History Month takes place throughout October. Time to organize another book special and choose your favourite.
As part of the History Month, the History &Archeology editors of Kennislink have once again listed a number of books. We invite you to choose your favorite from these books. You can vote at the bottom of this page. By casting your vote you have a chance to win the book Bloodbroeders by John Dickie.
The Sicilian Mafia is by no means the only and most powerful criminal fraternity in Italy. The south of the country is home to two other sizable mafias:the Camorra, from Naples and environs, and the 'ndrangheta, the mafia of Calabria. Each has its own dark rituals and forms of violence, intimidation and corruption.
John Dickie explores the myths that surround these three organizations. He shows how they worked together, but especially how they fought each other or even ended up in all-out war.
Ambo Publishers | Anthos proposes six copies of the book Blood Brothers from John Dickie available to raffle among the people who vote for their favorite book. So scroll down quickly to the nominated books below to cast your vote! 1
1 Employees of NEMO and Kennislink are excluded from participation. You can vote until November 6, 2011. Only the winners will receive a personal message by e-mail. There will be no correspondence about the result.
The Peloponnesian War
by Donald Kagan
The growing power of Athens, which was undergoing a period of great cultural and democratic prosperity under Pericles, sparked the three-decade great Peloponnesian War against Sparta and its allies. A war that has also been called 'the first real world war', in which all belief in institutions, traditions, moral and cultural values was overthrown and fought with each other. A brutal war, without precedent, that caused a regression from a high culture to a barbaric culture, from a newly emerged democracy to a tyrannical oligarchy, with unprecedented atrocities and countless victims. Historian Donald Kagan writes compellingly about it in his book The Peloponnesian War .
The Birth of Classical Europe
by Simon Price and Peter Thonemann
To this day we live in the shadow of classical antiquity. At every level of society, from the language through the calendars to the political systems, our society is a clear descendant of 'classic Europe'. We are children of ancient Mediterranean cultures. The birth of classical Europe exposes our roots. On the one hand, it is an authoritative work of history with a beautiful style. On the other hand, it shows how our changing norms and interests have shaped our idea of an era; an era that is far behind us by some standards, but surprisingly close by others.
Olympic Games
by Charles Hupperts
Sport is a key to Greek culture. Sport was a very important part of the education of the Greek youth, it formed the basis for military training and was the leisure activity of choice for the Greek man. Sport also reflected values and norms that were central to citizens' lives. Sport was also practiced in Greece as part of major religious festivals. The most famous example of this is the Olympic Games, which have been organized for more than a thousand years in ancient times. These Games were dedicated to the god Zeus. An Olympic victory was seen as a gift from the god and the violation of the rules of the game was a form of sacrilege punished by the god. Sport was thus linked to social norms, the aesthetic ideal and to sexual habits. Charles Hupperts gives in his book Olympic Games all ancient sources on sports price.
A Little History of Amsterdam
by Geert Mak
A short history of Amsterdam really needs no introduction, but for the few who don't know the book:in A small history of Amsterdam Geert Mak describes the history of Amsterdam in an extremely accessible and visual way. On the basis of persons, buildings, diaries, paintings and photographs, he offers a kaleidoscope of mini-histories, which are always placed in a broader perspective. This creates a concise but complete picture of the past of this remarkable city.
The History of the Mediterranean
by David Abulafia
The Mediterranean has been one of the centers of human civilization for more than three thousand years, from historic Troy, the rise and fall of the Greek city-states and the Roman Empire, to the flourishing of late medieval Italian cities. David Abulafia has described the complete history for the first time with his impressive book. In his story he brilliantly portrays individuals whose lives penetratingly illustrate the larger developments, from Gibraltar to Jaffa and from Venice to Alexandria. The history of the Mediterranean shows the breathtaking ethnic, religious and political diversity of the peoples who did not hinder prosperity and progress, but rather prospered.
The Seven Lives of Rome
by Robert Hughes
Rome is not mistakenly called the 'Eternal City'. In classical antiquity it was the superior capital of the Roman Empire. Since the Christianization, Rome became the center of the Christian world - the city of the popes - and from the end of the nineteenth century the capital of a reunited Italy at last. The Seven Lives of Rome is the story of this fascinating and enchanting city. It is the turbulent life story of twenty-seven centuries, of a city of seven lives, built on seven hills. A book that finds its building blocks in the culture of ancient, but also of modern Rome.