Chronicles the history of the American West, starting with the first European explorations and ending with the beginning of the 20th century. Examines the impact of the white settlers on the lives of the Native Americans and the land. Also discusses the Gold Rush, the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad, the battle of Little Bighorn, and the massacre at Wounded Knee.

"In the vein of acclaimed popular-science bestsellers such as Atlas Obscura, Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry, The Way Things Work, What If?, and Undeniable, the co-founders of the global science organization Nerd Nite bring readers a collection of wacky, yet fascinating STEM topics. For 20 years, Nerd Nite has delivered to live audiences around the world, the most interesting, fun, and informative presentations about science, history, the...

From Israel's leading historian, a sweeping history of 1967--the war, what led up to it, what came after, and how it changed everything. Journalist Segev recounts the watershed year when six days of war reshaped the country and the entire region. Going far beyond a military account, Segev re-creates the crisis in Israel before 1967, showing how economic recession, a full grasp of the Holocaust's horrors, and the dire threats made by neighbor states...

"We all know what Modern Art looks like. We've seen Monet's water lilies, we've admired Picasso's nudes, and we've gawked at Damien's shark, as well as the price tag. But what does it all mean? What is Modern Art? Who started it? Why do we love/hate it? And why is it such big money? What Are You Looking At? takes the reader on a captivating tour of modern art from Impressionism to the present day, telling the story of the movements, the artists and...

"It ranks right up there with public speaking. Nearly all of us fear it. And yet it's critical to our success. Asking for money. It makes even the stout-hearted quiver. But now comes a book, Asking: A 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Staff and Volunteers Must Know to Secure the Gift. And short of a medical elixir, it's the next best thing for emboldening you, your board members and volunteers to ask with skill, finesse ... and powerful...

"Before 1870, humanity lived in dire poverty, with a slow crawl of invention offset by a growing population. Then came a great shift: invention sprinted forward, doubling our technological capabilities each generation and utterly transforming the economy again and again. Economist Brad DeLong's Slouching Towards Utopia tells the story of how this unprecedented explosion of material wealth occurred, how it transformed the globe, and why it failed to...

"Since its creation during the Cold War, the Internet, together with the World Wide Web, personal computers, tablets, and smartphones, has ushered in the Digital Revolution, one of the greatest shifts in society since the Industrial Revolution. There are many positive ways in which the Internet has contributed to the world, but as a society we are less aware of the Internet's deeply negative effects. In 2007, Andrew Keen, a longtime Silicon Valley-based...

"Bree Rhodes and Jill Kelly have been best friends since kindergarten. When Bree survives a cancer scare, the knitting shop assistant takes it as a sign to step out of her comfort zone . . . or at least take a few tentative tiptoes. But in no time she's in over her head with a hot architect, a new puppy and a shot at buying her dream inn. And the harder she tries to stay afloat in her new normal, the harder it is to hold onto her friendship with Jill...

"Sinclair McKay's portrait of Berlin from 1919 forward explores the city's broad human history, from the end of the Great War to the Blockade, rise of the Wall, and beyond. Sinclair McKay's Berlin begins by taking readers back to 1919 when the city emerged from the shadows of the Great War to become an extraordinary by-word for modernity-in art, cinema, architecture, industry, science, and politics. He traces the city's history through the rise of...

"Walter Stahr, author of the ... bestseller Seward, now tells the amazing story of Lincoln's secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, the most powerful and controversial of the men close to the president. Stanton raised an army of a million men and directed it from his Washington telegraph office, with Lincoln often at his side. He arrested and imprisoned thousands for "war crimes," some serious and some merely political. He was essential to the nation's...