Can one book really change the world? A handwritten manuscript by Marco Polo in 1288 did. Polo, son of a wealthy Italian merchant, wrote about his incredible experiences traveling to China with his father and uncle on a trade expedition, and also about his adventures as an envoy of Kublai Khan, the ruler of most of China. Polo’s book became a bestseller in Europe in the fourteenth century. It was copied over and over by hand, translated into fourteen languages, and became one of the first books to be printed after the invention of moveable type. The tales inspired others—including Christopher Columbus in the fifteenth century—to seek new sea routes for trade. Polo’s adventures—and manuscript—are one of world history’s most pivotal moments.
Augusto Pinochet, commander-in-chief of Chile’s army, rose to power in 1973 when he participated in a military coup to overthrow the president, Salvador Allende. Allende was a Socialist, and the upper classes and the military feared that Socialism would lead to a takeover of the country by the Communist Soviet Union. On September 11 of that year, the military attacked the presidential palace, and Allende committed suicide. Pinochet took charge of the junta formed to rule, naming himself president. Military personnel controlled all phases of the government and industry, and the junta shut down the Congress. National police were stationed on almost every block to enforce curfews and keep order, arresting thousands of Socialists and other “enemies of the state.” Many were tortured, many were exiled or fled into exile, and many just disappeared. The secret police even assassinated opponents outside the country. Pinochet ruled the country with an iron fist for seventeen years even as he brought reforms that stabilized the economy. Increasing unrest and economic problems eventually forced him from office. He was arrested when in Great Britain a few years later and charged with murder and other crimes against humanity. Released for medical reasons, he returned to Chile. He died there in 2006, under indictment for murder and other crimes. Read this book to learn how a trusted military leader became a ruthless dictator, all in the name of protecting his country.
Can one invention really change the world? Before the mid-fifteenth century, books were printed by hand, making them rare and expensive. Reading and learning remained a privilege of the wealthy—until Johannes Gutenberg developed a machine called the printing press. Gutenberg, a German metalworker, began in the 1440s by making movable type—small metal letters that were arranged to form words and sentences, replacing handwritten letters. Movable type fit into frames on the printing press, and the press then produced many copies of the same page. As movable type and the printing press made book production much faster and less expensive, reading material of all kinds became available to a far wider audience. In Gutenberg’s time, Europe was already on the brink of a new age—an explosion of world exploration, scientific discoveries, and political and religious changes. Gutenberg’s printing press helped propel Europe into the modern era, and his legacy remains in the thousands of books and newspapers printed each year to keep us informed, entertained, and connected. Indeed, Gutenberg’s development of the printing press became one of history’s pivotal moments.
“We want to live, we do not want to face persecution for expressing our political opinion; as women we don’t want to walk on the street with the constant horror that we could be intimidated for showing an inch of hair.” —Narges Kalhor, a young Iranian filmmaker, October 2009 On June 12, 2005, hundreds of women gathered outside Tehran University in Tehran, Iran. These women were protesting an issue that Iranian women have battled for more than one hundred years: gender inequality. Living in a conservative Muslim culture, Iranian women are subjected to discriminatory laws that serve the male-dominated society. In public, Iranian women must not be seen with men not related to them, and they must wear clothing completing covering their body and their hair. Many laws punish women even more harshly. If a woman is caught committing adultery, she can be sentenced to death by stoning. Yet men are free to have many wives and even enter temporary marriages. In the 1900s, Iranian women began protesting unjust laws and fighting for equality. For a time, under monarchs wishing to modernize, Iran became more lenient. Women began dressing as they wished, mixing socially with men, and working outside their homes. But after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, harsh punishments for moral offenses again became law. Women in professional occupations lost their jobs, and gender separation was enforced in public places. Iranian women continue to struggle against an oppressive regime, but they refuse to stop protesting. In this powerful story, we’ll learn how Iranian women have been punished and discriminated against by their patriarchal government, but yet they maintain their pursuit of equal rights. We’ll also see what their hopes and dreams are for the future.
Omar al-Bashir came into power in 1989. Sudan was gripped by famine caused by drought as well as a devastating civil war between the north and south. Its economy was in shambles. Bashir headed a coup to overthrow Sudan’s democratic government, and many hoped it would finally bring order to the country. After the coup, Bashir suspended the constitution and appointed himself head of state, prime minister, defense minister, and commander in chief of the army. It soon became clear that his objective was to turn Sudan into a strict Islamic state, even though most people in South Sudan are not Muslim. He dismissed, imprisoned, and even executed those who disagreed with his measures and continued the war in the south, destroying entire villages and scattering their populations. Then in 2003, a crisis arose in the western area of Darfur. Drought had brought farmers and herders into conflict over the land. Bashir armed pro-Arab militia, who worked with the military to bring the same destruction of villages to Darfur. In 2008 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Bashir for crimes against humanity. In Omar al-Bashir’s Sudan, learn more about this ruthless dictator and how the international spotlight might help bring an end to his repressive rule.
Presents the life of the forty-first president of the United States, relating his childhood, career, political background, and reaction to events that occurred during his presidency.
Chronicles Cabeza de Vaca's journey to the New World in 1527, describing the disasters of the expedition and his seven-year stay among the Indians, first as a captive, then as a trader and healer.
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