Olympians, soldiers and abolitionists have all hailed from the bustling shores of Norristown, Pennsylvania. Beginning as a modest seventeenth-century settlement along the 'hiddenriver,' it became an industrial boomtown and attracted waves of immigrants to its forges, railways and mills. Local journalist Stan Huskey brings together lively vignettes and fascinating firsthand accounts to introduce such characters as Union general Winfield S. Hancock, hero of Gettysburg, and baseball greats To...

Elmwood Park Zoo was established in 1924 when roughly 16 acres of land and a small group of animals were donated to the borough of Norristown. Although the early years of the zoo were more akin to a small farm, it has gone through an extensive expansion during the past few decades. This expansion and the continued revitalization of Elmwood Park Zoo include some notable residents, such as the zoo's owl, who has become the mascot of Temple University, and its bald eagle, a sideline regular f...

In 2007, a massive, concentrated deposit of dinosaur fossils, some of theoldest ever found, were discovered in the mountain ridges of northernBritish Columbia, near an old coal mining town. The site contained thelargest number of tyrannosaur teeth ever found with another species, anunfortunate lambeousaur who¹d been scavenged by a pack of hyena-likejuvenile predators millions of years ago. The small group of paleontologistsdigging the site have had to keep its location a secret to protect ...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • THE BASIS FOR THE FILM ADAPTATION DIRECTED BY SPIKE JONZE AND STARRING NICOLAS CAGE AND MERYL STREEPThe “eccentric, illuminating, [and] hilarious” (New York Daily News) true story of beauty and obsession in the swamps of Florida and the impassioned individuals who risk everything for the ultimate prize: a rare ghost orchid“Fascinating . ....

Did you know...The average person eats up to 430 insects a year?Dinosaurs used bad breath as a weapon?A soccer player runs about 7 miles per game?An ear of corn always has an even number of rows?Want to perplex your parents and flabbergast your friends with the who, what, where, why, how, and "yuck!" about the world we live in? Then you need this all-in-one collection of the weirdest, most fascinating, and sometimes just icky truths out there! Y...

Did you know that Did You Know? is full of bite-sized tidbits of absorbing information just for kids? You do now! It’s also loaded with tons of funny illustrations. And in true Uncle John style, there are lots of surprises to be discovered in these 252 pages! To make it easier for kids to navigate, the book is divided into fun categories covering a wide range of topics—from Antarctica to zebras to nearly everything in between. Here are a few of the facts sure to amaze kids both bi...

America's sweetheart, impassioned lifelong animal welfare advocate, and New York Times bestselling author Betty White shares intimate, funny, and enlightening stories about her very best friends in the world…All her life, Betty White has had a menagerie of pets, many of them rescued, and has donated countless hours and resources to animal welfare. Animals are her passion, and that passion extends to zoos and their importance for the conservation of species...

A WONDROUS NEW BOOK OF MCPHEE'S PROSE PIECES—IN MANY ASPECTS HIS MOST PERSONAL IN FOUR DECADESThe brief, brilliant essay "Silk Parachute," which first appeared in The New Yorker a decade ago, has become John McPhee's most anthologized piece of writing. In the nine other pieces here— highly varied in length and theme—McPhee ranges with his characteristic humor and intensity through lacrosse, long-exposure view-camera photography, the weird foods he has some...

The outdoors roars to life in this ferocious new e-book from Uncle John!Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! And plenty of other wild beasts (including wildebeests)! Whether you find it under a rock, in the sea, or up in the sky, if it has fangs, venom, horns, or an electric tail that really stings, you’ll be much safer reading about it from the confines of this entertaining e-book. So let Uncle John be your safari guide as you sink your canines into…• Austra...

A "quirky, endlessly entertaining" look at the surprising history of the pigeon (Simon Winchester).Domesticated since the dawn of man, pigeons have been used as crucial communicators in war by every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to the United States and are credited with saving thousands of lives. They have been worshipped as fertility goddesses and revered as symbols of peace. Charles Darwin relied heavily on pigeons to help formulate and support ...

Are you yearning for a simpler existence? Find the rural escape of your dreams in this beautiful book from the creators of the wildly popular tumblr Cabin Porn.Created by a group of friends who preserve 55 acres of hidden forest in Upstate New York, Cabin Porn began as a scrapbook to collect inspiration for their building projects. As the collection grew, the site attracted a following, which is now a huge and obsessive audience.The site features photos of ...

Join Ben D. Mahaffey and friends as they form a "Geriartric Trio" to travel to the Australian Outback in search of Buffalo, Wild Bulls, Deer, Kangaroos and other exotic animals.