Dr Paul Cooper

He holds a PhD from the University of East Anglia, where his research focused on the cultural and literary significance of ruins. He is the author of two acclaimed historical novels River of Ink and All Our Broken Idols, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, BBC, National Geographic, New Scientist, and Discover magazine.

Fall of Civilizations - The world is full of ruins. From the Colosseum of Rome to the crumbling suburbs of Detroit, the vine-wreathed temples of the Maya to the shell-pocked buildings of Bakhmut and Gaza. Each of these ruins has a different history, but all of them are places where, one day, the future ended.

In Fall of Civilizations, historian Paul Cooper tells the stories behind our greatest civilizations, how they rose to power and what life was like for the people who witnessed their downfall. Based on the critically acclaimed podcast, this extraordinary book turns a clear eye on to humanity’s past mistakes – and whether we are doomed to repeat them.