HISTORY · BIOGRAPHY
John Man
John Anthony Garnet Man is a British travel writer and historian.
MARCO POLO was born in Italy, in 1254.
— from Marco Polo
Most acclaimed
Dinosaurs
Written by one of the world’s foremost experts on dinosaurs, this award-winning title—honored by the NSTA and the AAAS—is an essential addition to any dinophile’s library, regardless of age! Using casual language aimed at young people and non-scientists, it's a guide to all aspects of dinosaur science: how we figure out what dinosaurs looked like, how they lived, how they evolved, how they continue to live among us as birds, and much, much more. It also includes brief entries on all 800+ "named" species of Mesozoic dinosaurs, as well as sidebars by 33 world-famous paleontologists—among them Robert T. Bakker, Jack Horner, Mark Norell, Scott Sampson, and Philip Currie. With 428-pages of lavish, museum-quality illustrations, and an exhaustive Web site maintained by the author of supplemental chapter updates, this the perfect gift that will educate AND entertain for many, many, MANY hours! (And if that isn’t enough, the jacket has a spectacular poster printed on the inside.)
Samurai
In 1613 Father Pedro Velasco's dream came true. He set sail with a small group of Japanese Samurai for Mexico, Spain and Rome. Velasco knew Japanese, and his zealous hope was to become primate over a converted, Catholic Japan. His mission, with the Samurai, was to bargain for a Catholic crusade through Japan in exchange for Japanese trading rights with the West. It was a journey of incredible danger and hardship, underwritten solely by faith...
Marco Polo
Between 1271 and 1275, Marco Polo, accompanied his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo on a journey east from Acre, Israel, into central Asia along the Silk Route, to China. Many years later when the Venetians were defeated in a fierce sea battle with rival Italian republic Genoa, he was captured and thrown in gaol, where he told his story.