about the Holocaust. Stone draws on Nazi documents, but also on diaries, post-war testimonies and even fiction, urging that, in our age of increasing nationalism and xenophobia, we must understand the true history of the Holocaust. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

A celebrated British historian of US intelligence explores how the CIA was born in anti-imperialist idealism but swiftly became an instrument of a new covert empire both in America and overseas. As World War II ended, the United States stood as the dominant power on the world stage. In 1947, to support its new global status, it created the CIA to analyse foreign intelligence.But within a few years, the Agency was engaged in other operations: bolstering pro-American governments, overthrowing nationalist leaders, and surveilling anti-imperial dissenters in the US. The Cold War was an obvious reason for this transformation - but not the only one. In The CIA, celebrated intelligence historian Hugh Wilford draws on decades of research to show the Agency as part of a larger picture, the history of Western empire.While young CIA officers imagined themselves as British imperial agents like T. E. Lawrence, successive US presidents used the covert powers of the Agency to hide overseas interventions from postcolonial foreigners and anti-imperial Americans alike.Even the CIA's post-9/11 global hunt for terrorists was haunted by the ghosts of empires past. Comprehensive, original, and gripping, The CIA is the story of the birth of a new imperial order in the shadows. It offers the most complete account yet of how America adopted unaccountable power and secrecy both at home and abroad. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The definitive history of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth saga, Anything You Can Imagine takes us on a cinematic journey across all six films, featuring brand-new interviews with Peter, his cast & crew. From the early days of daring to dream it could be done, through the highs and lows of making the films, to fan adoration and, finally, Oscar glory. LightsA nine-year-old boy in New Zealand’s Pukerua Bay stays up late and is spellbound by a sixty-year-old vision of a giant ape on an island full of dinosaurs. This is true magic. And the boy knows that he wants to be a magician. CameraFast-forward twenty years and the boy has begun to cast a spell over the film-going audience, conjuring gore-splattered romps with bravura skill that will lead to Academy recognition with an Oscar nomination for Heavenly Creatures. The boy from Pukerua Bay with monsters reflected in his eyes has arrived, and Hollywood comes calling. What would he like to do next? ‘How about a fantasy film, something like The Lord of the Rings…?’ ActionThe greatest work of fantasy in modern literature, and the biggest, with rights ownership so complex it will baffle a wizard. Vast. Complex. Unfilmable. One does not simply walk into Mordor – unless you are Peter Jackson. Anything You Can Imagine tells the full, dramatic story of how Jackson and his trusty fellowship of Kiwi filmmakers dared take on a quest every bit as daunting as Frodo’s, and transformed JRR Tolkien’s epic tale of adventure into cinematic magic, and then did it again with The Hobbit. Enriched with brand-new interviews with Jackson, his fellow filmmakers and many of the films’ stars, Ian Nathan’s mesmerising narrative whisks us to Middle-earth, to gaze over the shoulder of the director as he creates the impossible, the unforgettable, and proves that film-making really is ‘anything you can imagine’. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The Beijing Ripper makes a personal vendetta against Detective Li Yan in the thrilling final episode of the series GRUESOME MURDERS His victims are young, beautiful and coldly mutilated. He calls himself the Beijing Ripper. Li Yan, head of Beijing's serious crime squad, must stop him. FEARSOME LETTERS Just as pathologist Margaret Campbell finds an insight into the killer's cruel signature, Li receives a letter from the killer, betraying his cruel intentions. CHINESE WHISPERS There's no way Li can misinterpret the Ripper's motives: he wants to tear Li and Campbell's lives apart, and write the darkest chapter in Beijing's history. Biographical Notes Peter May is the author of The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man and The Chessmen. Chinese Whispers is the sixth of his China thrillers. Peter was an award-winning journalist at the age of just twenty-one. He left newspapers for television and screenwriting, creating three prime-time British drama series and accruing more than 1,000 television credits. He now lives in France. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

eBook: „Všechny cesty kdysi vedly do Říma. Dnes vedou do Pekingu.“ Svět se mění a je provázaný více než kdy v dějinách. Peter Frankopan, přezdívaný „rocková hvězda mezi historiky“, nabízí svěží pohled na síť vztahů vznikající podél někdejší Hedvábné stezky. Na východ od Evropy přes Rusko, Blízký Východ, Indii a Střední Asii až po Čínu se utvářejí nová mocenská centra – a v titulcích západních médií se o nich často nedočtete. Tato publikace jasně a s bravurou objasňuje témata, na nichž záleží budoucnost nás všech. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Human evolution in East Africa was driven by geological forces.Ancient Greece developed democracy because of its mountainous terrain.Voting behaviour in the United States today follows the bed of an ancient sea.Professor Lewis Dartnell takes us on an astonishing journey into our planet's past to tell the ultimate origin story. Blending science and history, Origins reveals the Earth's awesome impact on the shape of human civilisations - and helps us to see the challenges and opportunities of the future. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Kniha - 496 stran, anglicky, brožovaná bez přebalu matná (alza.cz)

66 million years ago the dinosaurs were wiped from the face of the earth. Today, Dr. Steve Brusatte, one of the leading scientists of a new generation of dinosaur hunters, armed with cutting edge technology, is piecing together the complete story of how the dinosaurs ruled the earth for 150 million years. The world of the dinosaurs has fascinated on book and screen for decades – from early science fiction classics like The Lost World, to Godzilla terrorizing the streets of Tokyo, and the monsters of Jurassic Park. But what if we got it wrong? In The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, top dinosaur expert Brusatte, tells the real story of how dinosaurs rose to dominate the planet. Using the fossil clues that have been gathered using state of the art technology, Brusatte follows these magnificent creatures from their beginnings in the Early Triassic period, through the Jurassic period to their final days in the Cretaceous and the legacy that they left behind. Along the way, Brusatte introduces us to modern day dinosaur hunters and gives an insight into what it’s like to be a paleontologist. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is full of thrilling accounts of some of his personal discoveries, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs, monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex, and feathered raptor dinosaurs preserved in lava from China. At a time when Homo sapiens has existed for less than 200,000 years and we are already talking about planetary extinction, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a timely reminder of what humans can learn from the magnificent creatures who ruled the earth before us. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The mysteries and emotional richness of the animal world revealed as never before, from the author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees. Can horses feel shame? Do deer grieve? Why do roosters deceive hens? We tend to assume that we are the only living things able to experience feelings but have you ever wondered what’s going on in an animal’s head? From the leafy forest floor to the inside of a bee hive, The Inner Life of Animals opens up the animal kingdom like never before. We hear the stories of a grateful humpback whale, of a hedgehog who has nightmares, and of a magpie who commits adultery; we meet bees that plan for the future, pigs who learn their own names and crows that go tobogganing for fun. And at last we find out why wasps exist. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Kniha - autor Timothy Snyder, 462 stran, anglicky, Brožovaná bez přebalu matná - autor Timothy Snyder, 462 stran, anglicky, brožovaná bez přebalu matná We have come to see the Holocaust as a factory of death, organised by bureaucrats. Yet by the time the gas chambers became operation more than a million European Jews were already dead: shot at close range over pits and ravines. They had been murdered in the lawless killing zones created by the German colonial war in the East, many on the fertile black earth that the Nazis believed would feed the German people.It comforts us to believe that the Holocaust was a unique event. But as Timothy Snyder shows, we have missed basic lessons of the history of the Holocaust, and some of our beliefs are frighteningly close to the ecological panic that Hitler expressed in the 1920s. As ideological and environmental challenges to the world order mount, our societies might be more vulnerable than we would like to think.Timothy... (alza.cz)

Who writes the past? And how do the biases of storytellers - whether Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare or Simon Schama - influence our ideas about history today?Epic, authoritative and entertaining, Making History delves into the lives of those who have charted human history - professional historians, witnesses, novelists, journalists and propagandists - to discover the agendas that informed their world views, and which in so many ways have informed ours. From the origins of history-writing through to television and the digital age, Making History abounds in captivating figures brought to vivid life, from Thucydides and Tacitus to Voltaire and Gibbon, from Winston Churchill to Mary Beard. Rich in character, complex truths and surprising anecdotes, the result is a unique exploration of both the aims and craft of history-making that will lead us to think anew about our past and ourselves. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

'Love, mess, secrets; this story of four generations of women is shot through with Ruth Jones's warmth and wisdom.' JOJO MOYES 'Ruth Jones writes with such warmth you can't help but fall in love with the characters she creates. It's always grounded, always real, always comforting, always ultimately full of love' JAMES CORDEN 'A hug in a book' Prima 'Her best book yet' Woman & Home 'Compassionate, wise and life-affirming' The Observer The funny, moving and uplifting new novel from Ruth Jones, co-creator of Gavin & Stacey and author of the Sunday Times bestsellers Never Greener and Us Three. Grace is about to turn ninety. She doesn't want parties or presents or fuss. She just wants to heal the family rift that's been breaking her heart for decades. But to do that she must find her daughter Alys - the only person who can help to put things right. And when she finds her - if she does - she risks betraying granddaughter Elin. Who is far less forgiving of the past, with its hurts and secrets and lies. Meanwhile Grace's great-grand-daughter Beca is oblivious to all these worries, too busy navigating the highs and lows of teenage life and keeping secrets of her own. All families have their problems. And most of them get resolved. But Grace's problem is thirty years old. And she doesn't have time on her side. So is it too late for her to make peace? Or is reconciliation still within reach? Love Untold is about mothers and daughters and the complex bond between them. It's about the heartache that comes from leaving things unsaid and the power of true forgiveness. It is a joy-filled, life-affirming, sob-inducing novel - with characters you'll come to know and love - from no.1 bestselling author Ruth Jones. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The fourth volume that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien's epic tale of war, The Silmarillion. In this fourth volume of The History of Middle-earth, the shaping of the chronological and geographical structure of the legends of Middle-earth and Valinor is spread before us. We are introduced to the hitherto unknown Ambarkanta or "Shape of the World", the only account ever given of the nature of the imagined Universe, ccompanied by maps and diagrams of the world before and after the cataclyusms of The War of the Gods and the Downfall of Numenor. The first map of Beleriend is also reproduced and discussed. In The Annals of Valinor and The Annals of Beleriend we are shown how the chronology of the First Age was moulded: and the tale is told of Aelfwine, the Englishman who voyaged into the True West and came to Tol Eressea, Lonely Isle, where he learned the ancient history of Elves and Men. Also included are the original 'Silmarillion' of 1926, and the Quenta Noldorinwa of 1930 -- the only version of the myths and legends of the First Age that J R R Tolkien completed to their end. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

A radical new account of how the idea of the West has shaped our history, told through the stories of fourteen fascinating lives.We tend to imagine Western Civilisation as a golden thread stretching from classical antiquity to the countries of the modern Western world. But what if this is wrong?Told through the lives of fourteen fascinating historical figures - including a formidable Roman matriarch, an unconventional Islamic scholar, an enslaved African American poetess and a British prime minister with Homeric aspirations – archaeologist and historian Naoíse Mac Sweeney charts how the idea of the West was invented, how it has been used to justify imperialism and racism, and why it is no longer ideologically fit for purpose today. The result is a bold and empowering new story of the people and ideas who made us who we are today. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

From one of the world's leading economists, a grand narrative of the century that made us richer than ever, yet left us unsatisfied.Before 1870, humanity lived in dire poverty, with a slow crawl of invention offset by a growing population. Then came a great shift: invention sprinted forward, doubling our technological capabilities each generation and utterly transforming the economy again and again. Our ancestors would have presumed we would use such powers to build utopia, but it was not so. When 1870-2010 ended, the world instead saw global warming, economic depression, uncertainty, inequality, and broad rejection of the status quo.Slouching Towards Utopia tells the sweeping story of how this unprecedented explosion?of material wealth?occurred,?how it transformed the globe, and?why?it?failed to deliver us to utopia.?Of remarkable breadth and ambition,?it?reveals how the last century was much less?a march of progress?than?a slouch?in the right direction. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE What if intelligent life on Earth evolved not once, but twice? The octopus is the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien. What can we learn from the encounter? In Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith, a distinguished philosopher of science and a skilled scuba diver, tells a bold new story of how nature became aware of itself – a story that largely occurs in the ocean, where animals first appeared. Tracking the mind’s fitful development from unruly clumps of seaborne cells to the first evolved nervous systems in ancient relatives of jellyfish, he explores the incredible evolutionary journey of the cephalopods, which began as inconspicuous molluscs who would later abandon their shells to rise above the ocean floor, searching for prey and acquiring the greater intelligence needed to do so – a journey completely independent from the route that mammals and birds would later take. But what kind of intelligence do cephalopods possess? How did the octopus, a solitary creature with little social life, become so smart? What is it like to have eight tentacles that are so packed with neurons that they virtually ‘think for themselves’? By tracing the question of inner life back to its roots and comparing human beings with our most remarkable animal relatives, Godfrey-Smith casts crucial new light on the octopus mind – and on our own. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The concluding volume of The History of Middle-earth series, which examines the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings. The Peoples of Middle-earth traces the evolution of the Appendices to The Lord of The Rings, which provide a comprehensive historical structure of the Second and Third Ages, including Calendars, Hobbit genealogies and the Westron language. The book concludes with two unique abandoned stories: The New Shadow, set in Gondor during the Fourth Age, and the tale of Tal-elmar, in which the coming of the dreaded Numenorean ships is seen through the eyes of men of Middle-earth in the Dark Years. With the publication of this book, the long history of J.R.R. Tolkien's creation is completed and the enigmatic state of his work can be understood. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

One of the three seminal works of Japanese literature, this beautiful collection of poems and tales offers an unparalleled insight into ancient Japan.Along with the Tale of Genji and One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each, The Tales of Ise is considered one of the three most important works of Japanese literature. A poem-tale collection from the early Heian period, it contains many stories of amorous adventures, faithful friendship and travels in exile, framing the exquisite poems at the work's heart.The Tales of Ise has influenced waka, Noh, tales and diaries since the time it was written, and is still the source of endless inspiration in novels, poetry, manga and cartoons. This volume has been translated by Peter MacMillan and includes a preface by the renowned Japanologist Donald Keene. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

‘I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory.’ Harold Pinter, English PEN President and Literature Nobel 2005 PEN – ‘Poets, Essayists, Novelists’ – was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship, intellectual co-operation and exchange between writers from around the world. It has since become a worldwide network of writers, a community extended to more than 100 countries who for 100 years has worked to celebrate all literatures without exception and protect freedom of expression. What was PEN’s role in shaping the very concept of human rights even before it was adopted by the United Nations in 1948? How did PEN develop fundamental ideas on free speech as well as the equality of languages and literatures? This book tells the extraordinary story of how writers from around the world placed the celebration of literature and the defence of free speech at the centre of humanity’s struggle against repression and terror. From opposing book burning and the persecution of writers in Nazi Germany, to supporting dissident writers during the Cold War and campaigning for imprisoned writers in China today, PEN has worked to safeguard against all kinds of censorship and self-censorship. The extraordinary writers who have been PEN cases is a history of bravery and include Federico García Lorca, Stefan Zweig, Musine Kokalari, Wole Soyinka, Salman Rushdie, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Anna Politkovskaya, Hrant Dink and Svetlana Alexievich. Those writers’ voices, and those of the many others who have battled to uphold the opening phrase of PEN's Charter - 'Literature knows no frontiers' - are still very much with us. Without them, PEN International could not have become the strong, vibrant, active movement it is today. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER As seen on The Joe Rogan Experience! A groundbreaking dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, and the real-life quest for the Holy Grail that could shake the Church to its foundations. The most influential religious historian of the 20th century, Huston Smith, once referred to it as the best-kept secret in history. Did the Ancient Greeks use drugs to find God? And did the earliest Christians inherit the same, secret tradition? A profound knowledge of visionary plants, herbs and fungi passed from one generation to the next, ever since the Stone Age? There is zero archaeological evidence for the original Eucharist - the sacred wine said to guarantee life after death for those who drink the blood of Jesus. The Holy Grail and its miraculous contents have never been found. In the absence of any hard data, whatever happened at the Last Supper remains an article of faith for today's 2.5 billion Christians. In an unprecedented search for real answers, The Immortality Key examines the archaic roots of the ritual that is performed every Sunday for nearly one third of the planet. Religion and science converge to paint a radical picture of Christianity's founding event. And after centuries of debate, to solve history's greatest puzzle once and for all. Before the birth of Jesus, the Ancient Greeks found salvation in their own sacraments. Sacred beverages were routinely consumed as part of the so-called Ancient Mysteries - elaborate rites that led initiates to the brink of death. The best and brightest from Athens and Rome flocked to the spiritual capital of Eleusis, where a holy beer unleashed heavenly visions for two thousand years. Others drank the holy wine of Dionysus to become one with the god. In the 1970s, renegade scholars claimed this beer and wine - the original sacraments of Western civilization - were spiked with mind-altering drugs. In recent years, vindication for the disgraced theory has been quietly mounting in the laboratory. The constantly advancing fields of archaeobotany and archaeochemistry have hinted at the enduring use of hallucinogenic drinks in antiquity. And with a single dose of psilocybin, the psychopharmacologists at Johns Hopkins and NYU are now turning self-proclaimed atheists into instant believers. But the smoking gun remains elusive. If these sacraments survived for thousands of years in our remote prehistory, from the Stone Age to the Ancient Greeks, did they also survive into the age of Jesus? Was the Eucharist of the earliest Christians, in fact, a psychedelic Eucharist? With an unquenchable thirst for evidence, Muraresku takes the reader on his twelve-year global hunt for proof. He tours the ruins of Greece with its government archaeologists. He gains access to the hidden collections of the Louvre Museum to show the continuity from pagan to Christian wine. He unravels the Ancient Greek of the New Testament with the world's most controversial priest. He spelunks into the catacombs under the streets of Rome to decipher the lost symbols of Christianity's oldest monuments. He breaches the secret archives of the Vatican to unearth manuscripts never before translated into English. And with leads from the archaeological chemists at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he unveils the first scientific data for the ritual use of psychedelic drugs in classical antiquity. The Immortality Key reconstructs the suppressed history of women consecrating a forbidden, drugged Eucharist that was later banned by the Church Fathers. Women who were then targeted as witches during the Inquisition, when Europe's sacred pharmacology largely disappeared. If the scientists of today have resurrected this technology, then Christianity is in crisis. Unless it returns to its roots. Featuring a Foreword by Graham Hancock, the New York Times bestselling author of America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The first volume of the graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari's global phenomenon and smash Sunday Times #1 bestseller, with gorgeous full-colour illustrations and a beautiful package - the perfect gift for the curious beings in your life.One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one-homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?In this first volume of the full-colour illustrated adaptation of his groundbreaking book, renowned historian Yuval Harari tells the story of humankind's creation and evolution, exploring the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human". From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens challenges us to reconsider accepted beliefs, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and view specific events within the context of larger ideas.Featuring 256 pages of full-colour illustrations and easy-to-understand text covering the first part of the full-length original edition, this adaptation of the mind-expanding book furthers the ongoing conversation as it introduces Harari's ideas to a wider new readership. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

From the Velvet Revolution to the disturbing world of Franz Kafka, from the devestation of the Thirty Years War to the musical elegance of Mozart and Dvorak, Prague is steeped in a wealth of history and culture. PRAGUE IN BLACK AND GOLD is a first class history of this unique city, allowing us to unravel layer upon layer of startlingly symbolic sites and buidings to reveal the real Prague. "PRAGUE IN BLACK AND GOLD is an exceptional work - and exceptionally reliable ... I am sure that thiswill be an important and exciting guide for all who wish to learn more about the famous people and important events in the history of the Czech lands and their capital" Ivan Klima, The Times (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The first-ever exhibition curated by Peter Lindbergh himself, shortly before his untimely death, Untold Stories at the Dusseldorf Kunstpalast served as a blank canvas for the photographer's unrestrained vision and creativity. Given total artistic freedom, Lindbergh curated an uncomprimising collection that sheds an unexpected light on his colossal oeuvre. This book, the official companion to the landmark exhibition, offers an extensive, firsthand look at the highly personal collection.Renowned the world over, Lindbergh's images have left an indelible mark on contemporary culture and photo history. Here, the photographer experiments with his own oeuvre and narrates new stories while staying true to his lexicon. In both emblematic and never-before-seen images, he challenges his own icons and presents intimate moments shared with personalities who had been close to him for years, including Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Robin Wright, Jessica Chastain, Jeanne Moreau, Naomi Campbell, Charlotte Rampling and many more.This XL volume presents more than 150 photographs--many of them unpublished or short-lived, often having been commissioned by monthly fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Interview, Rolling Stone, W Magazine, or The Wall Street Journal. An extensive conversation between Lindbergh and Kunstpalast director Felix Kramer, as well as an homage by close friend Wim Wenders, offer fresh insights into the making of the collection. The result is an intimate personal statement by Lindbergh about his work. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The first one-volume, complete history of Europe, as told by Europeans themselves, from Homo Erectus to the Celts, to Greek wisdom and Roman grandeur, all of the way to the European phenomenon - the Industrial Revolution. This is the definitive way to discover the real, modern Europe progressively unfolding, because looking back to the past reveals more about our future than we ever expected, and only by knowing how Europe came to be, can we know what really lies ahead. Whilst experiencing constant turbulence and change, Europe has made an astonishing mark on the world. How did one small continent become so powerful? How did such diverse islands come together to act as one? How did a diplomatic society descend into bloodshed and what does that mean for Europe today? For two-millenia Europe has been a superpower; it's fretted coastlines, it's many religions and revolutions have all shaped what it is now, and with more change ahead Jean-Baptiste Duroselle's Europe including a special and up-to-date introduction from Anthony Teasdale, Director General for Parliamentary research and former Special Advisor for the Deputy Prime Minister, couldn't be better timed. It is a much needed portrayal of our ever turbulent Europe. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Kniha - autor Renáta Fučíková, 196 stran, anglicky, Pevná, plátěný potah - autor Renáta Fučíková, 196 stran, anglicky, pevná, plátěný potah Czech immigrants traveled to the unknown beyond the Atlantic in several waves. Some came to America in search of religious and political freedom, while others simply sought a better life in a country of great opportunities. Today we know that without their involvement, independent Czechoslovakia would hardly have come to exist, and without the assistance of the United States, the Czech lands would have twice recovered from totalitarianism only with great difficulty. In Bohemian Stories, Renáta Fučíková presents a graphic journey through the history of Czechs in the United States, capturing the bonds between the two countries through their lived experience. Short texts and vivid illustrations detail the fates of the cartographer Martin Bohemus, the rebel Vojta Náprstek, the Freethinker Ladimír Klácel; reveal the stories... (alza.cz)

Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows―ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity―for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts―from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The seventh book in the bestselling Chronicles of St Mary's series which follows a group of tea-soaked disaster magnets as they hurtle their way around History. If you love Jasper Fforde or Ben Aaronovitch, you won't be able to resist Jodi Taylor. Rules are meant to be broken, aren't they? 'I've done some stupid things in my time. I've been reckless. I've broken a few rules. But never before have I ruined so many lives or left such a trail of destruction behind me.' Max has never been one for rules. They tend to happen to other people. But this time she's gone too far. And everyone at St Mary's is paying the price. With the History Department disintegrating around her and grounded until the end of time, how can she ever put things right? (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.For too long, Africa's history has been dominated by western narratives of slavery and colonialism, or simply ignored. Now, Zeinab Badawi sets the record straight.In this fascinating book, Badawi guides us through Africa's spectacular history - from the very origins of our species, through ancient civilisations and medieval empires with remarkable queens and kings, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence. Visiting more than thirty African countries to interview countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, she unearths buried histories from across the continent and gives Africa its rightful place in our global story.The result is a gripping new account of Africa: an epic, sweeping history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Hot on the heels of the Netflix show based on #GIRLBOSS comes Sophia Amoruso's new workbook of tips, doodles and fill-in-the-blanks that will help women become their best Girlboss yet. A graphic and whimsical guide filled with exercises, illustrations and plenty of scribble room, The Girlboss Workbook is designed for both dreamers and doers. It invites you (hell, implores you) to get in there and mess it up. Revisit #GIRLBOSS's career wisdom and use it to draft your ideal cover letter, answer practice interview questions and reflect on, or even draw, your mistakes and accomplishments.#GIRLBOSS started as Sophia Amoruso's story, but The Girlboss Workbook is your story. Use this book as a diary, a mood board, a stress ball and a tool for organizing and launching your wildest dreams. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

A new, fully updated narrative edition of David Attenborough’s seminal biography of our world, The Living Planet. Nowhere on our planet is devoid of life. Plants and animals thrive or survive within every extreme of climate and habitat that it offers. Single species, and often whole communities adapt to make the most of ice cap and tundra, forest and plain, desert, ocean and volcano. These adaptations can be truly extraordinary: fish that walk or lay eggs on leaves in mid-air; snakes that fly; flightless birds that graze like deer; and bears that grow hair on the soles of their feet.In The Living Planet, David Attenborough’s searching eye, unfailing curiosity and infectious enthusiasm explain and illuminate the intricate lives of the these colonies, from the lonely heights of the Himalayas to the wild creatures that have established themselves in the most recent of environments, the city. By the end of this book it is difficult to say which is the more astonishing – the ingenuity with which individual species contrive a living, or the complexity of their interdependence on each other and on the habitations provided by our planet.In this new edition, the author, with the help of zoologist Matthew Cobb, has added all the most up-to-date discoveries of ecology and biology, as well as a full-colour 64-page photography section. He also addresses the urgent issues facing our living planet: climate change, pollution and mass extinction of species. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Nowhere on our planet is devoid of life. Plants and animals thrive or survive within every extreme of climate and habitat that it offers. Single species, and often whole communities adapt to make the most of ice cap and tundra, forest and plain, desert, ocean and volcano. These adaptations can be truly extraordinary: fish that walk or lay eggs on leaves in mid-air; snakes that fly; flightless birds that graze like deer; and bears that grow hair on the soles of their feet.In The Living Planet, David Attenborough's searching eye, unfailing curiosity and infectious enthusiasm explain and illuminate the intricate lives of the these colonies, from the lonely heights of the Himalayas to the wild creatures that have established themselves in the most recent of environments, the city. By the end of this book it is difficult to say which is the more astonishing - the ingenuity with which individual species contrive a living, or the complexity of their interdependence on each other and on the habitations provided by our planet.In this new edition, the author, with the help of zoologist Matthew Cobb, has added all the most up-to-date discoveries of ecology and biology, as well as a full-colour 64-page photography section. He also addresses the urgent issues facing our living planet: climate change, pollution and mass extinction of species. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

What valuable company is nobody building? The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them. It's easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. Every new creation goes from 0 to 1. This book is about how to get there. "Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how". (Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla). "This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world". (Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook). "When a risk taker writes a book, read it. In the case of Peter Thiel, read it twice. Or, to be safe, three times. This is a classic". (Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan). (knihydobrovsky.cz)

A CITY IN QUARANTINELondon, the epicenter of a global pandemic, is a city in lockdown. Violence and civil disorder simmer. Martial law has been imposed. No-one is safe from the deadly virus that has already claimed thousands of victims. Health and emergency services are overwhelmed.A MURDERED CHILDAt a building site for a temporary hospital, construction workers find a bag containing the rendered bones of a murdered child. A remorseless killer has been unleashed on the city; his mission is to take all measures necessary to prevent the bones from being identified.A POWERFUL CONSPIRACYD.I. Jack MacNeil, counting down the hours on his final day with the Met, is sent to investigate. His career is in ruins, his marriage over and his own family touched by the virus. Sinister forces are tracking his every move, prepared to kill again to conceal the truth. Which will stop him first - the virus or the killers?Written over fifteen years ago, this prescient, suspenseful thriller is set against a backdrop of a capital city in quarantine, and explores human experience in the grip of a killer virus. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

The PANCREASThe newest edition of the essential guide to pancreatic medicine The fourth edition of The Pancreas: An Integrated Textbook of Basic Science, Medicine, and Surgery integrates the cutting-edge research of recent years to update its presentation of this fast-growing subject. It details every known disorder of the pancreas, grounding them in a thorough understanding of pancreatic function, enhanced with high quality illustration and graphs. It also includes step-by-step guidance for relevant endoscopic techniques and surgical procedures.The Pancreas readers will also find: New comprehensive insights into three pancreatic diseases: autoimmune pancreatitis, cystic neoplasms, and neuroendocrine tumorsAn editorial team with decades of clinical and research experience in the US, Europe, and AsiaOver 500 downloadable illustrations for use in scientific presentations The Pancreas is a foundational reference for clinicians and researchers in gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery. (knihydobrovsky.cz)

Kniha - autor Anna Pasternak, 336 stran, anglicky, brožovaná bez přebalu matná Drawing on both archival and family sources, this is a revealing account of the critical role played by Olga Ivinskaya in Boris Pasternak's life and how their own love story inspired the great literary classic. (alza.cz)

Album z kolekce Taschen GmbH. Lindbergh byl pozván k vytvoření vlastního programu Untold Stories v Kunstpalast Düsseldorf a tuto příležitost využil jako prázdné plátno pro svou neomezenou vizi a kreativitu a výsledkem je intimní a velmi osobní příběh jeho práce. (answear.cz)

Smyslů zbavená pomstychtivost, o smysly připravená oběť, sluncem rozpálené španělské pobřeží a vrah se srdcem chladným jako led. Když se policistka Cristina Sánchez Pradellová vydá s kolegou do luxusní vily na andaluském pobřeží k údajnému vloupání, netuší, že se jí život co nevidět obrátí vzhůru nohama. Ve vile totiž dojde ke střetu, při němž uprchlý zločinec Jack Cleland nechtěně zastřelí svou přítelkyni. Cleland přísahá, že se Cristině pomstí. Středobodem jeho krutého plánu se stává Cristinina teta trpící Usherovým syndromem, vzácným onemocněním, jež ji připravilo o sluch i zrak. Na pomoc španělské policii je vyslán geniální, avšak svérázný detektiv původem z Glasgow John Mackenzie. Hrdou a nezávislou Španělku spolupráce s asociálním Skotem pochopitelně nijak nenadchne. Dokážou Clelanda dopadnout, než vrah řekne své poslední krvavé slovo? (knihydobrovsky.cz)