Books with author Mel Friedman

Learn about the events that made America what she is today.As the excitement of westward expansion swept through the eastern United States in the mid-19th century, thousands of people traveled over 2,000 miles along the Oregon Trail in search of new fortunes. Readers will learn how the trail was blazed, why people wanted to travel westward, and what hardships the travelers faced on their journey.

- Clean new design for easy readability and comprehension- Updated text presented in a lively, continuous narrative- New center-spread sidebar feature presenting material in a fun, creative way- Excellent age-appropriate introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects- Important Words glossary clarifies subject-specific vocabulary- Resources section encourages independent study- Index makes navigating subject matter easy

“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.

The Extreme Monsters' evil enemies, Damon Christopher and Team Pendant, are planning to steal energy from the rare Blue Moon and use it to cheat their way to a victory in the Howl-O-Ween Action Games. Can Val, Jinx, Wulf, and the rest of the Extreme Monsters pull the plug on Team Pendant s plan? Find out in Extreme Monsters: The Blue Moon Effect! And make sure to solve the puzzles at the end of each chapter to gain the secret code and unlock special games and bonus features on the Extreme Monsters website.

After swiping Jinx's wand and spell book and miscasting an unintentional spell, Wulf isn't quite the same. Not only has he joined Damon Christopher and Team Pendant, the enemies of the Extreme Monster, but he's planning to do a trick that means certain death at the Croney Island roller coaster benefit! On top of that, the spell has made the rest of the Extreme Monsters team invisible to Wulf. Will Val, Jinx, Steiner, and Mumford be able to change their friend back to normal and save him from Christopher's clutches? Read Extreme Monsters: What's With Wulf? to find out. Make sure to solve the puzzles at the end of each chapter to find the secret code - use your code to unlock special games and bonus features on the Extreme Monsters website.

- Clean new design for easy readability and comprehension- Updated text presented in a lively, continuous narrative- New center-spread sidebar feature presenting material in a fun, creative way- Excellent age-appropriate introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects- Important Words glossary clarifies subject-specific vocabulary- Resources section encourages independent study- Index makes navigating subject matter easy

- Clean new design for easy readability and comprehension- Updated text presented in a lively, continuous narrative- New center-spread "sidebar" feature presenting material in a fun, creative way- Excellent age-appropriate introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects- "Important Words" glossary clarifies subject-specific vocabulary- "Resources" section encourages independent study- Index makes navigating subject matter easy

The United States is a republic defined by a set of rules written more than two centuries ago!Even before the first glorious ring of the Liberty Bell, America was a land of freedom and promise. The Cornerstones of Freedom series explores what inspires people from all over the world to start life anew here, endure the economic and social upheavals, and defend the land and rights that are unique to the United States of America. Although some of the rules have changed, the basic plan for our democratic process remains intact. This book examines the system for our representative democracy that was conceived at the Constitutional Convention and was born with the ratification of the Constitution. It also illustrates the many challenges a republic faces and how the United States has faced those challenges throughout history.