Books with author Mark Epstein

Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson's turbulent love life and final sea battles are chronicled by his trusty rodent companion, Ratty. Together, with his fellow PiRats, he helps Nelson defeat the Danes at the Battle of Copenhagen, pursue the French to the West Indies, and finally defeat Napoleon's navy at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.An entertaining and historically accurate account of England's greatest naval hero, as seen through the eyes of Ratty -- one of history's unsung heroes!

Filled with action and excitement, this book takes place during the early years of the American Revolution. It tells the story of Philip Benjamin Brooks, a stableboy to a wealthy Loyalist family, who takes part in the events happening around Boston that lead to war with England.Joining the Rebel Army, he and his beloved horse become letter carriers from General Washington to the Second Continental Congress. There he meets John and Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and other famous patriots, and soon becomes involved in some of the most dramatic episodes of the war.

Set in Holland during the final winter of World War II, this book tells the story of Nicholas Dykstra and his struggles to survive the Nazi occupation.Nicholas endures starvation, disease, refugees, and raids. But when his friends are captured for smuggling food in the city, Nick has to ice-skate against a German soldier in a grueling 125-mile race to save their lives.

A book of five unusual short stories dealing with the past, present, and future: The first "The Flight of the Crow," takes place in Boston at the outset of the American Revolution. It concerns a strange avenging angel known as "the Crow" who robs only from Tories -- or those supportive of England. The second "The Show Must Go On" takes place in the early 1800's and describes one man's disastrous pursuit of fame and fortune. The third "They" is set in the present day. It examines a secret society bent on taking over the world, and one man's attempt to get out of it. The fourth "The Tell-Tale Computer" describes what happens when a machine knows more than is good for it. And the Fifth "The Iron Crown" examines how even the most insignificant among us can end up saving the world.

Why does Oklahoma have that panhandle? Did someone make a mistake? We are so familiar with the map of the United States that our state borders seem as much a part of nature as mountains and rivers. Even the oddities—the entire state of Maryland(!)—have become so engrained that our map might as well be a giant jigsaw puzzle designed by Divine Providence. But that's where the real mystery begins. Every edge of the familiar wooden jigsaw pieces of our childhood represents a revealing moment of history and of, well, humans drawing lines in the sand. How the States Got Their Shapes is the first book to tackle why our state lines are where they are. Here are the stories behind the stories, right down to the tiny northward jog at the eastern end of Tennessee and the teeny-tiny (and little known) parts of Delaware that are not attached to Delaware but to New Jersey. How the States Got Their Shapes examines: Why West Virginia has a finger creeping up the side of Pennsylvania Why Michigan has an upper peninsula that isn't attached to Michigan Why some Hawaiian islands are not Hawaii Why Texas and California are so outsized, especially when so many Midwestern states are nearly identical in size Packed with fun oddities and trivia, this entertaining guide also reveals the major fault lines of American history, from ideological intrigues and religious intolerance to major territorial acquisitions. Adding the fresh lens of local geographic disputes, military skirmishes, and land grabs, Mark Stein shows how the seemingly haphazard puzzle pieces of our nation fit together perfectly.