Sinopsis

Ancient Egypt and of course, Ancient Greece. The Roman Empire and the Russian and the British. The Maya of Mesoamerica and your neighbors in the United States of America. All of these are part of the story of the world's great civilizations, told here in words and stunning photographs in this special LIFE bookWe venture in these pages to the pyramids and palaces that were built for the mighty, and to the ruins of cities where once they ruled. We visit holy sites in Jerusalem, Rome and present-day Istanbul. We gaze upon the plains where conquering hordes once thundered on horseback, and the misty mountains where remote sanctuaries were located.Why were they put there?In some cases, we're still not certain.Civilization has its secrets.This is a story of places but also people: conquering titans such as Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan; empire-building women, including Queen Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great and Queen Victoria; wise men like Plato and his student Aristotle. Abject villains like Hitler. Napoleon's story is told, and so is that of Columbus and his extraordinary era: The Age of Discovery.Brick upon brick, the narrative builds, and the reader makes sense of the rise and fall and rise and fall of nations. Some leaders took seriously the lessons of previous great civilizations, and some ignored the writing on the wall. Some were exalted, some were humbled. Humankind's experience accrued and its expertise progressed. And now, in the 21st century, we have the democratic experiment: the United States of America, a great civilization that has, so far, seemed better built to weather mistakes, as well as the challenges of its foes.Here, then, in words and pictures in the story of mankind's progress, from the ancients to today. The story of the world's great civilizations ? a story that, like time itself, marches on.