Nonfiction World

Discover some of the most captivating mysteries of all time. Humanity has come so far and explored so much. As a species, we have more, or less conquered the entire Earth and all of its resources. We have built towering structures, intricate systems, and settled everywhere - from the tallest peaks to the deepest valleys. We have now entered what many like to think of as the enlightened, scientific era - where old superstitions and fears have been abolished, and the mysteries of the past have been solved. Basically, many of us like to think we have figured it all out.

The twelve entries in The Golden Age of Piracy discuss why pirates thrived in the seas of the New World, how pirates operated their plundering ventures, how governments battled piracy, and when and why piracy declined. Separating Hollywood myth from historical fact, these essays bring the real pirates of the Caribbean to life with a level of rigor and insight rarely applied to the subject.

Whaling in the Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast was as dangerous as it was lucrative in 1897. In that particular year, winter came early, bringing with it storms and ice packs that caught eight American whale ships and about three hundred sailors off guard. The ships were imprisoned in ice with no hope of escape. With limited provisions on board the ships that hadn’t been crushed by the ice, there was little hope that these men could survive until warmer temperatures arrived at least 10 months later. Martin Sandler tells the incredible true adventure story of three men who were ordered by President McKinley to carry out an overland rescue in the dead of winter.

After gold was discovered in California in 1848, thousands of people rushed there to strike it rich. They faced tough choices at every turn. Now the choices are yours. Would you rather use the slower method of panning for gold or use a more dangerous method of hydraulic mining? Would you rather run a store or a hotel in a California boomtown? It's your turn to pick this or that!

Did you know there is a whale as long as two school buses? Or a bird that's so heavy it can't even fly? Kids will enjoy exploring the world of supersized animals in this exciting series. This volume includes The World's Biggest Insects, The World's Biggest Mammals, and The World's Biggest Reptiles.

Did you know there is a whale as long as two school buses? Or a bird that's so heavy it can't even fly? Kids will enjoy exploring the world of supersized animals in this exciting series.

Movies and television shows have turned people of all ages into dinosaur fanatics. But what were these prehistoric creatures really like, and what wiped them out? This high-interest series explores the lives of world-famous dinosaurs, from diets to defenses, and examines what drove these great beasts to extinction. This volume includes Amargasauras, Dilophosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, and Therizinosaurus.

Movies and television shows have turned people of all ages into dinosaur fanatics. But what were these prehistoric creatures really like, and what wiped them out? This high-interest series explores the lives of world-famous dinosaurs, from diets to defenses, and examines what drove these great beasts to extinction. This volume includes Parasaurolophus, Argentinosaurus, and Iguanodon.

Movies and television shows have turned people of all ages into dinosaur fanatics. But what were these prehistoric creatures really like, and what wiped them out? This high-interest series explores the lives of world-famous dinosaurs, from diets to defenses, and examines what drove these great beasts to extinction. This volume includes Ankylosaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus.

Movies and television shows have turned people of all ages into dinosaur fanatics. But what were these prehistoric creatures really like, and what wiped them out? This high-interest series explores the lives of world-famous dinosaurs, from diets to defenses, and examines what drove these great beasts to extinction. This volume includes Spinosaurus, Utahraptor, and Archaeopteryx.

Movies and television shows have turned people of all ages into dinosaur fanatics. But what were these prehistoric creatures really like, and what wiped them out? This high-interest series explores the lives of world-famous dinosaurs, from diets to defenses, and examines what drove these great beasts to extinction. This volume includes Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Velociraptor.

Movies and television shows have turned people of all ages into dinosaur fanatics. But what were these prehistoric creatures really like, and what wiped them out? This high-interest series explores the lives of world-famous dinosaurs, from diets to defenses, and examines what drove these great beasts to extinction. This volume includes Brachiosaurus, Gigantosaurus, and Nasutoceratops.

Movies and television shows have turned people of all ages into dinosaur fanatics. But what were these prehistoric creatures really like, and what wiped them out? This high-interest series explores the lives of world-famous dinosaurs, from diets to defenses, and examines what drove these great beasts to extinction. This volume includes Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, and Oviraptor.

How do fireflies light up? Why do bees and wasps sting? How do butterflies get nectar from flowers? This series shows how unique insects eat, work, and live. It will have young listeners buzzing with excitement! This volume includes Ants, Dragonflies, Fireflies, Grasshoppers, and Beetles.

A guide to writing a full-length transformational nonfiction book, from an editor with two decades' experience working with authors from all walks of life.

Sloths spend their days hanging upside down from tree branches. Learn about these slow-moving mammals and their habitats in Sloths.

Yank! The giant panda strips bamboo leaves with its sharp claws. Weighing more than 300 pounds, this is one huge bear! Listeners are introduced to physical features, behavior, habitat, and life cycle to find out why giant pandas are awesome!

Drawing on evidence from many fields, including archaeology, anthropology, neurology and linguistics, Sverker Johansson weaves these disparate threads together to show how our human ancestors evolved into language users. The Dawn of Language provides a fascinating survey of how grammar came into being and the differences or similarities between languages spoken around the world, before exploring how language eventually emerged in the very remote human past.

From the overwhelming operational victories at Kerch and Kharkov in May to the catastrophic defeats at El Alamein and Stalingrad, Death of the Wehrmacht offers an eye-opening new view of that decisive year. Building upon his widely respected critique in The German Way of War, Citino shows how the campaigns of 1942 fit within the centuries-old patterns of Prussian/German warmaking and ultimately doomed Hitler's expansionist ambitions.

In an immersive, exciting narrative nonfiction format, this powerful book follows a selection of people who experienced the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.