The world a family history
"From the acclaimed author of The Romanovs-a magisterial history of humanity viewed through the lens of its most powerful dynasties In this sprawling and eye-opening book, best-selling historian Simon Sebag Montefiore chronicles the world's great dynasties across human history through engrossing tal...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Alfred A. Knopf,
[2023]
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| Edition: | First American edition. |
| Subjects: | |
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| Summary: | "From the acclaimed author of The Romanovs-a magisterial history of humanity viewed through the lens of its most powerful dynasties In this sprawling and eye-opening book, best-selling historian Simon Sebag Montefiore chronicles the world's great dynasties across human history through engrossing tales of palace intrigue, glorious battle, and the real lives of people who held unfathomable power. He trains his eye on founders of humble origin, like Sargon, the Mesopotamian cupbearer sent to help defeat a rival who returned with an army to dethrone his own king, and Liu Bang, a peasant who became a rebel leader and founded the Han dynasty. Montefiore illuminates the achievements of fearsome emperors, including Yax Ehb Xook, whose Mayan city-state Tikal boasts some of the most monumental ancient architecture that exists today; Jayavarman II, who proclaimed himself "universal king" and whose Khmer empire in South Asia heralded a thousand years of Indic ascendancy; and Ewuare, the African emperor who built a capital city that rivaled any in Europe. He writes, too, about remarkable women rulers, like Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh, and Maria Theresa, the only woman to rule the Habsburg empire. These families represent the breadth of human endeavor, with bloody civil wars, treacherous conspiracies, and shocking megalomania alongside flourishing culture, moving romances, and enlightened benevolence. A dazzling epic history as spellbinding as fiction, The World is testament to Montefiore's acclaimed career as our poet laureate of power"-- |
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| Item Description: | Maps on end caps. |
| Physical Description: | xl, 1304 pages : maps ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780525659532 0525659536 |
| Author Notes: | Montefiore's first book Catherine the Great & Potemkin. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar won History Book of the Year at the 2004 British Book Awards. Young Stalin won the LA Times Book Prize for Best Biography, the Costa Book Award, the Bruno Kreisky Award for Political Literature, and Le Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique. Jerusalem: The Biography was a global bestseller and won The Book of the Year Prize from the Jewish Book Council. His latest history is The Romanovs: 1613-1918. He is also the author of the acclaimed novels Sashenka and One Night in Winter. One Night in Winter won the Political Novel of the Year Prize. (Bowker Author Biography) |
