This book takes readers back and forth through achievements of 100 world's most inspirational and influential people (from brainy biologists and clever chemists to magnificent mathematicians and phenomenal physicists) who have shaped our society and how we see the world around us.

There are nearly 7 billion people in the world today. We are living longer, healthier, and better lives than anyone who has gone before. And this is the result of a whole chain of people who have invented or discovered something that has changed our world. Where would we be without inventors, philosophers, economists, politicians, explorers, and other "ideas" people? Some of our historical heroes were lone geniuses but many were influenced by other great thinkers and ideas. There would be no Facebook without the internet-and no internet with computers. And there could be no computers without the great mathematicians and philosophers of ancient times. So who's the Genius-Mark Zuckerberg, or Pythagoras? We think it's both. This is why every spread features a panel called "They couldn't have done it without...", revealing the people who made earlier contributions to the cause. With chapters on medicine and food processes, entertainment and culture, there's something in 100 People Who Made History for everyone. Full of true-life stories and famous celebs, 100 People proves that history can be exciting and relevant. So let's hear it for the heroes from throughout the ages: those who save lives, those who improve lives, and those who make our lives just that bit more enjoyable.

Collected in one volume, here are backfires and blunders that collapsed empires, crashed economies, and altered the course of the world. From the Maginot Line to the Cuban Missile Crisis, history is filled with bad moves and not-so-bright ideas that snowballed into disasters and unintended consequences. This engrossing book looks at one hundred such tipping points. Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. The Caliphs of Baghdad spend themselves into bankruptcy. The Aztecs greet the Conquistadors with open arms. Mexico invites the Americans to Texas-and the Americans never leave. And the rest is history...

Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World delivers a empowering book for women and girls of all ages, featuring 100 women who made history and made their mark on the world, it's a best-selling book you can be proud to display in your home. The 100 revolutionary women highlighted in this gorgeously illustrated book were bad in the best sense of the word: they challenged the status quo and changed the rules for all who followed. Explored in this history book, include: • Aphra Behn, first female professional writer. • Sojourner Truth, women's rights activist and abolitionist. • Ada Lovelace, first computer programmer. • Marie Curie, first woman to win the Nobel Prize. • Joan Jett, godmother of punk. From pirates to artists, warriors, daredevils, women in science, activists, and spies, the accomplishments of these incredible women who dared to push boundaries vary as much as the eras and places in which they effected change. Featuring bold watercolor portraits and illuminating essays by Ann Shen, Bad Girls Throughout History is a distinctive, gift-worthy tribute to rebel girls everywhere. A lovely gift for teen girls, stories to share with a young girl at bedtime, or a book to display on a coffee table, everyone will enjoy learning about and celebrating the accomplishments of these phenomenal women.

This book takes a dramatically original approach to the history of humanity, using objects which previous civilisations have left behind them, often accidentally, as prisms through which we can explore past worlds and the lives of the men and women who lived in them. The book's range is enormous. It begins with one of the earliest surviving objects made by human hands, a chopping tool from the Olduvai gorge in Africa, and ends with an object from the 21st century which represents the world we live in today. Neil MacGregor's aim is not simply to describe these remarkable things, but to show us their significance - how a stone pillar tells us about a great Indian emperor preaching tolerance to his people, how Spanish pieces of eight tell us about the beginning of a global currency or how an early Victorian tea-set tells us about the impact of empire. Each chapter immerses the reader in a past civilisation accompanied by an exceptionally well-informed guide. Seen through this lens, history is a kaleidoscope - shifting, interconnected, constantly surprising, and shaping our world today in ways that most of us have never imagined. An intellectual and visual feast, it is one of the most engrossing and unusual history books published in years.

Here is a book that will surely spark a lively debate. Who are the hundred most influential religious and political leaders, artists, scientists, and adventurers of all time? How is it even possible to construct such a list? Now, the editors of LIFE comb history, compare notes and dive in. Find out who makes the cut: King Tut or Cleopatra? Thomas Jefferson or George Washington; The Rolling Stones or The Beatles; Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. This is a look at history told through its most charismatic and fascinating characters. It is also full of fun facts, tidbits, arguments and rarely seen pictures, and will appeal to curious minds, young and old alike.

Listing of 100 people from around the world and from many different fields of endeavor, whose actions--the author has determined--have had, or will have, the greatest influence on the course of history.