mental floss presents Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History's Naughtiest Bits
Added by: Maria | Karma: 3098.81 | Non-Fiction | 9 April 2009
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Think of anything bad, from art heists to Genghis Kahn, and it's likely to be included in this wickedly smart and humorous guide to the seedy underbelly of basically everything. The brainiac team at "mental_floss", creators of the hit magazine and last year's Condensed Knowledge, have scoured the darkest, dirtiest corners of history and the globe to gather this ultimate collection of the bad stuff you're not supposed to know and you certainly never learned in school.
Organized by theme, with chapters for each of the seven deadly sins, the book includes feuds, plagiarists, hoaxes, lies, schemes, scandals, evil dictators, mob bosses, acts of revenge, angry queens, cannibals and much more, all organized into bite-sized—albeit foul-tasting—lists. It's the perfect way to add some spice to a dull conversation and proves that learning can be not only easy, but exquisitely sinful.
Spring, 1994, Washington, D.C. -- While the Clinton Administration grapples with its domestic policies, a sinister plot is being masterminded six thousand miles away in Baghdad. By using $100 million as bait and spinning a deadly web of corruption, forgery, and terror, Saddam Hussein seeks to embarrass the U.S. with the ultimate revenge: to steal a treasured historical document and then destroy it before the world's media -- on July 4, 1994.
Edgar Rice Burroughs - Tarzan 04 - The Son of Tarzan
Paulvitch seeks revenge against Tarzan once again, this time by luring Lord Greystoke's rebellious son away from London. The great ape Akut foils the plot of revenge as he helps the boy escape the wrath of Paulvitch. Akut and the son flee to the savage African jungle where Tarzan was reared.
In his quest to survive, the young civilized boy reckons with life and death as he encounters the same dangers that his father once faced and ultimately matures into the mighty warrior, "Korak the Killer". In one of his many adventures, Korak rescues a young beauty, Meriem from an Arabian band of raiders. Like Tarzan, Korak discovers that the perils of the jungle are nothing compared to the evils of men.
Gladiator Penguin Readers Level 4 (1700 words) American English General Maximus is admired by his men and by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. But when the Emperor's son murders his way to the throne, Maximus goes into exile. He is captured by slave traders and forced to fight as a gladiator. When the Emperor arranges a gladiator spectacle, Maximus' chance for revenge has come. A spectacular epic film of courage and revenge depicting the splendours and cruelties of ancient Rome directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe.