Scott Edwin Williams
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Scott Edwin Williams
Twisted Renaissance History
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The Renaissance was brilliant, dangerous, and absolutely not as tidy as people pretend.
Artists broke the rules. Printers spread forbidden ideas. Sailors trusted maps that lied. Kings, priests, conquerors, and geniuses all tried to control the future.
They failed.
From Florence to Venice, Mexico City to Japan, young people are caught in the chaos as the world begins to rethink almost everything.
Several centuries of brilliance.
Plenty of terrible decisions.
One very judgmental alien.
Civilization is so needy.
We Renaissanced Civilization? throws readers into the Renaissance: a time of dazzling art, dangerous books, collapsing certainties, and people slowly realizing the old answers no longer explained the world.
Across Florence, Venice, Portugal, Wittenberg, Mexico City, Padua, Japan, and Elizabethan England, young people find themselves caught in moments too big for them to control. An apprentice watches Leonardo da Vinci refuse to behave like a normal genius. A printer’s runner learns that books can be more dangerous than weapons. A sailor discovers the ocean does not care what the map says. A girl in conquered Mexico sees a civilization being dismantled stone by stone. A young observer in an anatomy theatre realizes the human body does not always match the ancient books.
And lurking at the edge of it all is Peaby: ancient, orange, sarcastic, and trying very hard not to interfere.
This is not the neat version of the Renaissance. This is the messy one, where brilliant ideas arrive covered in ash, ink, blood, seawater, and bad decisions.
Because civilization did not simply wake up.
It had to be rethought.
Hey there! Welcome to my store!
SCOTT EDWIN WILLIAMS is a writer, educator, and history nerd who believes the past is best explored with a plane ticket, a pen, and a pint. When he’s not nearly getting arrested in the world’s top historical sites, he writes about travel, history, and the weird, wonderful places where they collide. He's the author of the Lightbulb Moments in Human History series and a new series Unearthed: A History Nerd Abroad. Dig History. Travel Light. Embrace Chaos.
Twisted Medieval History
CIVILIZATION IS FRAGILE...
SOMETIMES IT NEEDS RESCUE
An Aztec girl witnesses the death of the sun. And its rebirth.
A monk flees a burning library clutching ancient scrolls.
A legendary explorer loses his pantaloons to pirates.
A teenage healer is the last one standing when plague sweeps England.
None of them set out to save the world.
They just refused to let it fall apart.
We Rescued Civilization?
is a twisted medieval history.
Tagging along — uninvited as usual — is Peaby: A fuzzy orange alien who has shadowed humanity for 20,000 years who’s seen this before.
And it didn't end well.
CIVILIZATION’S NOT GOING TO SAVE ITSELF.
Twisted Ancient History
SOMEONE HAD TO INVENT CIVILIZATION.
IT JUST WASN'T GOING TO BE PRETTY.
A cave girl whose ideas are dismissed by elders...
until the elders need saving.
A girl who sneaks into a forbidden temple to watch a mummification.
A boy with an obsidian knife who makes an impossible choice
about a human sacrifice.
None of them set out to invent civilization.
They just couldn't help themselves.
We Invented Civilization?
is a twisted ancient history co-piloted by Peaby: a fuzzy orange alien
who has shadowed humanity for 20,000 years and has strong opinions.
He’s watching where this is heading and he has popcorn.
CIVILIZATION’S NOT GOING TO INVENT ITSELF.
A History Nerd Abroad in Europe
AUTHOR ARRESTED IN MONA LISA MAYHEM!
"I could already picture the headline... But I hadn’t set out to cause an international incident."
After years of writing about the past from a safe distance, card-carrying history nerd Scott Edwin Williams—author of Lightbulb Moments in Human History—finally sets off to experience it firsthand. With his best friend and beer aficionado, CJ, in tow, he embarks on a whirlwind tour of Europe’s greatest historical sites.
Only they discover that history isn’t a passive observer. It lurks in alleyways—unpredictable, relentless, and hell-bent on robbing you of your dignity.
Part historical pilgrimage, part pub crawl, and all existential crisis, Unearthed is a celebration of family, friendship, curiosity, and finding meaning in the chaos.
Perfect for fans of Bill Bryson’s irreverent humor, Tim Moore’s misadventures, and travelers who know the best stories start when the itinerary falls apart.
