Mann tells the gripping story of globalization through travel, trade, colonization, and migration from its beginnings in the fifteenth century to the present. How did the lowly potato plant feed the poor across Europe and then cause the deaths of millions? How did the rubber plant enable industrialization? What is the connection between malaria, slavery, and the outcome of the American Revolution? How did the fabled silver mountain of sixteenth-century Bolivia fund economic development in the flood-prone plains of rural China and the wars of the Spanish Empire? Here is the story of how sometimes the greatest leaps also posed the greatest threats to human advancement.Mann's language is as plainspoken and clear as it is provocative, his research and erudition vast, his conclusions ones that will stimulate the critical thinking of young people. 1493 for Young People provides tools for wrestling with the most pressing issues of today, and will empower young people as they struggle with a changing world.

    Each age has required its own standard - a gleaming white brow during the Renaissance, the black eyebrows considered charming in the early 18th century, or the thin lips thought desirable to the Victorians. For those naturally blessed, their beauty could ensure a good marriage, offer social mobility, fame or notoriety whereas those without such obvious gifts would resort to any ends to achieve an illusion of beauty.Ours is not the only age when beauty is celebrated but also judged and quantified. From the color of the ear to the transparency of the teeth the benchmark for every aspect of beauty has been set and women - and some men - have applied themselves wholeheartedly risking their lives using poisonous chemicals, their fortunes at the risk of blackmail, or the wrath of God, to reach the desired targets.From Queen Elizabeth I who used dangerous quantities of white lead to give her complexion the illusion of a youthful lustre, to Marilyn Monroe who blended 4 shades of lipstick to emphasise her perfect pout this book will examine some of the more unusual cosmetic practices contemplated in beauty's name.

    These histories use an exciting story to teach young readers about life during the colonization of America.

    Leonardo da Vinci, inventor extraordinarie and artist, is illustrated beautifully in this historical biography by Emily Hahn.

    Examining visual art from 1980 to the present, it takes an intriguing and accessible approach that motivates students and other readers to think actively about and discuss contemporary art--what it means and how it means what it does. The opening chapter provides a concise overview of the period, analyzing how four key changes (the rise of new media, a growing awareness of diversity, the influence of theory, and interactions with everyday visual culture) have resulted in an art world with dramatically expanded boundaries. Reflecting the paradigm shift from a formalist way of teaching studio art to more varied and open-ended concepts, the remaining six chapters each deal with a key theme--time, place, the body, language, identity, and spirituality. Each chapter features an introduction to the thematic topic; a brief look at historical precedents and influences; a detailed analysis of how contemporary artists have responded to and embodied aspects of the theme in specific works; and an in-depth and fascinating profile of an artist who has extensively explored aspects of the theme in his or her work. Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980 shows how art can be interpreted from several different angles: techniques and materials, historical circumstances, aesthetic qualities, theoretical issues, and an artist's ideas and intentions. Writing in a lucid and engaging style, the authors skillfully reveal the multiple levels of meaning in artworks, drawing connections between contemporary art, art of the past, and everyday existence. The volume is enhanced by 87 illustrations--19 in full color--that demonstrate an immense variety of materials, subjects, and styles. These well-chosen examples will help readers learn to critically describe, interpret, and evaluate contemporary visual art. A bibliography and a timeline that situates contemporary art in the context of major events in world history, art, and popular culture are also included. An ideal core text for courses in contemporary art history, Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980 can also be used as a supplement in modern art, art appreciation, art criticism/theory, and studio art courses.

    Informatively written, and ideal for both students and the general reader, it plots the rise and fall of empires, the nature of different societies and the evolution of technology.

    With full colour illustrations.

    Beautifully illustrated, clearly presented, and written in a lucid and accessible style, this unique book encapsulates the essential history of the Christian religion.

    Kenji (拳児) is a manga about a Japanese teenager named Kenji who practices the martial art Bājíquán (Japanese: Hakkyoku-ken) and his encounters with other martial artists, including some from real life, such as Adam Hsu and Liu Chia-Liang.The series is based on the life of Song Tien Long Dz and has had histories of Hakkyoku-ken, Li Shu-Wen, and Liu Yun-Chiao.Kenji's archnemesis is a gangster named Tony Tan who practiced Hung Gar and later Xinyiliuhequan.This series primarily features Bājíquán, but also gets into Praying Mantis Kung Fu, Baguazhang, Chen T'ai Chi Ch'üan, Pi Quan, Xingyiquan, Xin Yi Liu He, Shaolin, Hung Gar, Daito Ryu, Shotokan and numerous other styles.

    Before the nation's greatest asset, the land west of the Ohio River, could be sold it had to be measured out and mapped. And before that could be done, a uniform set of measurements had to be chosen for the new republic out of the morass of roughly 100,000 different units that were in daily useage. Measuring America tells the fascinating story of how we ultimately gained the American Customary System — the last traditional system in the world — and how one man's surveying chain indelibly imprinted its dimensions on the land, on cities, and on our culture from coast to coast.

    Besides such stories as the ants' subterranean city, the spider's suspension bridge, and the caterpillars' processing, he unlocks the mystery behind thunder and lightning, clouds and rain, the year and its seasons, and volcanoes and earthquakes. Suitable for ages 9 to 12.

    When the plague broke out in London in 1665 he was forced to return home from college. It was during this period of so much death, that Newton gave life to some of the most important theories in modern science, including gravity and the laws of motion.

    Edited by a team of exceptional scholars and teachers, this anthology opens an extraordinary tradition in drama to new readers and audiences."

    But we owe nearly as much to Galen, a physician born in 129 A.D. at the height of the Roman Empire. Galen's acute diagnoses of patients, his botanical wisdom and studies of physiology were recorded in numerous books, handed down through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He developed sports medicine, doctoring gladiators. Not least, Galen passed on the medical tradition of respect for life. In this fascinating biography for young people, Jeanne Bendick brings Galen's Roman world alive with the clarity, humor, and outstanding content we enjoyed in Archimedes and the Door to Science. An excellent addition to schools, libraries, and homes; ideal for home education.

    Ages 9-12.