Tom Standage

From beer to Coca-Cola, the six drinks that have helped shape human history.

Throughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal historical period.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity from the

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A look at the history of human transportation, from the invention of the wheel through the era of horsepower, trains, and bicycles, revealing how transportation inevitably shapes civilization.

Papyrus rolls and Twitter have much in common, as each was their generation's signature means of "instant" communication. Indeed, as Tom Standage reveals in his scintillating new book, social media is anything but a new phenomenon. From the papyrus letters that Roman statesmen used to exchange news across the Empire to the advent of hand-printed tracts of the Reformation to the pamphlets that spread propaganda during the American and French revolutions,...

Chronicles social media over two millennia, from papyrus letters that Cicero used to exchange news across the Empire to today, reminding us how modern behavior echoes that of prior centuries and encouraging debate and discussion about how we'll communicate in the future.

"Go Figure: Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know brings together for the first time the very best explainers and charts, written and created by top journalists to help us understand such brain-bending conundrums as why almost half the population of Korea has one of two surnames, how bitcoin mining works, and the seasonal distribution of dog poo on the streets of New York. Subjects both topical and timeless, profound and peculiar, are explained with...