History

In The Sun King’s Paris With Moliere (Come See My City)

Presents young readers with a journey back in time accompanied by the playwright Moliere as he provides a tour of seventeenth century Paris, discussing the everyday life of the people and visiting the famous landmarks of the city.

The Ancient Romans (Myths Of The World)

A retelling of several key ancient Roman myths, with background information describing the history, geography, belief systems, and customs of ancient Rome

A Thousand Years Of Pirates

For as long as they’ve existed, pirates have conjured up visions of high-seas adventure and skullduggery, sea chases and bloody battles, dangerous coastal lairs and buried treasure. Rightly so, for ever since ships have carried valuable cargo, pirates have enraged monarchs and struck terror into the hearts of honest seamen with their willingness to risk life and limb for an undeserved share of the riches. Whether the cargo was gold or silver, spices or silks, animal or human, there have always been villains ruthless enough to kill or be hanged for it. From the days of the Vikings to the present and in all the oceans of the world, pirates have made their presence known and feared. Recorded here are their stories along with striking images of ships, storms at sea, and secret harbors where “black ships” could be re-stocked and refitted. Award-winning author and artist William Gilkerson has spent years researching and painting their colorful history. From the terrible Black Beard to the fascinating Granuaile, or Grace O’Malley as the English called her, they have come to life under his brush. One can almost hear the creak of timbers, the snap of canvas while turning the pages. This gift book is a rich treasure in its own right.

Black Man’s Grave: Letters From Sierra Leone

Black manThe memoir and the movie have only scratched the surface. Black Man’s Grave tells what happened to place the boy-turned-soldier in jeopardy and why Sierra Leone’s diamonds acquired their bloody tinge. Meet the greedy politicians who hijacked a fledgling democracy, the rebels who brought them down, and the villagers who struggled to survive the country’s chaotic descent. The cast includes Sierra Leone’s “big man,” Siaka Stevens; RUF leader Foday Sankoh, whose grandfatherly demeanor belied the viciousness with which he sought to impose his “revolution”; and one who aspired to the big man role, Charles Taylor from next-door Liberia. Taylor’s support for Sierra Leone’s rebel war expanded from initial hostility toward Stevens’s handpicked successor into a commercial venture that supplied arms in exchange for diamonds. In an offshoot of that pernicious trade, links between Sierra Leone’s diamonds and al Qaeda have been traced. The revelations of Black Man’s Grave help us understand the frustrations that simmer throughout much of the third world and threaten a peaceful future.

The Countryside (Life In Ancient Egypt)

Describes the social and economic structure of country life during the New Kingdom period (c. 1550 BCE – 1070 BCE) of ancient Egypt, including the distinctive roles of men and women and what it was like to be a child in a peasant community.

In Nineteenth-Century London With Dickens (Come See My City!)

Presents young readers with a journey back in time accompanied by the author Charles Dickens as he provides a tour of nineteenth century London, discussing the everyday life of the people and visiting the famous landmarks of the city.

The Middle East

The Middle East captures the richness and diversity of Middle Eastern culture, and places the region in its global context in a way that no other reference has done for this age group.