Book Description

Step into the Arctic World is the latest title in the well established; 'Step into...' series.These are educational and exciting books that take young readers back to times past, through fascinating facts and practical projects designed to help children understand the civilizations and peoples of early history.Each book is illustrated with color photographs, historical maps and pictorial timelines.This series educates and entertains 8 to 12-year-olds with interesting step-by-step projects that help recreate the past. The Arctic people were a rich mix of various tribes that lived in one of the coldest regions on earth.The earliest known settlement in the Arctic was in 10,000BC. Asian people crossed to North America via a land bridge to settle in the Arctic region.Their descendants were known as Inuits.The Inuits have settled in North Canada, Alaska, Russia and Greenland.Other settlers in the Eurasian Arctic include the Saami, Chukchi, Evenks, and Nenets. This book will teach children about these cultures by showing them how they used to survive in such a cold climate, how people were taught, where they used to live, what they used to wear and the beautiful crafts they made.As many of these cultures still exist today, with the same traditions, the book will reflect how time has changed the peoples of the Arctic. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A solid introduction to the roots of contemporary terrorism
John Hamilton's "Behind the Terror" volume in the War on Terrorism series begins with the important question most young students would most like to have answered: "Why do they hate us?" After all, the idea that people would deliberately fly airlines into skyscrapers is foreign to our way of thinking. Consequently, in searching for the answers, Hamilton tries to explain the roots and beliefs of the terrorists responsible for what happened on September 11th.

Specifically, this book looks at five aspects: (1) Terrorism and War considers how armies have used terror from the time of the Romans in the Punic Wars against Carthage to World War II, in which Hamilton covers how both sides targeted civilians. (2) Anti-Colonialism considers how terrorism has been used by weak groups to fight overwhelmingly powerful governments, and notes that the dilemma of calling someone a terrorist or a freedom fighter can be rather troubling, pointing out how the term could apply to Nelson Mandela's efforts fighting apartheid in South Africa or the creation of the state of Israel. (3) International Terrorism focuses more specifically on the actions of Palestinean supporters, mostly targeted against Israelis. (4) Religious Terrorism starts off by comparing the Jewish extremist who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin with the Islamic suicide bombers of HAMAS, provides a brief history lesson on fundamentalist extremists from the Thuggees and Assassins to Timothy McVeigh, and then devotes a lengthy section to the recent activities of militant Islamic fundamentalists. (5) Anti-Americanism is presented as basically anti-Westernism, when American defining the West for the entire world, not just Muslims. This chapter touches briefly on the Crusades, and if I had one strong suggestion for revising this book it would be that historical tensions between Muslims and Christians could be explored more.

The final chapters in this book look at Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in terms of September 11th, which raises a final important question: What to do about terrorism? Hamilton does a nice job of presenting the geo-political situation in a straightforward fashion, calling for engagement with radical regimens while continuing to support Israel and stop state supported terrorism. Overall, this is a solid introduction to the roots of terrorism today. Hamilton covers all of the bases and obviously tries to maintain a fair and balanced presentation throughout the book. A companion volume in this series on Osama bin Laden provides more details about both the terrorist leader and the al-Qaeda organization. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

From Agent Orange to Zilwaukee Bridge
Failed Technology has all the great failures from Agent Orange to the Zilwaukee Bridge. Among 387 pages of information about46 different incidents housed in 2 books, are entries on the Ford Pinto, Hindenburg, Love Canal, MGM Grand Hotel Fire, Three Mile Island reactor, and of course, the infamous Titanic. In the previously mentioned entries it explores the little known truths of the disasters. Did you know that in 1971, the Ford Company had a price for life? Did you know that Hooker Chemical knowingly donated a toxic waste site to a school board? Know these facts and many more from reading Failed Technology: True Stories Of Technological Disasters volumes 1 and 2 ... Read more

Book Description

Discover the vital role played by the fort in a community, how itfunctioned, and what the day-to-day lives were like of the people who lived inside it. ... Read more

Book Description

Today, as in the earliest times, people wear clothes not only for warmth and comfort, but also to show their position in society or simply to look good and attract a partner.

Clothes of the Early Modern World looks at how fashions changed during the 300 years from the early 1500s to the late 1700s. This was a time when many important events, including industrial and political revolutions took place and these often affected what people wore. Stunning artwork recreates the styles of the time in Europe and the newly colonized United States, as well as clothing from other parts of the world, such as Persia and India.