Stirrups, Knights, and Civilization

Wheels, stirrups, bows and arrows, gunpowder, and sailing ships: along the timeline of history, every object has a story worth telling. They sparked changes in nations and brought different civilizations into contact, shaping the history of human civilization. That is what makes history so fascinating and mysterious.

This is the first volume in the Details of History series. Starting with the invention of the wheel, it recounts how people improved and used it, and how this led to the development of nations, warfare, and civilization. It traces the relationship between the wheel and human civilization, from wheels to chariots and roads, from carriages to sedan chairs, wheelbarrows, and cars, and from the collapse of the rites of the Spring and Autumn period to the Industrial Revolution of modern times. It is fair to say that the wheel brought humanity a great awakening of thought and a technological revolution.