Ancient Worlds is about people and places, politics and economics, art and war, trade and technology, but above all it’s the story of the painful birth and difficult growth of a radical idea first tried and tested some six thousand years ago, and which we are still struggling with today; civilisation. Civilisation has not come easily; it’s something we’ve had to fight hard to achieve, and even harder to maintain, and the greatest threats to it have come from our own talents for destruction. But when we’ve managed to get it right, the benefits have been enormous. When we talk about the ancient world we tend to think of rare and exotic artefacts or the monumental remains of epic architecture; but these are just the empty shells that got left behind when the tide of history turned! The living creatures, the civilisations, that once inhabited these shells were rarely if ever static or stately; they were dynamic, chaotic, and always threatening to spin out of control, because civilisation is based on an improbable idea; that strangers can live and work together in dense urban settings, forging new allegiances that replace the natural ties of family, clan or tribe. It’s an idea we’re still coming to terms with today, but one of the best ways to understand the challenges that are involved is to look at how our ancestors tackled them the first time around. From ancient Iraq to Imperial Rome, Ancient Worlds examines how our ancestors struggled with the levers of religion and politics, art and culture, war and diplomacy, technology and trade in order to keep the complex machinery of their civilisations turning over. Their insights and blind-spots, their breakthroughs and dead ends, their triumphs and disasters are the milestones on the long and winding road that leads directly from their ancient to our modern world.
鸟类几乎遍布全世界的每个栖息地。从北极到沿海的孤岛，这些坚韧的动物几乎可以生活在任何地方。鸟类如何在不同的环境中繁衍生息？它们已经因为适应环境而将羽翼变得丰满坚毅，将移动与唱歌的方式变得多彩。对于鸟类来说，多样性不仅是生命的调味品，还是生命的缘由。它们是天空的游牧民族。
麻雀，我们身边最常见的小鸟，我们对它们到了几乎熟视无睹的地步。总觉得对它们非常了解，但仔细一想，其实我们对它们还真是不太了解。随着城市化的发展，野麻雀慢慢慢慢地变成了我们身边的家麻雀，它们与我们朝夕相处，我们仍然还是不了解它们的生活与艰辛......
1974年，12岁的Jan Broberg在爱达荷州的一个小社区被绑架。5个星期后，简被送回了家，她向父母和法院保证“什么也没发生”。使恋童癖者获得自由，并为简的第二次绑架和多年的性虐待、情感虐待和心理虐待铺平了道路。
