There was a time when the family Künstler lived in the fairy-tale city of Vienna. Circumstances transformed that fairy tale into a nightmare, and in 1939 the Künstlers found their way out of Vienna and into a new fairy tale: Los Angeles, California, United States of America. An ill-timed visit forces twentysomething New Yorker Julian to shelter in place in Venice Beach with his glamorous and eccentric ninety-three-year-old grandmother, Mamie Künstler,...

A detailed overview of the ancient civilizations of Asia, from the empires of the Indus Valley and India and the dynasties of China, Korea, and Japan to the early civilizations of the Southeast.

"In 1923, fifteen-year-old Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia and settles in Philadelphia, hoping for a chance at a better life. Instead, she marries a man who will bring her nothing but disappointment and watches helplessly as her firstborn twins succumb to an illness a few pennies could have prevented. Hattie gives birth to nine more children whom she raises with grit and mettle and not an ounce of the tenderness they crave. She vows to prepare them...

"With their large brains, sturdy physique, sophisticated tools, and hunting skills, Neanderthals are the closest known relatives to humans. Approximately 200,000 years ago, as modern humans began to radiate out from their evolutionary birthplace in Africa, Neanderthals were already thriving in Europe?descendants of a much earlier migration of the African genus Homo. But when modern humans eventually made their way to Europe 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals...

From 1915 to 1970, roughly six million African-American citizens fled the South for improved lives in northern and western America. Comparing this rarely discussed exodus to other great migrations in history while culling data from interviews and historical records, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles the decades-long journey that greatly altered the cultural landscape of America.

From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson...

Looks at the world of the delicatessan, the creation of Jewish immigrants as a way of preserving ethnic culinary traditions in the New World. Profiles Ziggy Gruber, co-owner of Kenny & Ziggy's New York Delicatessan Restaurant in Houston and third-generation deli man, as well as other deli owners and aficionados in the U.S. and Canada.

"The history of North America, from Christopher Columbus to the present day, is a chaotic struggle for ownership of the land. This text will address questions such as the history of native communities that were displaced or conquered, and even further back to how Native North, Central and South Americans came to these continents in the first place. Historical facts are mainly supported through archaeological findings."--Provided by the publisher.

"In May of 1945, German forces surrendered to the Allied powers, effectively putting an end to World War II in Europe. But the aftershocks of this global military conflict did not cease with the signing of truces and peace treaties. Millions of lost and homeless POWs, slave laborers, political prisoners, and concentration camp survivors overwhelmed Germany, a country in complete disarray. British and American soldiers gathered the malnourished and...