Describes the adventurous prospectors who traversed the United States in 1848 in response to rumors of gold in the Sacramento Valley, detailing the rough and rowdy cities that popped up, seemingly out of thin air, to accommodate the treasure-seekers.

"For more than hall a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The weirdly alien notion of a space-time abyss from which nothing escapes--not even light--seemed to confound all logic. This engrossing book tells the story of the fierce black hole debates and the contributions of Einstein and Hawking and other leading thinkers who completely altered our view of the universe. Renowned...

Presents a history of science that focuses on the contributions from non-Western cultures in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific region and how they influenced and guided great minds such as Copernicus, Newton, Darwin and Einstein.

"Describes the events of the nineteenth century California gold rush. Reader's choices reveal historical details of how miners traveled, how they looked for gold, and their impact on California's history"--Provided by publisher.

"From a New York Times best-selling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist, a sweeping epic of how the Vikings and their descendants have shaped history and America"-- For millennia Norwegians, Danes, Finns, and Swedes lived a remote and rugged existence among the fjords and peaks of the land of the midnight sun. When they finally left their homeland in search of opportunity, these wanderers would reshape Europe and beyond. Their ingenuity, daring,...

A "fascinating" journey to little-known and contested lands around the globe, from Tibet to the Isle of Man to Elgaland-Vargaland (Geographical Magazine).
What is a country? Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton brings to life the origins and histories of fifty states that, lacking international recognition and United Nations membership, exist on the margins of legitimacy in the global order. From long-contested...

"Explore the fascinating history of earth and space science! What are Earth's systems, cycles, and resources? What are the solar system, lunar phases, and gravity? Who first studied these concepts? And who later used those early theories to develop these ideas further?"--

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. Its mission was "to proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas" and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony.

When it returned in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys

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"Detective thriller meets astrophysics in this adventure into neutrinos and the scientists who pursue them"-- Provided by publisher.

The role of the flatboat in our country's evolution is far more significant than most Americans realize. Buck chronicles his adventure building a wooden flatboat from the bygone era of the early 1800s and journeying down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. He cast off down the river on the flatboat Patience accompanied by an eccentric crew of daring shipmates. Over the course of his voyage, steering a fragile wooden craft through narrow channels...