Fifty days that changed the world

Throughout the centuries there have been days on which the course of history has altered irrevocably; days on which something so momentous happened that it is difficult to imagine the world without their impact. Had the Greeks lost at Salamis on 28 September 480 BC, would the West have given birth to democracy? Had Charles Martel not defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours on 11 October 732, would Islam have advanced deeper into Europe? Had the Japanese not attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, might Hitler have triumphed in Europe? These single world-changing dates include 29 May 1453 when Constantinople fell, 12 October 1492 when Columbus landed in the New World, 14 July 1789 when the Bastille was stormed, 9 April 1865 when General Lee surrendered at Appomatox, and 11 September 2001 when the World Trade Centre was destroyed in New York. Fifty Days That Changed the World unravels the causes and consequences of the most significant days in human history, revealing how each one left its imprint on the course of future events.