How The World Changed

How the World Changed Social Media is the first book in Why We Post, a book series that investigates the findings of anthropologists who each spent 15 months living in communities across the world. This book offers a comparative analysis summarising the results of the research and explores the impact of social media on politics and gender, education and commerce. What is the result of the increased emphasis on visual communication? Are we becoming more individual or more social? Why is public social media so conservative? Why does equality online fail to shift inequality offline? How did memes become the moral police of the internet? Supported by an introduction to the project’s academic framework and theoretical terms that help to account for the findings, the book argues that the only way to appreciate and understand something as intimate and ubiquitous as social media is to be immersed in the lives of the people who post. Only then can we discover how people all around the world have already transformed social media in such unexpected ways and assess the consequences

First published in 1969, How the World Changed: Volume 1 1900-1939 is the first of two volumes that together outline the political history of the twentieth century up to 1968. This volume extends from 1900-1939 and explores life prior to, during, and after the First World War. In doing so, it covers significant political events and features of the period, including the Chinese Revolution and the rise of Japan, the different stages of the First World War, the peace process, the Russian Revolution, economic challenges, and the British Empire and Commonwealth.

First published in 1969, How the World Changed: Volume 2 1939-1968 is the second of two volumes that together outline the political history of the twentieth century up to 1968. This volume covers the period from 1939-1968 and examines the history and politics of the Second World War and the state of the world in the years that followed it, including economic recovery, Soviet expansion, the Chinese People’s Republic, and shifts in world power.

'Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!' This declamation by president Ronald Reagan when visiting Berlin in 1987 is widely cited as the clarion call that brought the Cold War to an end. The West had won, so this version of events goes, because the West had stood firm. American and Western European resoluteness had brought an evil empire to its knees. Michael Meyer, in this extraordinarily compelling account of the revolutions that roiled Eastern Europe in 1989, begs to differ. Drawing together breathtakingly vivid, on-the-ground accounts of the rise of Solidarity in Poland, the stealth opening of the Hungarian border, the Velvet Revolution in Prague, and the collapse of the infamous wall in Berlin, Meyer shows that western intransigence was only one of the many factors that provoked such world-shaking change. More important, Meyer contends, were the stands taken by individuals in the thick of the struggle, leaders such as poet and playwright Vaclav Havel in Prague; Lech Walesa; the quiet and determined reform prime minister in Budapest, Miklos Nemeth; and the man who realized his empire was already lost and decided, with courage and intelligence, to let it go in peace, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. Michael Meyer captures these heady days in all their rich drama and unpredictability. In doing so he provides not just a thrilling chronicle of perhaps the most important year of the 20th century but also a crucial refutation of American mythology and a misunderstanding of history that was deliberately employed to lead the United States into some of the intractable conflicts it faces today.

The only English-language anthology by Pakistani women published in the United States, And the World Changed goes beyond the sensational headlines to reveal the stories of Pakistani women. Immigrants and refugees, travelers and explorers, seasoned authors and fresh voices, the twenty-five writers in this volume are as dynamic and diverse as their stories. Sixty years have passed since the Partition of India, and it’s clear that Pakistani writers have established their own literary tradition to record the stories of their communities. Famed novelist Bapsi Sidhwa portrays a Pakistani community in Houston, Texas, still struggling to heal from the horrors of Partition. In Uzma Aslam Khan’s tale, a man working in a Karachi auto body shop falls in love with the magical woman painted on a bus cabin. Bushra Rehman introduces us to a Pakistani girl living in Corona, Queens, who becomes painfully aware of the tensions between established Italian immigrants and their new Pakistani neighbors. And during the anti-Muslim sentiment following 9/11, a young woman in newcomer Humera Afridi’s story searches Manhattan’s rubble-filled streets for a mosque. Filled with nostalgic memories of Pakistan, critical commentary about the world’s current political climate, and inspirational hope for the future, the stories in And the World Changed weave an intricate, enlightening view of Pakistan, its relation to the West, and the women who travel between the two regions. Featuring: Talat Abbasi, Humera Afridi, Aamina Ahmad, Rukhsana Ahmad, Feryal Ali Gauhar, Sara Suleri Goodyear, Shahrukh Husain, Sabyn Javeri Jillani, Sonia Kamal, Fawzia Afzal Khan, Sorayya Khan, Uzma Aslam Khan, Maniza Naqvi, Tahira Naqvi, Nayyara Rahman, Hima Raza, Bushra Rehman, Fahmida Riaz, Roshni Rustomji, Sehba Sarwar, Bina Shah, Qaisra Shahraz, Kamila Shamsie, Muneeza Shamsie, and Bapsi Sidwa.

A few weeks ago, Mari's life was wonderful, but now everything has been turned upside down. Nothing is normal in a world where the Coronavirus has impacted everyone. Follow Mari and her family as a new kind of normal begins, except for the fact that her little brother Nico still loves to embarrass her in front of friends. Mari will realize that there's hope despite living in such scary times and that even children can be heroes as the world continues to change. *** Mari is in elementary school and has never seen anything like this pandemic before. In fact, all three generations of her family are now dealing with new experiences. Though the news can be scary, and Mari is nervous about what the future holds, her parents validate her feelings and show her that she can still have fun despite a fear of the unknown. This beautifully illustrated story explains the global Coronavirus crisis of 2020 in a way that children can understand and shows them that no one is alone, no matter how far apart family and friends may be.

A thought-provoking chronological journey through the world's most influential books. Many books have become classics, must-reads or overnight publishing sensations, but how many can genuinely claim to have changed the way we see and think? In 100 Books that Changed the World, authors Scott Christianson and Colin Salter bring together an exceptional collection of truly groundbreaking books – from scriptures that founded religions, to scientific treatises that challenged beliefs, to novels that kick-started literary genres. This elegantly designed book, first published in 2018 but updated with an exciting new cover, offers a chronological timeline of three millennia of human thought distilled in print, from the earliest illuminated manuscripts to the age of ebooks and audiobooks. Entries include: • The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer (750 BC) • Shakespeare's First Folio (1623) • A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) • The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank (1947) • Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe (1958) • A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking (1988) For literary lovers and rebellious readers, this book offers a fascinating overview of world history through the books that influenced and changed it.

An intriguing collection of the most inspiring and powerful letters of all time. The written word has the power to inspire, astonish and entertain, as this collection of 100 letters that changed history will show. Ordered chronologically, the letters range from ink-inscribed tablets that vividly describe life in the Roman Empire to remarkable last wills and testaments, passionate outpourings of love and despair, and succinct notes with deadly consequences. Entries include: • A job application from Leonardo da Vinci, with barely a mention of his artistic talents. • Henry VIII's love letters to Anne Boleyn, which eventually led to the dissolution of the monasteries. • The scrawled note that brought about Oscar Wilde's downfall. • Emile Zola's 'J'accuse!' open letter, in support of an alleged spy and against anti-Semitism. • Beatrix Potter's correspondence with a friend's son that introduced the character of Peter Rabbit. • A last letter from the Titanic. • Nelson Mandela's ultimatum to the South African president. A stunning new edition with an elegant new cover, this fascinating book is perfect both for reading cover-to-cover and dipping into to discover the delights within.