dream gift

Follow the fascinating threads of human history in this monumental volume, amply illustrated with maps, archival imagery, and revealing photographs.

History comes to life in this comprehensive overview of humankind, from earliest times to the present day. Each page is filled with stunning visuals and thought-provoking text that make this book an instant classic. From the Babylonian Empire to the Persian Gulf War, from the Xia and Shang Dynasties of Bronze Age China to the new space race, from Egyptian hieroglyphics to the digital age?here, in vivid colour and crisp narrative, is the sweeping story of the history of civilization.

Every chapter includes:

• Notable dates
• Salient quotations from the time
• Explanatory maps
• Fascinating sidebar stories
• Photographs of artifacts & landscapes
• Art works depicting dramatic scenes

Visually driven, rich and far-reaching, yet friendly and browsable, with iconic National Geographic maps, illustrations, and images enhancing the pages, this new book is a history-lover’s dream.

This unique journal from Mexico's Indira Flores is ready to record your hopes and dreams, or perhaps serve as a sketchbook. The artisan covers the journal with amate paper and binds it with yellow leather. Inside are 94 unlined pages of recycled paper.

Daniel Piceno of central Mexico has perfected a way to reuse old newspaper by transforming it into pencil sets! This particular set pays homage to the mythical alebrije, a creature that combines the aspects of several real and imaginary animals, which were dreamed up by Pedro Linares of Mexico City. The 12 coloured pencils are packaged in their wood box in such as way as to put together an image of one such creature.

This natural fiber journal, handcrafted by Balinese artisan Komang Sulaksana, features a pandan leaf cover, cinnamon and grass cord binding and 100 pages of rice straw paper perfect for jotting notes, memories, dreams, drawings or poetry. The artisan relishes in the challenge of melding different mediums, relying on both his artistic talent, and on natural fibers, for all of his work. "Creating new designs is so much fun for me," he says. "Arranging different kinds of materials together is not a hard thing to do but, of course, it requires patience and skill."