We all know that mankind can't live without air, food and water...the same is true of salt. The salt on your table is a key to unlocking the story of our planet and the cosmos. Big History reveals how this simple molecule underpins our civilization.

Impacts from space have created our planet and just about everything in it. Like celestial supply ships, they brought in water, metal, and maybe even life.

Eating meat made us human...by giving us bigger brains, better tools, and spoken language. The human need for beef has driven history across the hemispheres, but how did we turn an ancient mega-beast into the cow we have today?

Humans have small teeth and no claws or armor, so how do we project our power? Warfare has defined traditional history, but Big History digs deeper to reveal how it all began.

They form natural boundaries, dictate how we spread around the planet, create natural defenses, and control our weather.

How does the cellphone in your pocket link to the Big Bang, the evolution of human memory, and even the Titanic disaster? Big History reveals how cosmic forces conspired to give us the tool that has revolutionized the planet.

Reveals how cold has the power to turn men into Barbarians, spark history's longest running war, and create the concept of race.

Water is the miracle molecule, and mankind has used its perfect properties to revolutionize our lives. It was our first superhighway, the lifeblood of civilization, and gives us 90% of all the power we use today.

Throughout recorded history there have been reports of individuals or groups of people being treated unequally or unfairly for various reasons like the color of their skin or the people they love. Rights in the ancient world were much different than modern human rights. People were sometimes bought and traded like property. In the medieval world, this changed to where merchants and some women had special rights that common people did not have. Most...

This book explores how throughout time societies have switched from basic bartering and trading to using money to exchange items of value. Topics such as the origins of trade and Europe's trade routes will be touched upon and will provide readers with the tools necessary for further studying this topic. Readers will also learn about how these things have influenced modern trading in this digitally connected age. Money and trade are two aspects of...