Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time series regularly entertains and fascinates substantial audiences on BBC Radio 4. For this book he has selected episodes which reflect the diversity of the radio programmes, and take us on an amazing tour through the history of ideas, from philosophy, science and history to politics, literature and art.

We can discover the reasons for the fall of the Byzantine empire, and why women were persecuted as witches in the seventeenth century. What happened in the peasant's revolt? What is the real American West behind the glamour of Hollywood films? What shape is the universe? Where does our calendar come from?

Melvyn Bragg orchestrates the ideas of leading experts in each field leading to dynamic and lively discussion. In Our Time brings to life the flashpoints of history, the moments that fundamentally changed the world as we know it, and the individuals and ideas that made us what we are today.

(P)2009 Hodder & Stoughton