Other books that might interest you

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  The Most Enigmatic Woman in...

  John Harpoon

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  Cleopatra VII, the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, remains one of the most enigmatic figures in history. For over two millennia, her name has conjured images of beauty, cunning, and power. Yet the true Cleopatra is shrouded in layers of myth, propaganda, and speculation. She was not merely a seductress as often portrayed but a scholar, a diplomat, and a leader who navigated a tumultuous era in ancient history with remarkable skill.  
    
  Born into the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Macedonian-Greek family that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great’s death, Cleopatra inherited a kingdom in decline. At just 18, she ascended to the throne alongside her younger brother, thrust into a world of political intrigue and external threats. Her reign coincided with the expansion of Rome, a rising superpower that posed both an opportunity and a danger. Cleopatra understood that survival required more than military might—it demanded diplomacy, intelligence, and a mastery of alliances.  
    
  Cleopatra’s personal relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony have fueled centuries of fascination and debate. While these alliances are often reduced to tales of romance, they were strategic partnerships forged to secure Egypt’s sovereignty. Cleopatra leveraged her intellect and charisma to influence two of Rome’s most powerful men, ensuring her kingdom remained a significant force in the Mediterranean. 

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  HOOF BEATS - How Horses Shaped...

  William T. Taylor

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  Journey to the ancient past with cutting-edge science and new data to discover how horses forever altered the course of human history. 
   
     
    
  From the Rockies to the Himalayas, the bond between horses and humans has spanned across time and civilizations. In this archaeological journey, William T. Taylor explores how momentous events in the story of humans and horses helped create the world we live in today. Tracing the horse's origins and spread from the western Eurasian steppes to the invention of horse-drawn transportation and the explosive shift to mounted riding, Taylor offers a revolutionary new account of how horses altered the course of human history. 
   
    
    
  Drawing on Indigenous perspectives, ancient DNA, and new research from Mongolia to the Great Plains and beyond, Taylor guides listeners through the major discoveries that have placed the horse at the origins of globalization, trade, biological exchange, and social inequality. Hoof Beats transforms our understanding of both horses and humanity's ancient past and asks us to consider what our relationship with horses means for the future of humanity and the world around us.

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  The Social Genome - The New...

  Dalton Conley

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  A pioneering scientist presents a mind-expanding account of the sociogenomics revolution, which promises to upend everything we know about human development. 
   
   
   
  Sociogenomics brings together advances in molecular genetics and traditional social and behavioral science. The key tool is the polygenic index, which allows us to analyze DNA to measure a child's genetic potential. Today, we can estimate a child's adult height, how far they will go in school, and their weight as an adult—all from a cheek swab, finger prick, or vial of saliva. Dalton Conley and other researchers are using this new science to shed light on the ways in which genes shape our world, influencing how each person both creates and responds to the environment around them. Conley reveals a world where children's DNA influences the nurture they extract from their parents; the genes of our schoolmates affect our likelihood of smoking as much as our own DNA does; and spouses' genes influence each other's moods and behaviors. 
   
   
   
  The Social Genome presents a nuanced, powerful perspective on individual potential and social dynamics and raises critical ethical questions about how we will navigate a future where we have access to far more genetic information than ever before.

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  The Philadelphia State Hospital...

  J.P. Webster

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  This account of the infamous asylum is "an excellent record of greed and corruption, but it is also a powerful testimonial to compassion and kindness" (Hidden City). 
   
   
   
  The Quaker City and its hospitals were pioneers in the field of mental health. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century, its institutions were crowded and patients lived in shocking conditions. The mentally ill were quartered with the dangerously criminal. By 1906, the city had purchased a vast acreage of farmland incorporated into the city, and the Philadelphia Hospital dubbed its new venture Byberry City Farms. From the start, its history was riddled with corruption and committees, investigations and inquests, appropriations and abuse. Yet it is also a story of reform and redemption, of heroes and human dignity—many dedicated staff members did their best to help patients whose mental illnesses were little understood and were stigmatized by society. 
   
   
   
  "Webster . . . wrote his book because of his fascination with an abandoned building he discovered in 2002. He wanted to tell the story of Byberry, one he believes many people do not fully understand." —Philadelphia Neighborhoods

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  Attack on Pearl Harbor: America...

  Liam Dale

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  On December 7th 1941 as World War II raged, the focus of attention was snatched from the battlefields of Europe and diverted to the smoke and flames rising from the American Naval Base in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor. The Empire of the Rising Sun had finally struck, piercing the heart of the US navy in a bid to ensure that their plans for an Asian Empire, every bit as ambitious as Adolf Hitler’s Thousand Year Reich, were not threatened. 
   
  But as the injured were rushed to safety and America reeled from the shock of the Japanese attack, those battling against Hitler, most notably Winston Churchill and the people of Great Britain, were able to find some comfort in the tragedy, because America’s President, Franklin D Roosevelt, could now justify bringing the United States into the war. 
   
  The story of Pearl Harbor may have been told many times, but it’s nonetheless always fascinating and in this journal, we will have the opportunity to revisit the events of that monumental day as they unfolded, from the bombing of the USS Panay to the attack on Pearl itself, while discovering the reasons why the Japanese fleets travelled far across the ocean, to pick a fight with World War II’s sleeping giant.

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  Deluge - Gaza and Israel from...

  Jamie Stern-Weiner

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  In September 2023, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan boasted that the Middle East "is quieter today than it has been in two decades." One week later, unprecedented violence in Gaza and Israel shattered the status quo and shocked the world.
  Hamas's Operation Al-Aqsa Deluge punctured delusions of stability as hundreds of militants burst forth from the Gaza prison camp. In the ensuing carnage and firefights, 1,200 Israelis were killed and hundreds more taken hostage.
  Israel's retaliation turned the besieged enclave into a howling wasteland. Nearly 20,000 people were killed in two months, including more than 7,000 children, and over 60 percent of homes were damaged or destroyed. Israel targeted the wounded and infirm, newborns and near-dead, as Gaza's healthcare system—hospitals, clinics, ambulances, medical personnel—came under a systematic attack unprecedented in the annals of modern warfare.
  The Hamas massacre and the Israeli extermination campaign which followed together mark a historic turning point in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The reverberations have also shaken politics far beyond, not least in Europe and the United States, where gigantic, round-the-clock protests for Palestinian rights pitted politicians against the public and exposed a growing statist authoritarianism.
  In this groundbreaking book—the first published about the 2023 Gaza war—leading Palestinian, Israeli, and international authorities put these momentous developments in context and provide an initial taking-stock.
  Why did Hamas attack? What is Israel trying to achieve? Did this catastrophe have to happen? And is there a way forward? The book's expert contributors address these and other questions, which have never been more urgent.

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