num_pages: 403
description: History's greatest tour guide is back. And he's ringing the changes. In a contest of change which century from the past millennium would come up trumps? Imagine the Black Death took on the female vote in a pub brawl or the Industrial Revolution faced the internet in a medieval joust - whose side would you be on? In this hugely entertaining book celebrated historian Ian Mortimer takes us on a whirlwind tour of Western history pitting one century against another in his quest to measure change. We journey from a time when there was a fair chance of your village being burnt to the ground by invaders and dried human dung was a recommended cure for cancer to a world in which explorers sailed into the unknown and civilisations came into conflict with each other on an epic scale. Here is a story of godly scientists shrewd farmers cold-hearted entrepreneurs and strong-minded women - a story of discovery invention revolution and cataclysmic shifts in perspective. Bursting with ideas and underscored by a wry sense of humour this is a journey into the past like no other. Our understanding of change will never be the same again - and the lessons we learn along the way are profound ones for us all.
language: English
title: Centuries of Change: Which Century Saw the Most Change and Why it Matters to Us
publisher: The Bodley Head