Quick Reads. Deep Knowledge

On December 2, 1840, on the anniversary of his glorious victory at the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon was given a proper funeral in Paris

On November 9, 1799, Napoleon launched his coup

The man who would become known to history as Napoleon Bonaparte was born as Napoleone di Buonaparte on August 15, 1769. His birthplace was C

How Napoleon became a general at the age of 24 before going on to revolutionize the French military

In the future, Homo sapiens will transcend biological limits, eventually replacing itself with an entire new species

Today’s global society, with its central belief in the power of capitalism, is a legacy of European imperialism

The scientific revolution modernized humanity, paving the way for new technologies, imperialism and economic growth

The emergence of empires and religion pushed humankind in the direction of global unification

In order to facilitate trade in large communities, humans invented money and writing

During the Agricultural Revolution, humans transformed from foragers into farmers, which led to exponential population growth

The capacity for complex language gave Homo sapiens great advantages, allowing them to spread and thrive

With the Cognitive Revolution, Homo sapiens acquired thinking and communication skills that allowed them to conquer the globe

Although not the first humans, Homo sapiens came to replace all other human species on Earth

A Brief History of Humankind

"The Great Influenza" by John M. Barry is a comprehensive and gripping account of the 1918 influenza pandemic

Long after the pandemic, scientists remained obsessed with finding a cure. For most, this quest ended in disappointment

The pandemic slowly abated, but the true scope of its consequences is hard to fathom

The US government’s inaction contributed to catastrophic loss of life all over the world

America’s best scientists set about understanding what caused the virus, but their research only led to more questions

The 1918 flu was quick, grisly, and more likely to come for the young and healthy