"Why were the Easter Island heads erected? What really happened to the Maya? Who stole the Irish Crown Jewels? The first book in this exciting new series will cover history's heavy-hitting, head-scratching mysteries, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke, the Bermuda Triangle, the Oak Island Money Pit, Stonehenge, the Sphinx, the disappearance of entire civilizations, the dancing plague, the Voynich manuscript, and so many more. Chock-full of cool photos, fun facts, and spine-tingling mysteries"--Provided by publisher.
Crazy-but-true stories about history, geography, and human achievement make this acclaimed nonfiction series perfect for fans of curiosities and wonders. A fun way for middle graders to explore ways to separate fact from fiction. Did you know that a young girl once saved an entire beach community from a devastating tsunami thanks to something she learned in her fourth-grade geography lesson? Or that there is a person alive today who generates her own magnetic field? Or how about the fact that Benjamin Franklin once challenged the Royal Academy of Brussels to devise a way to make farts smell good? Welcome to Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries! You know the game: Every story in this book is strange and astounding, but one out of every three is an outright lie. Can you guess which stories are the facts and which are the fakes? It’s not going to be easy. Some false stories are based on truth, and some of the true stories are just plain unbelievable! Don’t be fooled by the photos that accompany each story—it’s going to take all your smarts and some clever research to root out the alternative facts. From a train that transported dead people to antique photos of real fairies to a dog who was elected mayor, the stories in this book will amaze you! Just don’t believe everything you read. . . .
Our world is full of mysterious places, strange stories, and unexplained phenomena. Many attempts have been made to find the truth behind these legends, but there are still many unanswered questions, even after many years of investigation. Discover the enduring mystery of the Incas, the dead sea scrolls, the secretive world of freemasonry, Roswell, incidents in WWII and unexplained healing and understand that we still have much to learn about the world in which we live.
In a lively challenge to mainstream history, Michael Parenti does battle with a number of mass-marketed historical myths. He shows how history's victors distort and suppress the documentary record in order to perpetuate their power and privilege. And he demonstrates how historians are influenced by the professional and class environment in which they work. Pursuing themes ranging from antiquity to modern times, from the Inquisition and Joan of Arc to the anti-labor bias of present-day history books, History as Mystery demonstrates how past and present can inform each other and how history can be a truly exciting and engaging subject. "Michael Parenti, always provocative and eloquent, gives us a lively as well as valuable critique of orthodoxy posing as 'history.'"—Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States "Deserves to become an instant classic."—Bertell Ollman, author of Dialectical Investigations "Those who keep secret the past, and lie about it, condemn us to repeat it. Michael Parenti unveils the history of falsified history, from the early Christian church to the present: a fascinating, darkly revelatory tale."—Daniel Ellsberg, author of The Pentagon Papers "Solid if surely controversial stuff."—Kirkus
History's Greatest Mysteries delves into the grey areas to examine the imponderable and sometimes unlikely stories of actual events and real people. From the gruesome murders committed by Jack the Ripper to the whereabouts of Lord Lucan, and from the loss of an entire continent to the case of a missing racehorse, we take a canter through history in an effort to shed a little light on to questions which, in all honesty, are never going to yield definitive answers. Some of the stories related in the following pages are deadly serious, some rather less so. There are cases of determined individuals who have struggled against the odds in an attempt to unravel the truth, while in others people have not let the facts get in the way and have made up any old nonsense by way of an explanation.
Challenge students to explore several important unexplained events that helped shape history. Students use primary source materials, posters, and simulations to find clues and to make informed decisions about these events. There are no right or wrong answers. These real-life mysteries encourage students to research, think, debate, and form conclusions.
