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Extreme Survivors: Animals That Time Forgot (How Nature Works #0)
By Kimberly Ridley. 2017
Selected for the 2018 Bank Street College of Education Best STEM Children’s Books of the Year What do the goblin…
shark, horseshoe crab, the “indestructible” water bear, and a handful of other bizarre animals have in common? They are all “extreme survivors,” animals that still look much like their prehistoric ancestors from millions of years ago. Meet ten amazing animals that appear to have changed little in more than 100 million years. They are the rare exceptions to the rule. More than 99 percent of all life forms have gone extinct during the 3.6-billion-year history of life on Earth. Other organisms have changed dramatically, but not our extreme survivors. Evolution may have altered their physiology and behavior, but their body plans have stood the test of time. How have these living links with Earth’s prehistoric past survived? The search for answers is leading scientists to new discoveries about the past—and future—of life on Earth. The survival secrets of some of these ancient creatures could lead to new medicines and treatments for disease. Written in a lively, entertaining voice, Extreme Survivors provides detailed life histories and strange “survival secrets” of ten ancient animals and explains evolution and natural selection. Extensive back matter includes glossary, additional facts and geographic range for each organism and a geologic timeline of Earth. F&P Level V Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. To explore further access options with us, please contact us through the Book Quality link. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.Wisdom of the Buddha: The Unabridged Dhammapada (Dover Thrift Editions Ser.)
By F. Max Müller. 2000
These ancient verses offer a compelling introduction to Buddhist thought, revealing the Four Truths -- concerning the nature of the…
world and our lot in it -- and the Eightfold Path to enlightenment, the means by which to overcome the essential suffering revealed by the Four Truths as the essence of life.The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Rome: A Handbook for Time Travelers (The Thrifty Guides #1)
By Jonathan W. Stokes. 2017
From the publishing house that brought you the Who Was? books comes the next big series to make history approachable,…
engaging, and funny!The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Rome contains information vital to the sensible time traveler: • Where can I find a decent hotel room in ancient Rome for under five sesterces a day? Is horse parking included? • What do I do if I’m attacked by barbarians? • What are my legal options if I’m fed to the lions at the Colosseum? All this is answered and more. There is handy advice on finding the best picnicking spots to watch Julius Caesar’s assassination at the Roman Forum in 44 BC, as well as helpful real estate tips to profit from the great Roman fire of AD 64. There are even useful recommendations on which famous historical figures to meet for lunch, and a few nifty pointers on how to avoid being poisoned, beheaded, or torn apart by an angry mob. If you had a time travel machine and could take a vacation anywhere in history, this is the only guidebook you would need!Philoctetes
By Paul Woodruff, Peter Meineck, Sophocles. 2014
The Economy of China (China: The Emerging Superpower)
By Shu Shin Luh. 2013
What would China's revolutionary leader, Mao Zedong, think if he were alive today? Mao's Chinese Communist Party continues to hold…
a monopoly on political power, and at its core China remains a developing nation. But in many respects, today's China bears little resemblance to the country that emerged under Mao's leadership after 1949. Most important, today's People's Republic of China is Communist in name only. Rapid economic liberalization has brought capitalism, and unprecedented prosperity, to the world's most populous country. Farmers, once the backbone of China's economy, are taking a backseat to the entrepreneurs who make millions exporting low-cost, sophisticated computer chips and flat-screen televisions to the rest of the world. The sleeping giant, as one prominent economist described it, has awakened, and the rest of the world can no longer ignore its presence and its potential. How did this transformation come about? This book takes an in-depth look at that question and examines the future prospects for China in the global economy.China Under Reform (China: The Emerging Superpower)
By Zhimin Lin. 2013
In 1976, at the death of its longtime leader Mao Zedong, China was in a state of economic stagnation and…
social chaos. Mao's radical policies and continual political campaigns, including the disastrous Cultural Revolution, had taken a heavy toll on the Chinese people. By the end of the decade, however, a more moderate, pragmatic leadership under Deng Xiaoping had come to power and put China on a course to recovery. In the four decades since then, China's economic growth has been nothing short of amazing. China is now one of the world's leading manufacturing centers, and an estimated 400 million of its people have been lifted out of poverty. Still, problems remain. Among them are a growing gap in living standards between rural and urban areas, rampant corruption, and a repressive government that has resisted political reforms. This volume provides a comprehensive view of China's historic reforms. It not only details what has been accomplished so far, but also offers a glimpse at what the future might hold for the world's most populous nation.Famous People of China (China: The Emerging Superpower)
By Yan Liao. 2013
Over the centuries, Chinese civilization has produced many important inventions and innovations, including paper, printing, porcelain, the magnetic compass, and…
gunpowder. Similarly, China has produced a host of exceptional and accomplished individuals in all fields of human endeavor. Famous People of China profiles a handful of remarkable figures from China's long history. Among the intriguing people included in this volume are Confucius, China's most influential philosopher; the emperor Qin Shihuang, who unified China and built the Great Wall; the beloved poet Su Dongpo; and Zheng He, whose epic seagoing expeditions predated the famous Spanish and Portuguese voyages of exploration by more than half a century.The People of China (China: The Emerging Superpower)
By Shu Shin Luh. 2013
About 92 percent of China's 1.35 billion people come from the same ethnic group, the Han, who have dominated Chinese…
culture for more than 2,000 years. Nevertheless, China is by no means a homogeneous nation. In fact, China's government officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups, and at times their integration into Chinese society has presented difficult challenges for Beijing. The People of China presents an in-depth look at the largest ethnic groups in the world's most populous country. It examines each group's history, customs, beliefs, and aspirations--in the process revealing the complexities, and the politics, of ethnic identity in the People's Republic of China.TOOLS OF THE ANCIENT ROMANS
By Rachel Dickinson. 2006
Tools of the Ancient Greeks: A Kid's Guide to the History and Science of Life in Ancient Greece explores the…
scientific discoveries, athletic innovations, engineering marvels, and innovative ideas created more than two thousand years ago. Through biographical sidebars, interesting facts, fascinating anecdotes, and fifteen hands-on activities, readers will learn how Greek innovations and ideas have shaped world history and our own world view.The Wisdom of the Zen Masters
By Christmas Humphreys, Irmgard Schloegl. 1976
Unlike most other formal religions, the Japanese school of Zen Buddhism has no canonized corpus of sacred literature which will…
reveal the "truth" to diligent readers. There are, however, numerous collections of anecdotes and aphorisms that may serve to convey the sensibility which underscores the practice of Zen. Drawing on these traditional sources, Dr. Irmgard Schloegl of the Buddhist Society in London has gathered into one short volume a sampling of stories and sayings that are a valuable introduction to the study of Zen. "If in every mind burns a flame of the Buddha's Enlightenment," Christmas Humphreys writes in his foreword to The Wisdom of the Zen Masters, "there is nothing to seek and nothing to acquire. We are enlightened, and all the words in the world will not give us what we already have. The man of Zen, therefore, is concerned with one thing only, to become aware of what he already is..." The task of the Japanese Zen master has been to guide his pupils in their awakening. The means used vary--from severe physical discipline to the proposition of enigmatic riddles, or koans--but always to the same end, Enlightenment: experiencing the Great Death of the worldly "I."Food and Festivals of China (China: The Emerging Superpower)
By Yan Liao. 2013
Have you ever seen the boisterous lion dances or heard the multitude of firecrackers in Chinatown during the Chinese New…
Year? Did you ever wonder what kind of festivals and holidays the Chinese people celebrate? This book takes a look at the fascinating world of Chinese food and festivals. It introduces the most popular traditional festivals celebrated by Chinese people all over the globe, including the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and two "festivals of the dead." It also examines intriguing ethnic festivals celebrated by some of China's 55 officially recognized minority peoples. Discover the customs, legends, and traditional food and treats of these festivals. Share the excitement of the celebration with one-fifth of the world's population, and enjoy the liveliest component of a 4,000-year-old civilization!Famous Men of Greece
By John Haaren. 2012
Greeks were history's great men of thought. John Haaren has collected stories from the lives of thirty famous Greek Men,…
detailing the rise, Golden Age, and fall of Greece. Among these men are Aristotle, Ptolemy, Ulysses, Pericles, and Alexander the Great. Your children will be delighted to read and understand why the scope of Greek accomplishment is still known today as "The Greek Miracle."Where Is the Colosseum?
By David Groff, John O'Brien, Jim O'Connor. 2017
A marvel of engineering that proclaimed the might of the Emperor of Ancient Rome.The Emperor Titus opened the enormous Colosseum…
in AD 80 to host 100 days of games, and it will astound readers to learn what the ancient Romans found entertaining. Over 50,000 screaming fans watched gladiators battling each other to the death, men fighting exotic wild beasts, and even mock sea battles with warships floating on an arena floor flooded with water. By AD 476 the Roman Empire had fallen, and yet the ruins of the Colosseum remain a world-famous landmark of an unforgettable time.From the Trade Paperback edition.The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise
By Dalai Lama, Ian Baker. 2004
The myth of Shangri-la originates in Tibetan Buddhist beliefs in beyul, or hidden lands, sacred sanctuaries that reveal themselves to…
devout pilgrims and in times of crisis. The more remote and inaccessible the beyul, the vaster its reputed qualities. Ancient Tibetan prophecies declare that the greatest of all hidden lands lies at the heart of the forbidding Tsangpo Gorge, deep in the Himalayas and veiled by a colossal waterfall. Nineteenth-century accounts of this fabled waterfall inspired a series of ill-fated European expeditions that ended prematurely in 1925 when the intrepid British plant collector Frank Kingdon-Ward penetrated all but a five-mile section of the Tsangpo's innermost gorge and declared that the falls were no more than a "religious myth" and a "romance of geography." The heart of the Tsangpo Gorge remained a blank spot on the map of world exploration until world-class climber and Buddhist scholar Ian Baker delved into the legends. Whatever cryptic Tibetan scrolls or past explorers had said about the Tsangpo's innermost gorge, Baker determined, could be verified only by exploring the uncharted five-mile gap. After several years of encountering sheer cliffs, maelstroms of impassable white water, and dense leech-infested jungles, on the last of a series of extraordinary expeditions, Baker and his National Geographic-sponsored team reached the depths of the Tsangpo Gorge. They made news worldwide by finding there a 108-foot-high waterfall, the legendary grail of Western explorers and Tibetan seekers alike. The Heart of the World is one of the most captivating stories of exploration and discovery in recent memory--an extraordinary journey to one of the wildest and most inaccessible places on earth and a pilgrimage to the heart of the Tibetan Buddhist faith.Burn Before Reading: Presidents, CIA Directors, and Secret Intelligence
By Turner Stansfield. 2005
In this "thoughtful, entertaining, and often insightful" book, a former CIA director explores the delicate give-and-take between the Oval Office…
and Langley.With the disastrous intelligence failures of the last few years still fresh in Americans minds--and to all appearances still continuing--there has never been a more urgent need for a book like this.In Burn Before Reading, Admiral Stansfield Turner, the CIA director under President Jimmy Carter, takes the reader inside the Beltway to examine the complicated, often strained relationships between presidents and their CIA chiefs. From FDR and "Wild Bill" Donovan to George W. Bush and George Tenet, twelve pairings are studied in these pages, and the results are eye-opening and provocative. Throughout, Turner offers a fascinating look into the machinery of intelligence gathering, revealing how personal and political issues often interfere with government business--and the nation's safety.Siddhartha: Siddhartha
By Hermann Hesse, Sherab Chodzin Kohn. 1877
This classic of twentieth-century literature chronicles the spiritual evolution of a man living in India at the time of the…
Buddha--a spiritual journey that has inspired generations of readers. Here is a fresh translation from Sherab Chödzin Kohn, a gifted translator and longtime student of Buddhism and Eastern philosophy. Kohn's flowing, poetic translation conveys the philosophical and spiritual nuances of Hesse's text, paying special attention to the qualities of meditation experience. This edition also includes an introduction exploring Hesse's own spiritual journey as evidenced in his journals and personal letters.The Portable Greek Reader
By W. H. Auden. 1948
It is commonplace to say that our civilization is built on the ruins of Greece. W. H. Auden's splendid anthology…
locates the truth behind the truism, while filling in the gaps in our knowledge of a people who gave us so much of our cultural legacy. Every page in The Portable Greek Reader contains some fundamental precursor of the ways in which we think about heroism, destiny, love, politics, tragedy, science, virtue, and thought itself, Included are excerpts from the mythologies of Hesiod; the martial epics of Homer; the dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle, and Heraclitus; Aesop's fables; poems by Pindar and Sappho; the scientific writings of Euclid, Galen, and Hippocrates; and the history of Thucydides. Presented in their most elegant and authoritative translations, and accompanied by Auden's brilliant introduction, these selections recreate the Greek world in all its splendor, strangeness, and sophistication. "Engaging and full and intelligent ... a command performance, brought off with considerable aplomb." --The New York TimesChebron, the young son of an Egyptian high priest, and Amuba, a young slave in the boy's household, are close…
friends; but their lives are greatly altered when Chebron accidentally kills a cat, an animal held sacred by the ancient Egyptians. Forced to flee for their safety, the boys and their companions begin a long and dangerous journey. A thrilling adventure story, this is also a tale packed with historical facts. Among other fascinating details, young readers learn about the Egyptian religion and geography, how the Nile was used for irrigation, and how the Egyptians made war and were prepared for burial. A captivating book that accurately describes life in a once magnificent civilization, this volume will especially appeal to youngsters fascinated by the life and customs of ancient Egypt.The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington
By Brad Meltzer, Josh Mensch. 2019
In 1776, an elite group of soldiers were handpicked to serve as George Washington’s bodyguards. Washington trusted them; relied on…
them. But unbeknownst to Washington, some of them were part of a treasonous plan. In the months leading up to the Revolutionary War, these traitorous soldiers, along with the Governor of New York, William Tryon, and Mayor David Mathews, launched a deadly plot against the most important member of the military: George Washington himself. This is the story of the secret plot and how it was revealed. It is a story of leaders, liars, counterfeiters, and jailhouse confessors. It also shows just how hard the battle was for George Washington and how close America was to losing the Revolutionary War. In this historical page-turner, New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer teams up with American history writer and documentary television producer, Josh Mensch to unravel the shocking true story behind what has previously been a footnote in the pages of history. Drawing on extensive research, Meltzer and Mensch capture in riveting detail how George Washington not only defeated the most powerful military force in the world, but also uncovered the secret plot against him in the tumultuous days leading up to July 4, 1776. A New York Times BestsellerWhat Was the Ice Age? (What Was?)
By Nico Medina, David Groff, Who Hq. 2017
A mesmerizing overview of the world as it was when glaciers covered the earth and long-extinct creatures like the woolly…
mammoths and saber-toothed cats battled to survive.Go back 20,000 years ago to a time of much colder global temperatures when glaciers and extensive sheets of ice covered much of our planet. As these sheets traveled, they caused enormous changes in the Earth's landscape and climate, leading to the evolution of creatures such as giant armadillos, saber-toothed cats, and woolly mammoths as well as club-wielding Neanderthals and later the cleverer modern humans. Nico Medina re-creates this harsh ancient world in a vivid and easy-to-read narrative.