Historica shows the evolution of people's lives over the last thousand years, & shows how dramatically the world has changed. In the year 1000 most people lived in rural areas, cities were small & grew around cathedrals or fortresses or castles; transportation was by horse & cart; breakfast for most people was a small meal of bread & cheese at sunrise; most people were illiterate; education was usually only for wealthy boys & was conducted by the church (in natural history, 1,000 years ago you may have been taught that hyenas can change their sex at will, & that the only fear elephants have is of dragons), & personal freedom was very limited; people's roles in life were strictly limited by their place in society. Today the world is a very different place. How did these changes occyr? Historica tells the story: that of wars, invasions, inventions, discoveries, explorations, & the amazing people who played a key part in all these events that have brought us to where we are today. This is history made real & exciting, with stories that are as dramatic as today's news, with pictures & maps to bring the most distant events & civilizations in sharp focus.