Studies in Ancient Greek Topography


Book Description




Energy and Civilization


Book Description

A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.




An Archaeological Perspective on the History of Technology


Book Description

This volume represents an introduction to a new world-wide attempt to review the history of technology, which is one of few since the pioneering publications of the 1960s. It takes an explicit archaeological focus to the study of the history of technology and adopts a more explicit socially-embedded view of technology than has commonly been the case in mainstream histories of technology. In doing so, it attempts to introduce a more radical element to explanations of technological change, involving magic, alchemy, animism - in other words, attempting to consider technological change in terms of the 'world view' of those involved in such change rather than from an exclusively western scientific perspective.




Leviticus and Numbers


Book Description

Many today find the Old Testament a closed book. The cultural issues seem insurmountable and we are easily baffled by that which seems obscure. Furthermore, without knowledge of the ancient culture we can easily impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This series invites you to enter the Old Testament with a company of guides, experts that will give new insights into these cherished writings. Features include • Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text. • Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more. • Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. • Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.




Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs


Book Description

Many today find the Old Testament a closed book. The cultural issues seem insurmountable and we are easily baffled by that which seems obscure. Furthermore, without knowledge of the ancient culture we can easily impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This series invites you to enter the Old Testament with a company of guides, experts that will give new insights into these cherished writings. Features include • Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text. • Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more. • Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. • Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.




Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia In their Local Setting


Book Description

With a new foreword by David E. Aune, this modern classic by Colin J. Hemer explores the seven letters in the book of Revelation against the historical background of the churches to which they were addressed. Based on literary, epigraphical, and archaeological sources and informed by Hemer's firsthand knowledge of the biblical sites, this superb study presents in the clearest way possible a picture of the New Testament world in the later part of the first century and its significance for broader questions of church history.




The Romans


Book Description

Roman civilization is one of the bases of the modern world. The extraordinary achievements of Rome--political, military, cultural--and its dramatic, thousand-year history, during which it grew to dominate the whole world of classical antiquity before being overwhelmed in its turn, have been continuously studied and variously interpreted ever since. Rome has been commended for its administration, praised for its system of justice, admired for its arts and technology, extolled for its "virtues," such as love of freedom, independence, discipline, courage, and austerity. It has also been condemned for its aggression, its exploitation of slaves, its excesses, and the decadence that led to its decline. But such was Rome's impact, and so remarkable was the empire it built, that its influence has never ceased to be felt. Whether as a model of political power, of moral behavior, or of social control, Rome with its splendors and triumphs, its failings and disasters, is an inexhaustible quarry for the lessons that its history offers and the legacies that it has bequeathed. Karl Christ conveys the essence of this vital Roman tradition with a coherence and compact precision that few scholars, if any, have been able to achieve. Following the main chronological developments of Roman history, he combines the necessary minimum of political and military narrative with lucid social and economic analysis, separate chapters of Roman ways of life and law, and wide-ranging coverage of literature, art, science, technology, and religion. With maps and photographs as well as a specially prepared bibliography for further reading, The Romans is the most up-to-date, authoritative and comprehensive single-volume introduction to the history and civilization of Ancient Rome.




Renewable Energy


Book Description

This four-volume set, edited by a leading expert in the field, brings together in one collection a series of papers that have been fundamental to the development of renewable energy as a defined discipline. Some of the papers were first published many years ago, but they remain classics in their fields and retain their relevance to the understanding of current issues. The papers have been selected with the assistance of an eminent international editorial board. The set includes a general introduction and each volume is introduced by a new overview essay, placing the selected papers in context. The range of subject matter is considerable, including coverage of all the main renewable technologies, the fundamental principles by which they function, and the issues around their deployment such as planning, integration and socio-economic assessment. Overall, the set provides students, teachers and researchers, confronted with thousands of journal articles, book chapters and grey literature stretching back decades, with a ready-made selection of and commentary on the most important key writings in renewable energy. It will be an essential reference for libraries concerned with energy, technology and the environment.




The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament


Book Description

This unique commentary provides historical, social and cultural background for each passage of the Old Testament. From Genesis through Malachi, this single volume gathers and condenses an abundance of specialized knowledge, and includes a glossary, maps and charts, and expanded explanations of significant background issues.