Greg Jenner: 'Dead Famous Out Now'

Public Historian ~ #DeadFamous ~ I host #YoureDeadToMe & #HomeschoolHistory on @BBCSounds~ Chief Nerd BBC #HorribleHistories ~ Hon. @RHULhistory ~ #COYS

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Book Recommendations:

Managed to grab a rare spare hour to speed read @LeMoustier’s new book Kindred about Neanderthals. It’s fantastic, such beautiful prose and so many interesting ideas. Pre-Order a copy! You can hear her chat with @timminchin & me on #YoureDeadToMe here https://t.co/6TfcQLwFMW (from X)

"Kindred is important reading not just for anyone interested in these ancient cousins of ours, but also for anyone interested in humanity."--The New York Times Book Review "[A] bold and magnificent attempt to resurrect our Neanderthal kin."--The Wall Street Journal In Kindred, Neanderthal expert Rebecca Wragg Sykes shoves aside the cliché of the shivering ragged figure in an icy wasteland, and reveals the Neanderthal you don't know, our ancestor who lived across vast and diverse tracts of Eurasia and survived through hundreds of thousands of years of massive climate change. This book sheds new light on where they lived, what they ate, and the increasingly complex Neanderthal culture that researchers have discovered. Since their discovery 150 years ago, Neanderthals have gone from the losers of the human family tree to A-list hominins. Our perception of the Neanderthal has changed dramatically, but despite growing scientific curiosity, popular culture fascination, and a wealth of coverage in the media and beyond are we getting the whole story? The reality of 21st century Neanderthals is complex and fascinating, yet remains virtually unknown and inaccessible outside the scientific literature. Based on the author's first-hand experience at the cutting-edge of Palaeolithic research and theory, this easy-to-read but information-rich book lays out the first full picture we have of the Neanderthals, from amazing new discoveries changing our view of them forever, to the more enduring mysteries of how they lived and died, and the biggest question of them all: their relationship with modern humans.

If you’ve not read it yet, the brilliant book The Silk Roads (I think sold 2 million copies?) is on kindle offer today 👍👍👍 https://t.co/6A1Mi1hPfV (from X)

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Silk Road, then keep reading... The Silk Road, which has been understood as a generalized route of trade between the East and the West, is different from European, North African, and Near Eastern trade routes because until recently, it has been understood as solely being a land route; in fact, it was believed to be the longest overland trade route in human history. The history of the Silk Road is extremely complex. It cannot be told as a singular chronological narrative. Different cultures and societies rose and vanished along the Silk Road, and peoples migrated from one region to another. In short, for most of its history, there was fluidity as to the dominant cultures along the route or routes. Explaining the rise and fall or disappearance of these cultures involves stopping along the way to consider the chronology of their histories. In The Silk Road: A Captivating Guide to the Ancient Network of Trade Routes Established during the Han Dynasty of China and How It Connected the East and West, you will discover topics such as Rome, Silk, and Ancient GeographyHan Silk Production and TradeThe Kingdom of LoulanBuddhists along the Silk RoadTurfan: An Oasis on the Silk RoadThe Legend of Prester JohnGenghis Khan, Ruler of the Whole WorldThe Lord of Xanadu, Kublai Khan: The Emperor of ChinaMarco Polo Visits Kublai Khan's ChinaThe Final Years of Kublai KhanAnd much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the Silk Road scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!

Comedians are often more perceptive, persuasive, and powerful than we give them credit for. And Trevor Noah is one of the absolute best, his book Born A Crime is well worth a read, and this is worth a watch 👇 https://t.co/7uaDLjjGDR (from X)

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • More than one million copies sold! A “brilliant” (Lupita Nyong’o, Time), “poignant” (Entertainment Weekly), “soul-nourishing” (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid “Noah’s childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa’s history that must never be forgotten.”—Esquire Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and an NAACP Image Award • Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Time, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Esquire, Newsday, and Booklist Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.

@SVaughanAuthor @KateWilliamsme Cheers! Kate’s book is a great read (from X)

From the New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Queen Victoria, a new history of Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I that reveals how the most important relationship of their life—their friendship—changed them forever. Elizabeth and Mary were cousins and queens, but eventually it became impossible for them to live together in the same world.This is the story of two women struggling for supremacy in a man’s world, when no one thought a woman could govern. They both had to negotiate with men—those who wanted their power and those who wanted their bodies—who were determined to best them. In their worlds, female friendship and alliances were unheard of, but for many years theirs was the only friendship that endured. They were as fascinated by each other as lovers; until they became enemies. Enemies so angry and broken that one of them had to die, and so Elizabeth ordered the execution of Mary.But first they were each other’s lone female friends in a violent man’s world. Their relationship was one of love, affection, jealousy, antipathy – and finally death. This book tells the story of Mary and Elizabeth as never before, focusing on their emotions and probing deeply into their intimate lives as women and queens.They loved each other, they hated each other—and in the end they could never escape each other.