Most Popular Books by Jean-Pierre Isbouts

From time immemorial, prayer has provided comfort in our darkest hours, stirred us to action beyond what we thought possible, and shown us the way through seemingly insurmountable challenges. In this engaging tour of world history, author and historian Jean-Pierre Isbouts takes us on an inspiring tour of ten prayers that played a pivotal role in world events—from the divine inspiration of Joan of Arc to Martin Luther''s powerful hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is our God"; from Abraham''s poignant plea to save his son to George Washington''s prayerful words to the newly formed American states; from Constantine the Great''s prayer before battle to Gandhi''s deeply moving "prayer of peace." Ten Prayers That Changed the World delves into the moments in history where faith and prayer intersected with the course of mankind. 2016 Best Book Award in Spirituality.

Featuring the latest archaeological and historical discoveries, this guide illustrates the people and events that shaped the life of Jesus, from his birth in Bethlehem to his death in Jerusalem.

ufeffufeffBestselling biblical historian, Jean-Pierre Isbouts, weaves the origin stories of Christianity and the Lord''s Prayer into a rallying cry for unity in the modern church

Presents a family guide to the Bible that, told through historic art and artifacts, tells the stories of biblical characters and highlights their greater meaning for mankind.

From ancient holy sites, to buried relics and treasures, National Geographic uncovers the history and the archaeological discoveries from Scripture and the biblical world. Richly illustrated and written from an objective and nondenominational perspective, author Jean-Pierre Isbouts uses the latest scientific and archaeological discoveries to place biblical stories in the framework of human history. Chapters, beginning with the dawn of human civilization and ending with present day and the future of archaeology, chronicle hundreds of sites and artifacts found in Sumer, Babylon, the Second Temple, along the route of the Exodus, and in many other regions across the Middle East. Timelines bridge hundreds of years and several empires, maps give readers a visual sense of location, while hundreds of photos and illustrations of rare artifacts and ancient places add to the visual splendor. lt concludes with details of what remains to be found and the evolving dynamic of biblical faith in an increasingly scientific world in which archaeologists make daily breakthroughs.

Traces the early history of the Holy Land; the rise of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam; and the geographical landscape of the region, in chronologically arranged chapters that place biblical texts in their historical context.

Focuses on the rich social and cultural history of Christianity through the ages, from its roots in Palestine to its development as a global movement.

Join National Geographic and bestselling author Jean-Pierre Isbouts to investigate ten enduring mysteries of Jesus in this original ebook short. Who was the unnamed "Beloved Disciple" who leaned on Jesus during the Last Supper? What did the Holy Grail look like—and could it possibly still exist? What do alternative tales of Jesus'' life, not included in the New Testament, suggest about early Christianity? From the extraordinary circumstances of Jesus'' birth to the latest analysis of the Shroud of Turin, Isbouts consults with the world''s leading scholars to shed new light on the mysteries that surround the extraordinary story of Jesus'' life.

Following the announcement of another Mona Lisa portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, held in a Swiss bank vault for over 40 years, this book is the first to analyze the meaning of this astonishing discovery, and how it radically changes our understanding of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. By tracing Leonardo''s movements in Florence on an almost day-to-day basis, Drs. Isbouts and Brown are able to reconstruct the fascinating chronology of the Mona Lisa portrait, and show how the subject ultimately became an obsession in the latter part of Leonardo''s life. The authors posit that whereas the Swiss Mona Lisa is clearly a portrait drawn from life of a young Florentine woman, the Louvre Mona Lisa is the culmination of Leonardo''s lifelong quest for the mystery of motherhood, as expressed in his more than ten paintings of the Madonna motif. Written as narrative history, yet grounded in modern scholarship, The Mona Lisa Myth not only shatters the portrait''s mythology, but also offers a bold new interpretation of the world''s most famous painting that will revolutionize our understanding of Leonardo life and work.

This exploration of the life of Christ as a grass-roots reformer draws on new evidence from historical and archeological records, in addition to close readings of the canonical and Gnostic Gospels.

The story of the exploration and birth of America is told afresh through the unique prism of hand-colored maps and engravings of the period. Before photography and television, it was printed and hand-colored maps that brought home the thrill of undiscovered lands and the possibilities of exploration, while guiding armies on all sides through the Indian Wars and the clashes of the American Revolution. Only by looking through the prism of these maps, can we truly understand how and why America developed the way it did. Mapping America illuminates with scene-setting text and more than 150 color images—from the exotic and fanciful maps of Renaissance explorers to the magnificent maps of the Golden Age and the thrilling battle-maps and charts of the American Revolutionary War, in addition to paintings from the masters of eighteenth century art, scores of photographs, and detailed diagrams. In total, this informative and lushly illustrated volume developed by rare maps collector Neal Asbury, host of “Neal Asbury’s Made in America,” and National Geographic historian Jean-Pierre Isbouts offers a new and immersive look at the ambition, the struggle, and the glory that attended and defined the exploration and making of America.

This immersive dive into the life and work of Salvador Dali unlocks the secret of this creative genius and reveals for the first time how his erotically charged paintings changed the world of modern art. In turns beloved and reviled, twentieth-century painter, filmmaker, and designer Salvador Dali set Europe and the United States ablaze with his uncompromising genius, sexual sadism, and flirtations with megalomania. His shocking behavior and work frequently alienated critics; his views were so outrageous, even prominent Surrealists tried to ostracize him. Still, every morning he experienced “an exquisite joy—the joy of being Salvador Dalí,” and because of his remarkable talent, Dali rose to unprecedented levels of fame—forever shifting the landscape of the art world and the nature of celebrity itself. In this stunning volume, rich with more than 150 full-color images, noted art historians Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown discuss the historical, social, and political conditions that shaped Dali''s work, identify the impact of modern as well as old master art, and present an unflinching view of the master''s personal relationships and motivations. With their deeply compelling narrative, Isbouts and Brown uncover how Dalí''s visual wit and enduring cult of personality still impacts fashion, literature, and art, from Andy Warhol to Lady Gaga, and answer why, in an age of shock and awe, Dali''s art still manages to distress, perplex, and entertain. An unparalleled guide to Dali and a critical resource for anyone keen to understand the development of modern art, The Dali Legacy is complemented by a contextualizing foreword from Frank Hunter, director of the Salvador Dali Archives.

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 color 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. You can complete your collection of recent National Geographic history books with National Geographic History at a Glance and More Bad Days in History by Michael Farquhar -- and you will treasure earlier National Geographic titles by this author, including The Biblical World,In the Footsteps of Jesus, and Archaeology of the Bible.

For the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death comes an immersive journey through five centuries of history to define the Leonardo mystique and uncover how the elusive Renaissance artist became a global pop icon. Virtually everyone would agree that Leonardo da Vinci was the most important artist of the High Renaissance. It was Leonardo who singlehandedly created the defining features of Western art: a realism based on subtle shading; depth using atmospheric effects; and dramatic contrasts between light and dark. But how did Leonardo, a painter of very few works who died in obscurity in France, become the internationally renowned icon he is today, with the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper the most visited artworks in the world, attracting nearly a billion visitors each year, and Salvator Mundi selling as the most expensive artwork of all time, for nearly half a billion dollars? This extraordinary volume, lavishly illustrated with 130 color images, is the first book to unravel these mysteries by diving deep into the art, literature, science, and politics of Europe from the Renaissance through today. It gives illuminating context to both Leonardo and his accomplishments; explores why Leonardo’s fame vastly overshadowed that of his contemporaries and disciples; and ultimately reveals why despite finishing very few works, his celebrity has survived, even thrived, through five centuries of history.

Provocative and original, this fresh look at Leonardo da Vinci’s formative years in Florence and Milan provides a radically different scenario of how he created his signature style that would transform Western art forever. The traditional view of Leonardo da Vinci’s career is that he enjoyed a promising start in Florence and then moved to Milan to become the celebrated court artist of Duke Ludovico Sforza. Young Leonardo presents a very different view. It reveals how the young Leonardo struggled against the prevailing style of his master Verrocchio, was stymied in his efforts to produce his first masterpiece in Florence, and left for Milan on little more than a wing and a prayer. Once there, he was long ignored by Duke Ludovico, and enjoyed only tepid Sforza support after his great equestrian project came to nothing. Meanwhile, all the major Sforza commissions went to artists whose names are now forgotten. Isbouts and Brown depict Leonardo’s seminal years in Milan from an entirely new perspective: that of the Sforza court. They show that much of the Sforza patronage was directed on vast projects, such as the Milan Cathedral, favoring a close circle of local artists to which Leonardo never gained entry. As a result, his exceptional talent remained largely unrecognized right up to the Last Supper. The authors also explore a mysterious link between the Last Supper and the fresco of the Crucifixion on the opposite wall, a work that up to now has fully escaped public attention. Finally, they present a sensational theory: that two long-ignored, life-sized copies of the Last Supper, now in Belgium and the U.K., were actually commissioned by the French King Louis XII and painted under Leonardo’s direct supervision. Young Leonardo is a fascinating window into the artist’s mind as he slowly develops the groundbreaking techniques that will produce the High Renaissance and change the course of European art.

The book is an exquisite and highly accessible overview of all of Leonardo''s paintings, based on the latest expert research and discoveries. It is of critical importance to continually examine Da Vinci - this epoch-defining human being - and the extraordinary artistic output of his studio from a contemporary point of view. In an era that has become acutely aware of the biases that history-writing inherently possesses, this essay offers a present-day perspective by offering an updated listing of Leonardo''s paintings in the light of recent scholarly debates, particularly given the ever-improving technologies and scientific data that are increasingly becoming the benchmark for the appraisal and investigation of art and culture.

Documents the actor''s career through behind-the-scenes looks at all of his movies and anecdotes about the actors, actresses, and directors with whom he has worked.

Descubre la historia de Jesús y de la iglesia que fundó. ¿Cómo pudo el cristianismo pasar de ser una pequeña comunidad de pescadores galileos a convertirse en un movimiento que acabó adueñándose del Imperio romano y, posteriormente, del resto del mundo? ¿Por qué la idea de un Dios compasivo se expandió por todos los territorios de Roma y arraigó por doquier mezclándose con las culturas nativas? Este libro, profusamente ilustrado, repasa el inicio del cristianismo contando la vida de Jesucristo y sus apóstoles desde los orígenes en Nazaret hasta su expansión, primero europea y después mundial, a través de las distintas iglesias cristianas (católica, ortodoxa y protestante).

Minunat ilustrata cu fotografii si harti de la National Geographic, Lumea biblica include întreaga istorie a tarii Sfinte – din zorii civilizatiei umane, pâna în secolul VII d.Hr., de la prima aparitie a lui Avraam, pâna la evolutia si raspândirea iudaismului, crestinismului si islamului. Acest volum exhaustiv prezinta o panorama uimitoare si plina de autoritate a Orientului Apropiat, folosind rezultatele ultimelor cercetari arheologice pentru a plasa fi gurile si evenimentele biblice în contextul istoriei umane si a picta un portret fascinant al vietii cotidiene în fi ecare epoca. Biblia ofera cadrul narativ central, cu povesti palpitante si cu drame de familie, despre natiuni construite si distruse si despre barbati si femei care au pornit sa-ti împlineasca destinul într-o lume condusa discretionar de un singur Dumnezeu – un concept nou în societatile dominate de politeism. Cunostintele moderne razbat din fi ecare capitol, aducând o relevanta si un interes îmbogatite povestilor fara vârsta despre credinta, relatii, conflicte si schimbare din Biblie.

A pivotal era of history comes to life in this fascinating biography of Jesus of Nazareth. The scrupulous account of Jesus'' life spans his birth in Bethlehem to his trial and death in Jerusalem along with an emphasis on the characters and events that shaped his journey and his enduring legacy. This revised and updated edition features new images from Jerusalem''s Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the latest information from the groundbreaking work to expose the original surface of Jesus'' tomb. Renowned religious historian and best-selling author Jean-Pierre Isbouts combines the latest historical and archaeological discoveries with enthralling storytelling to illustrate what is known and speculated about Jesus'' youth, life, and work. This expert text is presented in an enjoyable, reader-friendly format sure to inspire both newcomers to biblical history as well as the devoted.

In "The Search for Heaven," historian and social scientist Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts sets out to create an operational model of the afterlife, drawing from electromagnetic energy, quantum physics, neuroscience, philosophy, Asian health practices, near-death experiences, ancient traditions, and psychic observations. Written in the highly accessible style that made him a bestselling National Geographic author, and with a near-encyclopedic command of the material, Dr. Isbouts guides the reader step by step through the evidence, culminating in an actual tour through the "spiritual universe"-which, he argues, is actually our home base from where we came, and to which we will return. In the last chapter, he compares this afterlife model to Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhists concepts of heaven. His conclusion is that religious concepts have much more in common than we realize, including the belief in the "proximity to the Source of all life." Immersive, witty, and illustrated with astonishing observations by the renowned British psychic Susan Dunderdale Jones, "The Search for Heaven" is the first modern attempt to produce a scientific reconstruction of the afterlife that may sway even the staunchest reductionist skeptics.

FLANDERS, March 1915. Elsie Knocker and Mairi Chisholm, both avid members of the British Motor Gypsy Club, get ready to serve in the Flying Ambulance Corps, created by Major Hector Munro to spirit the wounded from the Flanders battlefields to field hospitals in the rear. The two young women are joined by Lady Dorothy Fielding, the wife of the Earl of Denbigh, and a beautiful, 22-year old American nurse, Helen Gleason. But mere weeks after their deployment to Flanders, they discover the awful truth: what''s killing the soldiers is not their injuries, but the horrendous, three-mile drive over unpaved, rutted roads to the rear. When the British Army Medical Corps refuses to acknowledge the problem, the four women take matters into their own hands - by setting up their own, unauthorized dressing station right on the front line. For the next three years, they battle not only German artillery and gas attacks, but also the British military establishment itself, determined to "put these women in their place" and shut down their post. Only by virtue of their heroism do the "Four Angels of Pervyse" persevere, aided by a local nobleman, Baron de T''Serclaes, who has deeply and irrevocably fallen in love with Elsie. Inspired by true characters and events, THE ANGELS OF WAR, now in its second print, is a riveting and deeply moving saga of love, passion and bravery in the midst of some of the worst carnage the world has ever seen. The book is written by best-selling author and award-winning screenwriter Jean-Pierre Isbouts. His most recent books include the National Geographic bestsellers The Biblical World (2007) and Young Jesus (2011); The Mona Lisa Myth (2013) and Young Leonardo (2017).

A stunning journey through the Holy Land, as told by the rare maps and prints that have long inspired Jewish, Christian, and Muslim pilgrimages. From the earliest days of the Roman Empire to the current war between Israel and Hamas, mapping the Holy Land has been a never-ending source of high aspirations and bitter conflict. Sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the Holy Land has always inspired Christians to walk in the footsteps of the Bible, to imagine the route of the Exodus, or discover the places of Jesus'' ministry. Muslims, too, longed to see the geographical contours of the ummah, the greater Muslim community, while Jews remembered the days when Jerusalem was the destination for three holy festivals. In response, cartographers from Late Antiquity to the Modern Age drew their inspiration from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim pilgrimages to depict, with growing confidence, the exotic locations of the Holy Land. Mapping the Holy Land is the first book to tell the thrilling story of these travels and the incredible prints and maps they spawned, up to the wars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Illustrated with rare, hand-colored maps and engravings throughout and riveting scene-setting history, this remarkable volume from rare maps collector Neal Asbury, CEO of The Legacy Companies and host of Neal Asbury’s Made in America, and National Geographic best-selling author Jean-Pierre Isbouts, coauthors of Mapping America, shows how the faithful overcame impossible odds to reach the Holy Land, and dives deep into the historical understanding of these elusive lands from Roman times up to the modern Israeli-Arab conflict.

From Moses to Muhammad by historian Jean-Pierre Isbouts explores the shared origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam through the unique prism of both the Bible and the Qur''an. The book positions the literary and cultural origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the context of the Babylonian, Egyptian, Greco-Roman and pre-Islamic civilizations. Among others, the author describes the use of Mesopotamian literary motifs by the Torah; the adoption of Greco-Roman iconography, as well as the Roman basilica form, by early Christianity; and the retention of pre-Islamic practices by early Islam, such as the circumambulation around the Ka''bah, the holy shrine in Mecca. In addition, Dr. Isbouts compares a number of narratives that all three traditions have in common, including the stories of Abraham, Joseph and Moses; and in the case of the Qur''an, the narratives about Jesus and his mother, Mary.

FLANDERS, March 1915. Elsie Knocker and Mairi Chisholm, both avid members of the British Motor Gypsy Club, volunteer for service in the Flying Ambulance Corps, created by Major Hector Munro to spirit the wounded from the Flanders battlefields to field hospitals in the rear. The two young women are joined by Lady Dorothy Fielding, the wife of the Earl of Denbigh, and a beautiful, 22-year old American nurse, Helen Gleason. But mere weeks after their deployment to Flanders, they discover the awful truth: what''s killing the soldiers is not their injuries, but the horrendous, three-mile drive over unpaved, rutted roads to the rear. When the British Army Medical Corps refuses to acknowledge the problem, the four women take matters into their own hands - by setting up their own, unauthorized dressing station right on the front line. For the next three years, they battle not only German artillery and gas attacks, but also the British military establishment itself, determined to "put these women in their place" and shut down their post. Only by virtue of their heroism do the "Four Angels of Pervyse" persevere, aided by a local nobleman, Baron de T''Serclaes, who has deeply and irrevocably fallen in love with Elsie. Inspired by true characters and events, ANGELS IN FLANDERS is a riveting and deeply moving saga of love, passion and bravery in the midst of some of the worst carnage the world has ever seen. Angels in Flanders is written by best-selling author and award-winning screenwriter Jean-Pierre Isbouts. His most recent books include National Geographic''s The Biblical World (2007) and Young Jesus (2008).

Art historians have long debated the question why sources about the origin of the Mona Lisa portrait provide conflicting information. This monograph presents a solution for this quandary: these 16th century sources don''t agree because they are not talking about the same painting. If we consider this possibility, that Leonardo painted not one, but two versions of the Mona Lisa, then all of these problems begin to resolve themselves. In fact, throughout his life Leonardo would often return to a motif or composition for a variety of reasons. Thus we have at least two versions of The Virgin of the Rocks, painted by Leonardo with the De Predis brothers in Milan, and two versions of the Madonna of the Yarnwinder, painted by Leonardo with his assistants in Florence. In other words, the proposition that Leonardo may have painted not one, but two versions of the Mona Lisa is by no means far-fetched. Nonetheless, it also raises an important question. If Leonardo did paint an earlier version in addition to the Louvre Mona Lisa, where is this portrait today? And how can we determine whether this painting is indeed an autograph, rather than one of the many Mona Lisa versions and copies that are still extant today?The answers to these questions are provided in this book, based on contributions by scholars from around the world. They include Prof. John Asmus of the University of California at San Diego; Prof. Vadim Parfenov at the State Electrotechnical University in St. Petersburg, Russia; Prof. Átila Soares da Costa Filho of the Universidade Cândido Mendes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Prof. Jason Halter of the University of Michigan; and Prof. Robert Meyrick of Aberystwyth University. In addition, this monograph includes contributions by noted art critic Gérard Boudin de l''Arche and two prominent artists, Albert Sauteur and Joe Mullins. The book is edited by Prof. Jean-Pierre Isbouts of Fielding Graduate University at Santa Barbara, CA. His previous publications on Leonardo da Vinci include The Mona Lisa Myth; Young Leonardo: The Evolution of a Revolutionary Artist; and The Da Vinci Legacy, co-authored with Dr. Christopher Brown.

Today, only about fifteen works are reliably credited to Leonardo da Vinci, and most of these are in private collections, out of public view. What''s more, in his own time Leonardo''s reputation was vastly overshadowed by the work of his rivals, Raphael and Michelangelo, prompting him to spend his last years in France in relative obscurity. This, then, is the great mystery of Leonardo''s legacy: if his tangible output was so limited, how was his radically innovative style inserted into the bloodstream of Italian art and Western painting as a whole? And how did his mystique as a solitary genius survive five centuries of European history, and continue to fascinate us in modern times? This book is the first to unravel this mystery by cutting a broad swath through the Renaissance, the Baroque, and Early Modern art, in an effort to discover how this elusive 16th century genius would exerted such an exceptional influence on Western civilization.

In Secret of Eternity, historian and social scientist Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts sets out to create an operational model of the afterlife, using quantum physics, neuroscience, electromagnetic energy, philosophy, Chakra and Chigong, near-death experiences, and psychic observations. In doing so, he shows that to understand the afterlife, we have to take the topic out of its religious context and treat it as a natural extension of human biology. Written in the highly accessible style that made him a bestselling National Geographic author, and with a near-encyclopedic command of the material, Dr. Isbouts guides the reader step by step through the evidence, culminating in an actual tour through the "spiritual universe"--which, he argues, is actually our home base from whence we came, and to which we will return.In the last chapter, he compares this afterlife model to Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhists concepts of heaven. His conclusion is that whereas religious concepts have much in common, including their belief in the "proximity to the Source of life," there is much that eludes our earthly grasp of the spiritual universe.Immersive, witty, and illustrated with astonishing observations by the renowned British psychic Sue Dunderdale Jones, Secret of Eternity is the first modern attempt to use all that humankind has learned to produce a scientific reconstruction of the afterlife that may sway even the staunchest reductionist skeptics.Jean-Pierre Isbouts is doctoral professor in the Social Sciences PhD program of Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, CA, and an award-winning director of historical documentaries for ABC, PBS, History Channel, A&E and overseas networks. His National Geographic hardcover books on biblical history that have sold over 1.5 million copies

Some 75 years after the discovery of the first texts in the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea Scrolls still make headlines. This book brings you the story of their unearthing, the ongoing archaeological work in the caves, and the details of who may have written the texts. Some highlights include: The history of the momentous discovery; A look at modern technology employed by archaeologists and historians in the search for the scrolls; and overviews of the biblical books of the scrolls and the ways they impacted Christianity.-- From statement at Amazon.