History

Digging for Troy

It started as a legend told to each new generation about a war between the Greeks and the Trojans, with heroes battling over a beauty named Helen. While some question if this war and even the city of Troy itself existed, the tales have enticed people to look for clues in order to elicit fact from fiction and in some cases, to gain their own glory. Jill Rubalcaba and Eric H. Cline dig into many archeological expeditions at Hisarlik, the modern-day site believed to have been ancient Troy. The recount Heinrich Schliemann’s quest for renown, Wilhelm Drpfeld’s meticulous digs, Carl Blegen’s timeline of Troy’s layers from 2900 BCE to 550 CE, and Manfred Korfmann’s controversial picture of Troy as a political entity with Anatolian-not Aegean-ties.

Saving Zasha

In 1945 Russia, those who own German shepherds are considered traitors, but thirteen-year-old Mikhail and his family are determined to keep the dog a dying man brought them, while his classmate Katia strives to learn his secret.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 3

Five Thousand Years of Slavery

When they were too impoverished to raise their families, ancient Sumerians sold their children into bondage. Slave women in Rome faced never-ending household drudgery. The ninth-century Zanj were transported from East Africa to work the salt marshes of Iraq. Cotton pickers worked under terrible duress in the American South.Ancient history? Tragically, no. In our time, slavery wears many faces. James Kofi Annan’s parents in Ghana sold him because they could not feed him. Beatrice Fernando had to work almost around the clock in Lebanon. Julia Gabriel was trafficked from Arizona to the cucumber fields of South Carolina.Five Thousand Years of Slavery provides the suspense and emotional engagement of a great novel. It is an excellent resource with its comprehensive historical narrative, firsthand accounts, maps, archival photos, paintings and posters, an index, and suggestions for further reading. Much more than a reference work, it is a brilliant exploration of the worst – and the best – in human society.

Sky Sailors

For more than a century before airplanes, people explored the sky in balloons. From 1783 to the early 1900s, aeronauts flew into storms, crossed large bodies of water, sailed over enemy armies, and soared to deadly altitudes. Illustrated in full color with dramatuc period artwork, here are the stories of the pioneers of human flight, such as daredevil Sophie Blanchard from Napoleon’s France, and Solmon Andree, who lead an aerial assault on the North Pole in 1897.

The Secret Cave

Jacques, Jojo, Simon, and Marcel were looking for buried treasure when they explored a cave in the south of France in 1940. But the treasure inside was not what they expected, and in fact far more valuable: the walls were covered with stunning prehistoric paintings and engravings, preserved within the sealed cave for over 17,000 years. This is the true story of the boys who discovered the cave of Lascaux, bringing to the modern world powerful examples of the very beginning of art.

Canadian Railroad Trilogy

This lavishly illustrated book brings Gordon Lightfoot’s heart-stirring song to readers. Commissioned by the CBC in 1967 to mark Canada’s centennial year it eloquently describes the construction of the transcontinental railway, a great feat of nation building that changed Canada forever. Award-winning illustrator Ian Wallace brings the song to visual life with his sweeping landscapes and evocative portrayals of the people who lived the building of the railroad. The book includes Gordon Lightfoot’s music and lyrics, a brief history of the railroad and notes on the illustrations.