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The fifteenth-century codex commonly known as the ?Voynich Manu*? is often considered the world?s most mysterious book. Written in an unknown * by an unknown author, the manu* has no clearer purpose now than when it was rediscovered in 1912 by rare books dealer Wilfred Voynich. The book?s language has eluded decipherment, and its elaborate illustrations remain as baffling as they are beautiful. For the first time, this facsimile allows readers to explore this enigma in all its stunning detail, from its one-of-a-kind ?Voynichese? text to its illustrations of otherworldly plants, unfamiliar constellations, and naked women swimming though fantastical tubes and green baths. ? The essays that accompany the manu* explain what we have learned about this work?from alchemical, cryptographic, forensic, and historical perspectives?but provide few definitive answers. Instead, as New York Times best-selling author Deborah Harkness says in her introduction, the book ?invites the reader to join us at the heart of the m

Mann is well aware that much of the history he relates isnecessarily speculative, the product of pot-shard interpretationand precise scientific measurements that often end up beingradically revised in later decades. But the most compelling of hiseye-opening revisionist stories are among the best-founded: thestories of early American-European contact. To many of those whowere there, the earliest encounters felt more like a meeting ofequals than one of natural domination. And those who came later andfound an emptied landscape that seemed ripe for the taking, Mannargues convincingly, encountered not the natural and unchangingstate of the native American, but the evidence of a suddencalamity: the ravages of what was likely the greatest epidemic inhuman history, the smallpox and other diseases introducedinadvertently by Europeans to a population without immunity, whichswept through the Americas faster than the explorers who broughtit, and left behind for their discovery a land that held only ashadow of the

In 480 BC, Xerxes, the King of Persia, led an invasion ofmainland Greece. Its success should have been a formality. Forseventy years, victory - rapid, spectacular victory - had seemedthe birthright of the Persian Empire. In the space of a singlegeneration, they had swept across the Near East, shattering ancientkingdoms, storming famous cities, putting together an empire whichstretched from India to the shores of the Aegean. As a result ofthose conquests, Xerxes ruled as the most powerful man on theplanet. Yet somehow, astonishingly, against the largestexpeditionary force ever assembled, the Greeks of the mainlandmanaged to hold out. The Persians were turned back. Greece remainedfree. Had the Greeks been defeated at Salamis, not only would theWest have lost its first struggle for independence and survival,but it is unlikely that there would ever have been such and entityas the West at all. Tom Holland's brilliant new book describes thevery first 'clash of Empires' between East and West. Once again hehas

The smog beast wafted into downtown Los Angeles on July 26,1943. Nobody knew what it was. Secretaries rubbed their eyes.Traffic cops seemed to disappear in the mysterious haze. WereJapanese saboteurs responsible? A reckless factory? The truth wasmuch worse--it came from within, from Southern California'sburgeoning car-addicted, suburban lifestyle. Smogtown is the story of pollution, progress, and how anoptimistic people confronted the epic struggle against airbornepoisons barraging their hometowns. With wit, verve, and a freshlook at history, California based journalists Chip Jacobs andWilliam J. Kelly highlight the bold personalities involved, thecorporate- tainted science, the terrifying health costs, theattempts at cleanup, and how the smog battle helped mold themodern-day culture of Los Angeles. There are scofflaws aplenty anddirty deals, plus murders, suicides, spiritual despair, and anever-present paranoia about mass disaster. Brimming with historic photographs, forgotten anecdotes, a

This is the definitive visual guide to 5,000 years of Britishhistory. "The History of Britain Ireland" traces the keyevents that have shaped the British Isles. From the Elizabethan ageof Shakespeare to the Iraq and Afghan wars of the 21st century,this beautifully illustrated book offers a definitive visualchronicle of the most colourful and defining episodes in Britishhistory. Packed with visually arresting illustrations and clear,concise text, you can now explore the long and fascinating story ofthe British Isles. It includes profiles of key people in historysuch as Geoffrey Chaucer, Alfred the Great, Charles Dickens, QueenElizabeth I and Winston Churchill. "The History of Britain Ireland" is ideal as a family reference for the home as well as akey history companion for schools.