A complete and harmonious history of music, from prehistory to the present day!Have you ever wondered how blues influenced rock music? Or why jazz took a more Latin-American approach? Classical or rock, everyone has their favorite music style, but how did your top choice come about? If you find yourself asking these musical questions and more, then this may be the book for you! Music is a compelling and richly illustrated history of the most unifying art form in the world. Explore the roots of all genres from chants of the middle ages through the grandeur of the classical period to the modern rhythm of blues, jazz, hip-hop, and pop. Music includes illustrated histories of instruments and listening suggestions for each musical genre. Spectacular galleries display families of instruments from around the world, while special features showcase the evolution of key instruments, such as the piano and the guitar, and profile iconic innovators such as Billie Holiday, David Bowie, and Mozart. Charting every musical revolution, from bone flutes to electronica and from jazz to hip-hop, this visually stunning history of music will hit the right note, whether you are into pop or rock, or disco or rap, classical or opera.Explore the magical world of music as you've never known it before, and discover: - Revolutionary musical developments outlined step by step- Biographies profiling the lives and works of groundbreaking musicians- Collection spreads feature families of instruments, such as the gamelan- "Story of" spreads chart the evolution of individual instruments- Key Works boxes provide listening suggestions for different music styles- Illustrated glossary clearly explains musical terminology and genresThis magnificent book about music charts and explains the entire global history of music, whether it's music in the Middle Ages, to the Sounds of Soul, music in the Romance period to the Renaissance and so much more. This new edition of Music has been updated with the latest facts and information, including the latest on streaming music, with specially-commissioned photography including a Stradivarius guitar, the earliest cello known to survive and a guitar used personally by Bob Dylan!A must-have volume for musicians, music students or simply those wanting to learn about the history of their favorite music genre or their chosen instrument, Music is sure to delight!

**The instant New York Times bestseller.***An international bestseller.*Finalist for the Lane Anderson AwardFinalist for the RBC Taylor Award“Hugely impressive, a major work.”—NPRA pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate   Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito.   Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power.   The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village.   Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable.   Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.

“Each [essay is] a model of clarity, weight, gravity . . . each superbly centered on the moods, manners, works . . . of ten exemplary men and women” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).“Dark times” is Brecht's phrase, and Hannah Arendt uses it suggest that those she writes about are not “mouthpieces of the Zeitgeist”, but, rather, that the routine repetitive horrors of the twentieth century form the substance of the dark against which their lives of illumination were lived. Containing essays from Dr. Arendt on Karl Jaspers, Rosa Luxemburg, Pope John XXIII, Isak Dinesen, Bertolt Brecht, Randall Jarrell, and others whose lives and work shed light on the early part of the century.

This funny, "extraordinary and thought-provoking" (The Wall Street Journal) book asks whether we are in fact the superior species. As it turns out, the truth is stranger—and far more interesting—than we have been led to believe.If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal overturns everything we thought we knew about human intelligence, and asks the question: would humans be better off as narwhals? Or some other, less brainy species? There’s a good argument to be made that humans might be a less successful animal species precisely because of our amazing, complex intelligence.   All our unique gifts like language, math, and science do not make us happier or more “successful” (evolutionarily speaking) than other species. Our intelligence allowed us to split the atom, but we’ve harnessed that knowledge to make machines of war. We are uniquely susceptible to bullshit (though, cuttlefish may be the best liars in the animal kingdom); our bizarre obsession with lawns has contributed to the growing threat of climate change; we are sexually diverse like many species yet stand apart as homophobic; and discriminate among our own as if its natural, which it certainly is not. Is our intelligence more of a curse than a gift?     As scientist Justin Gregg persuasively argues, there’s an evolutionary reason why human intelligence isn’t more prevalent in the animal kingdom. Simply put, non-human animals don’t need it to be successful. And, miraculously, their success arrives without the added baggage of destroying themselves and the planet in the process.  In seven mind-bending and hilarious chapters, Gregg highlights one feature seemingly unique to humans—our use of language, our rationality, our moral systems, our so-called sophisticated consciousness—and compares it to our animal brethren. Along the way, remarkable tales of animal smarts emerge, as you’ll discover:  “A dazzling, delightful read on what animal cognition can teach us about our own mental shortcomings.” —Adam Grant    The house cat who’s better at picking winning stocks than actual fund managers     Elephants who love to drink    Pigeons who are better than radiologists at spotting cancerous tissue    Bumblebees who are geniuses at teaching each other soccer What emerges is both demystifying and remarkable, and will change how you look at animals, humans, and the meaning of life itself. San Francisco Chronicle bestseller •  BOOKRIOT Best Books of the Year • Next Big Idea Book Club Best Science Books of the Year “I love the book, and everyone should read it.” —Ryan Holiday "Undeniably entertaining." —TheNew York Times

A lively look at the influence of Ancient Greece on contemporary culture—“A primer, lavish lecture and love song” (Kirkus Reviews).Why is ancient Greece important? Because, quite simply, if we want to understand the modern Western world, we need to look back to the Greeks. Consider the way we think about ethics, about the nature of beauty and truth, about our place in the universe, about our mortality. All this we have learned from the ancient Greeks. They molded the basic disciplines and genres in which we still organize thought, from poetry to drama, from medicine to philosophy, from history to ethnography.Packed with useful facts, including a timeline, a “mythology for dummies,” a who’s who, a guide to Homer’s epics, and a handy map for those struggling to know their Lemnos from their Lesbos, It’s All Greek to Me is an entertaining and insightful tour through the world of the ancient Greeks. Why are some laws Draconian? What is an Achilles’ heel? Why were the Spartans spartan? Charlotte Higgins provides these answers and more, arming average readers with the knowledge they need to understand the Greeks and their tremendous contributions to our lives. This book aims to unlock the richness of a fascinating culture and place it where it should be—in the mainstream of life.