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In April 1982, ethnobotanist Wade Davis arrived in Haiti to investigate two documented cases of zombis--people who had reappeared in Haitian society years after they had been officially declared dead and had been buried. Drawn into a netherworld of rituals and celebrations, Davis penetrated the vodoun mystique deeply enough to place zombification in its proper context within vodoun culture. In the course of his investigation, Davis came to realize that the story of vodoun is the history of Haiti--from the African origins of its people to the successful Haitian independence movement, down to the present day, where vodoun culture is, in effect, the government of Haiti's countryside.

The Serpent and the Rainbow combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans.",{"_809":825,"_811":835,"_782":836},{"_809":825,"_811":838,"_782":1009},"Simon & Schuster",{"_809":825,"_811":816,"_782":841},{"_809":825,"_811":843,"_782":844},{"_809":825,"_811":846,"_782":847},{"_809":825,"_811":849,"_782":1014},"SOCIOLOGY: CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS; PHARMACY / DISPENSING",{"_809":825,"_811":852,"_782":1016},"1997-08-05",{"_809":825,"_811":855,"_782":1018},"304",{"_809":858,"_811":344,"_782":859},{"_809":858,"_811":861,"_782":862},{"_809":858,"_811":864,"_782":862},{"_809":858,"_811":866,"_782":1023},"09/06/2025",{"_809":858,"_811":869,"_782":1025},"50.0",{"_809":858,"_811":871,"_782":872},{"_809":874,"_811":875,"_782":876},{"_809":874,"_811":344,"_782":876},{"_809":874,"_811":879,"_782":740},{"_809":874,"_811":881,"_782":740},{"_809":874,"_811":883,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":886,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":888,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":890,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":892,"_782":893},{"_809":874,"_811":895,"_782":896},{"_809":874,"_811":898,"_782":896},{"_759":1039},[1040],{"_762":109,"_763":-5,"_123":1041,"_203":1042,"_773":1046,"_779":1047,"_17":987,"_783":1049,"_785":1050},"gid://shopify/ProductVariant/44796445425861",{"_766":1043,"_768":769,"_123":1044,"_755":990,"_771":1045},"The Serpent and the Rainbow Cover Image","gid://shopify/ProductImage/38301400694981",1315,{"_775":776,"_777":1025},[1048],{"_744":745,"_782":987},"9780684839295",{"_787":1051},[1052,1055],{"_790":1053},{"_792":109,"_126":1054},{"_744":341},{"_790":1056},{"_792":36,"_126":1057},{"_744":722},{"_123":1059,"_17":1060,"_735":1061,"_753":1062,"_806":1064,"_757":1139},"gid://shopify/Product/8234616193221","Basque History of the World","basque-history-of-the-world",{"_755":1063},"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0625/6679/3413/files/978-0-09-928413-0.jpg?v=1740017785",[1065,1066,1068,1069,1071,1073,1075,1076,-5,1078,1080,-5,1082,1084,1086,-5,-5,1087,1089,1091,1093,1095,1096,1097,1098,1100,1101,1103,1106,1108,1111,1112,1114,1116,1117,1118,1120,1121,1123,1125,1126,1128,1129,1130,1132,-5,1133,1135,1136,1137],{"_809":810,"_811":17,"_782":1060},{"_809":810,"_811":813,"_782":1067},"KURLANSKY MARK",{"_809":810,"_811":816,"_782":817},{"_809":810,"_811":819,"_782":1070},"VINTAG",{"_809":810,"_811":822,"_782":1072},"GARD",{"_809":810,"_811":1074,"_782":1072},"supplier_wellington",{"_809":825,"_811":826,"_782":827},{"_809":825,"_811":17,"_782":1077},"The Basque History of the World",{"_809":825,"_811":813,"_782":1079},"Mark Kurlansky",{"_809":825,"_811":833,"_782":1081},"The Basques are Europe's oldest people, their origins a mystery, their language related to no other on Earth, and even though few in population and from a remote and rugged corner of Spain and France, they have had a profound impact on the world. Whilst inward-looking, preserving their ancient language and customs, the Basques also struck out for new horizons, pioneers of whaling and cod fishing, leading the way in exploration of the Americas and Asia, were among the first capitalists and later led Southern Europe's industrial revolution.

Mark Kurlansky, the author of the acclaimed Cod, blends human stories with economic, political, literary and culinary history to paint a fascinating picture of an intriguing people.",{"_809":825,"_811":838,"_782":1083},"Penguin Random House",{"_809":825,"_811":816,"_782":1085},"UK-B Format Paperback",{"_809":825,"_811":843,"_782":844},{"_809":825,"_811":849,"_782":1088},"EUROPEAN HISTORY_FRANCE; ETHNIC STUDIES_EUROPE; EUROPEAN HISTORY_SPAIN",{"_809":825,"_811":852,"_782":1090},"2000-11-01",{"_809":825,"_811":855,"_782":1092},"400",{"_809":825,"_811":819,"_782":1094},"Vintage",{"_809":858,"_811":344,"_782":859},{"_809":858,"_811":724,"_782":859},{"_809":858,"_811":861,"_782":862},{"_809":858,"_811":1099,"_782":862},"onorder_wellington",{"_809":858,"_811":864,"_782":862},{"_809":858,"_811":866,"_782":1102},"24/12/2025",{"_809":858,"_811":1104,"_782":1105},"last_received_wellington","13/01/2026",{"_809":858,"_811":869,"_782":1107},"44.0",{"_809":858,"_811":1109,"_782":1110},"price_wellington","45.0",{"_809":858,"_811":871,"_782":872},{"_809":858,"_811":1113,"_782":872},"stock_wellington",{"_809":874,"_811":875,"_782":1115},"European History",{"_809":874,"_811":344,"_782":876},{"_809":874,"_811":724,"_782":1115},{"_809":874,"_811":879,"_782":1119},"EURHIS",{"_809":874,"_811":881,"_782":740},{"_809":874,"_811":1122,"_782":1119},"codes_wellington",{"_809":874,"_811":883,"_782":1124},"EUROPEAN HISTORY",{"_809":874,"_811":886,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":1127,"_782":1124},"sub_wellington",{"_809":874,"_811":888,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":890,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":1131,"_782":884},"main_wellington",{"_809":874,"_811":892,"_782":893},{"_809":874,"_811":1134,"_782":893},"web_departments_wellington",{"_809":874,"_811":895,"_782":896},{"_809":874,"_811":898,"_782":896},{"_809":874,"_811":1138,"_782":896},"department_wellington",{"_759":1140},[1141],{"_762":109,"_763":-5,"_123":1142,"_203":1143,"_773":1147,"_779":1148,"_17":1060,"_783":1150,"_785":1151},"gid://shopify/ProductVariant/44486989217989",{"_766":1144,"_768":769,"_123":1145,"_755":1063,"_771":1146},"The Basque History of the World Cover Image","gid://shopify/ProductImage/37169688248517",1331,{"_775":776,"_777":1110},[1149],{"_744":745,"_782":1060},"9780099284130",{"_787":1152},[1153,1156],{"_790":1154},{"_792":109,"_126":1155},{"_744":341},{"_790":1157},{"_792":109,"_126":1158},{"_744":722},{"_123":1160,"_17":1161,"_735":1162,"_753":1163,"_806":1165,"_757":1209},"gid://shopify/Product/8535905173701","Short History of the World in 50 Failures","short-history-of-the-world-in-50-failures",{"_755":1164},"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0625/6679/3413/files/978-1-78929-708-9.jpg?v=1766017434",[1166,1167,1169,1170,1172,-5,1174,1175,-5,1177,1179,1181,1182,1184,1185,1186,-5,-5,1187,1189,-5,1191,-5,1192,-5,1193,1194,-5,1196,-5,1197,-5,1198,1199,-5,1200,1201,-5,1202,1203,-5,1204,1205,-5,1206,-5,-5,1207,1208,-5],{"_809":810,"_811":17,"_782":1161},{"_809":810,"_811":813,"_782":1168},"GAZUR BEN",{"_809":810,"_811":816,"_782":817},{"_809":810,"_811":819,"_782":1171},"HARDIE",{"_809":810,"_811":822,"_782":1173},"TDLC",{"_809":825,"_811":826,"_782":827},{"_809":825,"_811":17,"_782":1176},"A Short History of the World in 50 Failures",{"_809":825,"_811":813,"_782":1178},"Ben Gazur",{"_809":825,"_811":833,"_782":1180},"

Explore the failures, mistakes and missed opportunities that shaped history in this new entry in the bestselling series.

From the botched attempt to create a life-extending elixir that produced gunpowder, to the unsuccessful stint in medical school which led to a career in naturalism for Charles Darwin, to the missile detection system malfunction that almost sparked a nuclear war, the course of human history has so often been shaped by failures of all magnitudes.

In fifty bite-sized chapters spanning thousands of years, A Short History of the World in 50 Failures details how the world as we know it has been defined by plans gone awry, opportunities not seized upon and schemes that were always fated to end in catastrophe.

Whether it's the pharaoh Akhenaten's misplaced attempt to found a new religion or Napoleon's doomed invasion of Russia, discover a fascinating collection of outsized tales and historical snafus that created the world as we know it today.

",{"_809":825,"_811":835,"_782":836},{"_809":825,"_811":838,"_782":1183},"Michael O'Mara Books, Limited",{"_809":825,"_811":816,"_782":841},{"_809":825,"_811":843,"_782":844},{"_809":825,"_811":846,"_782":847},{"_809":825,"_811":852,"_782":1188},"2025-02-11",{"_809":825,"_811":855,"_782":1190},"288",{"_809":858,"_811":344,"_782":859},{"_809":858,"_811":861,"_782":827},{"_809":858,"_811":864,"_782":862},{"_809":858,"_811":866,"_782":1195},"23/12/2025",{"_809":858,"_811":869,"_782":778},{"_809":858,"_811":871,"_782":872},{"_809":874,"_811":875,"_782":876},{"_809":874,"_811":344,"_782":876},{"_809":874,"_811":879,"_782":740},{"_809":874,"_811":881,"_782":740},{"_809":874,"_811":883,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":886,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":888,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":890,"_782":884},{"_809":874,"_811":892,"_782":893},{"_809":874,"_811":895,"_782":896},{"_809":874,"_811":898,"_782":896},{"_759":1210},[1211],{"_762":109,"_763":-5,"_123":1212,"_203":1213,"_773":1217,"_779":1218,"_17":1161,"_783":1220,"_785":1221},"gid://shopify/ProductVariant/45509187174597",{"_766":1214,"_768":769,"_123":1215,"_755":1164,"_771":1216},"A Short History of the World in 50 Failures Cover Image","gid://shopify/ProductImage/40434125963461",1503,{"_775":776,"_777":778},[1219],{"_744":745,"_782":1161},"9781789297089",{"_787":1222},[1223,1226],{"_790":1224},{"_792":109,"_126":1225},{"_744":341},{"_790":1227},{"_792":109,"_126":1228},{"_744":722},{"_123":1230,"_17":1231,"_735":1232,"_753":1233,"_806":1235,"_757":1283},"gid://shopify/Product/8375642620101","French Revolution","french-revolution",{"_755":1234},"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0625/6679/3413/files/978-1-78854-008-7.jpg?v=1752535013",[1236,1237,1239,1240,1242,-5,1243,1244,-5,1246,1248,1250,1251,1253,1254,1255,-5,1256,1258,1260,1262,1264,-5,1265,-5,1266,1267,-5,1269,-5,1271,-5,1272,1273,-5,1274,1275,-5,1276,1277,-5,1278,1279,-5,1280,-5,-5,1281,1282,-5],{"_809":810,"_811":17,"_782":1231},{"_809":810,"_811":813,"_782":1238},"ANDRESS DAVID",{"_809":810,"_811":816,"_782":817},{"_809":810,"_811":819,"_782":1241},"BLOOMS",{"_809":810,"_811":822,"_782":823},{"_809":825,"_811":826,"_782":827},{"_809":825,"_811":17,"_782":1245},"The French Revolution",{"_809":825,"_811":813,"_782":1247},"David Andress",{"_809":825,"_811":833,"_782":1249},"

A short, brilliant and controversial new interpretation of arguably the most important revolution of all time: the event that made the rights of man and the demand for liberty, equality and fraternity central to modern politics.

In this miraculously compressed, incisive book David Andress argues that it was the peasantry of France who made and defended the Revolution of 1789. That the peasant revolution benefitted far more people, in more far reaching ways, than the revolution of lawyerly elites and urban radicals that has dominated our view of the revolutionary period.

History has paid more attention to Robespierre, Danton and Bonaparte than it has to the millions of French peasants who were the first to rise up in 1789, and the most ardent in defending changes in land ownership and political rights. 'Those furthest from the centre rarely get their fair share of the light', Andress writes, and the peasants were patronised, reviled and often persecuted by urban elites for not following their lead.

Andress's book reveals a rural world of conscious, hard-working people and their struggles to defend their ways of life and improve the lives of their children and communities.

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The Uses And Abuses Of History

by Margaret Macmillan