Bøger i Wonders of the World serien

For 1,400 years, two colossal Buddhas overlooked the Bamiyan Valley on the Silk Road in Afghanistan. The Buddhas embodied the intersection of East and West, and their destruction by the Taliban in 2001 provoked international outrage. Morgan excavates the layers of meaning these vanished wonders hold for a fractured Afghanistan.

Built by the decree of Constantine, rebuilt by Renaissance Italian architects, emulated by Hitler’s architect, immortalized by Fellini, and fictionalized by an American bestseller, St. Peter’s is the world’s most recognizable church. Miller covers the social, political, and architectural history of the church from the fourth century to the present.

Mycenae, the fabled city of Homer¿s King Agamemnon, leapt into the headlines in the late nineteenth century when Heinrich Schliemann announced that he had opened the Tomb of Agamemnon and found the body of the hero smothered in gold treasure. In this book, historian of science Cathy Gere tells the story of these extraordinary ruins.

The Rosetta Stone is one of the world¿s great wonders, attracting awed pilgrims by the tens of thousands each year. This book tells the Stone¿s story, from its discovery by Napoleon¿s expedition to Egypt to its current¿and controversial¿status as the single most visited object on display in the British Museum.

Read the Bldg Blog interview with Mary Beard about the Wonders of the World series(Part I and Part II)Westminster Abbey is the most complex church in existence. National cathedral, coronation church, royal mausoleum, burial place of poets, resting place of the great and of the Unknown Warrior, former home of parliament, backdrop to the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales--this rich and extraordinary building unites many functions."Westminster Abbey" is both an appreciation of an architectural masterpiece and an exploration of the building's shifting meanings. We hear the voices of those who have described its forms, moods, and ceremonies, from Shakespeare and Voltaire to Dickens and Henry James; we see how rulers have made use of it, from medieval kings to modern prime ministers. In a highly original book, classicist and cultural historian Richard Jenkyns teaches us to look at this microcosm of history with new eyes.

Destroyed nearly 2000 years ago, the Temple of Jerusalem¿cultural memory, symbol, and site¿remains one of the most powerful, and most contested, buildings in the world. This structure, imagined and re-imagined, reconsidered and reinterpreted over two millennia, emerges in all its historical, cultural, and religious significance in this account.

The Alhambra is the only Muslim palace to have survived since the Middle Ages and has long been a byword for exotic and melancholy beauty. In his absorbing new book, Irwin, Arabist and novelist, examines its history and allure.

The Colosseum¿s history is much stranger than the legend. In this engaging book, we learn the details of how the arena was built and at what cost; we meet the emperors who sometimes fought in gladiatorial games; and we take measure of the audience who reveled in, or opposed, these games. The authors also trace the strange afterlife of the monument.

"First published in Great Britain in 2002 by Profile Books"--T.p. verso.