Set 300 years before the events in A Song of Ice and Fire, FIRE AND BLOOD is the definitive history of the Targaryens in Westeros as told by Archmaester Gyldayn, and chronicles the conquest that united the Seven Kingdoms under Targaryen rule through to the Dance of the Dragons: the Targaryen civil war that nearly ended their dynasty forever. The thrilling history of the Targaryens comes to life in this masterly work by the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the inspiration for HBO's Game of Thrones. With all the fire and fury fans have come to expect from internationally bestselling author George R.R. Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros. Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen - the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria - took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart. What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys's three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed. With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson’s groundbreaking bestseller, When Elephants Weep, was the first book since Darwin’s time to explore emotions in the animal kingdom, particularly from animals in the wild. Now, he focuses exclusively on the contained world of the farm animal, revealing startling, irrefutable evidence that barnyard creatures have feelings too, even consciousness. Weaving history, literature, anecdotes, scientific studies, and Masson’s own vivid experiences observing pigs, cows, sheep, goats, and chickens over the course of five years, this important book at last gives voice, meaning, and dignity to these gentle beasts that are bred to be milked, shorn, butchered, and eaten. Can we ever know what makes an animal happy? Many animal behaviorists say no. But Jeffrey Masson has a different view: An animal is happy if it can live according to its own nature. Farm animals suffer greatly in this regard. Chickens, for instance, like to perch in trees at night, to avoid predators and to nestle with friends. The obvious conclusion: They cannot be happy when confined twenty to a cage. From field and barn, to pen and coop, Masson bears witness to the emotions and intelligence of these remarkable farm animals, each unique with distinct qualities. Curious, intelligent, self-reliant–many will find it hard to believe that these attributes describe a pig. In fact, there is much that humans share with pigs. They dream, know their names, and can see colors. Mother cows mourn the loss of their calves when their babies are taken away to slaughter. Given a choice between food that is nutritious or lacking in minerals, sheep will select the former, balancing their diet and correcting the deficiency. Goats display quite a sense of humor, dignity, and fearlessness (Indian goats have been known to kill leopards). Chickens are naturally sociable–they will gather around a human companion and stand there serenely preening themselves or sit quietly on the ground beside someone they trust. For far too long farm animals have been denigrated and treated merely as creatures of instinct rather than as sentient beings. Shattering the abhorrent myth of the “dumb animal without feelings,” Jeffrey Masson has written a revolutionary book that is sure to stir human emotions far and wide. From the Hardcover edition.

Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the glove in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey filled with sex, violence, and amazing adventure. Now in Over the Edge of the World, prizewinning biographer and journalist Laurence Bergreen entwines a variety of candid, firsthand accounts, bringing to life this groundbreaking and majestic tale of discovery that changed both the way explorers would henceforth navigate the oceans and history itself.

Jonathan Cahn, author of the New York Times best sellers The Harbinger, The Mystery of the Shemitah, The Book of Mysteries, and The Paradigm, now unveils The Oracle, in which he opens up the jubilean prophecies and a mystery so big that it has determined everything from the rise and fall of world empires to two world wars, the current events of our day, the future, end time prophecy, and much more. Could an ancient prophecy and a mysterious ordinance given in a Middle Eastern desert over three thousand years ago be determining the events of our day? Could some of the most famous people of modern history and current events be secretly linked to this mystery even a modern president of the United States? Could this ancient revelation pinpoint the events of our times down to the year, month, and day of their occurring? Could a mysterious phenomenon be manifesting on the world stage on an exact timetable determined from ancient times? Could these manifestations have altered and now be altering the course of world events? Jonathan Cahn takes the reader on a journey to find the man called the Oracle. One by one each of the jubilean mysteries will be revealed through the giving of a vision. The Oracle will uncover The Mystery of the Stranger, The Lost City, The Man With the Measuring Line, The Birds, The Return, The Day of the Lions, and much, much more. The reader will discover the ancient scrolls that contain the appointed words that have determined the course of world history from the onset of modern times up to our day. Ultimately The Oracle will reveal the secret that lies behind end time prophecy and the mystery of the end of the age. As with The Harbinger and The Book of Mysteries, Cahn reveals the mysteries through a narrative; a traveler is given seven keys, each for the opening of one of seven doors. Behind each door lies one of the seven streams of the jubilean mysteries. The reader will be taken on a journey, led by angelic guides, through each door and vision to uncover the ancient secrets that lie behind the world changing events of modern times. As with Cahn s other works, the reader will find that the mysteries revealed within the pages of The Oracle are absolutely real, amazing, life changing, and mind blowing.

"Nine-year-old Anna is living in Germany, and the year is 1933. It is one of the country's most troubled eras. But she's too busy with her schoolwork and friends to notice Adolf Hitler's face glaring from political posters plastered all over Berlin. And she's never even paid much attention to the fact that she's Jewish. Being Jewish, she thought, was just something that you inherited from your parents and grandparents, like the color of your hair. One day, she is forced to take notice. Her father is unaccountably, horrifyingly missing. Soon after, she and her brother, Max, are hurried out of Germany by their mother with alarming secrecy that Anna does not fully understand. At last, they are reunited in Switzerland, and Anna and family embark on an adventure that extends over the course of several years, and over the borders of many countries. Along the way, they learn new languages, new customs, how to cope with confusion, and how to be poor. They are refugees, and Anna soon discovers that it requires special skills to stay a few steps ahead of the Nazis. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit avoids most of the details of the actual Holocaust. Instead it provides young readers with a gentle, yet important introduction to a devastating chapter in world history."--

In this ... book, [the author] explores the final struggle between monotheism and polytheism in the ancient world, a war that was fought by a series of charismatic, visionary but also violent monarchs in the name of the One True God - an Egyptian pharaoh, a Jewish king, and two Roman emperors. Contrary to the conventional wisdom of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the world of classical paganism was not steeped in sin. In fact, [according to the author], religious liberty and diversity were core values of classical paganism, and it was monotheism that introduced the terrors of true belief, including holy war, martyrdom, inquisitions, and crusades.-Dust jacket.

Read how the most controversial book in he bible changed the course od western civilization

Novel tells the story of a precocious young girl who uses her intelligence and accelerating technology to solve humanity's grandest challenges. Now if only we can find more courageous visionaries like Danielle. Written as an alternative history, Danielle's journey as a driven young girl brings her face to face with many important figures from recent history and our modern world. Told through the eyes of Danielle's equally remarkable sister Claire, a girl adopted from Haiti after surviving the earthquake, this story shows all readers a hopeful vision of humanity's future - and how to achieve it. The novel features 24 graphic novel style illustrations, one for each year of Danielle's life. Accompanying the novel are two nonfiction companion books by the author. How You Can Be a Danielle is a call to action, providing pragmatic, thought-provoking and clear guidance on how readers can be inspired to emulate Danielle and help bring about a better world. A Chronicle of Ideas: A Guide for Superheroines (and Superheroes) provides Kurzweil's and Danielle's unique spin on 282 concepts presented in the novel.

Describes how the discoveries made by the Europeans around the time of Columbus changed the world. National Geographic has always given readers the bigger picture of our world. Now The World Made New shows children the bigger context of American history. Written by award-winning children's author Marc Aronson and John W. Glenn, this innovative title will lead children through the causes and consequences of the defining age of exploration. Its unique approach will provide children with new ways of thinking about and learning from history, and instill a lasting sense of our country's past. The World Made New provides a detailed account of the charting of the New World and the long-term effects of America's march into history. The text uses primary sources to bring history to life and features evocative profiles of the major explorers of the age. The book is beautifully illustrated with full-color artwork, multiple-time lines, and six custom National Geographic maps. The text and layout combine to provide an enlightening overview of New World exploration, and outline the historical context for the discoveries that literally changed the world. The narrative carries young readers through this age of glorious, and sometimes inglorious, adventure. Follow the timeline of history unfolding; how the early colonies were established; how dissemination of products like the potato, tomato, tobacco, and corn made the Americas a major part of the new world economy; and how the Caribbean became a major trading hub.

Given the long history of anti-Semitic evil done by the Catholic Church over the centuries, who could have imagined that there was at least on family of (converted?) Jews who gave the world 3 roman popes! Prinz does his scholarly homework and combines it with great story telling to make a book that deserves a much bigger audience.

Rabbi Berel Wein, in this book, has woven an informative tapestry out of the events of the Jewish Middle Ages. Its historic figures come alive and we appreciate their greatness. The Sephardic world and the Ashkenazic society, the longing for Zion and redemption, the intrigues and truths of history are here faithfully explained. The story of the Jewish people in the Medieval Era is told with wit, knowledge, accuracy and emotion. As in Triumph of Survival, Rabbi Wein has not settled merely for a history of the Jews. Herald of Destiny will make our modern Jewish milieu and its problems more understandable by illuminating for us the great medieval Jewish world that preceded us.

To modern man, the Middle Ages is a distant, mysterious and forbidding period. It is primitive in technology, brutal in violence, and superstitious and servile in society. But it was also a time of pageant and grandeur, of discovery and wonder, of great achievements and lasting progress, when men of genius and industry laid the foundations for our modern world. Those who have preceded us have in the main been neglected in our assessment of current life. Jews in the Middle Ages achieved great heights of power, wealth, scholarship and creativity - the Golden Age of Spain, of Rashi and the Tosafists, R' Yehuda Halevi and Maimonides. The Jews were part of the Renaissance, the catalysts for the Reformation, sponsors of arts, exploration, and commerce. But it was also a terrible time for Israel. The Almohad persecutions, the Crusades, the Black Death, the burning of the Talmud in Paris, the bitter rivalries, and quarrels within Jewish society itself all combined to paint the era in blood and despair. Rabbi Berel Wein, in this book, has woven an informative tapestry out of the events of the Jewish Middle Ages. Its historic figures come alive and we appreciate their greatness. The Sephardic world and the Ashkenazic society, the longing for Zion and redemption, the intrigues and truths of history are here faithfully explained. The story of the Jewish people in the Medieval Era is told with wit, knowledge, accuracy and emotion. As in Triumph of Survival, Rabbi Wein has not settled merely for a history of the Jews. Herald of Destiny will make our modern Jewish milieu and its problems more understandable by illuminating for us the great medieval Jewish world that preceded us.

Humanity has been manipulated by shadowy, inhuman beings throughout history. Secret wars have been waged to settle vampires' disputes. Cultures have been created to advance mages' visions of Ascension. Enemies of the Earth have been defeated by werewolves as they prepare for their Apocalypse. This is the World of Darkness, a place where one's fears may become reality. Dark Destiny features short stories by Robert Bloch, Rick Hautala, Nancy A. Collins, Robert Weinberg and others.