Americans will long remember 2005 as the year Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast states, killing thousands and destroying everything in its path. Lives were changed forever. Once the hurricane passed, the city of New Orleans faced even more danger. The citys protective levees broke, and the streets began to flood. What followed was chaos. Thousands of people who had not evacuated before the hurricane now sought refuge at the Superdome and other emergency sites. They found thes...

As humans take up more of the wilderness where the giant panda lives, the number of these wild bears has decreased. Efforts have been in place for years to save the cuddly-looking creatures, but they are still endangered. Read about the habits and lifestyle of these precious animals, and learn what you can do to help save them.

From afar, Haiti, a small country on the island of Hispaniola, seems like any other Caribbean paradise. There are lush jungles, white sand beaches, and turquoise waters. But a closer look at the island country reveals a stark glimpse into the third world. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The government is unstable, crime is rampant, education is for the lucky, and hope is hard to come by. Find out how the Haitian people overcome poverty, killer storms, and mudslides ...

Danny Parker and his fourth-grade classmates in rural New York are excited to meet Franco, a boy who will be joining their school from Zambia. Their teacher prepares nshima and pineapple chutney, and the students weave baskets to prepare for his arrival. They also learn that Zambia is a rare landlocked country where people can see lions, rhinos, and elephants. It is home to such wondrous sites as Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River. Zambia was once one of the major copper-producing nation...

The disaster in the Indian Ocean started with a massive undersea earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. What followed was a surge of water called a tsunami that killed thousands of people in nearly a dozen countries. Water rose up miles inland and destroyed everything in its path. Children were ripped from their parents arms, family members were lost to each other forever. This is their story. But more importantly, this is a story of hope, of how people woke up to destroyed cities and miss...

Nicaragua is a land of baseball and beautiful beaches, soaring mountain ranges, and smoking volcanoes. The rich history of this small Central American country contributes to a blend of different cultures, including those of the Spanish settlers, native Indians, and others. Its vibrant history also includes political strife from civil wars, protests, and military intervention by the United States. Join Danny and his fourth-grade classmates as they explore the history, culture, geography, an...

The Maya Empire became a thriving civilization between the third century and the seventh century CE, but by 900 CE war, drought, and disease wiped out most of its cities and the Mayan people were greatly reduced. Unfortunately, the greatest threat to their existence was yet to come, when the Guatemalan genocide would decimate those who remained in the 1970s and '80s. The facts of the Mayans' story will be intertwined with profiles of individuals and in-depth looks at related topics. Reader...

To some, Easter Island is just a tiny bit of volcanic rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. To others, it is the source of one of mankind's greatest mysteries. Easter Island is home to hundreds of giant statues that people built centuries ago, but no one knows why. The statues are amazing. Some of them wear headdresses made from red stone. Others have large pieces of coral for eyes. Almost as mysterious as the statues themselves is the fact that so many of them were never finished. In ...

From afar, Haiti seems like any other Caribbean paradise. There are lush jungles, white sand beaches, and turquoise waters. But a closer look at the small country located on the island of Hispaniola reveals a stark glimpse into the developing world. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and one of the most forlorn countries in the world. The government is unstable, crime is rampant, education is for the lucky, and hope is hard to come by. Meanwhile, the poor economy has dr...

A comprehensive overview of recent thinking, new data, syntheses, and insights into current Puerto Rican archaeologyAncient Borinquen is a re-examination of the archaeology of Puerto Rico, drawing data from beyond the boundaries of the island itself because in prehistoric times the waters between islands would not have been viewed as a boundary in the contemporary sense of the term. The last few decades have witnessed a growth of intense archaeological res...

As the twenty-second century emerges from the blight of nuclear damnation, humanity is slowly coming to terms with the bizarre new world of Deathlands, where each new generation holds the promise of renewal and redemption—in men like Ryan Cawdor and his son, Dean.Ryan Cawdor and companions emerge from a gateway into the ravaged world of the Rockies. It's old hunting grounds for Ryan and the Titan-haired Krysty Worth—her home and the place where they first come together. Here Ryan h...

Near what was once the Pacific northwest, Ryan Cawdor and his roving band of post-holocaust survivors discover a beautiful valley untouched by the nuclear blast that changed the earth forever.Resisting the temptation to settle in that idyllic land, the group is captured and forced deep beneath an extinct volcano to an isolated community of in-bred scientists.These psychopathic descendants of a twentieth-century government research team are blindy laboring to find better way...