Other books that might interest you

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  A Little History of Music

  Robert Philip

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  A lively, engaging guide to music around the world, from prehistory to the present 
   
  Human beings have always made music. Music can move us and tell stories of faith, struggle, or love. It is common to all cultures across the world. But how has it changed over the millennia? 
   
  Robert Philip explores the extraordinary history of music in all its forms, from our earliest ancestors to today’s mass-produced songs. This is a truly global story. Looking to Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, and beyond, Philip reveals how musicians have been brought together by trade and migration and examines the vast impact of colonialism. From Hildegard von Bingen and Clara Schumann to Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin, great performers and composers have profoundly shaped music as we know it. 
   
  Covering a remarkable range of genres, including medieval chant, classical opera, jazz, and hip hop, this Little History shines a light on the wonder of music—and why it is treasured across the world.

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  Ur and Uruk: The History and...

  Editors Charles River

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  In southern Iraq, a crushing silence hangs over the dunes. For nearly 5,000 years, the sands of the Iraqi desert have held the remains of the oldest known civilization: the Sumerians. When American archaeologists discovered a collection of cuneiform tablets in Iraq in the late 19th century, they were confronted with a language and a people who were at the time only scarcely known to even the most knowledgeable scholars of ancient Mesopotamia. The exploits and achievements of other Mesopotamian peoples, such as the Assyrians and Babylonians, were already known to a large segment of the population through the Old Testament and the nascent field of Near Eastern studies had unraveled the enigma of the Akkadian language that was widely used throughout the region in ancient times, but the discovery of the Sumerian tablets brought to light the existence of the Sumerian culture, which was the oldest of all the Mesopotamian cultures.  
  	Although the Sumerians continue to get second or even third billing compared to the Babylonians and Assyrians, perhaps because they never built an empire as great as the Assyrians or established a city as enduring and great as Babylon, they were the people who provided the template of civilization that all later Mesopotamians built upon. The Sumerians are credited with being the first people to invent writing, libraries, cities, and schools in Mesopotamia, and many would argue that they were the first people to create and do those things anywhere in world. Indeed, a close examination of Sumerian culture and chronology reveals that the Sumerians set the cultural tone in Mesopotamia for several centuries in the realms of politics/governments, arts, literature, and religion. The Sumerians were truly a great people whose legacy continued long after they were gone.

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  Some Nightmares Are Real - The...

  Kelly Kazek

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  Dark secrets lurk beneath the sleepy surface of Alabama. Ghosts and grisly creatures haunt the towns and forests. In the great Southern ghost-story tradition, famed Alabama storyteller Kelly Kazek weaves a gothic tapestry of ten stories drawn from real people and legendary creatures, cursed places, and harrowing events. 
   
   
   
  Each story or legend takes listeners to a different place in Alabama. Learn about the bestial Wolf Woman who terrified Mobilians in the haunted old port city. In the city of Huntsville, visit the Dead Children's Playground in gloomy Maple Hill Cemetery. In Jacksonville, feel the cold grip of the Old Mill Witch, rumored to protect the workers at the rickety cotton yarn mill. Hear about the mysterious green light that drifts along the Alabama River in the Black Belt hamlet of Gee's Bend and learn about the role the Gee's Bend Ferry played in the Civil Rights Movement. 
   
   
   
  Unlike most ghost-story collections, Some Nightmares Are Real includes facts, historical resources, and information about how to visit the locations. These contemporary stories embrace a beloved Southern folkloric tradition for a new generation of young readers. The tales will terrify and ensnare ghost-story lovers of all ages. So settle in, pull the covers up tight, and maybe turn on the light, because the truth is: Some Nightmares Are Real.

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  European History - Events Wars...

  Kelly Mass

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  This combo of titles is an ideal combination of historical accounts of the western parts of Europe, the nations of the Netherlands and Great Britain. 
  In this combo, you will learn more about the William of Orange, Batavian Republic, the Eighty Years' War, the Dutch East-Indian Trading Company, the Great Fire of London, the war between the Dutch and the English, Horatio Nelson, and their empires throughout the last few centuries.

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  12 Masterpieces You Have to Read...

  Niccolò Machiavelli, Tommaso...

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  Contents:The Prince by Niccolo MachiavelliThe City of the Sun by Tommaso CampanellaThe New Atlantis by Francis BaconUtopia by Thomas More Utilitarianism byJohn Stuart MillOn Liberty by John Stuart MillAn Answer to the Question What is Enlightenment by Immanuel KantThe Prophet by Kahlil GibranA Confession by Leo TolstoyOrthodoxy by G.K. ChestertonThe Madman, His Parables and Poems by Kahlil GibranOn the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

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  The Phone Fix - The...

  Dr Faye Begeti

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  What is really happening in your brain when you use your phone, and how to harness it. 
   
  Humans are often fearful of the day the world will be ruled by machines, but have they not already taken over? The average person spends 4-5 hours a day on their phone, about a third of the time they are awake. We self-interrupt our work and social lives, forgo sleep, procrastinate important tasks and opt for digital distraction when we're bored or feel uncomfortable. 
   
  NHS neurology doctor and neuroscientist Faye Begeti describes what is happening in our brain when we use our phones and why we have formed so many fixed and negative habits around them. She reflects on both deliberate choices and automatic behaviours, whilst also challenging myths around digital 'addiction', how dopamine actually works and the harmfulness of blue light. 
   
  Rather than recommending a quick fix digital diet, or total abstinence - unviable for most people - The Phone Fix offers a practical guide, based on neuroscientific techniques, on building supportive digital habits. Technology is not inherently bad or frightening and by better understanding what is happening in our brains, we can replenish our willpower and improve our focus, forming a healthier relationship with our phones ¬- and therefore the real people around us.

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