Other editions of book The Mammoth Book of How It Happened

In the words of those who were there, from the earliest times to the present day, here are the most outstanding events of human history in a unique panoramic collection. Great moments in history, war and politics, art and literature, sport and exploration are collected in this third edition of a hugely successful volume. The epic events include 9/11, the exploration of Mars and the Asian Tsunami, the Gunpowder Plot and the discovery of America, the eruption of Vesuvius, the death of Alexander and Sennacherib sacking Babylon. All compiled from memoirs, diaries, letters, journalistic reports and other first-hand documents.

The spectre of the Great War still haunts us. No other conflict so dramatically illustrates the waste of life, and the slaughter of innocents, as that of 1914-18. And none has so dramatically shaped the modern world: the Russian Revolution, the rise of Hitler, the break-up of Empire, the supremacy of America and World War II all stem from the four years of the 'war to end all wars'. Here is the eye-witness chronicle of that war, from the trenches of Flanders to the staff rooms of the Imperial Germany Army, from T. E. Lawrence in the desert to the 'Red Baron' in the air, from Land Girls in England to German U-boat crews in the Atlantic, it leaves nothing out. And if all the horror of the war fought by the Tommies in the trenches is captured, so too are the machinations of the 'top brass' and politicians.

Featuring the Kosovo crisis, the Lewinsky affair, the tragic deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and John F.Kennedy Junior this is a collection of eye-witness accounts of events that have shaped man's history. There are also the tragedies from Pompeii to the Titanic, the shattering horrors of war through the ages, sensational crimes and uprisings, assassinations from Caesar to JFK and the realization of a recurring dream in history with Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon. Included are many other unforgettable moments relayed through extracts from diaries, memoirs, letters and more recently newspaper reports.

This collection of first-hand experiences from the whole of history enables the reader to relive some of the world's greatest moments. Writers from Herodotus, Thucydides, and Plutarch, to Tom Wolfe, Primo Levi, Lillian Hellman, and Ernest Hemingway cover great tragedies from Pompeii to the Titanic, the shattering horrors of war through the ages, sensational crimes and uprisings, and assassinations from Caesar to JFK.