Ian Crofton

Conventional chronologies of world history concentrate on the reigns of kings and queens, the dates of battles and treaties, the publication dates of great books, the completion of famous buildings, the deaths of iconic figures, and the years of major discoveries. But there are other more interesting stories to tell - stories that don't usually get into the history books, but which can nevertheless bring the past vividly and excitingly to life. Imagine a history lesson that spares you the details of such seminal events as the 11th-century papal-imperial conflict, that fails to say much at all about the 1815 Congress of Vienna - and that neglects entirely to mention the world-changing moment that was the 1521 Diet of Worms. Imagine instead a book that tells you the date of the ancient Roman law that made it legal to break wind at banquets; the name of the defunct medieval pope whose putrefying corpse was subjected to the humiliation of a trial before a court of law; the identity of the priapic monarch who sired more bastards than any other king of England; and last but not least the date of the demise in London of the first goat to have circumnavigated the globe twice. Imagine a book crammed with such deliciously disposable information, and you have History without the Boring Bits. By turns bizarre, surprising, trivial, and enlightening, History without the Boring Bits offers rich pickings for the browser, and entertainment and inspiration aplenty for those who have grown weary of more conventional works of history.

History Without the Boring Bits

Ever wondered where noodles came from? How Worcester Sauce was invented? Or even who the 'Cucumber King of Burma' was? Beginning with the hippo soup eaten in Africa in 6000 BC, through to the dangerous blowfish enjoyed in contemporary Japan, A Curious History of Food and Drink reveals the bizarre origins of the food and drink consumed throughout history. From the pheasant brains and flamingo tongues scoffed by the Roman emperor Vitellius, to the unusual uses of liquorice (once a treatment for sore feet) - Ian Crofton makes use of original sources - including journals, cookbooks and manuals - to reveal the bizarre, entertaining and informative stories behind the delicacies enjoyed by our ancestors.

A Curious History of Food and Drink

the story of the universe, human civilization, and everything in between

The little book of big history

٥٠ فكرة يجب أن تعرفها عن تاريخ العالم

A Dictionary of Musical Quotations (The Companion Series)

Jeremy Black

Bir Solukta Evren ve Dünya Tarihi

As an antidote to more sober accounts of Scotland's history, Ian Crofon offers a colorful chronology of the eccentric, the infamous, the bawdy, the horrific, and the hilarious people and events that have spattered across the pages of our nation's story. From the Royal High School riot to Marocco the Wonder Horse, from the War of the One-Eyed Woman to the MP cleared of stealing his ex-mistress's knickers, Scottish History Without the Boring Bits includes a host of little-known tales that you won't find in more conventional works of history. Ian Crofton's alternative history of Scotland looks at the country's past with a quizzical eye.

A Chronicle of the Curious, the Eccentric, the Atrocious and the Unlikely

Scottish History Without the Boring Bits

Buluslar, Kesifler ve Trajik Cuvallamalar Tarihi

Kilciksiz Bilim -

From the Big Bang to the future of our planet, The Little Book of Big History divides history into manageable but comprehensive time frames, encompassing the cosmos, the stars, life and everything in between. Big History is the attempt to understand and condense the entire story of the cosmos, from the Big Bang to the current day. Combining methods from history, astronomy, physics and biology to draw together the big story arcs of how the universe was created, why planets formed and how life developed, this creates a unique perspective from which to understand the place of mankind in the universe. Excited by the alternative 'framework for all knowledge' that is offered by this approach, Bill Gates is funding the Big History Project, which aims to bring the subject to a wider audience around the world. The Little Book of Big History breaks down the main themes of Big History into highly informative and accessible parts for all readers to enjoy. By giving a truly complete timeline of world events, this book shines a whole different light on history as we learned it and makes us think of our history - and our future - in a very different way.

The Story of Life, the Universe and Everything

The Little Book of Big History

The Little Book of Big History is an endeavor to encapsulate the entire story of the cosmos, from the Big Bang to the current day, into an engaging and comprehensive narrative. Combining methods from history, astronomy, physics, and biology to draw together the big story arcs of how the universe was created, why planets formed, and how life developed, the result is a unique perspective of mankind’s place in the universe.Excited by the alternative "framework for all knowledge" that is offered by this approach, Bill Gates is funding the Big History Project, which aims to bring this concept to a wider audience around the world.The Little Book of Big History breaks down the main themes of Big History into highly informative and accessible parts for all readers to enjoy. By giving a truly complete timeline of world events, this book shines a whole different light on science as we learned it and makes us think of our history—and our future—in a very different way.

Presents essays describing key events and topics througout history, from ancient times to the present day.

50 Key Milestones You Really Need to Know

World History

John Ayto

Completely updated for the twenty-first century, this reference presents definitions and origins of thousands of words, idioms, catchphrases, slogans, nicknames, and events from TV, literature, music, comic strips, and computer games.

Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable

The eerie roll-call of those who have disappeared mysteriously and apparently without trace sounds a troubling but strangely compulsive descant alongside the main themes and stories of human history. From the crew of the Mary Celeste to Lord Lucan, and from Ambrose Bierce to Jimmy Hoffa, history is littered with cases of perplexing disappearance. Beyond the wilder excesses of paranormal speculation and theories of alien abduction, their stories offer the inquisitive reader both the thrill of uncertainty and the excitement of informed guesswork as to the truth behind what appear to be utterly impenetrable mysteries.

The Disappeared

An illustrated history of the English monarchy that profiles every king and queen from the ninth century to the early twenty-first and explores the scandals, affairs, wars, revolutions, and murders that shaped the royal families and their reign.

The Kings and Queens of England

Conventional chronologies of world history concentrate on the reigns of kings and queens, the dates of battles and treaties, the publication dates of great books, the completion of famous buildings, the deaths of iconic figures, and the years of major discoveries. But there are other more interesting stories to tell--stories that don't usually get into the history books, but which can nevertheless bring the past vividly and excitingly to life. Imagine a history lesson that spares you the details of such seminal events as the 11th-century papal-imperial conflict, that fails to say much at all about the 1815 Congress of Vienna--and that neglects entirely to mention the world-changing moment that was the 1521 Diet of Worms. Imagine instead a book that tells you the date of the ancient Roman law that made it legal to break wind at banquets; the name of the defunct medieval pope whose putrefying corpse was subjected to the humiliation of a trial before a court of law; the identity of the priapic monarch who sired more bastards than any other king of England; and last but not least the date of the demise in London of the first goat to have circumnavigated the globe twice. Imagine a book crammed with such deliciously disposable information, and you have History without the Boring Bits. By turns bizarre, surprising, trivial, and enlightening, History without the Boring Bits offers rich pickings for the browser, and entertainment and inspiration aplenty for those who have grown weary of more conventional works of history.

People often complain that in history lessons at school they were taught just a few topics - the Romans, the Tudors, the Nazis - and how they have no idea at all about what happened in between. To remedy this, World History: 50 Key Milestones You Really Need to Know offers brief and stimulating outlines of key developments in the history of the world, from the beginning of agriculture 10,000 years ago to the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Ian Crofton, the author of several books of popular history including The Kings and Queens of England, Traitors and Turncoats and History Without the Boring Bits, brings his lively style to bear in a series of essays ranging from ancient Egypt to modern China, from the Vikings and the Mongols to the French Revolution and the Cold War. Each essay is accompanied by a detailed time line of dates and events, and the flavour of the period concerned is brought to life by selected contemporary quotations from figures as diverse as Aristotle, Ashoka, Saladin, Christopher Columbus, Martin Luther, Suleiman the Magnificent, Galileo, Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, Mary Wollstonecraft, Napoleon, Lincoln, Lenin and Winston Churchill. In addition, box features throw light on a range of related topics, from the Nazca Lines to Renaissance man, from Confucianism and the state to Alexander the Great's horse, from Islamic science and the Barbary corsairs to the Enigma code and the atomic bomb.

Imagine a book that provides an endlessly browsable alternative history of the world. Imagine a book that brings the past vividly and excitingly to life. Imagine a book brimming with a bizarre, surprising, trivial selection of rich pickings for the browser, and entertainment and inspiration aplenty for those who have grown weary of more conventional works of history.This is that book!

In 2013 Ian Crofton undertook a journey he had been pondering for years: a walk along the Border between Scotland and England. It would be an exploration both of his own identity - not quite Scottish, not quite English - and of a largely unexplored stretch of country. Apart from the line marked on the map, the route is not obvious. For much of its length the Border either follows the middle of various rivers, or traces the Southern Upland watershed, an area of bleak moorland and dense conifer plantations. During the course of his walk, Ian Crofton investigates the history, literature and legend of the Border. He talks to a range of people he comes across - farmers, landladies, bar staff, anglers, labourers, shepherds, shopkeepers - to find out what they make of the Border, if anything at all. Such conversations lead to a consideration of the very nature of borders. Do they provide a necessary defence of the nationstate? Or are they, in this day and age, an affront to global justice? Walking the Border is in the best traditions of travel writing, combining vivid description with human insight, the whole spiced with a wry sense of the absurdity and necessity of both inward and outward journeys.

A Journey Between Scotland and England

Walking the Border

Greece has its sun-soaked Cyclades and Dodecanese; Scotland its Northern Isles and rain-drenched Hebrides and Ireland the Arans and Skelligs. And what has England got? The isles of Canvey, Sheppey, Wight and Dogs, Mersea, Brownsea, Two Tree and Rat. But there are also wilder, rockier places – Lundy, the Scillies, Holy Island, the Farnes. These islands and their inhabitants not only cast varied lights on the mainland, they also possess their own peculiar stories: the Barbary slavers who once occupied Lundy; the ex-major who seized a wartime fort in the North Sea and declared himself Prince of Sealand; the wrecked munitions ship off the Isle of Sheppey that one day might unleash an unimaginable cataclysm, and much more besides. He also describes his encounters with island wildlife, from puffins to porpoises, and recounts the varied ways in which England’s islands have been formed, and how they are constantly changing.

An English Island Odyssey

Fringed With Mud & Pearls

Under Crofton's collector's eye, the rollicking spirit of Scotland, old and modern, comes proudly alive' - Sunday Herald Scottish History without the Boring Bits offers a colourful melange of the bawdy, the bloody, the horrific and the hilarious episodes and characters that have spattered the pages of our nation's story. From the War of the One-Eyed Woman to the MP cleared of stealing his ex-mistress's knickers, Ian Crofton presents a host of little-known tales that you won't find in more conventional works of history. The story starts in the 4th millennium BC with the expulsion from Eden of the first Scot. It then makes its way via the medieval bishop roasted in butter and the appearance of the Devil in Ayrshire disguised as a lady's lapdog, right up to the twenty-first century, when US intelligence identified a distillery on Islay as a possible threat to world peace. So forget the usual parade of what James Bridie called 'Wallace-the-Bruceism' and 'Charlie-over-the-waterism'. That's all history. Here, for the first time, is the story of Scotland as it's never been told before. Praise for Ian Crofton's A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable: 'The kind of book you find yourself immersed in long after you should have put it down' Times Literary Supplement

Ian Crofton

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