Inside History Collection

In this series, you are taken back to the dramatic events, who have shaped world history for better or for worse. From the construction of the first cathedrals in Europe of the plague to the landing in Normandy in 1944. From the crusaders' bloody marches towards Jerusalem to the daring pilots who gave man air under his wings. Along the way, you will be enlightened in an entertaining way as to why the events took shape as they did. This series has the dramatic narrative as its focal point. You not only get an overview of history's most significant events, but also captivating human destinies, spectacular feats, and history's greatest heroes and villains brought to life.

Welcome

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT • It’s easy to dismiss the Bible’s dramatic narratives as works of fiction. But scientists today have explanations for how the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah could have suddenly disappeared and what caused Egypt’s Ten Plagues. They have even found a clue to the location of the Garden of Eden.

THE FIRST JEWS • The Old Testament has ensured that the ancient history of the Jews is known around the world. But the more archaeologists dig into the story, the clearer it becomes that the truth about the origins of the Jewish nation has many more layers than historians realised.

THE BIBLE’S UNCHARTED WORLD • What did the Middle East look like 3,000 years ago when the Israelites arrived in the Promised Land? How were wars fought? Who were the Philistines? Did Canaan really flow with milk and honey? Today, scholars try to map the world of the Bible through archaeological finds and ancient beehives.

WHO WAS JESUS? • No archaeological discoveries can help scholars find the answer to one of history’s biggest questions: who was Jesus of Nazareth? In all likelihood, Jesus did exist, but how was he able to gather a group of loyal disciples around him and lay the foundations of a world religion?

INSIGHT INTO THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS • In 1947, a goatherd came across ten ancient scrolls in a cave near the Dead Sea. He had unwittingly made the greatest archaeological discovery of the century. Since then, the scrolls have been examined countless times to determine who wrote the texts, what they say, and whether they are genuine.

JEWISH RITUALS • Circumcision, a ban on pork and strict rules on food preparation, Judaism’s rituals are carefully laid out in the Bible. And perhaps with good reason. For in ancient times, pork could be full of bacteria, shellfish may have been poisonous, and circumcision helped to prevent infections.

FORBIDDEN ART • In the Middle Ages, any sin could lead to the death penalty. Yet artists and masons managed to decorate churches and Bibles with explicit drawings. What their purpose was, no one knows, but the clergy must have accepted or even encouraged the obscene works of art.

Reading list

Inside History Collection