This fascinating title sets the world scene in the two decades between the end of World War I and the start of World War II. Readers will get a snapshot of the political and economic situations around the world. Most countries experienced booming economies following WWI. But Germany, punished under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, suffered under great hardship. With the stock market crash in 1929 and the Great Depression that followed, the world found itself moving again toward war. Find out how the humiliation and poverty of the German people led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party - and a second world war.
This compelling book follows the significant battles over the course of World War II. European countries and their colonies and allies, such as the United States and Canada, supplied forces for battles. Readers will learn that fighting took place in five parts of the world: western and eastern Europe, North Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Asia. New advances in technology since WWI led to fierce fighting on land, at sea, and in the air. Find out how victory was won or lost in such famous conflicts as the Battle of the Atlantic, Germany's Blitzkrieg, the Battle of Britain, Dieppe, Paris, Stalingrad, Berlin, Midway, Pearl Harbor, and the dropping of the atomic bombs.
A worldwide conflict, World War II involved alliances between political leaders and military forces from many different countries, including the United States and Canada. This fascinating book looks at key figures involved during this war of expansion by invasion. Brief biographies give details of the lives and actions of political leaders Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Truman, Stalin, Hirohito, and Tojo; military leaders Rommel, Goring, Donitz, Dowding, Pound, MacArthur, and Patton; as well as flying aces, code breakers, and activists.
While exploring a cave, Joe and Dr. Bea encounter all sorts of wildlife living in the damp cavern. Can the two scientists find their way out? In this engaging title, readers learn all about stalactites, stalagmites, and how animals survive and adapt to life in the dark.
This exciting book follows the travels of British explorer Sir John Franklin on his doomed expedition to the Arctic. Historical information and high-interest fact boxes are presented in an entertaining tabloid style that guides readers through major voyages, explorations, and discoveries. Topics include the search for a Northwest Passage through the Arctic, life stuck in the ice, contact with the native Inuit, Franklin's disappearance, and the long quest to discover the expedition's fate.
This fascinating book follows the travels of Italian navigator John Cabot along the northeast coast of North America. Historical information and high-interest fact boxes are presented in an entertaining tabloid style that guides readers through major voyages, explorations, and discoveries. Topics include what led Cabot to sail west, life on board ship, the cod industry on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the fate of Cabot's unsuccessful second voyage, and Cabot's legacy.
This adventurous book follows the travels of British navigator Captain James Cook and his voyages in the Pacific. Historical information and high-interest fact boxes are presented in an entertaining tabloid style that guides readers through major journeys, explorations, and discoveries. Topics include why the British sent Cook to the Pacific, technological innovations in navigation, claiming Australia for the British, contact with the Maori, and Cook's violent death in Hawaii.
While reading the temperature of a lava flow on an active volcano, Joe and Dr. Bea’s science skills come in handy to help them outsmart the fiery flow of molten rock. In this adventurous title, readers will learn about different kinds of volcanoes, how they form, and about some of the most destructive eruptions in history.
This informative book follows the travels of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in Peru. Historical information and high-interest fact boxes are presented in an entertaining tabloid style that guides readers through major voyages, explorations, and discoveries. Topics include what led Pizarro to head into the Andes, first encounters with the Inca, the Inca capital at Cusco, Pizarro's desire for gold, and the overthrow of the Inca Empire.
From trees and plants to bugs and birds, every living thing on Earth is a form of energy. And all living organisms create energy, too, in the form of their waste. The energy of living things is called biomass, and it can be used to power the things that we need in our everyday lives, from washing machines, cars, and computers to the heating and lighting used in our buildings. Find out more about biomass, how it is sourced and used, and why this form of energy could help us find a more sustainable way to power our lives in the future.
How are many people in different places around the world learning to live in a green and sustainable way? Find out how human activities such as driving cars and wasting energy are threatening our environment and putting the future of our planet at risk. Discover how people everywhere are choosing to live more sustainably by recycling, using green sources of energy, car-sharing, and reducing air travel.
We live in an energy-rich age, in which we can turn on a light with the flick of a switch or drive anywhere by turning a key. But, our vehicles, factories, and power stations, which create the electricity needed to light and heat our buildings, pump carbon dioxide into Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide overload from these human activities is making our planet hotter and hotter - and is causing the Earth's climate to change. Find out what scientists are doing to find sustainable new forms of energy that will secure our planet’s future.
Earth has a limited supply of fossil fuels, and in the near future this supply will come to an end. However, more people live on the planet than ever in its history - and they all need energy. One of the ways in which we can meet this increasing demand for energy is through nuclear power. Nuclear power stations do not drain our planet of its resources, and they can supply a seemingly limitless source of energy. Discover more about nuclear energy, how it is created and harnessed, and the controversies and challenges that surround it.
The endless and enormous power of the sun provides life to all organisms on Earth, from the smallest plant to the largest animal. This awesome power is being used today to provide a rich and abundant source of energy in many parts of the world, and to operate machinery and heat and light buildings. Discover how the sun is powering our planet, the technology used to harness it, and what the future of solar power could be.
Our planet’s weather offers some incredible solutions to our growing energy needs, and one of those solutions is wind power. Offshore and onshore wind farms are an increasingly familiar sight in many countries around the world. Wind farms tap into this clean, sustainable, and renewable form of energy. Find out how wind power works, where in the world it is being used, and how this green energy supply could be one answer to the energy problems that face us today.
Beneath Earth’s surface is a boundless source of energy - geothermal energy. Heated by our planet’s red-hot core, hot water and hot rock below the ground on which we walk already provides energy in many parts of the world, from Alaska to Hawaii. Discover the different forms of geothermal energy, how people are harnessing and using this rich supply, and how it could be an important part of our energy future.
Agricultural engineers are in the front line in the challenge to provide a secure food supply for our world. This timely book explores how engineers design methods, as well as machinery for growing and harvesting crops, to make farming more efficient. Real-life examples help students understand key concepts related to this important profession. With an overview of the engineering design process, readers are encouraged to apply the same steps into their own agricultural engineering challenge.
Every structure that touches the ground could benefit from the skills of a geotechnical engineer. Readers will discover how these engineers study rocks, soil, natural processes, and potential hazards to help make the safest, strongest foundations possible. This book introduces key concepts and the engineering design process with interesting examples from the field. A hands-on activity and a design challenge engage readers in engineering action.
Ten exciting stories feature famous explorers and their dangerous jungle adventures. Stories include: Gonzalo Pizarro’s search for the city of El Dorado, Mary Kingsley's fall into a pit of stakes, Percy Fawcett and the lost city of Z, Henry Walter Bates’ adventure in the Amazon, and Captain Barth Blake's search for Inca gold in the Amazon. Simple maps and feature boxes add additional details and help readers better understand the time period in which the explorations took place.
Every year, the NCAA, NBA, and WNBA crown a league champion. Every four years, basketball teams from all over the world compete for Olympic gold. This exciting book explores historic moments in championship basketball and the top teams that have played in these amazing games.
From all-time greats such as Larry Bird and Michael Jordan to current superstars like LeBron James, readers will enjoy learning all about their favorite hoopsters. Record-breaking stats, famous quotes, history-making shots, and more celebrate the best basketball stars since the game began in 1891.
Do you know who invented basketball? Who won the first NBA championship? When did the WNBA start? Find the answers to these questions and more in this jam-packed title. Fascinating fact boxes and clearly written text chronicle the historic triumphs and challenges of a favorite American sport that’s now played worldwide.
Ten exciting stories feature dangerous voyages of famous explorers traveling on the high seas in search of fame and fortune. Feature boxes and maps add additional details and help readers better understand the explorers’ journey and the time period in which the expedition took place.
Readers will be amazed by ten exciting stories of miraculous survival and tragic events in the history of space exploration. Stories include: the near-fatal journey of Uri Gagarin, Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon, the breakdown of Apollo 13, the Russian Salyut 1 space station, the space shuttle Challenger disaster, fire on board the Mir space station, and the two successful flights of SpaceShipOne. Feature boxes add additional details and help readers better understand the dangers faced by the crew on these famous missions.
Ten exciting stories feature famous explorers and their struggles to survive in frigid temperatures during dangerous polar expeditions. Stories include: the last expedition of John Franklin, Salomon August Andrée's attempt to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon, Ernest Shackleton’s journey to rescue his ice-locked crew, Riiser-Larsen and Amundsen’s crash in the Arctic, and the crash of Umberto Nobile’s airship Italia. Feature boxes and maps add additional details and help readers better understand the explorer's journey and the time period in which the expedition took place.
