検索キーワード： 著者 "Charles Rivers" すべてのカテゴリー

Who were the Cathars, and why was the Catholic Church so committed to getting rid of them? The Cathars: The History and Legacy of the Gnostic Christian Sect During the Middle Ages examines the origins of the cult, their fascinating belief system, their gradual development over the years, and the events that contributed to their epic downfall.

When Rand first embarked on writing The Fountainhead, her first major literary success, she intended to deliver a book that incorporated her philosophies on 20th century society while telling a story that was less politically inclined than her initial novel, We the Living. Includes an introduction with a short biography about Ayn Rand; comprehensively explains Rand's philosophy, objectivism, and the plots, characters, themes, symbols, and more.

The westward movement of Americans in the 19th century was one of the largest and most consequential migrations in history, and among the paths that blazed west, the most well-known is the Oregon Trail, which was not a single trail but a network of paths that began at one of four "jumping off" points. The eastern section of the Oregon Trail, which followed the Missouri River through Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming, was shared by people traveling along the California, Bozeman, and Mormon Trails.

Despite the fact the border between North Korea and South Korea remains tense, and former President Bill Clinton once branded it the "scariest place on Earth," more than 7.5 million tourists have visited the notorious demilitarized zone for one reason or another. There, they gazed upon a treacherous but evidently intriguing strip of land, guarded by estranged brothers with a chilling array of weapons directed at one another at all times.

Less than 21 years after the end of the First World War, the Second World War broke out in September 1939 when, on the third day of that month, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany, which had invaded Poland two days earlier. The Second World War would last for nearly six years (although some historians consider the war to have started in Asia in 1937), and all of Europe was ravaged.

While it would be impossible to name every individual who has contributed to the ever-advancing field of science, it almost goes without saying that one of the most important was Louis Pasteur, father of microbiology and modern immunology. Apart from propelling the field of vaccination to new heights, this visionary scientist would also revolutionize a significant part of the beverage industry, and highlight the importance of sterilization. These are only some of the extraordinary achievements on Louis' glaring résumé, one so well-rounded and extensive that it beggars belief.

When Americans are asked who the best actress in the world is today, many of them will name Meryl Streep first, and with good reason. Though her career on screen has not yet spanned 40 years, she has been nominated for 18 Oscars and 28 Golden Globes, which are both records for highest number of nominations. Her Oscar nomination count dwarfs even Katharine Hepburn, who has the second most with 12.

Along with Egypt, the cultural and geographic region known as Mesopotamia was home to some of the world’s earliest civilizations and also the first known form of writing, cuneiform. Many different ethnic groups vied for power in ancient Mesopotamia over the course of antiquity--spanning about 3,000 years--and many of them spoke different languages. Despite these differences, the people in Mesopotamia shared many cultural attributes including similar religious practices, a common art and architecture style, and a shared use of the cuneiform script.

The IRGC is notable for its involvement in conflicts around the Middle East, particularly in supporting Shi'a groups through military training and finance, as well as backup support on the battlefield. This is not to say the IRGC enters into conflicts for the sake of being involved, but rather, they see these particular situations as serving the interests of Iran and furthering their brand of Shi'ism, a sect of Islam.

Patagonia is in the southernmost region of South America, comprising about 400,000 square miles going from the Colorado River in the north to the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the south. Longitudinally, it covers the whole continental soil, going from the Atlantic shore to the Pacific’s waters, including a few islands near the coast, part of the South American plate.

Throughout history, warfare has played an important role in the development of many cultures around the world, and Mesoamerica is no exception. As J.M. Francis and T.M. Leonard noted, “The history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica was one of violence, though no more so than that of any other region of the ancient world. It was a universe of shifting alliances and mutual antagonisms, in which increasingly strong political entities forged themselves and then broke apart". In fact, warfare played an essential role in the formation of Mesoamerica as a cultural area.

The Protestant Reformation is often associated most closely with Martin Luther, and it’s often considered to have started when Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. However, the Reformation cannot be reduced to a single, abrupt, and exceptional event, but must be traced to a much longer process of spiritual, social, and intellectual transformation that unfolded over the late medieval period.

The man known to most of the world as Emperor Hirohito ruled during some of the most tumultuous years in Japanese history. When he came to the throne in 1926, he inherited control of a country which had only recently emerged as a major industrial and world power. Through the aggressive expansion and wars of the 1930s, Hirohito was at the head of one of the world’s foremost powers. Throughout the maelstrom of World War II, he remained in power, a distant and, to most outsiders, inscrutable factor in the rise of the Japanese Empire.

In 1977, two spacecraft were launched from Earth to explore the outer Solar System, and incredibly, the now-ancient technology from the 1970s is still working, sending daily reports back to the planet that sent the two robotic envoys on their way, over 40 years ago. Voyager 1 and 2 have done far more than accomplish their original missions. In fact, they are now exploring interstellar space, far beyond the outer planets, in the cold wasteland between the stars.

Over 450 years after his reign, Henry VIII is still the most famous and recognizable King of England, but it’s for all the wrong reasons. Though well regarded by contemporaries as a learned king and "one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne", he is best remembered today for his gluttony and multiple marriages. History for Kids: An Illustrated Biography of King Henry VIII chronicles Henry VIII’s life and reign.

The importance of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (or as he was known from birth, Gaius Octavius “Octavian” Thurinus) to the course of Western history is hard to overstate. His life, his rise to power, his political, social, and military achievements, all laid the foundations for the creation of an empire which would endure for almost five centuries, and whose traditions, laws, architecture, and art continue to influence much of Europe and the world today.

History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Queen Elizabeth I chronicles the life and reign of England’s most famous queen, but it also humanizes the woman who ruled one of the world’s most powerful kingdoms in an age dominated by men. Elizabeth inherited her grandfather’s political acumen and her father’s magnificence, thus creating not just one of the most colorful courts in Europe but also one of the most effective governments in English history.

The American occupation of Japan holds a singular and problematic place in the histories both of Japan and of American foreign policy. For the Japanese, the occupation marked the transition from war to peace, from authoritarianism to democracy, and from privation to plenty, making it a passage from one of the darkest chapters in Japanese history to one of the brightest.

One of the most turbulent and romanticized eras in ancient Chinese history is that of the three kingdoms period. During the third century AD in China, warlords battled for supremacy. This turbulent and bloody era is known as the three kingdoms period. It's also one of the most romanticized eras in Chinese history; heroes and villains like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Liang have served has inspiration for poetry, novels, opera, and song in China.

Jomini was regarded as the preeminent strategist and writer of his generation, while Clausewitz was virtually unknown outside the General Staff of the Prussian Army. In the intervening period, Clausewitz has come to be regarded as the most important writer and strategic analyst of the period, whereas the writings of Jomini have been discarded and largely ignored. As a result, many military historians and strategists have only recently begun to understand how important Jomini was and how relevant his writings remain today.