No period in British history has more resonance and mystery today than the sixteenth century. New Worlds, Lost Worlds brings the atmosphere and events of this great epoch to life. Exploring the underlying religious motivations for the savage violence and turbulence of the period-from Henry VIII's break with Rome to the overwhelming threat of the Spanish Armada-Susan Brigden investigates the actions and influences of such near-mythical figures as Elizabeth I, Thomas More, Bloody Mary, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Authoritative and accessible, New Worlds, Lost Worlds, the latest in the Penguin History of Britain series, provides a superb introduction to one of the most important, compelling, and intriguing periods in the history of the Western world.

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"Funny, erudite and fascinating, Bywater's 'Lost worlds' is a treasure trove of spectacularly miscellaneous knowledge, all of it worth knowing, about things lost and gone, many of them worh regretting. Bywater writes with a razor-sharp wit and flashes of real profundity; his magpie genius has found a dazzling outlet here" -- preview by A.C. Grayling (first page)

A gripping tale of 150 years of scientific adventure, research, and discovery at the Yale Peabody Museum This fascinating book tells the story of how one museum changed ideas about dinosaurs, dynasties, and even the story of life on earth. The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, now celebrating its 150th anniversary, has remade the way we see the world. Delving into the museum's storied and colorful past, award-winning author Richard Conniff introduces a cast of bold explorers, roughneck bone hunters, and visionary scientists. Some became famous for wresting Brontosaurus, Triceratops, and other dinosaurs from the earth, others pioneered the introduction of science education in North America, and still others rediscovered the long-buried glory of Machu Picchu. In this lively tale of events, achievements, and scandals from throughout the museum's history. Readers will encounter renowned paleontologist O. C. Marsh who engaged in ferocious combat with his "Bone Wars" rival Edward Drinker Cope, as well as dozens of other intriguing characters. Nearly 100 color images portray important figures in the Peabody's history and special objects from the museum's 13-million-item collections. For anyone with an interest in exploring, understanding, and protecting the natural world, this book will deliver abundant delights.

Walk in the footsteps of the first fossil researchers to discover the earliest animal life on Earth. Explore whether dinosaurs had scales, fur, or feathers. Find out how fish learned to walk. This lively history combines storytelling with science to bring to life incredible creatures that once walked the Earth--the hallucigenia (a creature without tail or head), the tiktaalik (a walking fish), the plesiosaur (a peaceful sea dragon), and many more. Told with illustrations, comics, and facts, it shows how fossils tell a fascinating story about our oldest known species and how scientific thinking evolves.