Best of times, worst of times : 365 great stories from modern history for every day of the year

This is the third book in Icon's increasingly admired "365" series, revelling in the highs and lows of the world since the last year of the Second World War.The world since 1945 often seems to represents the lighter half of the 20th century.

Rapid recovery from the ravages of war; the rise of popular culture; the phenomenal growth in affluence, health and quality of life; the communications revolution - in the West at least the story is a good one.

But the years between 1945 and 2007 - those covered in this book - are far from being post-war.

They are also, sadly, no strangers to famine, disease, violent political and social upheaval, terrorism, discrimination and environment catastrophe.Gerard Cheshire's "365" picks up where its predecessors left off.

Featuring a historical story for every single day of the year, this volume reports the facts of the modern world but leaves the reader in no doubt - the end of history is a long way off yet.18 March 1965: A cosmonaut, and not an astronaut, becomes the first person to conduct a 'space walk'.14 May 1948: The first Jewish state in 2,000 years comes into being.21 September 1995: The 'Hindu Milk Miracle' causes mass hysteria in India.25 November 1984: Bob Geldof and Midge Ure assemble musicians to record 'Do they know it's Christmas?' under the collective name Band Aid.13 December 2006: The Chinese Yangtze river dolphin, the Baiji, is declared 'functionally extinct' after a research team fails to find a single specimen.