Showing titles in History

Resistance to malaria. Blue eyes. Lactose tolerance. What do all of these traits have in common? Every one of them has emerged in the last 10,000 years.

Around 2500 years ago a thirty-five-year-old man named Siddhartha had a mystical insight under a peepul tree in north-eastern India, in a place now revered as Bodhgaya. Today, more than 300 million people across the globe consider themselves beneficiaries of Gautama Buddha’s insight, and...

In a bold and moving book that is sure to spark heated debate, the novelist and cultural critic James Carroll maps the profoundly troubling 2,000-year course of the Church’s battle against Judaism and faces the crisis of faith it has provoked in his own life as a Catholic. More than a chronicle of religion, this dark history is the central tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reaching deep into our culture.

In the stillness of the cosmos exists a force both boundless and paradoxical – Shiva. More than a god, he is the formless essence that both creates and consumes the universe. His realms transcend time, his actions defy logic, yet within them lies a cosmic rhythm governing all beings. Shiva...

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Holocaust by Laurence Rees, read by Jonathan Keeble. This landmark work answers two of the most fundamental questions in history - how, and why, did the Holocaust happen? Laurence Rees has spent twenty-five years meeting...

The past life memories of two women capture a true and compelling portrait of Jesus the man, from the healing miracles he performed to the gentle philosophy he preached. This is an insider view, direct from Jesus' time, deep in feeling tones and profound in implications, giving a sense of how things truly were.

This extraordinary work delves into the subject of religion in the prehistoric and ancient worlds—humankind's earliest quests for meaning. From Neanderthal burials to the mythology of the Iron Age, to the religions of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Israel, India, and beyond, it offers both an appreciation of the wide-ranging diversity of religious expression—and a consideration of the fundamental unity of religious phenomena.

This rich and magisterial work traces Palestine's millennia-old heritage, uncovering cultures and societies of astounding depth and complexity that stretch back to the very beginnings of recorded history. 

From the preaching of the First Crusade by Pope Urban II in 1095 to the loss of the last crusader outpost in the Levant in 1302-03, and from the taking of Jerusalem from the Fatimids in 1099 to the fall of Acre to the Mamluks in 1291, Crusaders tells a tale soaked in Islamic, Christian and Jewish blood, peopled by extraordinary characters, and characterised by both low ambition and high principle. 

Winner of The PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize 2022 Shortlisted for The Wolfson History Prize 2022 A The Times Books of the Year 2022 Three thousand years ago, in the Southwest Asian lands we now call Israel and Palestine, a group of people worshipped a complex pantheon of deities, led by a father god...

It's a great irony that Israel was more secure as an idea than its ever been as a nation with an army. In AD 70, when the Second Temple was destroyed, a handful of visionaries saved Judaism by reinventing it - by taking what had been a national religion, identified with a particular place, and turning it into an idea. Jews no longer needed Jerusalem to be Jews.

In the appealing conversational tone that has won him millions of devoted readers, Hahn presents the basic tenets of Church teachings, clears up common misconceptions about specific rituals and traditions, and responds thoughtfully to the objections raised about them. Each chapter concludes with...

When it appeared in 1670, Baruch Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise was denounced as the most dangerous book ever published. In A Book Forged in Hell, Steven Nadler tells the fascinating story of this extraordinary book: its radical claims and their background in the philosophical, religious, and political tensions of the Dutch Golden Age, as well as the vitriolic reaction these ideas inspired.

In this gripping retelling of the ancient Indian epic, you will be transported into a world of warring kingdoms, magic, and divine intervention. Through the eyes of the Pandavas and Kauravas, witness a tale of love, loss, and redemption, as they battle for control of their kingdom and their own destinies. With vivid descriptions of the Kurukshetra War and political intrigue—read the Mahabharata like never before!

The first comprehensive yet accessible history of the state of Israel from its inception to present day, from Daniel Gordis, "one of the most respected Israel analysts" (The Forward) living and writing in Jerusalem. Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world s attention, aroused...

Aarti Sangrah: Aarti is performed at the end of worship. It compensates for any mistakes made during the worship. Even if the worship lacks proper chanting and rituals, Aarti completes it. Performing and witnessing Aarti brings great virtue. Those who witness the deity and the Aarti, and take the Aarti with both hands, elevate their generations and attain the supreme position.

आरती संग्रह: पूजा के अंत में आरती करने का विधान है। पूजा करते समय जो भूलचूक रह जाती हैं, आरती से उनकी पूर्ति होती है। पूजा करते समय मंत्रहीन और क्रियाहीन होने पर भी उसमें पूर्णता आ जाती है। आरती करने एवं आरती देखने से भी बहुत पुण्य मिलता है। जो जन धूप और आरती को देखते हैं और दोनों हाथों से आरती लेते हैं, वे अपनी पीढ़ियों का उद्धार करते हैं और परम पद को प्राप्त करते हैं।

Abdus-Salam Harun’s abridgment makes this classical text accessible without compromising authenticity. Listeners will appreciate its continuity, clarity, and reverence for the original. Whether you're exploring the early days in Makkah, the struggles of Madinah, or the final moments of the Prophet’s life, this edition guides the listener through a transformative journey grounded in authentic narration and spiritual depth.

Who is Satan in the New Testament, and what is the evil that he represents? In this groundbreaking book, Elaine Pagels, Princeton's distinguished historian of religion, traces the evolution of Satan from its origins in the Hebrew Bible, where Satan is at first merely obstructive, to the New Testament, where Satan becomes the Prince of Darkness, the bitter enemy of God and man, evil incarnate. In The Origin of Satan, Pagels shows that the four Christian gospels tell two very different stories.

Some 25 centuries after the Buddha started teaching, his message continues to inspire people across the globe, including those living in predominantly secular societies. What does it mean to adapt religious practices to secular contexts? Stephen Batchelor, an internationally known author and teacher, is committed to a secularized version of the Buddha's teachings. The time has come, he feels, to articulate a coherent, ethical, contemplative, and philosophical vision of Buddhism for our age.