Are mass violence and catastrophes the only forces that can seriously decrease economic inequality? To judge by thousands of years of history, the answer is yes. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, Walter Scheidel shows that it never dies peacefully. The Great Leveler is the first book to chart the crucial role of violent shocks in reducing inequality over the full sweep of human history around the world.

The "Four Horsemen" of leveling-mass-mobilization warf...

An innovative illustrated history of the Second World War, told with the help of personal stories from across the globe.

A vivid, day-by-day perspective on 2,500 years of human history through the medium of 366 quotations.

The first ever guide to understanding Aztec hieroglyphs: a groundbreaking publication built on a lifetime of research by a world expert.

This new edition of one of the most widely used course books on Islamic civilizations around the world has been substantially revised to incorporate the new scholarship and insights of the last twenty-five years. Ira Lapidus' history explores the beginnings and transformations of Islamic civilizations in the Middle East and details Islam's worldwide diffusion. The history is divided into four parts.

Part I is a comprehensive account of pre-Islamic late antiquity; the beginnings of Islam; the ...

Analyses contemporary British identity through the various and changing ways in which people who live in the UK position themselves and are positioned by their culture today, thereby offering the perfect introductory text for students of contemporary British society. - This edition has been fully updated to reflect the seismic shifts in Britain over the last few years, thereby offering the reader the most up-to-date text on British identity and recent events in Britain. - Highly illustrated w...