Turn-of-the-century Paris was the beating heart of a rapidly changing world. Painters, scientists, revolutionaries, poets--all were there. But so, too, were the shadows: Paris was a violent, criminal place, its sinister alleyways the haunts of Apache gangsters and its cafes the gathering places of murderous anarchists. In 1911, it fell victim to perhaps the greatest theft of all time--the taking of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. Immediately, Alphonse...

"In this addition to the What Was? series, kids will experience what it was like to be in San Francisco in 1906 when the ground buckled in a major, catastrophic earthquake. One early April morning in 1906, the people of San Francisco were jolted awake by a mammoth earthquake--one that registered 7.8 on the Richter Scale. Not only was there major damage from the quake itself but broken gas lines sparked a fire that ravaged the city for days. More than...

An account of World War I including its causes, campaigns and battles, outcome, peace treaty, and effects.

While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan.

A biography of South African human rights activist, Nelson Mandela.

Returning home to investigate the possible connection of his family's tea shop with smugglers, Seikei, now a samauri in eighteenth-century Japan, becomes involved in murder at a local puppet theater and saving the life of his sister's accused boyfriend.

Highlights the notable events and personalities of the 1970s.

Describes the shifting ideal of beauty in the United States, from colonial times to the present, and how it influenced and was influenced by societal and economic changes.

Fourteen year old Seikei dreams of being on the leggendary warriors, a samurai but samurai are born, not made and Seikei is a tea merchant's son. Then a priceless ruby intended for the shogun the military governor of Japan is stolen by a ghost, and Seikei finds himself having to display al lthe courage of a samurai. He is the only person ot have seen the thief, and not the famous samurai magistrate, Judge Ooka, needs Seikei's help to solve the...