Zeno Singer

History with a Grain of Salt Zeno Singer

BOOK FIVE: RECENT TIMES We all know that Antiquity or the Middle Ages were exciting and turbulent times. But when we think about the period of two hundred years that stretched from the Renaissance until Modern times, we will be a little baffled. But the dramatic events that you will read about in this book have changed the world we live in so deeply that the consequences are still visible everywhere around us. All the stories are told in a light, funny, and interesting style that is easy to follow. And with a "grain of salt," that often throws a little different light on the subject. In this book, we will keep track of how new horizons and new knowledge about the world, expanded to the other end of the globe, how an apple contributed to a better understanding of physical phenomena, and how love can be displayed in stone. We will see how one king lost his colonies, and some other kings lost their heads. And how a distant, dormant bear, woke up and turned into one of the world's superpowers, thanks to the visionary work of one king and one queen. The turbulent whirlpool of dramatic events on the political scene has also been reflected in Art, which became restless, impressive, and began hitting the senses of the observer with full force. And two other countries proved that in this time period there was enough spilled blood. In the eternal desire for freedom, one succeeded in retrieving it and becoming big, while the other, apart from noble ideas, just managed to launch a new killing machine: the guillotine.