Philip Parker – Stanfords Blog

Children’s Book of the Month: The History of Everywhere

Our Children’s Book of the Month for January 2025 is The History of Everywhere: All the Stuff That You Never Knew Happened at the Same Time by Philip Parker illustrated by Liz Kay.

Discover history as you’ve never seen it before – and all the stuff you never knew happened at the same time.

Did you know the woolly mammoths were still around when the Egyptians built their pyramids? Or that Leonardo Da Vinci lived at the same time as Henry VIII and the Aztecs? Welcome to The History of Everywhere, a fascinating guide to all the stuff you never knew happened at the same time! In lively maps, see the whole world of history: from ancient times to the modern day, watch civilizations rise and fall, spot fascinating connections and coincidences, and discover the people and events you never learnt about in school. Prepare for a fascinating journey around the world that will change the way you see history.

Author Talk: History of Cities in Maps by Philip Parker

We were delighted to welcome Philip Parker back to Stanfords on Thursday to talk about his new book History of Cities in Maps.

From ancient civilizations to modern-day metropolises, maps have played a crucial role in urban progress.

Small Island by Philip Parker

To celebrate the launch of Small Island: 12 Maps that Explain the History of Britain , here, the author Philip Parker briefly explains some of the changes Britain has gone through since 500,000 BCE.

Book of the Month: Small Island: A History of Britain in 12 Maps

Our Book of the Month for August is Small Island: A History of Britain in 12 Maps by Philip Parker.

A fascinating analysis of a dozen maps from critical points in British history over the last 2,000 years, from the Celtic period when ‘Britain’ was just a patchwork of tribal kingdoms, to a century ago when the whole of Ireland, India, Australia, much of Africa, Asia and the Americas were also marked as British.

History of World Trade in Maps, Trade and Diplomacy

A brand new book gracing the shelves at Stanfords is Philip Parker’s History of World Trade in Maps. In this beautiful book, more than 70 maps give a visual representation of the history of World Commerce, accompanied by text which tells the extraordinary story of the merchants, adventurers, middle-men and monarchs who bought, sold, explored and fought in search of profit and power. The maps are all works of art, witnesses to history, and have a fascinating story to tell.

To celebrate the launch of his new book, we asked Philip to write this blog post to give us all a taster of what we can expect:

Trade and Diplomacy by Philip Parker

In an age when trade negotiations – or the lack of them – seem to degenerate into political point-scoring or abstruse technical arguments over the cocoa content of chocolate – it is easy to forget that without trade, our way of life would collapse. Every country, even North Korea, has to trade the goods it can produce in exchange for those it needs but cannot produce. A trading advantage can be gained by a reputation for quality, specialization, sharp-tongued merchants or skill in spotting shortages. Above all, however, diplomacy acts as a multiplier of trading success.