Roman triremes of the Mediterranean. The treasure fleet of the Spanish Main. Great ocean liners of the Atlantic. Stories of disasters at sea fire the imagination as little else can, whether the subject is a historical wreck - the Titanic or the Bismark - or the recent capsizing of a Mediterranean cruise ship. Shipwrecks also make for a new and very different understanding of world history. A History of the World in Sixteen Shipwrecks explores the ages-long, immensely hazardous, persistently romantic, and still-ongoing process of moving people and goods across far-flung maritime worlds. Telling the stories of ships and the people who made and sailed them, from the earliest ancient-Nile craft to the Exxon Valdez, A History of the World in Sixteen Shipwrecks argues that the gradual integration of localized and separate maritime regions into fewer, larger, and more interdependent regions offers a unique window on world history. Stewart Gordon draws a number of provocative conclusions from his study, among them that the European "Age of Exploration" as a singular event is simply a myth - many cultures, east and west, explored far-flung maritime worlds over the millennia - and that technologies of shipbuilding and navigation have been among the main drivers of science and technology throughout history. Finally, A History of the World in Sixteen Shipwrecks shows in a series of compelling narratives that the development of institutions and technologies that made terrifying oceans familiar, and turned unknown seas into sea-lanes, profoundly matters in our modern world.

This book will take an academic look at those who are of the Gordon name and clan. There are already quite a few books about the Gordons but they either skip over the lineage or romanticise battles and positions held. There are defining traits within the Gordon DNA that much is true, however that does not always make us ‘good people’. We strive to be the absolute best, in our chosen fields. That could be taking the fore in battles or being the best musician, you can be. There are amazing acts of bravery that have been carried out by the Gordons along with substantial acts of cowardice. If that sounds like an oxymoron then you would be right, as we occupy both ends of the moral and social scales. The Gordons have fought for and against the Papacy. We fought on both sides of the Jacobite rebellion. We stood for and against England. The Gordons even as individuals have fought on both sides in World War 1 and 2. There were Gordons on either side of communism. We have been great scientists and doctors. I have one son who is a great Chef, and the other is a Quantum Physicist, whilst I am a Musician and Writer. So, we all do have a personal choice, but it is what and how you act upon us that will mark our places in the history of the Gordon name. I wrote this book in the year 2020 when the world was facing a global pandemic. Not only were our doctors and nurses fighting an invisible enemy (Covid 19) but worse was happening on the streets around the world. Racism seems to raise its ugly head when mankind is at its lowest ebb. ‘Black Lives Matter’ was a new movement. To an old problem. I feel that ‘ALL’ Lives matter. There are Gordons who are African, Indian, European, Australian, Asian, North American and South American. Those Gordons have every shade of skin colour that comes within the human range. We also follow every faith and no faith at all. If you go back far enough in any clan or race you will find some element of slavery. We Gordons have also been on both sides of that evil. We have been Slaves, Slave Owners and even Slave Traders. Slaves would normally keep their own first name but would also adopt the surname of the slave owner, hence not all Gordons are Celtic. Being involved in slavery is not a matter of pride to most Gordons, it is just a matter of historical fact. Tearing down statues or defacing buildings that bear the name of historical people, to me is pointless. It would be like tearing down the Auschwitz Museum. There was a holocaust and Auschwitz is testament to that horror and by it being there, it tells us not to forget. When people tried to tear down the statue of William Wallace saying that he was a racist. His statue is there because he fought for Scotland and its people. There were 12 presidents of the USA that owned slaves., Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Andrew Johnson, and Ulysses S Grant. You would have to tear down America and start building all over again, starting with Washington DC and the White House. We remember our history, the good along with the bad in order to learn from our mistakes. Consequently, in this book you will find all the great moments in the Gordon history since 66BC all the way up to 2020. You will also find the truth and the facts that point to unspeakable acts carried out sometimes in the name of the Gordon families, other times just out of coincidence to them bearing the name of Gordon. One such example would be the Highland clearances carried out by the Duke of Sutherland whose wife was Countess Elizabeth Gordon. He committed an act of ethnic cleansing in the north of Scotland. This is not something that gives me pride, it is though part of my history and if you are a Gordon then it is part of your history, especially if you can trace your roots back, to that period in America, Canada, Newfoundland and Australia. These were the predominant areas that the crofters from the north of Scotland were forced to flee too. Gordons fought on both sides of the American Civil War. The Gordons fought during the crusades, it is even said that it was a Gordon that was responsible for the death of Richard The Lionheart. This book is not a romanticised novel where facts are cherry picked. I have written this as a non-fiction, work and as a starting point for any genealogical work you wish to embark upon. I have taken information for many sources in order to complete this and I give thanks to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia, Ancestry online, The Gordon Highlanders, UK Census, as well as reading many books on Scottish History and land ownership. Long and Short of this book is that it is written by a Gordon, for all, Gordons.

An erudite scholar and an elegant writer, Gordon S. Wood has won both numerous awards and a broad readership since the 1969 publication of his widely acclaimed The Creation of the American Republic. With The Purpose of the Past, Wood has essentially created a history of American history, assessing the current state of history vis-à-vis the work of some of its most important scholars-doling out praise and scorn with equal measure. In this wise, passionate defense of history's ongoing necessity, Wood argues that we cannot make intelligent decisions about the future without understanding our past. Wood offers a master's insight into what history-at its best-can be and reflects on its evolving and essential role in our culture.

Having conquered the world's taste buds and established itself as a staple in our daily lives, coffee has mirrored the moods and movements of society for centuries - yet, how much do we know about its history? In his riveting new book, A Short History of Coffee, Gordon Kerr investigates the fascinating history behind the global obsession with coffee, from its Ethiopian origins, the legends, myths, geographical locations and somewhat eccentric characters that have helped make it the staple that it is today. Proliferating high streets, towns and cities across Europe, coffee has become increasingly popular in recent years, and has succeeded in creating new and exciting hubs of commerce, news and debate, where deals could be done and revolution could be incited. Yet, despite coffee's very modern role, its origins stretch back to the days of intrepid travellers and merchants, who told tales of this new and exotic beverage that uplifted and enlivened the drinker. Following the growth in popularity through to the 21st century explosion of coffee shop culture, A Short History of Coffee lifts the Styrofoam lid on both the business of coffee, as well as the pleasures that it brings its drinkers. Gordon Kerr masterfully balances an exploration of the history of this iconic beverage, whilst also delving into the frothy brew of business, politics, and money that accompanies it. Praise for Gordon Kerr 'Informative, fascinating and extremely well-researched...Gordon Kerr's book is a mini masterpiece' - Rob Minshull, ABC Brisbane on A Short History of the Vietnam War 'Factual and even-handed, Kerr presents a fair-minded introduction of basic Chinese history' - Booklist on A Short History of China 'Thoroughly rewarding' - Travelmag on A Short History of the Middle East

The Oxford History of the United States is by far the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, two New York Times bestsellers, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. Now, in the newest volume in the series, one of America's most esteemed historians, Gordon S. Wood, offers a brilliant account of the early American Republic, ranging from 1789 and the beginning of the national government to the end of the War of 1812. As Wood reveals, the period was marked by tumultuous change in all aspects of American life--in politics, society, economy, and culture. The men who founded the new government had high hopes for the future, but few of their hopes and dreams worked out quite as they expected. They hated political parties but parties nonetheless emerged. Some wanted the United States to become a great fiscal-military state like those of Britain and France; others wanted the country to remain a rural agricultural state very different from the European states. Instead, by 1815 the United States became something neither group anticipated. Many leaders expected American culture to flourish and surpass that of Europe; instead it became popularized and vulgarized. The leaders also hope to see the end of slavery; instead, despite the release of many slaves and the end of slavery in the North, slavery was stronger in 1815 than it had been in 1789. Many wanted to avoid entanglements with Europe, but instead the country became involved in Europe's wars and ended up waging another war with the former mother country. Still, with a new generation emerging by 1815, most Americans were confident and optimistic about the future of their country. Named a New York Times Notable Book, Empire of Liberty offers a marvelous account of this pivotal era when America took its first unsteady steps as a new and rapidly expanding nation.

Now in paperback, The Moral Property of Women is a thoroughly updated and revised version of the award-winning historian Linda Gordon’s classic study, Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right (1976). It is the only book to cover the entire history of the intense controversies about reproductive rights that have raged in the United States for more than 150 years. Arguing that reproduction control has always been central to women’s status, Gordon shows how opposition to it has long been part of the entrenched opposition to gender equality.

Written by one of early America's most eminent historians, this book masterfully discusses the debates over constitutionalism that took place in the Revolutionary era.

The preeminent historian of the American Revolution explains why it remains the most significant event in our history. More than almost any other nation in the world, the United States began as an idea. For this reason, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood believes that the American Revolution is the most important event in our history, bar none. Since American identity is so fluid and not based on any universally shared heritage, we have had to continually return to our nation's founding to understand who we are. In The Idea of America, Wood reflects on the birth of American nationhood and explains why the revolution remains so essential. In a series of elegant and illuminating essays, Wood explores the ideological origins of the revolution-from ancient Rome to the European Enlightenment-and the founders' attempts to forge an American democracy. As Wood reveals, while the founders hoped to create a virtuous republic of yeoman farmers and uninterested leaders, they instead gave birth to a sprawling, licentious, and materialistic popular democracy. Wood also traces the origins of American exceptionalism to this period, revealing how the revolutionary generation, despite living in a distant, sparsely populated country, believed itself to be the most enlightened people on earth. The revolution gave Americans their messianic sense of purpose-and perhaps our continued propensity to promote democracy around the world-because the founders believed their colonial rebellion had universal significance for oppressed peoples everywhere. Yet what may seem like audacity in retrospect reflected the fact that in the eighteenth century republicanism was a truly radical ideology-as radical as Marxism would be in the nineteenth-and one that indeed inspired revolutionaries the world over. Today there exists what Wood calls a terrifying gap between us and the founders, such that it requires almost an act of imagination to fully recapture their era. Because we now take our democracy for granted, it is nearly impossible for us to appreciate how deeply the founders feared their grand experiment in liberty could evolve into monarchy or dissolve into licentiousness. Gracefully written and filled with insight, The Idea of America helps us to recapture the fears and hopes of the revolutionary generation and its attempts to translate those ideals into a working democracy. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical Hamilton has sparked new interest in the Revolutionary War and the Founding Fathers. In addition to Alexander Hamilton, the production also features George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Aaron Burr, Lafayette, and many more. Look for Gordon's new book, Friends Divided.

A critical catalogue of how lawyers use history - as authority, as evocation of lost golden ages, as a nightmare to escape and as progress towards enlightenment.

How America's high standard of living came to be and why future growth is under threat In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, motor vehicles, air travel, and television transformed households and workplaces. But has that era of unprecedented growth come to an end? Weaving together a vivid narrative, historical anecdotes, and economic analysis, The Rise and Fall of American Growth challenges the view that economic growth will continue unabated, and demonstrates that the life-altering scale of innovations between 1870 and 1970 cannot be repeated. Gordon contends that the nation's productivity growth will be further held back by the headwinds of rising inequality, stagnating education, an aging population, and the rising debt of college students and the federal government, and that we must find new solutions. A critical voice in the most pressing debates of our time, The Rise and Fall of American Growth is at once a tribute to a century of radical change and a harbinger of tougher times to come.