Charles River

*Includes pictures *Includes Villa's own quotes about his life and career *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "My sole ambition is to rid Mexico of the class that has oppressed her and given the people a chance to know what real liberty means. And if I could bring that about today by giving up my life, I would do it gladly." - Pancho Villa "Pancho Villa," people whispered at the beginning of the 20th century, "can march 100 miles without stopping, live 100 days without food, go 100 nights without sleep, and kill 100 men without remorse." The legend of Francisco Villa is full of heroism, tragedy and romance. It is the story of a poor farmer boy who became a bandit out of necessity, after avenging an injustice on his family; a military genius who flew from an oppressive government to lead the largest revolutionary army in his country's history, and defeated dictatorship to become Mexico s liberator, only to fall again in disgrace when his troops abandoned him or were massacred by the enemy. Pancho Villa and his cavalry, Mexicans point out with a certain amount of pride, invaded the United States, and although they came and tried to capture him, they never found him. This is, at least, the version that most of them know, but it's certainly not the same as in their textbooks. The story of Francisco Villa bypassed official censorship from generation to generation, like leaves sailing at full speed on the surface of a stream. But the historical reconstruction is full of nuances. Was he a freedom fighter, or a bandit? Was he a Mexican Robin Hood, or a thief and a murderer? Was he present when his troops invaded U. S. territory? Was the advance of his famous "Dorados" (the "golden ones," the name of his troops) the cause for joy, or terror among the people as they passed the countryside towards Mexico City? Pancho Villa s personality has been controversial since the very beginning of his career as a General of the revolutionary army. Many biographies have been written about him, the first of which dates back to only a few years after his death. Counting the number books who take one of those two sides-butcher or freedom fighter-would be impossible, but they would probably form two piles of equal size. Through them, readers can learn divergent tales about one of the most widely known Mexicans, both in his country and abroad. For many Mexicans, he is a hero. In schools, teachers still speak cautiously about him to new generations of children, who are amazed by the tough guy with hat and pistols. And the old, those who had heard about his exploits from their parents, declare that Villa himself will ride again through the mountains of Mexico, on the day when the poor can no longer stand and a new revolution explodes. As Octavio Paz eloquently put it, "The brutality and uncouthness of many of the revolutionary leaders has not prevented them from becoming popular myths. Villa still gallops through the north, in songs and ballads; Zapata dies at every popular fair. ... It is the Revolution, the magical word, the word that is going to change everything, that is going to bring us immense delight and a quick death." Pancho Villa: The Life and Legacy of the Famous Mexican Revolutionary chronicles the controversial life of one of Mexico's most legendary fighters. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Pancho Villa like never before, in no time at all.

Esta es la historia de la Santa Muerte, culto de crisis; remix de catolicismo, kermesse y New Age; un culto hedonista pero tambi n de sacrificio corporal; reflejo de fuerzas econ micas, psicol gicas y sociales m s amplias de lo que tal vez ninguno de sus ac litos sospecha.

"La persecuci n no es una caracter stica original de ninguna religi n; pero es una caracter stica extraordinariamente notable en todas las religiones legales o religiones establecidas por ley." Thomas Paine, Los derechos del hombre En muchas sociedades modernas, se han establecido leyes para proteger a los ciudadanos de la discriminaci n basada en el g nero, las creencias, la raza y la sexualidad. La simple idea de ver esos derechos violados de alguna manera es algo que la gente del mundo occidental considera impensable. En estos tiempos, la gente pelear con dientes y con u as contra los casos de discriminaci n e injusticia, bien sea buscando acci n legal o acusando legalmente a la parte que discrimina. Hay muchas organizaciones alrededor del mundo que ayudam a combatir y a proteger a los ciudadanos de las desigualdades arbitrarias. Los medios de comunicaci n social se han convertido tambi n en canales por medio de los cuales la gente de todo el mundo puede denunciar estas injusticias. Las personas de todo el mundo que se solidarizan con los discriminados se unen para condenar a los fan ticos. Se ha visto que los boicots, las solicitudes y las reacciones negativas en los medios y en el internet han jugado un papel significativo en la ca da de individuos y corporaciones que han sido acusados de alguna clase de discriminaci n. El camino hacia la edad moderna de armon a y aceptaci n cultural es una de las haza as m s hermosas del progreso humano, pero habiendo dicho esto, hubo un tiempo en que la simple duda de la existencia de una figura religiosa era no solo un crimen punible legalmente, sino que muy bien pod a costarle a una persona la vida. Este era el crimen de herej a. Esta clase de persecuci n religiosa ha estado presente por miles de a os, y los cristianos fueron con frecuencia sus v ctimas, pero cuando la Iglesia Cat lica comenz su r pida difusi n a trav s de Europa durante la edad media, las cosas cambiaron. En 1184, el Papa Lucio III promulg una bula papal que iba a desatar una larga tradici n de caza de brujas, lo que dio como resultado el comienzo de la poca de la Inquisici n. Por un giro de los acontecimientos, los perseguidos se volvieron perseguidores. A partir de entonces, la Iglesia Cat lica se atribuy el poder de tener tribunales, o cortes judiciales, en su intento de exterminar la herej a de una vez por todas. Se cree que estas inquisiciones, que habr an de plagar a Europa por siglos, vieron a cientos de miles de personas perseguidas por creencias que iban contra la Iglesia. Una escandalosa porci n de ellos ser an brutalmente torturados y condenados a muerte. Ninguna de ellas podr a compararse con la que comenz en el siglo XV-la Inquisici n espa ola. La infame inquisici n, objeto de muchos documentales, pel culas, y otros medios de la cultura pop, es una era oscura recordada por su opresi n, b rbaras torturas y tiran a religiosa. Sirviendo como tel n de fondo de todo esto hubo una terrible enfermedad, un hombre identificado con Satan s y el tumultuoso surgimiento y ca da de uno de los m s terribles per odos de la historia europea. La Inquisici n espa ola: Historia y legado de la infame persecuci n de los herejes por la iglesia cat lica estudia c mo naci la inquisici n y c mo la gente fue torturada y ejecutada. Junto con im genes de gente importante, lugares y acontecimientos, usted aprender acerca de la inquisici n como nunca antes.

"Y fue el t rmino de los cananeos desde Sid n, en direcci n a Gerar hasta Gaza; en direcci n de Sodoma y Gomorra, Adma, y Zeboim, hasta Lasa." - G nesis 10,19 "Y queda dicho: Os sacar de la aflicci n de Egipto, a la tierra de los cananeos, heteos, amorreos, fereceos, heveos y jebuseos, a una tierra que mana leche y miel." - xodo 3,17 "Y cuando el SE OR tu Dios te los haya entregado, y t los hayas derrotado, y destruido por completo; no har s pacto con ellos, ni les mostrar s compasi n..." - Deuteronomio 7,2 Las personas que deciden estudiar el Antiguo Testamento de la Biblia, en principio se enfrentan a la dificultad de identificar a los distintos pueblos que los hebreos conocieron, y con los que en ocasiones estuvieron en conflicto cuando entraron al territorio que con el tiempo se convirti en Israel. Los moabitas y los edomitas eran s lo dos de los muchos grupos cananeos con los que trataron los hebreos, a menudo violentamente, pero hubo docenas de otros grupos cananeos que fueron identificados en su mayor a a trav s de los nombres de sus respectivas ciudades. De hecho, antes de que los hebreos establecieran un reino y antes de que los fenicios colonizaran gran parte del Mediterr neo, los cananeos fueron el grupo m s importante en el Levante desde buena parte de la Edad de Bronce hasta principios de la Edad de Hierro. Aunque los cananeos nunca crearon un estado-naci n unificado o un reino, su importancia en al antiguo Pr ximo Oriente no puede ser subestimada. Los cananeos fueron incapaces de resistir a sus vecinos m s grandes y poderosos; a ello se debe en parte que hoy por hoy las personas en general conozcan tan poco acerca de su historia, pero los estudios modernos han revelado que ellos desarrollaron una religi n nica que influenci a los pueblos no-cananeos, y continu siendo practicada de alguna manera siglos despu s de que los cananeos dejaron de ser identificados como pueblo. M s a n, durante el apogeo de la Edad de Bronce, los cananeos no s lo proporcionaron importantes recursos a los imperios egipcio e hitita, tambi n jugaron un papel clave en el ajedrez geopol tico de los dos reinos. No hay ni que decir que los cananeos fueron tambi n un factor en el establecimiento del reino de Israel, cuando las batallas que perdieron m s tarde ante los hebreos significaron la fundaci n del reino jud o. Los antiguos cananeos: la historia de las civilizaciones que vivieron en Canaan antes de los israelitas, examina a los distintos grupos y su impacto tanto en la regi n como en las culturas que siguieron. Junto con ilustraciones que muestran personajes, lugares y eventos importantes, usted aprender sobre los cananeos como nunca antes.

*Includes pictures *Includes historic accounts of the Countess' life and crimes *Includes footnotes, online resources, and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "She didn't fear death because inside herself, she didn't conceive it as a common destiny, although she had seen it several times, although it had upset her so many times. Death is what happens to others, to the weak ones, she might have thought in her delirious blindness. As far as the physical pains and punishments were concerned, these had been exciting her ever since she was a child." - Javier Garcia Sanchez, Contesa Dracula Erzs bet B thory The legends of vampires like Dracula have generated massive interest throughout time. Indeed, the story of a man (in some versions a very handsome, dashing man), who feeds on the blood of virgins in order to survive, and who walks the earth only at night, has been revived throughout the centuries in different forms. However, one famous tale that has been lost among the legends is the story of a female Dracula, an educated woman from a well-known family of 16th century Hungary who was so afraid to lose her beauty and young looks that she engaged in dangerous practices, combining witchcraft with exsanguination. Countess Elizabeth B thory is this female Dracula. She is said to have drained the blood of approximately 600 young women, in order to drink it, spread it all over her body as a nurturing blend, or simply to bathe in it. Her preferences for such practices can be explained by several factors, including the practices of the time as far as torture was concerned, her genetic heritage, personal madness, and the fear of fading beauty. Despite the general impression that B thory was exsanguinating these girls and bathing in their blood, it appears that she did much more. Sources indicate that most of the girls had been beaten, tortured, and even forced into particular sexual activities. Regardless, her attempts to do anything to keep her beauty apparently went for naught, because upon her death, B thory was no longer the beautiful and young woman she desired to be. In essence, it seems that all her criminal efforts had been in vain. Based on her behavior and the reactions to it throughout time, it is virtually impossible to set Erzs bet B thory in a character typology. On one hand, she could be considered a bored wife left alone by her husband for long periods of time, time that she used to develop passions for same-sex relations and an acute interest in inflicting pain on her victims. She might be seen as a mentally unstable person who found great joy in torturing others. Perhaps most disturbing of all, there's a possibility that the countess was a common character within the nobility of the 16th century who was acting normally based on the customs and norms of her era. Adding to the mystery of the story is that historical records are still mostly inaccessible because of the language barriers (most historical sources are in Hungarian). As a result, researchers interested in her life story and history usually rely on a limited number of available sources, such as biographies, articles, published letters said to have belonged to her, and scholarly articles on the topic. Countess Elizabeth Bathory: The Life and Legacy of History's Most Prolific Female Serial Killer details the mysterious and sordid history of one of the world's first and worst serial killers. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Countess Bathory like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures. *Includes Rogers' own quotes about his life and career. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. "I did pretty good for a guy who never finished high school and used to yodel at square dances." - Roy Rogers 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' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. In the early 20th century, Westerns were one of the most popular genres in Hollywood, and one of the young stars at the forefront was Roy Rogers, who had come from an Ohio farm to transform himself into a cowboy. Regardless of his background, Rogers certainly looked the part of the quintessential cowboy, along with his wife Dale Evans and his horse Trigger. His versatile singing and acting abilities made him successful both on radio and on the screen. Rogers came of age at a time when the "singing cowboy" was at the apex of his popularity, and that was favorable because he actually got his start in show business as a singer. In the early '30s, he bounced around several groups as a country music singer before earning national attention as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers, who were signed to Decca and had a couple of hits. As a result, when he first appeared in movies in 1935, it was usually in bit roles that required singing, but when Gene Autry threatened to quit acting in 1938, Rogers was viewed as a suitable replacement for lead roles. As it turned out, he became the premiere "singing cowboy" in Autry's stead, and from 1939-1954, he was one of the Top 10 Western stars in Hollywood, and a Top 10 movie star overall during some of those years. As Rogers evolved into the "King of the Cowboys", he became a pop culture icon, and he was shrewd enough to capitalize on his image. All sorts of Roy Rogers merchandise hit stores, from action figures to comic strips, and Rogers even banked on the popularity of his horse Trigger by featuring him enough to make the horse a household name as well. Even today, people can find the name Roy Rogers all over the place, if only because he eventually had his name lent to a popular fast food chain in later years. Even as his movie career inevitably tailed off, Rogers remained popular enough to host a television show in the '60s with his wife, and though it was only on for a short while, the show's theme song, "Happy Trails", is still well-known today. Rogers continued to appear on television and was involved with a production company in later years, the capstone on a career that saw him earn 3 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and induction into both the Western Performers Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame. American Legends: The Life of Roy Rogers chronicles the life and career of one of America's most famous actors. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the "King of the Cowboys" like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures of art depicting important people, places, and events. *Describes the different classes of Roman gladiators and the armor and weaponry they used. *Describes gladiatorial combat and the myths and misconceptions about the fight. *Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading. "He vows to endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword." - The gladiator's oath, according to Petronius in the Satyricon. Gladiators are somewhat synonymous with ancient Rome, and even thousands of years after they performed on the sands, when people are asked about Roman culture, many think about and refer to the bloody spectacles of men fighting to the death in the arena. Gladiatorial combat is often regarded as barbaric, and most find it very difficult to comprehend how people could have enjoyed watching something so violent, but nevertheless, the spectacle still intrigues and fascinates people today, whether in movies like Gladiator or television shows about Spartacus. Gladiatorial combat traces its origins back to the early Republican period from the 5th-3rd century B. C., but it's still unclear where these combats first appeared. Credit has been given to both the Etruscans in northern Italy and the Campanians in southern Italy, though the first recorded gladiatorial combat occurred in the 3rd century B. C. at the funeral of D. Junius Brutus Pera. His sons organized a combat between three different pairs of gladiators who fought at their father's grave, but exactly what these first gladiatorial combats were supposed to represent remains unclear. Some believe that the spilling of human blood was a way of offering a sacrifice to the dead, while others suggest that the contests themselves were a funeral offering in honor of the dead. Gladiatorial combat began in the Republican period and was associated with death and burial, but due to its popularity it became an organized form of entertainment in the Imperial Age, and even as the gladiators were considered low class, they were also admired, leading to some Roman men and women volunteering to become gladiators. Whatever the original role of gladiatorial combats, they thrilled Roman audiences for many centuries. Each match usually pitted one type of gladiator against a different type of gladiator, with each having their own kind of armor, weaponry and fighting style. For example, the retiarius was a gladiator that used a net, dagger and trident as his offensive weapons, while only wearing a protective guard over his left arm for protection. The retiarius would typically fight against the secutor, a gladiator armed with a sword, large shield, helmet and protective covering on his right arm and left leg. Therefore, a retiarius sacrificed armor for quickness in battle, while the secutor did the opposite. Although people often think of gladiators fighting to the death, the outcome of gladiatorial combats was not always fatal for one of the participants. If a gladiator fought well, the sponsor of the show could spare him, particularly if the crowd desired it. The fact that the outcome of matches was never the same and the crowd could help determine the result of the match certainly added to the Roman public's pleasure, making it a lot less surprising that such an abhorrent spectacle still fascinated the modern world. The Roman Gladiators: The History and Legacy of Ancient Rome's Most Famous Warriors examines the history of the gladiators and the games they participated in, explaining what life and death was like for the men who fought in Rome's most famous form of entertainment. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about gladiators like you never have before.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the construction written by Gustave Eiffel and others *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "Being the most striking manifestation of the art of metal structures by which our engineers have shown in Europe, it is one of the most striking of our modern national genius." - Gustave Eiffel It's the home of kings, emperors, and aristocrats, and the home of the Champs- lys es, the Bastille, the Louvre and the salons that fueled the Enlightenment. For foreigners like Benjamin Franklin, it was the most beautiful city in the world, and millions of people still visit those same sites every year. Known as the "City of Light," Paris seamlessly blends its rich past with all the trappings of a modern city, and the city's features and qualities are taken for granted today, but Paris was not always that way. In fact, it took nearly half a century of redesigning the city during the 19th century to transform it into the city it is today. Paris's expansion also required new monuments, administrative buildings, and other public buildings. The urban renewal of Paris coincided with the Neoclassicism movement in art and architecture that had taken hold across Europe, which incorporated the classical architecture of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. All over Paris, builders constructed marble colored buildings with arches, pillars, domes, and neoclassical art that used the themes of antiquity. Fittingly, the construction of the Eiffel Tower for the 1889 World's Fair was a capstone of sorts to the reconstruction of Paris, and it remains one of the world's most famous and visited landmarks. Designed as an entrance to the fair, the Eiffel Tower, soaring over 1,050 feet into the air, was an architectural wonder that served as the world's tallest man-made object for over 40 years. As its designer, Gustave Eiffel, put it, "It seems to me that if] it had no other rationale than to show that we are not simply the country of entertainers, but also that of engineers and builders called from across the world to build bridges, viaducts, stations and major monuments of modern industry, the Eiffel Tower deserves to be treated with consideration." Though it may be hard to believe today, the Eiffel Tower was initially met with derision by many Frenchmen, some of whom compared it to the Tower of Babel and complained that the "useless and monstrous" structure would obscure treasures such as Notre Dame. In response to such criticisms, Eiffel himself pointed out, "Can one think that because we are engineers, beauty does not preoccupy us or that we do not try to build beautiful, as well as solid and long lasting structures? Aren't the genuine functions of strength always in keeping with unwritten conditions of harmony? ... Besides, there is an attraction, a special charm in the colossal to which ordinary theories of art do not apply." It's safe to say that Eiffel was correct. Each year, millions of people refute those original notions by riding to the top and making it the most visited paid monument in the entire world. Indeed, the Eiffel Tower has welcomed over 250 million visitors in less than 130 years. Eiffel had the good fortune of being vindicated in his lifetime, and as he once joked, "I ought to be jealous of the tower. She is more famous than I am." The Eiffel Tower: The History of Paris' Most Famous Landmark traces the history of the landmark from its construction to the present day. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Eiffel Tower like never before, in no time at all.