The life, times, and historical legacy of the man who created modern EuropeEvery facet of the rule and legacy of one of the most remarkable rulers in European history is explored in this magisterial new study. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne is a defining figure of both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. Crowned king of the Franks in 768, he expanded their kingdoms into an empire that incorporated much of western and central Europe, recreating a single Christian imperium in the heartlands of the old Western Roman empire for the first time since the decline and...

'Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfil themselves.'

These powerful words, spoken by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural address as the new president of South Africa, are taken from just one of the forty important and thought-provoking speeches in this collection.

Ranging from 1945 to the present day, they provide an important insight into the modern world. Inspirational speeches by Winston Churchill, Mikhail Gorbachev, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama and many others are supplemented with biographies of each speaker, as well an exploration...

The currents of History run deep and often unseen beneath the everyday ripple of events. But now and again the current rises to the surface, and the events of a single day shed an exceptional light on the meaning of the past. Such events are the subject of Days that Changed the World. Some of the 52 days described here mark the end of an era; others the start of something new. Many are the dates of bloody battles or murders; others of momentous decisions or breathtaking discoveries. All are remembered as powerful symbols of their time. Our story begins almost 2500 years ago on 28 September...