English Heritage

The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.

How much do you know about farts? Did you know it would take just nine farts from every person on earth to power an atomic bomb? That fish farts nearly triggered a war against Russia? That women's farts smell worse than men's? Pfwoort! It's all in this book. Did you know that inhaling farts is healthy, yet people fart after death? That you can get a job as a professional fart smeller? That farting is illegal in Africa but polite in South America? Heard any ancient Babylonian fart jokes lately? Blorrrk! It's all in this book.

In planes and foxholes, in deserts and jungles, on ships and beaches, Ambrose shines a light on the people involved - the leaders, the fighters, the victims. With chapters on the atrocities of the Holocaust and revelations about the secret war of espionage, Ambrose's analysis also offers insight into the events that precipitated the Cold War.

From George Washington's reluctant oath-taking through George W. Bush's leadership challenges after September 11, 2001, we view ambitious and fallible men through the new lens of the 21st century. Where did they succeed? Where did they fail? And what do we know now that we could not have known at the time?

On the eve of Katie's wedding to widower Bishop John, startling news staggers out of her anguished parents, and nothing prepares Katie for the devastation their confession brings. Feeling betrayed, Katie watches as the only life she has ever known begins to unravel, leaving in its wake a furrow of pain and a future of hope.

Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age 12 to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly recreates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his "brothers".

With a tarot deck in hand, listeners will learn how to identify and access ancestral gifts, messages, powers, protectors, and healers. Tarot expert Nancy Hendrickson guides listeners through the basics of finding recent ancestors, and navigating the confusing maze of DNA and ethnic heritage. As a longtime tarot enthusiast, she shows listeners how to incorporate a metaphysical tool into a world of tradition.

In The Shunning, beautiful 22-year-old Katie Lapp longs to experience the forbidden things of the outside world, even while she is making plans to forever embrace the traditions of her people. In a few days, Katie will marry Bishop John, a widower with five young children. She should be excited, but instead she feels trapped. Her thoughts in turmoil, she heads to the attic to be alone. As she explores a dusty trunk, she discovers a satin infant gown, much too fancy for an Amish baby.

Captured by slave traders when only 15, At-mun never forgot his roots as a prince. Nor did he ever lose his princely dignity and the courage to hold his head high. Sold at auction in America and haunted by the memory of his young sister left behind in Africa, At-mun, now Amos, began his long march to freedom. He dreamed of being free and of buying the freedom of his closest friends.

Coffee and brightly painted oxcarts. Quetzals, coastlines, and the Montverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Learn the ABCs of Costa Rica in this exotic, colorful tour of the small but treasure-filled Central American country.

Awakening to darkness, Katie, in a dreamy haze, thought surely she was back in her bedroom at Hickory Hollow, that it was time to rise 'n shine, hurry into chore clothes, get out to the barn to help with the milking. But, as she lay there listening, ears attuned for her father's call up the steps, she realized she was not a girl growing up in the Lapp home. She was a young married woman, curled up next to Dan, her sleeping husband.

The Shadowmen still swarm over the Four Lands, poisoning everything with their dark magic. And their leader is determined to destroy all the Scions of Shannara. For Walker Boh, he dispatches the Four Horsemen. For Wren, he sends an untrue friend. And for Par, he devises the most terrible fate of all. With these traps cleverly laid, the charges given by the shade of the Druid Allanon are doomed to failure - unless Par can discover a way to harness the power of the Sword of Shannara.

Because she has disobeyed church rules, Katie Lapp is now Katherine Mayfield. Expelled from her strict Amish home, she sets out to find Laura Mayfield, the birth mother she has never known. But even as Katherine draws near to Laura, evil plans in the works to tear away their happiness and their inheritance.

Since the death of the Druid Allanon, the Four Lands have changed profoundly, with magic strictly forbidden in the Southland, now under totalitarian rule. Yet Par still has some power of the Wishsong. A message from Allanon arrives: venture to the dread Hadeshorn, along with the other Scions of Shannara. For in the future, all life in the Four Lands will be destroyed. To prevent this terrible fate, Allanon commands Par to recover the long-lost Sword of Shannara, a task that is next to impossible.

Young listeners learn about the early traditions which have led to our present-day celebration of Halloween.

It was just before Summertide, the time when the twin planets, Opal and Quake, would orbit closest to their sun, subjecting both - Quake in particular - to vast tidal forces. It was to be the most violent Summertide ever, creating something that only happened every 350,000 years. Planetary Administrators Hans Rebka and Max Perry had no choice but to go to Quake - risking their lives to protect the others - and to learn, just maybe, the secret of Summertide and the Builders.

Even though Captain Trip always knew he was a little odd, he’s still shocked by the revelation that the elder gold dragon, Agarrenon Shivar, sired him. It’s time, however, to accept reality and learn to use his power, even if it alienates him from his magic-fearing friends - and the woman he’s come to care about. With enemy dragons threatening to kill or enslave everyone in his homeland, he has no choice.

Ancient evil forces remain in control of the Four Lands. To restore the Kepp of the Druid Allanon, Walker Boh sets out on a journey to find the black Elfstone. After narrowly escaping death, he learns that the Elfstone lies in the hands of the Stone King. Now Walker Boh must venture into perilous, unknown lands with a strange band of fellow travelers that includes Morgan Leah, whose once-magic sword has been broken; Quickening, the daughter of the ancient King; and Pe Ell, an assassin who hatches his own dark, sinister plot.

Captain Telryn “Trip” Yert is on the most important mission of his life. Accompanied by Captain Kaika, the sentient soulblade Jaxi, and Rysha Ravenwood - the noble-born scholar and officer he definitely shouldn’t be developing feelings for - he must find a way to close a portal that’s allowing more and more dragons into the world. If he fails, all of humanity could fall to the powerful creatures. As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, the secret Trip has spent his whole life hiding, that he can draw upon magical power, is on the verge of being discovered.

Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton is a Maasai tribesman of Kenya. In this fascinating autobiography, he shares stories about growing up in his nomadic tribe - from licking sweat off cows’ noses to survive a drought, to facing down a lion at age 14, to playing soccer for the president of Kenya. The only member of his family to receive a formal education, Joseph sometimes lived as much as 40 miles away from school. While at school, he learned about Western culture and traditions.