Tells the history of the modest family which rose to become one of the most powerful in Europe. This title explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence, as well as the Italian Renaissance which they did so much to sponsor and encourage.

Reveals the paradoxes, self-doubts and political compromises which made the battle for the soul of the Renaissance city one of the most complex and important moments in Western history.

Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 was the first attack on a Middle Eastern country by a Western power in modern times. He was just twenty-eight when he invaded Egypt and it was an episode which contained in embryo many seminal events in his later life. This work looks at his epic military victories and his declaration of himself as emperor.

In this study, Paul Strathern details the incidental convergence of three of Renaissance Italy's most brilliant minds. 'The Artist, the Philosopher and the Warrior' follows Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia through the mountains, remote villages and hill towns of the Italian Romagna.

A dazzling new history of the world through ten major empires.

* * A Daily Mail Book of the Week * * The sensational story of the rise and fall of one of the most notorious families in history. ____________________ 'A wickedly entertaining read' The Times ____________________ The Borgias have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthlessness, avarice and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. But the story of this remarkable family is far more than a tale of sensational depravities - it also marks the golden age of the Italian Renaissance and a decisive turning point in European history. From the family's...