Books with author Professor Charles F Gritzner

Though Nicaragua is today thought of as a developing, war-torn country rife with scandal, the country enjoys a long, rich history. In 1502, Christopher Columbus was the first European to reach present-day Nicaragua as he sailed along the coast of Central America. Later conquered by the Spanish, the local Indian civilizations suffered from diseases brought over by the conquistadores and were enslaved to work in valuable mines. Nicaragua gained its independence in 1838, but the region often became embroiled in civil wars. Violent opposition to the government and corruption spread to all classes by 1978, and in 1979, the Marxist Sandinistas gained power. Free elections saw the Sandinistas defeated, and the first female president in the Americas was democratically elected in 1990. Violeta Barrios de Chamorro provided stability that the country had lacked for more than 10 years. Unfortunately, since she failed to dismantle the Sandinista Popular Army, Nicaragua is now again in the hands of Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista-led government. The gains won by democratic institutions face new challenges under the Ortega administration. In Nicaragua, learn about the vibrant culture, geography, history, and current state of this Central American country.

This new series teaches students about the most important geographic concepts and shows them how people are affected by and respond to economic, social, and political forces--at both the global and local scales. The authors are educators who have been trained to teach geography at the high school or college levels. This series meets national geography and social science standards.

The only country in South America to border the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Colombia is the continent's fourth-largest country and has the second-largest population behind Brazil. The country's terrain is also one of the most physically diverse in South America, with snowcapped volcanoes, swampy marshes, tropical savannahs, and lush rain forests dotting its landscape. Its people are of European, African, and Native American descent, and both the Spanish language and Catholic religion bring these diverse groups together. Colombia takes students on an in-depth journey through this geographically and ethnically varied nation. Handsomely illustrated with full-color photographs and peppered with maps and concise facts at a glance and history at a glance features, this book is a comprehensive exploration of the people, culture, history, geography, environment, economy, and government of Colombia.

This volume introduces students to the climatic ends of the Earth, one of the planet's most unique and perhaps most challenging ecosystems. Polar Regions reveals how these stark locations, once believed to be inhospitable, have in fact been home to a number of culture groups. Hardy Inuit (Eskimo), Sami (Lapps), Aleut, Samoyed, and others have successfully adapted to bone-chilling temperatures and harsh landscapes. Readers will also learn how mid-latitude peoples of the past century began to recognize the Poles' strategic importance, their rich resources, and their value in scientific research.

This volume introduces students to the humid tropics, a lush region defined by climate and conditions of temperature and moisture. Insightful text tells how, under natural conditions, the tropical world supports a rich rainforest ecosystem, while tropical areas with poor soils generally support an economy based on low-yield, shifting cultivation. Students will learn about intriguing high civilizations of antiquity, and about the Europeans who later colonized most of these environs. The Tropics explains that although the region suffers from political instability and poverty, its problems are not insurmountable--the tropics can prosper if stability and economic development can be achieved.

This volume introduces students to a waterless world encompassing some of the most barren and least populated places on Earth. Students will discover how deserts, covering about one-fifth of Earth's surface, compel adaptation by nature and culture alike. Where adequate fresh water is available, humans have prospered for thousands of years. And ancient desert cultures in Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and coastal Peru were among the earliest cradles of civilization. This colorful book also highlights the contrast between empty, arid lands and densely populated desert areas, such as the U.S. Southwest, one of the most prosperous and fastest-growing regions in the country.

Climates have changed throughout Earth's history and will continue to change indefinitely. While some changes are brief, lasting only a few decades, others can plunge much of the planet into an icy wasteland or a steaming tropical jungle for hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years. Many factors contribute to both short- and long-term changes within the atmosphere, and scientists continue to study the agents that impact the changing conditions of Earth's climate. Changing Climates helps readers gain a better understanding of climate and the global warming issue by explaining how the atmosphere works, how and why climates have changed in the past, and the consequences of climate change.