Most Popular Books by Michael Grant

A study of the life of Jesus by one of the great scholars of the ancient world. Examining the Gospels as he would any other historical document, Grant presents a picture of Jesus that is, in some respects, an unfamiliar one. He argues that Jesus was neither meek and mild, nor a political revolutionary, but rather consumed with the goal of the realisation of the Kingdom of God.

The first in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant''s breathtaking dystopian sci-fi saga, Gone is a page-turning thriller that invokes the classic The Lord of the Flies along with the horror of Stephen King. In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what''s happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It''s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: on your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else. . . . “A potent mix of action and thoughtfulness—centered around good and evil, courage and cowardice—renders this a tour de force that will leave readers dazed, disturbed, and utterly breathless.” —ALA Booklist (starred review) Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero

The third book in Michael Grant''s New York Times bestselling Gone series, Lies is another heart-in-your-throat page-turner, both chilling and thought-provoking. It''s been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone. It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach, and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness—or so they thought. As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. And all the while deadly rumors are raging like the fire itself, spread by the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ. Conditions are worse than ever and kids are desperate to get out. But are they desperate enough to believe that death will set them free? “Disturbing, brilliantly plotted, and boasting a balanced mix of action and scheming.” —ALA Booklist Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero

An informative and accessible guide to the Roman world. Grant is ''justly recognised as an expert and civilized guide to the ancient world'' THE ECONOMIST The Romans changed the Western world and theirs became the first golden age. This is their empire of magnificence and corruption; the republic, the dictators and the slaves; the civilization and the Pax Romana, the brutality and the collapse.

The sixth book in the New York Times bestselling Gone series by Michael Grant, is another masterful, arresting depiction of life in the FAYZ. It''s been over a year since all the adults disappeared. Gone. In the time since every person over the age of fourteen disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach, California, countless battles have been fought: battles against hunger and lies and plague, and epic battles of good against evil. And now, the gaiaphage has been reborn as Diana''s malicious mutant daughter, Gaia. Gaia is endlessly hungry for destruction. She yearns to conquer her nemesis, Little Pete, and then bend the entire world to her warped will. As long-standing enemies become allies, secrets are revealed and unexpected sacrifices are made. Will their attempts to save themselves and one another matter in the end, or will the kids of Perdido Beach perish in this final power struggle? “[T]his book is more than satisfying—it is epic.”—VOYA (starred review) Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero

In describing the triangular relationship among the Jews, the Romans and the Greeks, Michael Grant treats one of the most significant themes in world history. Unlike almost all the other subject nations of the Roman empire, the Jews have survived and have maintained a religious and cultural identity that is substantially unchanged. They provide a unique bridge with the ancient world and can bring us into peculiarly close and intimate contact with life in the Roman empire. This book embraces the period in which the Jewish religion assumed virtually its final form, and in which Jews launched their two heroic, but disastrous revolts against Roman rule. This was, moreover, the time when Judaism gave birth to Christianity. Within a century after the death of Jesus, his followers had become completely independent of Judaism. Michael Grant describes the grandeur of the great multiracial Roman empire, beneath whose rule these stirring and unique developments took place.

It’s Lord of the Flies for the Heroes generation. The Darkness has been foiled once again and the resurrected Drake has been contained. But the streets of Perdido Beach are far from safe. With a growing army of mutants fighting against the humans, power in the town hangs in the balance. In a small room of a house near the edge of town Little Pete lies ill on a bed. In his fevered dreams he continues his battle with the hidden evil that seeks to use his power for anarchy and destruction. A tour-de-force from global sensation Michael Grant, Plague is the fourth book in this bestselling series. “I love these books” – Stephen King

The second book in Michael Grant''s New York Times bestselling Gone series, Hunger is a thrilling, action-packed story that is impossible to put down. It''s been three months since all the adults disappeared. Gone. Food ran out weeks ago and starvation is imminent. Meanwhile, the normal teens have grown resentful of the kids with powers. And when an unthinkable tragedy occurs, chaos descends upon the town. There is no longer right and wrong. Each kid is out for himself and even the good ones turn murderous. But a larger problem looms. The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ. Calling to them, guiding them, manipulating them. The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry. “Readers will be unable to avoid involuntarily gasping, shuddering, or flinching while reading this suspense-filled story.” —Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review) Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero

The mind-blowing conclusion to the Monster trilogy and the final installment in the Gone series from science fiction and fantasy master Michael Grant is perfect for superhero and Stephen King fans alike. After the fall of Perdido Beach dome, a new set of humans developed mutant powers from the rock infected with alien virus. They are the Rockborn Gang: Dekka, Shade, Cruz, Malik, Armo, and Francis. With their superpowers, they have defended the earth from other rockborn who used their powers for evil, like Dillon Poe. When another rock carrying the virus strikes New York, a new foe, Bob Markovic, rises with a horrifying and nearly unstoppable ability. Markovic’s unending ambition and lack of a moral compass made him unbearable before the virus. And that was before he was a swarm of plague-ridden insects, with the power and means to take over the city—and maybe the world. As the Rockborn Gang try to defeat their latest villain, they will find themselves on morally gray grounds and have to make tough decisions if they want to save the world. In this pulse-pounding finale to the saga more than ten years in the making, Michael Grant delivers an unforgettable conclusion while asking: What does it take to be a hero? Praise for Monster: “Ratchets up the gore and action, and features a diverse cast of characters. An evocative, intricately plotted companion series.” –ALA Booklist Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero

In time the poems began to present themselves. And although they came with a surplus of emotion, the words themselves appeared with little effort on his part. This second book picks up where the first left off. Reading one before the other should matter little, as they both cover similar topics. If you like his writing feel free to tell your friends. If you do not, forget everything you heard here! A Future More Than This

Night is falling in the FAYZ. It has been nearly a year since everyone over the age of fifteen disappeared. And even though everything changed, the sun continued to shine on those left in Perdido Beach. But now the gaiaphage has blotted out the sun and plunged the FAYZ into perpetual gloom. Divided and dispirited, the survivors face their greatest enemy yet - the darkness of their own minds.

The story of the Athenian Golden Age by one of the world''s pre-eminent classical historians. The Golden Age of ancient Greek city-state civilization lasted from 490 to 336 BC, the period between the first wars against Persia and Carthage and the accession of Alexander the Great. Never has there been such a multiplication of talents and genius within so limited a period and Michael Grant captures this astonishing civilization at the height of its powers.

Acclaimed author Michael Grant delivers a stunning follow-up to the globally bestselling Gone series—perfect for fans of Stephen King’s suspenseful writing. It’s been four years since a meteor hit Perdido Beach and everyone disappeared. Everyone, except the kids trapped in the FAYZ—an invisible dome that was created by an alien virus. Inside the FAYZ, animals began to mutate and teens developed dangerous powers. The terrifying new world was plagued with hunger, lies, and fear of the unknown. Now the dome is gone and meteors are hitting earth with an even deadlier virus. Humans will mutate into monsters and the whole world will be exposed. As some teens begin to morph into heroes, they will find that others have become dangerously out of control . . . and that the world is on the brink of a monstrous battle between good and evil. “Ratchets up the gore and action, and features a diverse cast of characters. An evocative, intricately plotted companion series.” —ALA Booklist Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero

A fascinating and detailed guide to ancient Greece. Michael Grant looks at the policies and government of the hundreds of independent city-states and at the everyday life of the citizens. With fluency and scholarships he shows how the brilliance of the Ancient Greeks'' civilization was by no means limited to the Golden Age of its classical fifth century, but its early period was remarkable too. For 500 years the Greek city-states achieved a civilisation which has been an inspiration and an ideal ever since.

"It''s been four years since the events of GONE. The Perdido Beach dome is down, but the horrors within have spread. The alien virus-infested rock that created the FAYZ is creating monsters - monsters that walk the cities and countryside, terrorizing all. There are tanks in the street and predator drones in the sky, doomed efforts to stop the disintegration of civilization. Into this chaos comes a villain with the power to control anyone with just the sound of his voice. Dillon Poe wanted to be a comedian once ... but everyone made fun of him. Dillon the loser. Dillon the freak. Now he''s sending thousands to their death. Who''s laughing now? The only people who can stop a superpowered villain are superpowered heroes. Dekka, Shade, Cruz, Malik, Armo, and a new mutant with unmatched powers, are all that stand in Dillon''s way. But when the lines begin to blur between hero and villain - some begin to wonder who''s really the monster."--Publisher.

A study of one of the ancient world''s most fascinating figures. Fascinating and readable biography by a great populariser of classical civilisation. Directly responsible for momentous transformations of the Imperial scene, Constantine will always be famous as the 1st Christian Emperor of Rome, and for refounding ancient Byzantium as Constantinople - events which rank amongst the most significant in history. In art, politics, economics and particularly in religion, the life of Constantine acts as a bridge between past and present. Was he the last notable Roman Emperor, or the first medieval monarch ? Was the Great convert a saint and hero, or should we regard him as a murderer who killed his wife, his eldest son , and many of his friends to further his own ambitions? These are just some of the issues that are raised in this stimulating biography.

"This book seeks to provide short biographies of the Twelve Caesars: Julius Caesar and the first eleven Roman emperors who followed him"--Page 1

Sometimes One Hero Isn’t Enough Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. And with a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life. And then one day a three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears and delivers some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent 12. An evil force is on its way and it’s up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds to stop it. He will battle the wicked Ereskigal, also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary and Mack doesn’t want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?

This collection contains all six books in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant''s breathtaking dystopian sci-fi Gone saga. These page-turning thrillers invoke the classic The Lord of the Flies along with the horror of Stephen King. King himself said: "I love these books." In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what''s happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It''s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: on your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else. . . . Michael Grant''s Gone series has been praised for its compelling storytelling, multidimensional characters, and multiple points of view. Included in this collection are: Gone, Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear, and Light.

Written by eminent classical scholar Michael Grant. The Ancient Mediterranean is a wonderfully revealing, unusually comprehensive history of all the peoples who lived around the Mediterranean from about 15,000 B.C. to the time of Constantine (306-337 A.D.). Many volumes, including Professor Grant''s own previous works, trace the histories of the great civilizations of Greece and Rome. But this unique work looks at the influences and cultures of the entire region, including Egypt, Israel, Crete, Carthage, Ionia and the Eastern colonies. Syria, and the Etruscans, as well as the Greek and Roman states. Drawing on archaeology, geography, anthropology, and economics. Professor Grant shows how the great Oriental civilizations—Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia—originated attitudes and institutions ultimately passed on to the West. He describes the effect on the people and their achievements of the long, irregular coastline, the mountainous terrain surrounding small fertile plains, the typical plant life of olive and grape, and the rapidly changing weather. Further, he investigates how the demographic factors around this deep and stormy sea caused or influenced the great periods of ancient history, such as that of fifth-century Athens and of Rome in the first century A.D. Appealing and fascinating reading, this impeccably researched history brings a fresh perspective to understanding our ancient heritage.

The definitve guide to the history of ancient Israel. The History of Ancient Israel covers the epic story of Jewish civilisation from its beginnings to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Temple in AD 70. It deals with Israel''s relations with the great empires which shaped its development and with the changing internal structure of the Jewish state, drawing both on excavation and the Hebrew Bible.

In this first digital original novella set in the world of the Front Lines series, Michael Grant showcases the real-life female journalists of World War II who became the first women war correspondents in history. When fierce reporter Anne “Spats” Patrone joins the front lines, she gains access to the female soldiers of Second Squad, Fifth Platoon, Company A, 119th Division, including Rio Richlin. During her journalistic investigation on the front lines she will discover that women are capable of much more than fighting. But what starts out as a pursuit for a story turns deadly when Germans attack. Will Spats make it out alive?

Provides brief descriptions of the careers, characters, and personal lives of the emperors of Rome.

The definitive study of Rome by one of the 20th century''s finest ancient historians. A richly detailed portrait of Rome at the height of its glory.

Love The Hunger Games? Action-adventure thrillers with a dystopian twist? BZRK (Berserk) by Michael Grant, New York Times best-selling author of the GONE series, ramps up the action and suspense to a whole new level of excitement. Charles and Benjamin Armstrong, conjoined twins and owners of the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation, have a goal: to turn the world into their vision of utopia. No wars, no conflict, no hunger. And no free will. Opposing them is a guerrilla group of teens, code name BZRK, who are fighting to protect the right to be messed up, to be human. This is no ordinary war, though. Weapons are deployed on the nano-level. The battleground is the human brain. And there are no stalemates here: It''s victory . . . or madness. BZRK unfolds with hurricane force around core themes of conspiracy and mystery, insanity and changing realities, engagement and empowerment, and the larger impact of personal choice. Which side would you choose? How far would you go to win?

Mack Macavoy, a seriously average twelve-year-old boy, is faced with a difficult decision when a three-thousand-year-old man appears in the boys'' bathroom and informs him that he is one of the Magnificent Twelve and is needed to find his eleven teammates and save the world.

Grant shows us how the historians of antiquity routinely try to deceive, but he argues for the continuing vital importance of their work, and offers new ways of reading and interpreting it. An indispensible guide to using source-material.

Myths of the Greeks and Romans is an essential guide to ancient literature The myths told by the Greeks and Romans are as important as their history for our understanding of what they believed, thought and felt, and of what they expressed in writing and visual art. Mythology was inextricably interwoven with the entire fabric of their public and private lives. This book discusses not only the purely fictional myths, fairy-tales and folk-tales but the sagas and legends which have some historical grounding. This is not a dictionary of stories, rather a personal selection of the most important and memorable. Michael Grant re-tells these marvellous tales, and then explores the different ways in which they have appeared throughout literature. It is an inspiring study, filled with quotations from literary sources, which gives the reader a fascinating exposition of ancient culture as well as an understanding of how vital the classical world has been in shaping the western culture of today.

"In this volume Michael Grant surveys the decisive centuries of turmoil and rebirth that followed the final collapse of the Roman Empire in the West. The years 476 - 816 constitute a relitively neglected period ... [a] "Dark Age". ... Far from being a time of barbarian disorder, it emerges as a relitively rich period ... a crucial time of innovation and development that went very far towards shaping our modern world."--Publisher''s description.

Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, was also a scholar, murderer, lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony and one of the most remarkable women in history. The distinguished historian and classicist Michael Grant confirms that her reputation as a temptress was well-founded. However, by unravelling the sources behind the tangle of myth, gossip and invention he shows that the popular image of a wayward woman opting for a life of sensuous luxury and neglecting her affairs of state is far from the truth. A brilliant linguist and the first of her Greek-speaking dynasty who learned Egyptian, she was reputed to be the author of treatises on agriculture, make-up and alchemy. Her love affairs were carefully calculated to further her plans to restore her empire to its former greatness and she was a ruthless foe to all who stood in her way. But dead on her golden couch in the palace at Alexandria her life seemed to have ended in failure; her dreams of empire shattered; her lover Mark Antony a suicide himself and she a prisoner of her conqueror Octavian. An unforgettable portrait of an extraordinary queen and her stormy life.

Saint Paul was not only a religious figure of exceptional power but one of the outstanding makers of history. This is the biography of a man who profoundly influenced people of widely divergent beliefs, races and epochs. Without the spiritual earthquake brought about by St Paul, Christianity would probably never have survived. Yet Paul''s importance extends very widely beyond the religious field. His effect upon Western thought has been immeasurable. This is the man Michael Grant has described in his book. Paul''s own authentic voice can still be heard in his surviving letters or Epistles, which not only contain numerous autobiographical clues, but are the earliest Christian documents in existence and rank high among the most valuable literature the world has ever produced. Dr Grant considers in detail this extant literature, along with material of Paul''s four evangelical journeys and discusses the reasons for his spectacular conversion on the road to Damascus. As in The Jews of the Roman World and Herod the Great, he brings together research on Israel on the one hand and Greece and Rome on the other, believing that it is necessary to study these cultures in conjunction, since Paul was a Jew who wrote in Greek and was a Roman citizen. The aim of this book, then, is to bring to life this many sided human being of outstanding and peculiar gifts.

Who''s Who in Classical Mythology is the most complete and detailed reference book of its kind. It offers scholarly, yet accessible accounts of those mythological tales surrounding such gods as Apollo, Zeus, Athena and Dionysus, and mortals such as Achilles, Odysseus, Jason, Aeneas, Romulus and Remus and Tarquin. It contains over 1200 extensive entries, covering both Greek and Roman characters, providing detailed biographical information, together with historical and geographical background. In addition there are comprehensive genealogical trees of important mythological families and a detailed list of all Greek and Latin writers referred to in the text.

The Antonines - Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus and Commodus - played a crucial part in the development of the Roman empire, controlling its huge machine for half a century of its most testing period. Edward Gibbon observed that the epoch of the Antonines, the 2nd century A.D., was the happiest period the world had ever known. In this lucid, authoritative survey, Michael Grant re-examines Gibbon''s statement, and gives his own magisterial account of how the lives of the emperors and the art, literature, architecture and overall social condition under the Antonines represented an `age of transition''. The Antonines is essential reading for anyone who is interested in ancient history, as well as for all students and teachers of the subject.

"Gladiators, an exciting account of the ancient Roman institution of arena combat, traces the bloody 800-year history of the bustuarii from their rise during the third century B.C. to their eventual abolition at the end of the fifth century A.D. The popularity of gladiatorial combat dramatizes the paradox of Roman civilization: poets, philosophers, and politicians glorifying this brutal and savage institution in a culture remarkable for its contributions to government, law, literature, philosophy, and art--a culture that was a cornerstone of Western civilization. Although no amount of explanation can mitigate the savagery, in some ways good things came out of this almost-supreme evil. It brought forth countless acts if individual courage, it created one of the world''s greatest architectural forms, and it inspired a number of thoughtful men to write down violent protests that stood firm against this overwhelming tide of brutality. Illustrations of mosaics, statuettes, reliefs, and the remains of arenas and amphitheaters illuminate the text."--Provided by publisher

The Herod of popular tradition is the tyrannical King of Judaea who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents and died a terrible death in 4 BC as the judgment of God. But this biography paints a much more complex picture of this contemporary of Mark Antony, Cleopatra, and the Emperor Augustus. Herod devoted his life to the task of keeping the Jews prosperous and racially intact. To judge by the two disastrous Jewish rebellions that occurred within a hundred and fifty years of his death -- those the Jews called the First and Second Roman Wars -- he was not, in the long run, completely successful. For forty years Herod walked the most precarious of political tightropes. For he had to be enough of a Jew to retain control of his Jewish subjects, and enough of a pro-Roman to preserve the confidence of Rome, within whose territory his kingdom fell. For more than a quarter of a century he was one of the chief bulwarks of Augustus'' empire in the east. He made Judaea a large and prosperous country. He founded cities and built public works on a scale never seen before: of these, recently excavated Masada is a spectacular example. And he did all this in spite of a continuous undercurrent of protest and underground resistance. The numerous illustrations presents portraits and coins, buildings and articles of everyday use, landscapes and fortresses, and subsequent generations'' interpretations of the more famous events, actual and mythical, of Herod''s career.

With Eve and Adam, authors Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant team up for the first time since creating the bestselling Animorphs series to craft a thrilling, dual-point-of-view story. In the beginning, there was an apple – And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker''s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother''s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal. Just when Eve thinks she will die – not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy. Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect . . . won''t he?

Fans of the 39 Clues books will love The Key, the third entry in Michael Grant’s middle-grade Magnificent 12 series. Full of adventure and wackiness, the Magnificent 12 books are also perfect for readers of funny, action-filled series like Dan Gutman’s Genius Files. With 21 phobias, Mack MacAvoy is more of a wimpy kid than a hero, but he is on a quest to defeat the wicked—and crazy, and mean, and dangerous—Pale Queen before her three-thousand-year banishment ends. In The Key, Mack must find more of the Magnificent 12, the twelve twelve-year-olds fated to stop the queen from destroying the world, and assemble a key—a cheat sheet, really—to a magical language. Along the way, he’ll transform the Loch Ness monster into a gigantic duck, and transport the Eiffel Tower across the River Seine. The Key is another fast-paced episode in Michael Grant’s bestselling and hysterical fantasy adventure series.

Michael Grant''s huge following Popular subject with the general reader Short, illustrated book with lavish jacket