Can you imagine the world—or your life—without writing? From emails to street signs and newspapers to novels, the written word is so ever-present that we rarely stop to consider how it came to be.
Yet at just over 5,000 years old, writing is actually a relatively recent invention. It has become so central to the way we communicate and live, however, that it often seems as if writing has always existed.

Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves and Other Female Villains

From Jezebel to Catherine the Great, from Cleopatra to Mae West, from Mata Hari to Bonnie Parker, strong women have been a problem for historians, storytellers, and readers. Strong females smack of the unfeminine. They have been called wicked, wanton, and willful. Sometimes that is a just designation, but just as often it is not.

Five Famous Fairy Tales ( Level 2)

Classic / British English

When a fisherman opens an old jar, a giant comes out. When a donkey opens its mouth, gold falls out. There is magic in these five fairy tales. Good people are often very unhappy -- but in the end they have happy lives.

History of the Medieval World

A masterful narrative of the Middle Ages, when religion became a weapon for kings all over the world.
From the schism between Rome and Constantinople to the rise of the T’ang Dynasty, from the birth of Muhammad to the crowning of Charlemagne, this erudite book tells the fascinating, often violent story of kings, generals, and the peoples they ruled.

366 Days in Abraham Lincoln's Presidency includes fascinating facts like how Lincoln hated to hunt but loved to fire guns near the unfinished Washington monument, how he was the only president to own a patent, and how he recited Scottish poetry to relieve stress. As Scottish historian Hugh Blair said, "It is from private life, from familiar, domestic, and seemingly trivial occurrences, that we most often receive light into the real character."