Books with author Mel Friedman

A True Book: Westward Expansion takes readers on an amazing journey to a fascinating time in U.S. history when the country was experiencing dynamic change and expanding westward.This book provides the keys to discovering the important people, places and events that helped shape the western United States. An age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study is included.

Explore the history, culture, peoples, beliefs, and inventions of ancient China.A True Book: Ancient Civilizations series allows readers to experience what makes each ancient civilization distinctive and exceptional as well look at its influence on the some of the practices of the modern world. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.

A harsh and icy land isolated at the far southern reaches of the globe, Antarctica is the most recently discovered of the continents.A True Book: Geography series dives into the many components that make each continent distinctive and exceptional. Readers will get to know each continents' geography, history, wildlife and future outlook. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.

A True Book: Westward Expansion takes readers on an amazing journey to a fascinating time in U.S. history when the country was experiencing dynamic change and expanding westward.This book provides the keys to discovering the important people, places and events that helped shape the western United States. An age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study is included.

“Wondrous . . . Compelling . . . Piercing.” —The New York Times Book Review Award-winning writer Matti Friedman’s tale of Israel’s first spies has all the tropes of an espionage novel, including duplicity, betrayal, disguise, clandestine meetings, the bluff, and the double bluff—but it’s all true.Journalist and award-winning author Matti Friedman’s tale of Israel’s first spies reads like an espionage novel--but it’s all true. The four agents at the center of this story were part of a ragtag unit known as the Arab Section, conceived during World War II by British spies and Jewish militia leaders in Palestine. Intended to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage operations, the unit consisted of Jews who were native to the Arab world and could thus easily assume Arab identities.In 1948, with Israel’s existence hanging in the balance, these men went undercover in Beirut, where they spent the next two years operating out of a newsstand, collecting intelligence and sending messages back to Israel via a radio whose antenna was disguised as a clothesline. Of the dozen spies in the Arab Section at the war’s outbreak, five were caught and executed. But in the end, the Arab Section would emerge as the nucleus of the Mossad, Israel’s vaunted intelligence agency.Spies of No Country is about the slippery identities of these young spies, but it’s also about the complicated identity of Israel, a country that presents itself as Western but in fact has more citizens with Middle Eastern roots and traditions, like the spies of this narrative. Meticulously researched and masterfully told, Spies of No Country is an eye-opening look at the paradoxes of the Middle East.

“Wondrous . . . Compelling . . . Piercing.” —The New York Times Book Review Award-winning writer Matti Friedman’s tale of Israel’s first spies has all the tropes of an espionage novel, including duplicity, betrayal, disguise, clandestine meetings, the bluff, and the double bluff—but it’s all true.Journalist and award-winning author Matti Friedman’s tale of Israel’s first spies reads like an espionage novel--but it’s all true. The four agents at the center of this story were part of a ragtag unit known as the Arab Section, conceived during World War II by British spies and Jewish militia leaders in Palestine. Intended to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage operations, the unit consisted of Jews who were native to the Arab world and could thus easily assume Arab identities.In 1948, with Israel’s existence hanging in the balance, these men went undercover in Beirut, where they spent the next two years operating out of a newsstand, collecting intelligence and sending messages back to Israel via a radio whose antenna was disguised as a clothesline. Of the dozen spies in the Arab Section at the war’s outbreak, five were caught and executed. But in the end, the Arab Section would emerge as the nucleus of the Mossad, Israel’s vaunted intelligence agency.Spies of No Country is about the slippery identities of these young spies, but it’s also about the complicated identity of Israel, a country that presents itself as Western but in fact has more citizens with Middle Eastern roots and traditions, like the spies of this narrative. Meticulously researched and masterfully told, Spies of No Country is an eye-opening look at the paradoxes of the Middle East.

An introcuction to Australia, focusing on its geographical features, people and native animalsA True Book: Geography series dives into the many components that make each continent distinctive and exceptional. Readers will get to know each continents' geography, history, wildlife and future outlook. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.

NEW from REA…Groundbreaking, Easy-to-Use Workbook Series for Students Struggling with Math REA’s Ready, Set, Go! Series is a Perfect Study Tool for Exit Exams, End-of-Course Exams, or Graduation Exams Many students continue to struggle in high school math courses because they failed to master the basic mathematical skills. REA’s new Ready, Set, Go! Workbook series takes the confusion out of math, helping students raise their grades and score higher on important exams. What makes REA’s workbooks different? For starters, students will actually like using them. Here’s why: Math is explained in simple language, in an easy-to-follow style The workbooks allow students to learn at their own pace and master the subject 15 lessons break down the material into the basics Each lesson is fully devoted to a key math concept and includes many step-by-step examples Paced instruction with drills and quizzes reinforces learning The innovative “Math Flash” feature offers helpful tips and strategies in each lesson—including advice on common mistakes to avoid Skill scorecard measures the student’s progress and success Every answer to every question, in every test, is explained in full detail A final exam is included so students can test what they’ve learned When students apply the skills they’ve mastered in our workbooks, they can do better in class, raise their grades, and score higher on the all-important end-of-course, graduation, and exit exams. Some of the math topics covered in the Ready, Set, Go! Trigonometry Workbook include: Trigonometric Ratios Graphing Points and Angles Special Angles Inverse Trigonometric Values Solving Triangles Solving Four-Sided Figures Solving Trigonometric Equationsand more! Whether used in a classroom, for home or self study, or with a tutor, this workbook gets students ready for important math tests and exams, set to take on new challenges, and helps them go forward in their studies!

Africa is often called the Cradle of Humankind. Millions of years ago, it was home to the very first humans, and today it remains a vibrant land filled with diverse cultures.A True Book: Geography series dives into the many components that make each continent distinctive and exceptional. Readers will get to know each continents' geography, history, wildlife and future outlook. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.

Probability and Statistics Workbookan Easy-to-Use Workbook Series for Students Struggling with Math A Perfect Study Tool for Exit Exams, End-of-Course Exams, or Graduation Exams.Many students continue to struggle in high school math courses because they failed to master the basic mathematical skills. REA’s Ready, Set, Go! Workbook series takes the confusion out of math, helping students raise their grades and score higher on important exams. What makes REA’s workbooks different? Students will actually like using them. Here’s why: • Math is explained in simple language, in an easy-to-follow style • The workbooks allow students to learn at their own pace and master the subject • Each lesson is devoted to a key math concept and includes step-by-step examples • Paced instruction with drills and quizzes reinforce learning• Every answer to every question, in every test, is explained in full detail • A final exam lets students test what they’ve learned.When students apply the skills they’ve mastered in our workbooks, they can do better in class, raise their grades, and score higher on the all-important end-of-course, graduation, and exit examsWhether used in a classroom, for home or self-study, or with a tutor, this workbook gets students ready for important math tests and exams, set to take on new challenges, and helps them go forward in their studies!

“A book about young men transformed by war, written by a veteran whose dazzling literary gifts gripped my attention from the first page to the last.” —The Wall Street Journal“Friedman’s sober and striking new memoir . . . [is] on a par with Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried -- its Israeli analog.” —The New York Times Book Review It was just one small hilltop in a small, unnamed war in the late 1990s, but it would send out ripples that are still felt worldwide today. The hill, in Lebanon, was called the Pumpkin; flowers was the military code word for “casualties.” Award-winning writer Matti Friedman re-creates the harrowing experience of a band of young Israeli soldiers charged with holding this remote outpost, a task that would change them forever, wound the country in ways large and small, and foreshadow the unwinnable conflicts the United States would soon confront in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. Pumpkinflowers is a reckoning by one of those young soldiers now grown into a remarkable writer. Part memoir, part reportage, part history, Friedman’s powerful narrative captures the birth of today’s chaotic Middle East and the rise of a twenty-first-century type of war in which there is never a clear victor and media images can be as important as the battle itself. Raw and beautifully rendered, Pumpkinflowers will take its place among classic war narratives by George Orwell, Philip Caputo, and Tim O’Brien. It is an unflinching look at the way we conduct war today.