Jim Whiting
1) Scary Places
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A cave that's home to ghosts. A tomb with a mummy's curse. A place where airplanes and ships disappear and never return. Are you scared yet? Get ready for some spine tingling excitement as you read all about these Scary Places.
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What is probably the most famous pairing in musical history began without fanfare in 1871 when writer William S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan teamed up to produce a Christmas entertainment called Thespis. The two men parted ways soon afterward and it took a theatrical promoter named Richard D Oyly Carter to reunite them four years later. Their first big hit came in 1878 with their operetta H.M.S. Pinafore. It reached the United States the...
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The formation of the State of Israel in 1948 is one of the most important events in recent history. About 3,000 years ago, Israel was a powerful nation. But it soon fell from power and in the second century CE most Jews were forced out of their homeland. Many went to Europe, where they were subject to prejudice and persecution for centuries. By far the worst case was the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed. Their suffering accelerated...
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Many people believed that Hungarian-born Franz Liszt was the greatest piano player of all time. Certainly, he was the first musical superstar. During an eight-year concert tour in the 1840s, he revolutionized the way that pianists performed in public. He had several love affairs before taking Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. One of the most versatile figures in music history, he was also a composer, concert promoter, and conductor. He was a very...
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The most popular of all Russian composers, Peter Tchaikovsky is probably best known for his ballets. Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and Nutcracker are still performed worldwide. But a good part of Tchaikovsky s career was spent writing operas. Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades are two of his better-known works. A precocious child, Peter could read French and German by the age of six. At seven, he wrote verses in French. In school, he studied to be...
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Do you want a pet that won't wake you up with its barking, doesn't need daily walks, and can go for a week or more without being fed? If so, a snake might be for you.
But owning a snake is not easy. You need a container and other specialized equipment to make sure that your pet lives a long and comfortable life. Like any other pet, snakes can become ill. Most snakes eat only small animals such as mice. You may not be comfortable with feeding them....
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Frogs are very sensitive to their environment. Changes in their appearanceand their rapid disappearancecan tell us when the environment is unhealthy. When people around the world began noticing that frog species were dying or becoming deformed at an alarming rate, they knew something had to be done. Frogs in Danger gives an overview of some of the frog species that have become endangered and why. Read about a flesh-eating fungus that thrives in warm...
11) Pugs
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A king of a dog in a tiny body! This title includes narrative nonfiction, informational sidebars, Fun Facts, and more for readers to learn about the history of Pugs and how to take care of them today!
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Greek soldiers defeated numerically superior Persian armies in several battles near the beginning of the fifth century BCE. That set the stage for what is known as the Golden Age of Greece, several decades of almost unparalleled accomplishments in art, politics, and civil affairs. The leader during this inspired era was a citizen of Athens named Pericles. He led many important political changes in the city. He was also largely responsible for the...
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From an early age, Frederic Chopin displayed natural musical ability. Often compared to Mozart, Chopin was invited to play for members of the aristocracy in small, private concerts. But, unlike Mozart, his parents did not take advantage of his childhood talent. Frederic Chopin left his Polish homeland behind when he was only 20 and lived most of his life in Paris, France, the cultural hub of Europe. His genius as a pianist and composer flowered there...
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The Roman emperor Nero is one of the most notorious figures in history. He is most famous for fiddling while Rome burned, then blaming Christians for setting the fire and beginning a series of persecutions against them. He even ordered the murder of his own mother. Find out why the Romans declared him a public enemy, and what happened when he tried to run away.
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Many scholars regard Plato as the greatest philosopher of all time. Yet he was much more than a man with his head in the clouds. Plato grew up in a turbulent era. A violent civil war divided the Greeks. The turbulence carried over into his personal life. His beloved teacher, Socrates, was executed by the city of Athens. From the teachings of Socrates and his own experiences, Plato developed important theories about government, ethics, love, beauty-even...
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To some people, Genghis Khan was a very evil man. He reportedly killed millions of people, most of them in cold blood. To others, he was the man who established an era of peace and prosperity. This achievement allowed the free exchange of ideas and new inventions between Asia and Europe. One thing is certain. According to the results of a newspaper poll, he was the Man of the Millennium. That means he was the most important human being to live between...
17) Abigail Adams
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Abigail Adams was the equal of her husband, President John Adams, in many ways. She had strong views about women's rights and slavery, and she let him know exactly how she felt. Her strength and wisdom left a lasting mark on the fledgling U.S.
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Late in 1945, five U.S. Navy torpedo bombers took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a routine training mission. Soon the mission became anything but routine. Flight 19, as it was known, became hopelessly lost. Then the planes vanished. No one ever found a trace of them or the 14 men who had been aboard. Starting five years later, people began to notice a pattern of disappearances of ships and airplanes similar to Flight 19. These disappearances...
19) Bubonic Plague
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In the middle of the fourteenth century, a terrible and mysterious plague swept across Europe and Asia. One in every three Europeans died during the five years that it terrified the continent. People tried all sorts of ways to avoid catching the Black Death. They carried flowers, burned incense, fired cannons, and rang church bells. They nailed whole families in their homes to try to keep the disease from spreading. Nothing seemed to help. The death...
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For centuries, ordinary Russians lived under the absolute power of the czars, the country's hereditary rulers. For many, such a life involved few rights and grinding poverty. The Russian people increasingly wanted a greater voice in the way they were governed and a higher standard of living. These desires put pressure on the government of the czars. The civil unrest finally came to a head in 1917. The last czar, Nicholas II, was overthrown in what...