Carlos Gómez – författare

Rome may have fallen in the late fifth century CE, but more than 1,500 years later its mark on Europe and around the Mediterranean is still evident. It’s not just in the roads, aqueducts and settlements, though, that Rome’s immense legacy can be found. Or even in more recent buildings – from the Renaissance to the present day – that have been constructed in a neoclassical style. We need only look at modern law, which is based on principles developed during the Roman Empire. Or modern philosophy, which stands on the shoulders of work by Seneca and others. And although Latin may be a dead language, we still use it in scientific classification – even for newly coined words. From Augustus’s reign as the First Emperor of Rome to the Barbarian invasions beginning in the 5th century CE, The Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire is an outstanding celebration of the glory that was the Roman Empire. Ranging from military expansion to life within a Roman legion, from Pompeii to Jerusalem to Constantinople, from political assassinations to gladiatorial games, from the Roman Catacombs to Hadrian’s Wall, and from the Jewish Revolt to early Christianity, the book expertly explores the political, cultural, social and religious history of the Roman Empire. This is the story of Marcus Agrippa, Caligula, Claudius, Hadrian, Livia and Hadrian – and many others. Accessibly written and with a wealth of colour illustrations and photographs, The Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire is a fascinating reference work for any home.

From the Battle of Marathon to the Minotaur, from the Acropolis to Aristotle, from Theseus to the Theban hegemony, from slavery to Sparta, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece is a fascinating fully illustrated reference work, spanning both political history, society, wars, art, architecture, culture, philosophy and mythology. Covering the founding of the Minoan civilization on Crete in the 3rd millennium BCE, Mycenaean Greece in the 2nd millennium, the Greek Dark Ages and the heights of Athenian civilization in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, the book expertly examines a wide range of aspects of the civilization that is considered to be the foundation of Western culture. Thousands of years later we can easily identify the influences of ancient Greece in modern politics, society and architecture, its mythical tales are still recounted and their patterns can be spotted throughout modern literature, television and film. Featuring more than 400 colour photographs and artworks, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece is an accessibly written exploration, reaching from siege warfare to Socrates, public sacrifice to public festivals to the Peloponnesian War.

The serious illness of three presidents-Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy-as well as the injury Ronald Reagan received in the assassination attempt upon him have revealed our woefully inadequate system for handling presidential incapacity. The authors believe that this flawed system poses a major threat to the nation, and they provide sobering reports on how the government functioned (or failed to function) during times of presidential impairment. The public was kept in the dark regarding the gravity of the presidential condition, often unaware that critical decisions were being made while the president was suffering from a severe illness.Hidden Illness in the White House contains startling new information on the severity of Roosevelt’s illness during the crucial Yalta negotiations and the fact that Kennedy suffered from Addison’s disease, a life-threatening illness, long before he was elected to the presidency. In each case the authors demonstrate that a largely successful effort was made to conceal the president’s true medical condition from the public.