Prolific inventor Thomas Edison and automobile pioneer Henry Ford shaped the modern world like few others in history. The lives of these close friends intersected at their winter homes in southwest Florida. Edison first visited the tiny cattle-ranching community of Fort Myers in 1885, building a home and laboratory soon after. There, he wintered with his wife, Mina, and their children, Madeleine, Charles, and Theodore. Ford purchased the adjacent estate in 1916, wintering in the area with ...

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse applications and challenges of fungi, particularly in the context of Southeast Asia. It addresses two pivotal questions: How are fungi contributing to global betterment, and what challenges do they pose to our planet? By addressing these questions, the book underscores the dual role of fungi as agents of progress and sources of concern.By integrating indigenous knowledge with contemporary scientific research, the book of...

Mycology in the Tropics: Updates on Philippine Fungi comprehensively discusses the current state of Philippine mycology, including historical developments in the field, listings of fungi with diverse utilizations or applications, and those that cause economic impact on crop production in the country. Specifically, the chapters in the book introduce tropical mycology, describe different fungal groups, their biodiversity and conservation, and give insights into the applications of mycology i...

Thomas Alva Edison, February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931, was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. In this recording, Edison discusses some of his numerous inventions.

Along with historical narrative, hear rare recordings of some of the most people in history, including Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, William Howard Taft, James Whitcomb Riley, O. Henry, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Gillette, Theodore Roosevelt, Ellen Terry, King George V, and Amelia Earhart. Recording obtained and published by Rick Sheridan.

An autobiography to portray the life of a farm boy growing up in western Oklahoma, covering the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and the transition from the horse-and-buggy days into modern Agriculture.

One day in 1882, Thomas Edison flipped a switch that lit up lower Manhattan with incandescent light and changed the way people live ever after. The electric light bulb was only one of thousands of Edison’s inventions, which include the phonograph and the kinetoscope, an early precursor to the movie camera. As a boy, observing a robin catch a worm and then take flight, he fed a playmate a mixture of worms and water to see if she could fly! Here’s an accessible, appealing biography with 100 ...

Open a copy of the Information Please Almanac and turn to the chapter on famous people. 4000 names and you won't know hardly any. But what about names everyone knows? Pillsbury, Maytag, Kellogg. Nowhere to be found. How many names are more famous than Howard Johnson or Oscar Mayer? But who were these folks? Let's look at the men behind the names we see when we look around our house.

The Pine Barrens of New Jersey contain more ghost towns, some say, than the entire American west. In Ghost Towns and Other Quirky Places in the New Jersey Pine Barrens author Barbara Solem-Stull tells the story of the towns that rose up around the iron furnaces, glass factories, paper mills, cranberry farms, and brick making establishments of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. A popular Pinelands speaker and tour guide, Solem-Stull has written much more than an armchair guide to the...

Original essays on the past, present, and future of the Ohio & Erie CanalCombining original essays based on the past, present, and future of the Ohio & Erie Canal, Canal Fever showcases the research and writing of the best and most knowledgeable canal historians, archaeologists, and enthusiasts. Each contributor brings his or her expertise to tell the canal’s story in three parts: the canal era—the creation of the canal and its importance to Ohio’s early g...

Beneath the veneer of Music City, USA and The Athens of the South that each year draws more than 10 million visitors, there is a stunningly beautiful natural landscape enjoyed by locals and outsiders alike. Nashvilles 533 square miles include such varied areas as steep forested ridges, deep rich woods, soggy river bottoms, grassy meadows, and rocky mini-deserts.Much of this heterogeneous landscape is preserved in an ever-expanding award-winning network of greenways and parks. Natur...

What began as a humble milling town became Ellicott City, part of the Baltimore metropolitan area and an important piece of Maryland history. In 1772, the Ellicott brothers purchased land and water rights in the valley along the banks of the Patapsco River for $3 an acre. They constructed mills, started the National Road, and brought the railroad to what was then called Ellicott's Mills. The newly constructed railroad in the 1830s put Ellicott City on the map, and even today, the oldest su...