Why is Jesus a giant? Because he was the founder of Christianity, the largest religion in the world with 2 billion adherents; because Christianity is one of the five great religions of the world, with
Why is Caesar a giant? Because he effectively created the Roman Empire, and thus made possible the European civilization that grew out of it. As the People’s champion against a corrupt and murderous o
Why is Constantine a giant? Because he gave Christians freedom of religion, yet also because he radically and thoroughly changed society, in particular church-state relations, thereby creating the opp
On Sunday, October 5, 2014, the 75,000-strong crowd at Old Trafford for Manchester United’s game against Everton joined in with an extended version of a chant which echoed around the stadium. "We all
In the space of less than 20 years, Napoleon turned Europe upside down. Rising from obscure origins to supreme power by a mixture of luck, audacity and military genius, he was able to harness the ener
Why is Alfred "the Great?" A simple answer is that he has been seen as a man who saved England, invented English identity and pioneered English as a written language. He is the first English
Isaac Newton had an extraordinary idea. He believed the physical universe and everything in it could be described in exact detail using mathematical relationships. He formulated a law of gravity that
Why is Nelson a hero? Because he was a captain before he was 21, a man who shaped the course of history from the decks of his ships, hailed as a savior of the nation, a hero killed in action at the mo
At age 25, Elizabeth II, the ‘accidental queen’, became Britain’s 40th monarch and vowed to dedicate her life to service and duty on behalf of her country. She is the constitutional monarch of sixteen
Edward Jenner is a giant of modern medicine. Throughout history, smallpox had plagued humanity with disfigurement, blindness, and death. It was an incurable blight, the suffering of which Jenner helpe
There’s something about Jane… Jane Austen lived only just into her forties, never married, never had children, lived all her life in the south of England and rarely strayed far from the genteel
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) was the Shakespeare of opera, the composer of Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida and Otello. The chorus of Hebrew slaves fromNabucco (1842) is regarded in Italy as v
John Lennon is a giant of popular music and culture. As one-quarter of the Beatles, he was in the vanguard of music, art, fashion and popular culture during the sixties. His music, humor and outspoken
Sigmund Freud is rightly called the godfather of psychoanalysis. He forever changed the way we view ourselves and developed our understanding of human nature. His concepts have become part of our psyc
Nelson Mandela’s place in history is secure: he was one of the best known prisoners in the world even before his election as the first president of post-apartheid South Africa; secondly, he became a g
In 218, Hannibal Barca, desperate to avenge the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War, launched an ambitious ground invasion of Italy. With just a small force, he crossed the Alps – a feat reckone
Why is King Arthur a giant? Because his story has had such strong influences on our understanding of the history of Europe and the English-speaking world. Because the debate about Arthur as a historic
From disastrous beginnings after he took the throne of Scotland, having murdered a powerful rival, Robert I became a military leader of consummate genius. Throwing away the rulebook of medieval warfar
In this concise, accessible, and engaging biography, Pollard rejects the jingoistic approach to one of England’s most renowned military heroes. Henry V enjoyed spectacular success against the French,
It's often claimed that that through his ships, bridges, tunnels and railways Brunel played a critical role in creating the modern world. In the soaring ambitions of the Victorian age, nobody thought
