This account begins with the creation legends of Heliopolis, Memphis, and Hermopolis and illustrates the intellectual struggles of the Egyptians to explain the beginning of the world. The myths that follow range from stories about the gods--the murder of Osiris and vengeance of Horus, Isis and the seven scorpions, Sakhmet and the virtual slaughter of mankind--to fables such as the Shipwrecked Sailor and the Enchanted Island. Through these delightful and often amusing tales, we can appreciate more fully the beliefs and imagination of the ancient Egyptians.

    Presidents features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the men in the White House - complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts.

    Now, with this monumental volume of Egyptian culture, history, and arcania, readers will be able to immerse themselves in the great lady's world more completely than ever before. Journey through the bustling streets and markets of Cairo a hundred years ago. Surround yourself with the customs and color of a bygone time. Explore ancient tombs and temples and marvel at the history of this remarkable land -- from the age of the pharaohs through the Napoleonic era to the First World War. Also included in Amelia Peabody's Egypt are a hitherto unpublished journal entry and intimate biographies of the Emersons and their friends, which provide a uniquely personal view of the lives, relationships, opinions, politics, and delightful eccentricities of mystery's first family, as well as unforgettable pearls of wit and wisdom from everyone's favorite fictional Egyptologist herself.Containing nearly 600 black-and-white photographs and illustrations, and articles by numerous experts, Amelia Peabody's Egypt sparkles with unforgettable glimpses of the exotic and the bizarre, the unusual and the unfamiliar -- a treasure trove that overflows with Egyptological riches, along with wonderful insights into the culture and mores of the Victorian era, including the prevalent attitudes on empire, fashion, feminism, tourists, servants, and much more.A one-of-a-kind collection that offers endless hours of pleasure for Peabodyphiles and Egypt aficionados alike, here is a tome to cherish; a grand andglorious celebration of the life, the work, and the world of the incomparable Amelia Peabody.

    Egypt is stunningly beautiful with a pleasant climate year-round, and if that alone isn't a big enough draw for the time-traveler, the fruits of Egyptian civilization are plentiful and worthy of contemplation. Pyramids and temples to the gods abound, and colossal statues of Egypt's divine rulers are seemingly everywhere. The Egyptians, however, are not particularly fond of foreigners, and just getting to Egypt can be arduous. Here is the inside scoop on how to enter and travel through Egypt, conform to its customs and expectations, and appreciate its often mysterious culture. You'll travel the Nile from north to south, stopping at such intriguing places as Memphis, Akhetaten, Abydos, and Thebes, where Egypt's grand past and present unfold before you. Egypt has long been a subject of broad popular interest, and this book provides an enjoyable glimpse of the ancient empire and its industrious people. Advice for the traveler in ancient Egypt: Foreigners might be bewildered by animal-headed deities and what appear to be numerous contradictions in Egyptian theology. Not to worry: there's a system behind it. Don't bring up the topic of the renegade pharaoh, Akhenaten, among new acquaintances. Many wish he hadn't existed. Should you need to visit an Egyptian physician, there's agood chance he'll prescribe a purge of one sort or another, accompanied by a magic spell.

    Crammed into old houses and hotels, abandoned prisons and empty hospitals, the spirits that linger continue to capture our collective imagination, but why? His own fascination piqued by a house hunt in Los Angeles that revealed derelict foreclosures and "zombie homes," Dickey embarks on a journey across the continental United States to decode and unpack the American history repressed in our most famous haunted places. Some have established reputations as "the most haunted mansion in America," or "the most haunted prison"; others, like the haunted Indian burial grounds in West Virginia, evoke memories from the past our collective nation tries to forget.            With boundless curiosity, Dickey conjures the dead by focusing on questions of the living—how do we, the living, deal with stories about ghosts, and how do we inhabit and move through spaces that have been deemed, for whatever reason, haunted? Paying attention not only to the true facts behind a ghost story, but also to the ways in which changes to those facts are made—and why those changes are made—Dickey paints a version of American history left out of the textbooks, one of things left undone, crimes left unsolved. Spellbinding, scary, and wickedly insightful, Ghostland discovers the past we're most afraid to speak of aloud in the bright light of day is the same past that tends to linger in the ghost stories we whisper in the dark.From the Hardcover edition.

    That day--chosen completely at random--turned out to be Sunday, December 28, 1986, by any conventional measure a most ordinary day. Weingarten spent the next six years proving that there is no such thing.That Sunday between Christmas and New Year's turned out to be filled with comedy, tragedy, implausible irony, cosmic comeuppances, kindness, cruelty, heroism, cowardice, genius, idiocy, prejudice, selflessness, coincidence, and startling moments of human connection, along with evocative foreshadowing of momentous events yet to come. Lives were lost. Lives were saved. Lives were altered in overwhelming ways. Many of these events never made it into the news; they were private dramas in the lives of private people. They were utterly compelling.One Day asks and answers the question of whether there is even such a thing as "ordinary" when we are talking about how we all lurch and stumble our way through the daily, daunting challenge of being human.

    Its extensive analysis integrates the complex and diverse political, social, intellectual, and economic histories of this area with an engaging and lively style. Popular because of its scope and coverage, the Fifth Edition of A History of Asia contains new boxed features that emphasize cross-cultural comparisons and expanded treatment of Southeast Asia. Additionally, a timeline and discussion questions have been added to each chapter, making the book even more student friendly.

    But two men—John Chatterton and John Mattera—are willing to risk everything to find the Golden Fleece, the ship of the infamous pirate Joseph Bannister. At large during the Golden Age of Piracy in the seventeenth century, Bannister’s exploits would have been more notorious than Blackbeard’s, more daring than Kidd’s, but his story, and his ship, have been lost to time. If Chatterton and Mattera succeed, they will make history—it will be just the second time ever that a pirate ship has been discovered and positively identified. Soon, however, they realize that cutting-edge technology and a willingness to lose everything aren’t enough to track down Bannister’s ship. They must travel the globe in search of historic documents and accounts of the great pirate’s exploits, face down dangerous rivals, battle the tides of nations and governments and experts. But it’s only when they learn to think and act like pirates—like Bannister—that they become able to go where no pirate hunters have gone before. Fast-paced and filled with suspense, fascinating characters, history, and adventure, Pirate Hunters is an unputdownable story that goes deep to discover truths and souls long believed lost.Advance praise for Pirate Hunters “A great thriller full of tough guys and long odds . . . and: It’s all true.”—Lee Child “Action and adventure on land and sea—you can’t ask for more. But Robert Kurson raises the ante in Pirate Hunters with an array of mystery and a fleet of colorful characters spanning four centuries. This is a great summer read!”—Michael Connelly “Pirate Hunters is a fantastic book, an utterly engrossing and satisfying read. It tells the story of the hunt for the rare wreck of a pirate ship, which had been captained by one of the most remarkable pirates in history. This is a real-life Treasure Island, complete with swashbuckling, half-crazy treasure hunters and vivid Caribbean settings—a story for the ages.”—Douglas Preston “A terrific read. I was pulled in from page one. Kurson brings us face to face with some of the most swashbuckling pirates ever to sail the Caribbean, even as he takes us underwater on a high-tech quest to discover the relics they left behind.”—Daniel James Brown “There’s nothing in the world like buried treasure—and people hungry and obsessed enough to risk their lives for it. Pirate Hunters isn’t just a good story—it’s a true one. Searching for the souls of its explorers, it takes you to the far tip of the plank and plunges you deep to the bottom of the ocean.”—Brad Meltzer “Pirate Hunters is a gripping account of two courageous divers’ quest to uncover the shipwrecked vessel of Joseph Bannister, one of history’s most infamous pirates. Robert Kurson will keep you on the edge of your seat in this high-stakes journey around the globe that ultimately teaches these explorers about much more than an old ship.”—Sen. John McCain “Kurson’s own enthusiasm, combined with his copious research and an eye for detail, makes for one of the most mind-blowing pirate stories of recent memory.”—Publishers Weekly

    In one of Phil Mason’s many revelations, you’ll learn that Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they had to turn back as they were running out of fuel. You’ll discover that before the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon’s painful hemorrhoids prevented him from mounting his horse to survey the battlefield. You’ll learn that an irate blacksmith threw his hammer at a fox and missed, hitting a rock and revealing the largest vein of silver ever discovered, thus changing the finances of Canada forever. Interestingly, Charlton Heston was cast as Moses in The Ten Commandments because his broken nose made him look like Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of Moses. Finally, no one knows Einstein’s last words. They were in German, a language his nurse did not speak.A treasure trove filled with fascinating anecdotes about the tiny ripples that created big waves in history, Napoleon’s Hemorrhoids is much more than just a trivial fact book; it is an astonishing historical-fate book revealing how our most famous incidents, best-loved works of art, and most accepted historical outcomes are simply twists of fate.

    Foster applies his much-loved combination of wit, know-how, and analysis to explain how each work has shaped our very existence as readers, students, teachers, and Americans.Foster illuminates how books such as The Last of the Mohicans, Moby-Dick, My Ántonia, The Great Gatsby, The Maltese Falcon, Their Eyes Were Watching God, On the Road, The Crying of Lot 49, and others captured an American moment, how they influenced our perception of nationhood and citizenship, and what about them endures in the American character. Twenty-five Books That Shaped America is a fun and enriching guide to America through its literature.

    Now Lost Star of Myth and Time shows evidence the Ancients were not just weaving fanciful tales - science is on the verge of an amazing discovery - our Sun has a companion star carrying us through a great cycle of stellar influences. If true, it means the Ancients were right and our views of space and time and the history of civilization will never be the same. More than that, it would mean we are now at the dawn of a new age in human development and world conditions.

    Vintage book

    Today, she's an Edgar-award winning mystery writer with over 25 Alaska-based novels to her credit. Stabenow knows Alaska.Writing for Alaska Magazine, she revisited old haunts and explored many new ones to capture the vital pioneering spirit of the state she calls home. From cruising the Inner Passage to hiking the Chilkoot Trail, bidding on bachelors at Talkeetna's Winterfest, to a behind-the-scenes look at the Iditarod sled dog race, Alaska Traveler collects over 50 of Stabenow's columns about life on America's last frontier. It's Alaska in all seasons—not just the summer months—and in all its quirky, iconoclastic glory.Travelers planning a trip to Alaska will find much to inspire them, as will those just interested to read more about the state that residents call The Great Land.

    That's about it, right? Well, no, not exactly. Florida is also one of the best places to chart your weirdest travel destinations. And who better to chronicle this state's fabled places, roadside wonders, bizarre beasts, and downright peculiar people than Charlie Carlson, a tenth-generation Floridian. All who know Charlie can testify that he is one very strange dude and the perfect person to steer you to Florida's best-kept secrets and oddest legends.Mosquito netting in place and notepad in hand, Charlie has waddled through swamps, trekked the lesser-traveled roads, and visited the weirder destinations of our country's only peninsula state. Looking for the odd and the offbeat, he found them everywhere. He has tracked down impossible-to-believe tales that had just enough truth in them to create the same uneasiness a gator sighting would. Whether it's the Skunk Ape, the Devil's Chair of Cassadaga, or the She-Man of the Caloosahatchee River, Charlie presents it here for you, our fellow admirers of the weird.So act like a tourist and start browsing. You'll be entranced with the beer-can car, the tombstone for Pearl ("I told you I was sick") Roberts, the Blue Heaven Rooster Graveyard, the Devil Tree, the bowling-ball house, Catalina's ghost, the Mafia House, and Xanadu, the abandoned and neglected house of the future. Read all about the Wizard of Central Florida and Count Von Cosel and his immortal love. It's all here. It's all for you. It's all...very weird.A brand-new entry in the best-selling Weird U.S. series, Weird Florida is packed with all the info about the Sunshine State that your history teacher never taught you. So travel down our state's highways and byways with your tour guide, Mr. Charlie. It's a great adventure. And we promise: it's a journey you'll never forget.

    Whether propagated by politicians and think tanks, populists or the media, the family tales of childhood or your Facebook friend's feed – fake history is everywhere and it impacts, ever more, on our modern world.This book dismantles the lazy and pernicious tropes of the past as Otto English sets out to redress the balance and reclaim truth from those who seek to pervert it.Fake History will expose everything you weren't told in school and reveal why you weren't taught it.