Charles River

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Hinduism is one of the world's great religions, dominating the Indian subcontinent for most of the last millennium, and its largest temple is an unbelievably magnificent structure located in Angkor, Cambodia. Known in English as Angkor Wat ("City Temple"), the gigantic complex was built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century to serve as the king's state temple and capital city. Since it has remained so finely preserved, it has maintained religious significance for nearly 900 years, first dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, and then Buddhist. Understandably, it has become one of Cambodia's most potent symbols and tourist attractions, and it even appears on the Cambodian national flag. Angkor Wat continues to fascinate the world, both due to its sheer grandeur and size, as well as its ornamental decorations both inside and out. With political strife in Cambodia having cooled, Angkor Wat is now a major tourist attraction, bringing upwards of over half a million foreigners per year, which accounts for over half of the nation's tourists. Angkor Wat: The History and Legacy of the World's Largest Hindu Temple chronicles the remarkable history of the site and the religious influence it has had over the centuries. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Angkor Wat like never before.

Sometime early in November 1985, a clandestine prison escape took place at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts. With the usual prop of knotted together sheets, Charles Taylor an ex-Liberian government official, alumni student of Bentley College, Massachusetts, and fugitive from Liberian justice, scaled the wall and climbed into the rear passenger's seat of a car waiting to take him to New York. There, he was collected by his wife, Jewel Taylor, and spirited away. Thereafter, Charles Taylor slipped out of sight. The event attracted a few lines in the local press and a desultory police investigation but nothing more. Within a few weeks, the matter was closed and Charles Taylor was forgotten. Then, on Boxing Day 1989, BBC's Focus on Africa program aired an interview with Charles Taylor as he was somewhere in West Africa, announcing the commencement of a war. He spoke by satellite telephone, which at the time was the acme of modern communications, speaking with an identifiably American accent. His message was simply that his organization, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia-or the NPFL-had launched an invasion of Liberia with the purpose of overthrowing the current head of state, Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe. Thus began an improbable decade of anarchic and self-consuming violence that overwhelmed the tiny nation of Liberia and spread to neighboring Sierra Leone in one of the signature African civil conflicts of the late 20th century. It was during the Liberian and Sierra Leonean civil wars that the phenomenon of drug-addled and heavily-armed youth, many of them just children, were recruited and mobilized by local warlords against each other and the institutions of state and economy. It marked the beginning of television warfare, with the press following the conflict at every stage, documenting in excruciating detail the horror and violence of a thoroughly modern, budget revolution. The commercial exploitation of Sierra Leonean diamonds began in the early 1930s, in the Kono District in the east of the country. The first discoveries had been made by a British-held concern called Consolidated African Selection Trust, or CAST, in which a British shareholder body, Selection Trust Limited, shared a significant interest with the diamond giant De Beers. Transparency, of course, was not by any means absolute, but under British colonial oversight, the movement of diamonds out of the country was regulated and royalties channeled reasonably appropriately. In the past, all diamond mining in Sierra Leone had fallen under the control of the Sierra Leone Selection Trust-or SLST-a private investor body with exclusive rights to mine diamonds in Sierra Leone. By the mid-1950s and 1960s, illegal and illicit mining had taken over large areas of production. Figures vary, but by the 1960s, one can assume a figure of upwards of 100,000 illegal miners, both domestic and foreign, were active in the Kono District. Armed groups began to appear, challenging private SLST security, eventually fermenting a situation of anarchy under which regulated and taxed diamond production diminished to a trickle. Naturally, the corruption was at its most pervasive and creative surrounding diamonds. The industry was effectively criminalized, becoming the basis of a patrimonial shadow system geared toward sustaining wealth and power at its center. Distrustful of his own countrymen and tribal opponents, Stevens handed off much of the day to day business of diamonds to Lebanese businessmen who had been a somewhat anomalous presence in Sierra Leone since the end of the 19th century. From a peak of over two million carats officially exported in 1970, legitimate diamond exports dropped to 595,000 carats in 1980 and 48,000 carats in 1988.

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading "We are of a single nation, of the same blood, but forcibly divided." - attributed to Kim Il-sung North Korea has long been the butt of jokes, and it has been a longstanding target of international criticism, but the startling satellite image was anything but amusing, for it demonstrated the truly catastrophic conditions North Koreans find themselves in. Statistics show that the average South Korean uses up to 10,162 kilowatt hours of power per year, whereas their neighbors in the north consume only 739. This is only one amongst a slew of stumbling blocks affecting the state, impeding it from proper progress. The mismatching network of sprawling, yet lifeless cities and squalid, poverty-stricken provinces stands eerily silent next to the bustling metropolises on either side of it. North Korea is trapped in an impenetrable, soundproof bubble, the entire state frozen in time. Notwithstanding a fractional sliver of the capital, where the Supreme Commander and the North Korean elites resided, the faded Pyongyang skyline and its blocky, monotone buildings - while a vast improvement from the rest of the state - seemed to be lifted straight out of the '70s at best. So why is North Korea so starkly different from its neighbors when nothing more but mere borders separate them? A tyrannical lineage secured by nepotism. An entire nation indoctrinated by chilling, mindboggling propaganda, molded by fear and forced ignorance. Mass purges doled out seemingly on whims, without fair trials. Unparalleled paranoia and cold-blooded assassinations left and right, seemingly around every curve and corner. An impoverished sphere of barren wastelands inhabited by malnourished masses, orbiting a world glittering with the gross opulence and superfluous riches of the elite. These sound like the elements of a particularly perilous period of autocracy enforced by some mad monarch of a bygone era, or perhaps a generic blurb for a far-fetched thriller set in a dystopian future. Alas, the description matches the modern state of North Korea almost flawlessly. To say that the so-called "Supreme Commanders" of North Korea have been sticklers for submission would trivialize the more-than-troubling state of affairs that has plagued this precarious place for decades. The fearsome Kim regime, though relatively fresh in comparison to powerful dynasties that lasted for centuries, has become one of history's most controversial bloodlines, and not without cause. After his father, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il was the second of the despotic Kims that have terrorized North Korea for decades. While lampooned widely across the West, Kim Jong-il, a fan of cinema, all but mastered the art of propaganda in North Korea to heighten his image. A clip from a quirky North Korean children's show that has recently emerged went so far as to depict his supernatural birth in question. A bespectacled man sporting a Mister Rogers-esque mustard sweater and a wispy, peppered beard can be seen surrounded by a group of kindergarteners who appear to be captivated by the eccentric narrator's every word. He tells them about the "Great General from Heaven," who was born on what the locals call the "sacred Mount Paektu," the tallest cluster of mountain ranges on the entire Korean peninsula with its staggering height of 9,000 ft. After his father's death in 2011, Kim Jong-un, the baby-faced 30-something with the bizarre flat-top seated at the throne today, became an object of fascination. The world watched with bated breath as the keys to the sinking ship were passed down to the young Kim, hoping for the state's long-awaited metamorphosis. It would not take long for these same wishful thinkers to realize that this young man could be far more erratic, blinkered, and inflexible than those who came before him.

*Includes pictures of Longstreet and other important Civil War generals, as well as maps of battles he fought in. *Discusses the controversies surrounding Longstreet's performance at Gettysburg *Analyzes Longstreet's legacy and the post-war debates among Longstreet and other Confederate generals. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. One of the most important, and controversial, Confederate generals during the Civil War was Lieutenant General James Longstreet, the man Robert E. Lee called his "old war horse." Longstreet was Lee's principal subordinate for most of the war, ably managing a corps in the Army of Northern Virginia and being instrumental in Confederate victories at Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chickamauga. Longstreet was also effective at Antietam and the Battle of the Wilderness, where he was nearly killed by a shot through the neck. Had Longstreet died on the field in early May 1864, he would almost certainly be considered one of the South's biggest heroes. However, it was his performance at Gettysburg and arguments with other Southern generals after the Civil War that tarnished his image. After the South lost the war and Gettysburg came to be viewed as one of its biggest turning points, former Confederate generals looked to that battle to find scapegoats to blame for losing the war. Longstreet was charged with being slow to attack on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, allowing the Union to man Little Round Top. He also resisted Lee's order for Pickett's Charge the next day, making his criticisms clear both that day and after the war through his writings. The fact that he served in Republican administrations after the Civil War rubbed his former comrades the wrong way, and the Georgian Longstreet's criticism of Lee infuriated the Virginian Lost Cause advocates who idolized Lee. Near the end of his life, Longstreet authored From Manassas to Appomattox, a Civil War memoirs that looked to rebut his critics. Longstreet didn't avoid his critics, facing them head on by fending off criticisms of his record for the most part, usually including letters written by other officers to his defense. Longstreet also didn't pull punches, which he does at times quite poignantly on Lee's mishaps, most notably of course at Gettysburg. In other instances, he defends himself by criticizing others. When Fitz Lee notes that R. E. Lee called Longstreet the hardest man to move in the Army (a comment that can't be confirmed or refuted), he comes to his own defense in part by criticizing Stonewall Jackson during the Seven Days campaign. Hindsight is 20/20, and Longstreet's arguments in the conduct of certain campaigns certainly benefited from the passing of 30 years. At a number of places, Longstreet believes that if his suggestions were followed, the results could have destroyed Union armies or won the War. Nobody will ever be sure if he's right or wrong on these matters, though historians typically consider those kinds of statements bluster. Lee's Old Warhorse: The Life and Career of General James Longstreet looks at the life and career of one of the South's most important and controversial fighters, explaining his biggest accomplishments and discussing the biggest controversies. Along with pictures of Longstreet and other important people, places and events in his life, you will learn about Lee's Old War Horse like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes medieval depictions of Richard the Lionheart, Saladin and important people, places, and events in his life. *Analyzes the relationship between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, as well as their relationships with their parents, allies, and enemies. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "It is equally true that Saladin's] generosity, his piety, devoid of fanaticism, that flower of liberality and courtesy which had been the model of our old chroniclers, won him no less popularity in Frankish Syria than in the lands of Islam." - Ren Grousset "We, however, place the love of God and His honour above our own and above the acquisition of many regions." - Richard the Lionheart Saladin is widely considered one of the greatest generals in history and one of the most famous leaders of the Middle Ages, but he remains a paradox, both in personal and in historical terms. A military genius, he first served other generals and was overshadowed, late in life, by his greatest rival, Richard I of England. He was far more admired by his Christian enemies, who extolled his chivalry, than some of his Muslim rivals, who fought him for control of Egypt and Syria in the 12th century. His Christian enemies continued his name long after it was forgotten in the Middle East, only to spark a revival of his reputation in Arab culture in the 20th century. Revered as the flower of Arab culture, he was really a Kurd who nearly destroyed it. Taught to Egyptian children as a native born Egyptian hero, he was, in fact, Egypt's conqueror, the man who destroyed its native dynasty and suppressed the local Shi'ite sect. Praised for his mild temper and mercy, he made it his mission in the last decade of his life to destroy the Frankish states created by the First Crusade in 1099. The most powerful man in the Levant for the last ten years of his life, he died a virtual pauper after giving away his personal fortune to the poor. Having united almost all of the Levant under one rule, he left it as divided as before. He founded a dynasty that was eventually destroyed by slaves. The enduring figure of the Middle Ages is the chivalrous knight, who played the role of hero across much of Europe and was equal parts courage and valor. Nobody played a more defining role in casting the popular image of medieval knights than Richard the Lionheart, one of the most famous English kings and crusaders. In many respects, it was ironic that Richard became one of the central characters of the Middle Ages, and his very popular legacy today belies centuries of controversy. As one of the strongest knights of his age, Richard was also considered a flower of chivalry and greatly admired as a model of what it meant to be a knight, both in his lifetime and afterward. But as the son of the most famous power couple of the age - Henry II of England (1133-89) and Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122/24-1204) - and an expansionist noble contesting over land with other expansionist nobles, he also had many enemies. These enemies portrayed Richard as evil incarnate, at the same time his admirers were portraying him an emblem of virtue. As with all such great and controversial figures, the real Richard lay somewhere in between. Fighting the Third Crusade chronicles the historic lives of the two famous leaders, and it analyzes their influential and enduring legacies. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Saladin and Richard the Lionheart like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures of Bell and important people, places, and events in his life. *Includes pictures of Bell's inventions and some of his designs. *Includes some of Bell's most inspirational quotes and descriptions of his work. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things." - Alexander Graham Bell Today, Alexander Graham Bell is remembered almost solely for one of the few things he didn't have in his laboratory: the telephone. Long hailed as the inventor of the telephone, that accomplishment has nevertheless overshadowed a long and legendary scientific career that saw Bell contribute to a vast number of fields, ranging from geology to aeronautics. Bell also had the misfortune of being outshined by his contemporary Thomas Edison, who invented the incandescent light bulb and has gone down in history as America's greatest inventor. Like many great scientists and inventors, Bell had an unusually gifted intellect that was nurtured from an early age, and even as a child he had access to a workshop that allowed his curious mind to experiment and work. He was also multi-talented, flourishing in music, art, and even a unique form of sign language as his mother grew deaf, an event that would play an influential role in his development of various fields of communication. But ironically, as with Tesla, Edison, and Galileo, Bell's obsession with science and his eccentric learning methods made him a poor student in a formal school setting. Bell's interest in automation and sound led to nearly 20 years of work that he began as a teenager and culminated with the invention of the first telephone, a patent Bell received in March 1876 for "the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically ... by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sound." He was hardly the only one working on the concept; Bell filed for a patent the same day scientist Elisha Gray filed his patent for a similar device. Bell will always be remembered for inventing the telephone and the company that took his name, but he spent an entire lifetime exploring different scientific and medical fields. Biographer Charlotte Gray noted that the ever-curious Bell would actually read Encyclopedia Britannica at night in an attempt to find new things to work on. Bell eventually worked on everything from a breathing apparatus to water filters and aircrafts. Legendary Scientists: The Life and Legacy of Alexander Graham Bell profiles the life and legacy of the inventor of the telephone, while examining his career and contributions to science and technology. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Alexander Graham Bell like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading There are countless examples of battles that take place in wars after a peace treaty is signed. The last battle of the Civil War was a skirmish in Texas that Confederate forces won, nearly a month after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. As fate would have it, the last fighting of the Civil War took place two days after President Davis had been captured in Georgia It's certainly rare for the most famous battle of a war to take place after the peace treaty is signed, but luckily for Andrew Jackson, the War of 1812 was that unique exception. Less than a year after his victory in the Battle of Horseshoe Creek, Jackson led his forces into a more important battle at the Battle of New Orleans. The British hoped to grab as much of the land on the western frontier as they could, especially New Orleans, which had a prominent position on the Mississippi River for trading. With more than 8,000 soldiers aboard a British fleet sailing in from Jamaica in early January 1815, the attack on New Orleans promised to be a significant one, while Jackson's men defended New Orleans with about half that number. This went on despite the fact that the two sides had signed the Treaty of Ghent on Christmas Eve 1814, which was supposed to end the war. However, the slow nature of bringing news from England to America ensured that the battle would take place anyway. Though it was an enormous victory for Jackson and the Americans - the most important of the entire war - it proved to be a completely unnecessary one. The Treaty of Ghent had officially ended the war by keeping the status quo ante bellum. This essentially meant that both sides agreed to offer nothing, keeping things as they were before the war, and had the results been different, the British would have been compelled to hand the important port back over. Regardless, the nation much appreciated Jackson's skills and the Battle of New Orleans was forever christened as one of the greatest in American history. Jackson was honored with a "Thanks from Congress," which was then the nation's highest military honor. Despite the huge failures of the War of 1812 - the Americans lost almost every battle except New Orleans, and Washington D. C. was destroyed - the nation now had something to celebrate. Jackson was celebrated as a hero from the West, marking the first time a "Westerner" held a position of national prominence in the United States, and he would subsequently become one of the 19th century's most influential presidents. Despite the fact the French & Indian War had recently concluded, Pontiac led the first major attack of Pontiac's War in May 1763, when he and 300 of his men attacked Fort Detroit in what is now the city by the same name. Unfortunately for his cause, Pontiac failed to gauge just how strong the British presence there was, and his attack was quickly repelled. On the other hand, he was not a man who gave up easily, so instead of retreating, he and his warriors would lay siege to the British stronghold. In the days that followed, word spread of his efforts, and in short order nearly 1,000 men from various tribes in the area had joined him. They remained camped around the fort throughout the summer before finally giving up the siege.

*Includes pictures *Includes excerpts of contemporary accounts from colonists *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading John Smith is one of the most common names in the English language and akin to the use of John Doe, but every Briton and American is familiar with the explorer and mercenary Captain John Smith, who helped found the first permanent English colony in the New World at Jamestown in 1607. Jamestown is fondly remembered today for being the first permanent English settlement in the colonies, but it was not fondly remembered by those who lived and died there. The English quickly learned it would be difficult to establish a permanent settlement because of the poor weather, the swampy terrain, the hostile natives living nearby, and the general inexperience and ineptitude of the English settlers. During their first winter, everyone nearly starved, and more than half of the settlers died. By the end of the winter of 1609-1610, known as the "starving time", barely 10% of the settlers were still alive. Nevertheless, Jamestown is remembered today because the settlement did survive through the hardships and go on to serve as the capital of the English colony for much of the 17th century. At the same time, one of the biggest reasons for its survival and fame today can be attributed to the local Native Americans, particularly Pocahontas, who has added both a human and romanticized, mythological element to Jamestown. She was the daughter of the paramount chief (mamanatowick) Powhatan, leader of an Algonquian-speaking native group in eastern Virginia. It was this group that Smith and the other English settlers came into contact with, and Smith credited her with saving him from being killed by the Native Americans. After that, Smith was able to establish relatively friendly relations and trade with the local inhabitants, ensuring Jamestown's survival. As such, Jamestown has often been cast as the backdrop of this unique relationship, one that the colonists sought to portray as representative of relations with Native Americans. Along with Jamestown and Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg is known today as part of the Historic Triangle of Virginia, but all three of these old Virginian sites are known for vastly different reasons. While Yorktown was the scene of the final climactic battle of the American Revolution and Jamestown is remembered for being the first English settlement to survive in Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg is now best known as a bridge to the past. Williamsburg got its start as a fortified site, which was vitally necessary for English settlers to heavily outnumbered by nearby Native Americans, many of which were at times hostile. Known originally as Middle Plantation, the site served as the capital of the colony for much of the 18th century, and it bore witness to seminal events in the history of Revolutionary era America, including the Gunpowder Incident, which nearly coincided with the Battles of Lexington and Concord to the north. However, once the capital was again moved, Williamsburg lost much of its prominence, and by the end of the 19th century it was best known for hosting the College of William and Mary. As fate would have it, a major initiative during the 20th century would restore Williamsburg to a place of prominence, literally. In one of America's most ambitious building projects, efforts were undertaken to reconstruct the main parts of Colonial Williamsburg and restore it to a more original appearance, whether it was constructing new buildings with the old architecture or renovating colonial buildings. In doing so, Williamsburg was transformed from a sleepy (albeit historic) town into the biggest tourist destination in Virginia, and America's most famous living-history museums. In the 20th century, it was used to teach students about American history and even current events, and it is now a place full of exhibits.

*Includes pictures of the stele on which the Code of Hammurabi is inscribed. *Includes the Code of Hammurabi. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' Legends of the Ancient World series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of antiquity's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. The Babylonians were one of the earliest of history's great ancient civilizations, and the most famous Babylonian of them all was Hammurabi, who came to the throne as the first king of the Babylonian empire around the beginning of the 18th century B. C. Hammurabi had a long and fruitful reign that saw him consolidate most of Mesopotamia under his control, but he's best known today for Hammurabi's Code, one of the earliest known code of laws in human history. Inscribed on stone tablets, Hammurabi's Code was found over 3,500 years later in the early 20th century, making him one of antiquity's most famous men. Babylonian culture, including art, architecture and literature, flourished during his reign, and Hammurabi (or the scribes in his employ) wrote enough public royal inscriptions and personal official letters to store in museums across the world. There are also many letters from other contemporary rulers that make reference to him or to significant events during his reign. The large amount of documentation available, both from and about him, has allowed modern scholars to paint a colorful picture of the famous king and the various facets of his life. Although there is no information on the age of Hammurabi when he took the throne, he ruled Babylon for 43 years from 1792-1750 B. C., when he became gravely ill and handed the throne to one of his sons, Samsu-iluna. Hammurabi spent the first 28 years of his career strengthening the kingdom he inherited and managing construction projects ranging from temples to irrigation canals. He also focused himself on winning the hearts of his people by making a reliable, transparent judicial system. He fought a few local skirmishes on the outskirts of his kingdom that seemed to involve securing his own borders from outside threats more than increasing the size of his own kingdom. During most of that time he ruled in the shadow of his neighbor to the north, Samsi-Adad, the king of Ekallatum (and later Assyria). The last decade or so of his reign was spent empire building. Hammurabi established powerful alliances and conquered enemies on all sides expanding his kingdom to a monumental empire. He stopped the Elamite incursion from the east, driving them from regions they had taken adjacent to Babylon, and he finally routed Rim-S n, his long-time enemy to the south in Larsa. Hammurabi subsequently brought the kingdom of Assyria under his control, and after several years being allied with the powerful northwestern kingdom of Mari, he defeated their army as well and brought Mari under the ultimate control of Babylon. When all was said and done, Hammurabi handed over to his son a vast empire eight times the size of the kingdom left to him by his own father. It is no wonder that later generations of Babylonians considered the reign of Hammurabi to be the golden age of Babylon, a sentiment shared by many today. Legends of the Ancient World: The Life and Legacy of Hammurabi looks at the known and unknown about the Ancient Babylonian king and attempts to separate fact from fiction to analyze his life and reign. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about Hammurabi like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures of important places and historic illustrations and art depicting the figures of the Arthurian legend *Profiles the historic figures who scholars speculate may be the person King Arthur was based on. *Explains the mythological and folklore origins of the Arthurian legend, and how the legend evolved over time. King Arthur is one of the most famous names in history, and his name still evokes visions of fantasy, chivalry, bravery, and more even today. Arthur remains a pop culture fixture around the globe, made famous in various Arthurian tales written by writers like Chretien de Troyes. Arthur came to embody the ideals of the Middle Ages: strength, chivalry, bravery, and more. Along the way, his Excalibur sword, the Holy Grail, his queen, and more have all become household words. Arthur has long been identified as a folk hero, and there are countless tales that comprise the Arthurian legend, but was there an actual person that the original stories were based on? People still search for the seeds of truth in the Knights of the Round Table, and the historical figure that inspired the Arthurian tales. Of course, as with all great myths, and even those with a kernel of truth behind them, there is no "real" Arthur. Arthur is now comprised of the works written by diverse storytellers, most of which have built upon the ancient stories and possibly history. It is from there that a primordial seed of myth remains at the heart of all the retellings. At the same time, Arthur's story is one of transformation, as he is brought from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance and more modern times. And that story also includes the famous contemporaries in his stories and other important historical figures, like Geoffrey of Monmouth, the imprisoned Sir Thomas Mallory and Walt Disney. When looking for the historical and mythical Arthur, scholars try to understand how the Arthur of these tales and of others like Disney's Sword in the Stone and Monty Python and the Holy Grail came to be. What are the origins of the Arthur legend and what can they tell people about the past? What is the historical basis for King Arthur, if any? King Arthur: The History and Folklore of the Arthurian Legend comprehensively examines the history and stories of the Arthurian legend, while also looking at how they affected English history and became as popular as they are today. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about King Arthur like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures of Grant, Lee, and important people, places, and events in their lives. *Includes maps of some of their most famous battles, including Gettysburg, Shiloh and the Overland Campaign. *Includes bibliographies on both generals for further reading. In the 19th century, one of the surest ways to rise to prominence in American society was to be a war hero, like Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison. But few would have predicted such a destiny for Hiram Ulysses Grant, who had been a career soldier with little experience in combat and a failed businessman when the Civil War broke out in 1861. On the other side, with the exception of George Washington, perhaps the most famous general in American history is Robert E. Lee (January 19, 1807 - October 12, 1870), despite the fact he led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia against the Union in the Civil War. As the son of U. S. Revolutionary War hero Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III, and a relative of Martha Custis Washington, Lee was imbued with a strong sense of honor and duty from the beginning. And as a top graduate of West Point, Lee had distinguished himself so well before the Civil War that President Lincoln asked him to command the entire Union Army. Lee famously declined, serving his home state of Virginia instead after it seceded. Lee is remembered today for constantly defeating the Union's Army of the Potomac in the Eastern theater from 1862-1865, considerably frustrating Lincoln and his generals. His leadership of his army led to him being deified after the war by some of his former subordinates, especially Virginians, and he came to personify the Lost Cause's ideal Southern soldier. His reputation was secured in the decades after the war as a general who brilliantly led his men to amazing victories against all odds. However, while all eyes were fixed on Lee and the Eastern theater at places like Manassas, Richmond, the Shenandoah Valley and Antietam, Grant went about a steady rise up the ranks through a series of successes in the West. His victory at Fort Donelson, in which his terms to the doomed Confederate garrison earned him the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant, could be considered the first major Union victory of the war, and Grant's fame and rank only grew after that at battlefields like Shiloh and Vicksburg. Along the way, Grant nearly fell prey to military politics and the belief that he was at fault for the near defeat at Shiloh, but President Lincoln famously defended him, remarking, "I can't spare this man. He fights." Lincoln's steadfastness ensured that Grant's victories out West continued to pile up, and after Vicksburg and Chattanooga, Grant had effectively ensured Union control of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as the entire Mississippi River. In May 1864, with Grant now attached to the Army of the Potomac, the Civil War's two most successful and famous generals were set to meet each other on the battlefield for the first time. Lee had won stunning victories at battles like Chancellorsville and Second Bull Run by going on the offensive and taking the strategic initiative, but Grant and Lincoln had no intention of letting him do so anymore. Grant ordered General Meade, "Lee's army is your objective point. Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also." The two would finally meet in the Civil War's most climactic showdown, eventually deciding the Civil War. Grant and Lee chronicles the lives and careers of both men, the ways in which their styles and generalship compared and contrasted, and analyzes their lasting legacies. Along with pictures of the generals and important people, places, and events in their lives, you will learn about the Civil War's two most successful generals like you never have before.

A Companhia Brit nica das ndias Orientais serviu como um dos principais atores na forma o do Imp rio Brit nico. Desde sua origem, como uma companhia comercial esfor ando-se para acompanhar seus superiores concorrentes holandeses, portugueses e espanh is, at o seu mandato como autoridade governante do subcontinente indiano e sua eventual queda, a Companhia Brit nica das ndias Orientais serve como uma lente para explorar as for as econ micas e sociais que moldaram a forma o de um imp rio brit nico global. Como uma empresa privada que se tornou um poder global n o-estatal por direito pr prio, a Companhia Brit nica das ndias Orientais tamb m serve como um relato de advert ncia, muito relevante para a situa o pol tica e econ mica atual do mundo moderno. Em seu n vel mais b sico, a Companhia das ndias Orientais desempenhou um papel essencial no desenvolvimento do com rcio de longa dist ncia entre a Gr -Bretanha e a sia. O com rcio de t xteis, cer mica, ch e outros bens trouxe um enorme influxo de capital para a economia brit nica. Isso n o s alimentou a Revolu o Industrial como tamb m criou uma demanda de itens de luxo entre as classes m dias. O crescimento econ mico propiciado pela Companhia foi um dos fatores na ascend ncia da Gr -Bretanha, de um poder regional intermedi rio para a na o mais poderosa do planeta. Os lucros gerados tamb m criaram incentivo para que outras pot ncias europeias seguissem o mesmo caminho, o que levou a tr s s culos de competi es por col nias em todo o mundo. Este processo foi muito al m da sia e afetou a maioria do planeta, incluindo a frica e o Oriente M dio. Al m de sua bvia influ ncia em reas de com rcio e trocas, a Companhia das ndias Orientais tamb m serviu de ponto de contato cultural entre os europeus ocidentais, os sul-asi ticos e os asi ticos do leste. Pr ticas genuinamente brit nicas, como beber ch , tornaram-se comuns pelo com rcio da Companhia. Os produtos e as pr ticas culturais que viajavam de um lado a outro, de um continente a outro, tamb m reconfiguraram a forma como as sociedades de todo o mundo viam a sexualidade, g nero, classe e trabalho. Em um n vel bem mais obscuro, a Companhia Brit nica das ndias Orientais fomentou a supremacia branca e os conceitos europeus de orientalismo. Ap s a Revolta dos Cipaios, a ndia passou a ser governada diretamente de Whitehall atrav s de um departamento dedicado: o Escrit rio da ndia, liderado pelo Secret rio de Estado para a ndia. O territ rio foi dividido em " ndia Brit nica", que estava sob o controle brit nico direto, e "Estados Principescos". Os ltimos eram territ rios e soberanias de diversos poderosos l deres tradicionais, remanescentes do antigo sistema de governo, que foram autorizados, sob v rios pesos da superintend ncia brit nica, a manter suas posi es e continuar seu governo. A ndia Brit nica, em ltima an lise, cobria cerca de 54% do territ rio e 77% da popula o. Quando os brit nicos come aram a contemplar sua retirada da ndia, 565 Estados Principescos foram oficialmente reconhecidos, al m de milhares de zamindaris e jagirs, que eram, de fato, propriedades feudais. A estatura de cada Estado Principesco era definida pelo n mero de armas disparadas como sauda o em uma ocasi o cerimonial que homenageava um ou outro pr ncipe. As sauda es variavam de nove a vinte e uma armas disparadas - em muitos casos, n o havia disparo algum. Os Estados Principescos foram sensata e uniformemente espalhados entre as antigas dinastias mu ulmanas e hindus, mas, considerando o status de minoria mu ulmana, os mesmos foram desproporcionalmente representados. Isso concedeu aos mu ulmanos uma quantidade de poder desproporcional transferida a lideran as locais, e culminou em poderosos l deres mu ulmanos exercendo influ ncia desigual sobre a pol tica brit nica.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the landmarks written by ancient Romans *Includes bibliographies for further reading *Includes a table of contents The Roman Empire is the most famous in history, and the center of the far-reaching empire's activities was located in the Forum, a low area between the Capitoline and Palatine hills in Rome. The topography held a great deal of significance for Romans, and consequently so many layers of myth were laid on top of the landscape and buildings that it is difficult to separate legend from actual historical fact. As a low-lying area near the Tiber river, the Forum was subject to much flooding, and even into the 20th century, the Forum area could flood upwards of over 40 feet above sea level. This would factor significantly in the imagination of Romans, who later ascribed the flooding with saving the city's founders, Romulus and Remus, from execution. However, in the 8th and 7th centuries B. C., this did not make for a good area for construction. Previous generations of excavators have concluded that in the beginning, there were waddle and daub huts in the Forum, as indicated by remains of organic food material, fragments of daub, and evidence of post holes dug in the ground for these structures. However, a recent environmental study has shown that such structures could not survive the flooding that was endemic to the Forum, suggesting that it took a few hundred years (during the period of the Roman kings) for the Romans to move up to 20,000 square meters of earth in order to reclaim land in the Forum, and a gravel pavement was placed on top of the landfill. If true, this project shows a high degree of organization and central planning. When the Colosseum was built in the late 1st century A. D., the Romans, a people known for their architectural acumen, managed to amaze themselves. Martial, a Roman poet writing during the inauguration of the Colosseum, clearly believed the Colosseum was so grand a monument that it was even greater than the other Wonders of the Ancient World, which had been written about and visited endlessly by the Romans and Greeks in antiquity. Indeed, although the Wonders were wondrous to behold, the Colosseum was a spectacular achievement in architecture, something new and innovative, and therefore an amazing "Wonder" in its own way. The Colosseum was designed to be both a symbol and show of strength by the famous Flavian emperors, most notably Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian. Vespasian had started the construction of the Colosseum shortly after becoming emperor in 69 A. D., but he died before he could present any spectacles in his giant amphitheatre. That honor went to his son Titus, who celebrated the inaugural opening in 80 A. D. with 100 days of games, despite the fact that the Colosseum was not completely finished. When his brother Domitian came to power in 81 A. D., he finished the amphitheatre, but not without making some changes to the overall design. By the time it was truly finished, the Colosseum stood about 150 feet tall, with the oval in the center stretching nearly two football fields long and over 500 feet across. The Colosseum is a large stadium even by today's standards, and its great size conveys the power of the empire as it dominates the landscape and towers over nearby buildings. The modern world has the ancient Romans to thank for the origins of many modern technologies, conveniences, and ideas such as running water, baths, and republican style government, but roads are another influence the Romans have had on the modern world that are often taken for granted. Although Roman roads may not have attained the glamorous status of other inventions, their influence is just as profound; roads provide essential communication and transport lines for any country - they are the veins and arteries that move the life-blood of trade and peoples that make a country thrive.

La guerra siempre ha tenido como resultado a prisioneros. En la antiguedad, muchos fueron convertidos en esclavos por los ejercitos victoriosos, mientras que en la Europa medieval, a menudo eran devueltos a sus familias a cambio de un rescate, lo cual llevaba a la fortuna o a la pobreza dependiendo del bando en el que se encontraba. En la era napoleonica, a medida que los ejercitos crecian en tamano y profesionalidad, muchos de ellos se quedaban en campamentos durante los combates, permitiendo a sus captores controlar la cantidad de hombres que sus enemigos disponian, poniendo sobre la balanza el destino de las naciones. En la primera mitad del siglo XX, la guerra estallo a escala mundial e industrial. Millones de hombres fueron arrojados a la trituradora de la Primera y Segunda Guerra Mundial, lo que condujo a un numero proporcionalmente grande de prisioneros de guerra (POWs en ingles). Se construyeron campamentos para albergar a miles de cautivos, con sus propios cuarteles, barracas, zonas de desfiles e incluso granjas. Algunos de estos prisioneros fueron utilizados para trabajos forzados, especialmente por los regimenes del Eje en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, mientras que otros fueron dejados para entretenerse por si mismos mientras esperaban a que terminara la guerra. A lo largo de la guerra, muchos de estos hombres no permanecieron ociosos. Muchos pasaron su tiempo preparando elaborados planes de escape con la esperanza de regresar a sus paises de origen y volver a la lucha. Despues de la Primera Guerra Mundial, se publicaron varios libros que relataban romanticamente los escapes exitosos. Inspirados por ellos, la Segunda Guerra Mundial provoco una serie de grandes fugas de prisioneros de guerra, que se celebraron desde entonces en libros y peliculas. Al mismo tiempo, los fugitivos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial no actuaron solos. Las redes de valientes voluntarios trabajaron para ver que los cautivos o potenciales cautivos se abrieran camino hacia la libertad, y se establecieron organizaciones secretas en los corazones gubernamentales con el objetivo de alentar y ayudar los intentos de fuga. El mayor numero de fugas exitosas fue realizado por las tropas aliadas en Europa, incluyendo los soldados que quedaron atras despues de la caida de Francia y los aviadores derribados en bombardeos, pero las fugas ocurrieron por todo el mundo, desde trenes canadienses hasta castillos alemanes, y desde las montanas de Italia hasta las selvas de Australia. Tanto las tropas del Eje como las tropas Aliadas hicieron sus apuestas por la libertad, manteniendo a ambos bandos en el limite. Todo el mundo buscaba hacer el siguiente gran escape. La Segunda Guerra Mundial estuvo llena de historias de escape, algunas audaces, otras tragicas y la mayoria llenas de coraje e ingenio. Hubo momentos de insensatez, como la historia de un italiano huyendo en Australia que fue sorprendido ordenando vino tinto con un acento muy marcado. Pero tambien hubo hazanas increibles, como la construccion encubierta de un planeador en el atico de Colditz. Por todas partes, la gente buscaba volver a la guerra o ayudar a otros a hacerlo. Sus historias no solo formaban parte de la lucha general, sino que anadian una dimension muy humana a una guerra con un alcance tan grande que todavia desafia la imaginacion. Los Grandes Escapes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial: La Historia de los Intentos de Escape Mas Legendarios de la Guerra narra algunas de las fugas mas audaces llevadas a cabo durante la guerra. Ademas de las fotos que muestran a personas, lugares y eventos importantes, Ud. aprendera sobre los grandes escapes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial como nunca antes.

*Includes a short biography of Shakespeare. *Explains the historical sources that inspired the plots of Hamlet & Romeo and Juliet. *Includes a synopsis and summarizes every scene of both plays. *Discusses the characters, plots, and major themes of both plays. "Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads. And recks not his own rede." - Ophelia in Hamlet "If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." - Romeo William Shakespeare is widely considered the greatest writer in the history of the English language, so renowned and respected that the time period in which he lived is often known as the Age of Shakespeare. Indeed, his genius is questioned only by those who doubt the authenticity of his authorship of timeless classics like Romeo and Juliet. As Ben Jonson once put it, "He was not of an age, but for all time." No other writer, in English or in any other language, can rival the appeal that Shakespeare has enjoyed around the world, and nobody's had a bigger influence. The "Bard of Avon" has a catalogue full of the best known plays and poetry in history. His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, and in his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies. Even those who have never read works like Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, or Hamlet are instantly familiar with the names. Although his works are so well known, major details of his life are still sketchy. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and even whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Shakespeare's most famous play, and probably the most famous play in history, is Romeo and Juliet, the classic tragic love story between two members of rival families and the result of the feud. Hamlet is widely considered Shakespeare's greatest play, as it follows Prince Hamlet's path to the throne in Denmark. Along the way, the tragedy powerfully explores and depicts some of the strongest themes found in any of Shakespeare's plays, including madness, treachery, revenge, incest, and corruption. Hamlet has been standard reading across the world for over 400 years, and the stark portrayals of characters like Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude and Claudius have inspired countless writers over the last 4 centuries. Your Guide to Hamlet & Romeo and Juliet is the perfect resource for understanding Shakespeare's two famous tragedies, including an introduction to the famous playwright and a comprehensive explanation of the plays' characters, plots, themes, and their influential and enduring legacies. With Hamlet & Romeo and Juliet as relevant as ever today, get caught up quickly on both plays with this resourceful guide.

*Includes pictures *Includes Goldman's own quotes about her life and work *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "To the daring belongs the future... when we run out of dreams, we die." - Emma Goldman "The history of progress is written in the blood of men and women who have dared to espouse an unpopular cause, as, for instance, the black man's right to his body, or woman's right to her soul." - Emma Goldman In the early 20th century, one of the most famous women in America was Emma Goldman, but plenty of people thought it was for all the wrong reasons. Born in Russia in the late 19th century, Goldman had come to the United States as a teen and quickly grew attracted to anarchy and socialism over what she viewed as unfair class structures in her new home, especially in the wake of the Haymarket riots. But while many simply grumbled about the Gilded Age in private or denounced it in print, Goldman was a woman of action, from being involved in the attempted assassination of tycoon Henry Clay Frick to publishing anarchist journals and passing around information about contraception. Although Goldman was jailed on several occasions during the first two decades of the 20th century, it was not until World War I that federal authorities reached their limit when she called upon others to resist the newly implemented draft in 1917. Deported back to Russia, Goldman had a front row seat for the Bolshevik Revolution, but she quickly grew disillusioned by Lenin's government as well, and the following decade saw her in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. By the time Goldman died in 1940 at the age of 70, she had touched upon so many political, social, and gender issues that future generations would come to view her as a forerunner of the feminist movement. Her work ran against the grain on everything from religion to freedom of speech, with what were then radical takes on subjects like marriage, free love, homosexuality, and women's rights. Emma Goldman: The Life and Legacy of the Famous Feminist Icon looks at the life of one of the 20th century's most famous anarchists. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Emma Goldman like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts of the scandals *Includes a bibliography for further reading Increasingly and mistakenly viewed as a single scandal within the United States government, what is commonly referred to as the Watergate scandal serves as an overarching term for a series of scandals beginning in 1971 and extending through 1974, although more than any other, it refers to the specific break-in at the Watergate Hotel and office complex in Washington, D. C. The crisis, originating in a secretive battle between the two major political parties, the Nixon White House's paranoia, and the ensuing conflict concerning the release of confidential information to the public, induced senior government officials into committing crimes (most notoriously petty burglary) and coverups for the purposes of character assassination and inter-political espionage, and it ultimately resulted in the first and only resignation of a sitting American president, Richard Milhous Nixon. Watergate has since become so synonymous with scandal that "gate" is typically added to the end of words associated with scandals even today, and the Watergate complex still remains well known. In the wake of the seemingly peculiar burglary, gradual media and judicial pursuits of the thread of scandals led from one thing to another over the following years until it began to culminate with Congressional impeachment proceedings and a momentous showdown between the President and the Supreme Court over the release of presidential tapes, a moment in which Nixon seriously considered defying the Court and initiating a constitutional crisis. For the last 40 years, President Nixon has been mostly reviled, and understandably, he's ranked among the country's worst presidents, but this view of the President and the Watergate scandal was not and still is not necessarily unanimous. Americans in the 21st century often cite Watergate, and to a lesser degree the Enron Oil Scandal, as prime examples of modern governmental corruption. It is a widely held perception that these incidents, particularly the one bringing about the first resignation of an American president, caused the public to lose trust in federal institutions and political figures. However, the prototype for the breakdown of governmental fidelity lies in the early 20th century, a time in which the recent territories of the United States struggled to evolve from a lawless, Wild West culture. The federal government viewed its western resources as both unlimited and outside the grasp of the government. The leading oil barons, born and raised in the 19th century, were accustomed to federally-blessed land-grabs and easily obtained mining and lumber interests, often doled out to the social and financial elite under the guise of exploration. Federal interference was minimal in contrast to later decades, and the government itself was eager to conquer the West through large-tract farming, river management, mineral and timber development, not to mention the procurement of oil for a growing society as coal gave way to new types of fuel. In what would become largely a jurisdictional dispute over Western natural resources, the unbridled oil industry of the new century collided with the United States military and the Department of the Interior, set against the dominance of a corruption-riddled presidential administration. In the ensuing Congressional investigation that sought to root out the widespread graft, bribery, and usurpation of government property over the following decade, the two-year affair became commonly known as the Teapot Dome Scandal. And for the first time in American history, a high-ranking cabinet official was convicted of corruption and sent to prison in the aftermath, along with his co-conspirators.

*Includes pictures of King, Malcolm X, and important people, places, and events in their lives. *Explains the origins of Malcolm X's name and Martin Luther King Jr.'s name. *Includes a bibliography of King for further reading. Today, a man born Michael King Jr. is one of the most famous Americans in history, his name having been changed at the age of 5 to one the world fondly remembers: Martin Luther King Jr. The life and legend of Dr. King have been told to every American, many of whom come away equating King with the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. But King's life was about far more than leading movements and having dreams. At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, while much of the nation's attention was given to peaceful protests, boycotts, and figures like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., a young man named Malcolm Little was rising through the ranks to become one of the leaders of the Nation of Islam. As Malcolm X, he would come to be one of the most controversial figures in 20th century America, hailed as a bold civil rights activist by some and reviled as a violent racist by others. What everyone can agree on, however, is that Malcolm X was one of the most influential black leaders of the 20th century. As the two biggest leaders of their respective civil rights movements, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. battled for the hearts and minds of Americans, and they even battled against each other, with Malcolm X famously calling King a "chump" and King referring to Malcolm's message as "fiery, demagogic oratory." Faces of the Civil Rights Movement chronicles the lives of these two leaders, whose different ideologies made them advocate vastly different approaches in pursuit of a common goal. This ebook also humanizes the two leaders, both of whom wanted to follow in the footsteps of their fathers, both of whom became leaders of their movements, and both of whom had notorious shortcomings. Along the way, you will learn things about Malcolm X and Dr. King you never knew, including the origins of their names, how they reached their positions, a bitterly contested court case over some of King's papers, and the off-the-cuff origins of King's I Have a Dream speech. Along with pictures of the important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Dr. King and Malcolm X like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures.*Includes historic accounts about the myth of El Dorado.*Includes a bibliography and footnotes for further reading. Alongside the famous Lost City of Atlantis, perhaps no mythological city has captured the imaginations of people or been the source for exploration quite like El Dorado, the fabled city of gold that the Spanish believed was located somewhere in South America. The origins of the Spaniards' belief in the existence of the mythical city was based on their rumors surrounding the tribal chief of the Muisca in present-day Colombia; the Spanish heard that his initiation included covering himself with gold dust and diving into Lake Guatavita. Of course, if the chief could cover himself in gold, he must have access to a lot of it, and around this figure, the myth of El Dorado sprang up as the location of it. Naturally, the belief in the existence of El Dorado propelled it from being merely a city to an entire empire itself, and this spurred several journeys in the 16th century, including one by Francisco Pizarro's half-brother, Gonzalo, and another by Sir Walter Raleigh. Although none of these journeys actually discovered such a place, they resulted in plenty of lives lost and a lot of exploration of the heart of South America. Moreover, despite the fact none of the explorers actually found El Dorado, the rumors and journeys only cemented the belief that such a place existed, and El Dorado was actually located on maps made by several European nations for centuries. As folklorist Jim Griffith once put it, "El Dorado shifted geographical locations until finally it simply meant a source of untold riches somewhere in the Americas." In fact, it would not be until about the early 19th century that explorer Alexander von Humboldt disproved El Dorado's existence, at least in the spot it was assumed to be located for over 200 years. Although no El Dorado was ever found, the myth still fascinates people today, and it remains a pop culture fixture around the globe. El Dorado is also still used as a metaphor not only for places where people seek to get rich quick but even as a mentality and mindset, much like the notion of the American Dream. El Dorado: The Search for the Fabled City of Gold chronicles the origins behind the myth and the history of the actual journeys that sought to discover the city. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about El Dorado like never before, in no time at all.