Books published by publisher Greenwood Press

Few people have had as great an impact on the modern environmental movement as has the great writer and scientist Rachel Carson. This readable and up-to-date biography traces the famous environmentalist's development as a writer from earliest childhood through the publication of her best-known work Silent Spring (1962). Although Carson is now remembered almost exclusively for Silent Spring, which exposed the dangers of pesticides, this book was preceded by three best-sellers about the ocean environment: Under the Sea-Wind (1941), The Edge of the Sea (1955), and The Sea Around Us (1951) which catapulted her to fame. In Rachel Carson: A Biography, Carson emerges as a talented scientist and exceptional writer who was able to share her sense of wonder about nature with both scientists and the general public.Carson's great love of both writing and nature emerged at a young age and enabled her to overcome numerous obstacles in her life. She made a critical decision to switch her major in college from English to biology, she suffered financial problems during the Depression, and family and work responsibilities left her little time to write. She struggled for years to become a writer, working in relative obscurity for 15 years at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service writing pamphlets and brochures. She also endured harsh criticism of Silent Spring toward the end of her life while terribly ill. This biography shows how Carson overcame these difficulties and persevered to become one of the most influential writers of the last half of the 20th century. Her legacy as a champion of nature continues 50 years after her death.

Death is not the worst fate for a goddess.In The Gatekeeper's Sons, Therese and Thanatos, the god of death, met and fell in love. In The Gatekeeper's Challenge, they did everything they could to be together, even break an oath on the River Styx. But the Olympians don't tolerate oath-breakers. In this third book in the saga, The Gatekeeper's Daughter, Therese may have finally succeeded in becoming a goddess, but if she wants to remain one, she'll not only have to discover her unique purpose, but also make some allies among the gods. Artemis sends her on a seemingly impossible quest across the world, while Than searches for a way to appease Ares. To make matters worse, her baby sister's life depends on the outcome of her quest.Can Than and Therese finally live the life they've dreamed of? Or do the gods have other plans for them?

An invaluable resource that documents the Black Power Movement by its cultural representation and promotion of self-determination and self-defense, and showcases the movement's influence on Black communities in America from 1965 to the mid-1970s.Unlike the Civil Rights Movement's emphasis on the rhetoric and practice of nonviolence and social and political goal of integration, Black Power was defined by the promotion of Black self-determination, Black consciousness, independent Black politics, and the practice of armed self-defense. Black Power changed communities, curriculums, and culture in the United States and served as an inspiration for social justice internationally. This unique two-volume set provides readers with an understanding of Black Power's important role in the turbulence, social change, and politics of the 1960s and 1970s in America and how the concepts of the movement continue to influence contemporary Black politics, culture, and identity.Cross-disciplinary and broad in its approach, Black Power Encyclopedia: From "Black Is Beautiful" to Urban Uprisings explores the emergence and evolution of the Black Power Movement in the United States some 50 years ago. The entries examine the key players, organizations and institutions, trends, and events of the period, enabling readers to better understand the ways in which African Americans broke through racial barriers, developed a positive identity, and began to feel united through racial pride and the formation of important social change organizations. The encyclopedia also covers the important impact of the more militant segments of the movement, such as Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam and the Black Panthers.• Gives students and general readers a comprehensive overview of the Black Power Movement and an understanding of its importance within the turbulence and politics of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States as well as in the context of modern-day civil rights• Provides insight into important concepts such as Black self-determination, Black consciousness, independent Black politics, and independent institutions• Features contributions from premier Black Power scholars as well as Black Power activists• Offers topical and biographical entries, a timeline of events, and a bibliography of key print and nonprint sources of additional information

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance were a period of scientific and literary reawakening. Scientific development and a renewed interest in classical science led to new discoveries, inventions, and technologies. Between 500 and 1600 A.D., scientific explorers rediscovered ancient Greek and Eastern knowledge, which led to an eruption of fresh ideas. This reference work describes more than 75 experiments, inventions, and discoveries of the period, as well as the scientists, physicians, and scholars responsible for them. Individuals such as Leonardo da Vinci, Marco Polo, and Galileo are included, along with entries on reconstructive surgery, Stonehenge, eyeglasses, the microscope, and the discovery of smallpox.Part of a unique series that ranges from ancient times to the 20th century, this exploration of scientific advancements during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance will be useful to high school and college students, teachers, and general readers seeking information about significant advances in scientific history.

Not since the Beatles in the 1960s has an export from Great Britain taken the world by storm as J. K. Rowling has with her popular "Harry Potter" series. From a modest beginning, the series has gone on to sell more than 260 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 60 languages. While readers young and old enjoy the books, Rowling's success has come with controversy. She is seen as both a champion for literacy, who encourages children to read 800-page novels full of Latin and mythological allusions; and as a shaman who turns young readers into mass consumers and children's literature into a highly marketable commodity. This encyclopaedia is a detailed guide to her life and works. The volume presents hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries on Rowling's characters, themes, settings, motifs, spells, potions, curses, and magical creatures; the people, places, and events that shaped her life; and films, merchandising, conventions, fan fiction, and other topics related to the presence of Harry Potter in popular culture. The volume also includes helpful lists, a bibliography, and an extensive index. Students and readers will find this a convenient resource for virtually anything they want to know about Rowling and her fascinating world.

Marie Curie (1867-1934) was one of the most important woman scientists in history, and she was one of the most influential scientists―man or woman―of the 20th century. Curie postulated that radiation was an atomic property, a discovery that has led to significant scientific developments since. She was also the first person to use the term radioactivity. Her perseverance led to the discovery of two new elements, polonium and radium. This combination of creativity and perseverance netted her two Nobel Prizes, one in physics and the second in chemistry. This book, however, looks at more than her scientific achievements. While Curie is often portrayed as a stern, one-dimensional woman so totally committed to her science that she was incapable of complex emotions, the truth is that the opposite is the case.Marie Curie: A Biography covers her entire lifetime, beginning with her early life and education in a Poland under the oppressive rule of the czar of Russia. The book discusses all aspects―both personal and scientific―of her fascinating life: • Her education at the Sorbonne in Paris, where she earned the equivalent of two master's degrees―one in physics and a second in mathematics• Her marriage to Pierre Curie, with whom she collaborated on much of her scientific work• The personal scandal that surrounded Marie in the aftermath of Pierre's tragic death• The Nobel Prize awards, and the detractors who believed that her work was actually performed by her husbandCurie's work in establishing mobile X-ray units during World War I, and the establishment of radium institutes to study radiationRunning throughout there is the much of the book is the tension between radium as a positive discovery and, on the other hand, the health risks that working with it presents. The book includes a timeline of important events in Curie's life and a bibliography of important primary and secondary sources.

This rich interdisciplinary collection of primary materials and commentary about Shakespeare's Macbeth will help student and teacher explore historical, literary, theatrical, social, and political issues related to the play. Bringing together past and present in its approach to Macbeth, the guide explores topics ranging from Shakespeare's stage to modern political events―from historical focus on the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and its influence on the play, to theatrical interest in the stage and performance, to thematic connections between Macbeth and modern events such as Watergate and the Oklahoma City bombing. Excerpted documents range from royal proclamations to court confessions, from an actor's journal to dramatic criticism, from a short story to movie reviews. Ideas for classroom discussion, student assignments, paper topics, and bibliographies provide additional sources for examining the play in context.This guide encourages readers to see connections between the play and related events and ideas. Dramatic Context considers subjects such as the nature of tragedy, the historical source of the play (with timeline of Scottish history), and the language and thematic patterns within it. Historical Context includes a wide variety of seventeenth-century primary documents that bring the turbulent political context to life.Macbeth's journey to the present reveals how changing attitudes and expectations about acting styles, political viewpoints, and social values have influenced the play's performance and interpretation over the centuries. Contemporary Applications provides materials on political parallels such as Duvalier's Haiti, as well as the social and psychological impact of contemporary events on which the play casts a shadow. This resource book is an ideal companion for teacher use and student research. It will encourage a broad spectrum of approaches to the play and help the student discover and appreciate a wide variety of conflicting ideas and interpretations that can inform and enrich the student's experience of the play.

She never thought her wedding day would be like this.When Zeus invites Therese and Thanatos to a party on Mount Olympus in their honor, they and the other gods who have formed the Athena Alliance are immediately suspicious of a trap. They fear Zeus has learned of their desire to free Metis and Cybele and to stand up for all the women he has wronged. Although Therese recruits Dione, Amphitrite, and others to the Alliance, Pete has unwittingly sabotaged their plans by revealing to Zeus the prophecy from the ghost of Mr. Holt. And now, the day that might have been the most wonderful day of Therese’s life (her wedding day) will be wrought with conflict where someone close to her is fated to die. Can Therese and the other gods in the Alliance bind the almighty Zeus and restore justice and true democracy among the Olympians? Or will Zeus succeed in swallowing Therese and separating her from Thanatos for all eternity?

Maya Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was nominated for a National Book Award, yet in 1995 it topped the list of books most frequently challenged in schools and libraries. This interdisciplinary collection of documents and commentary explores the historical and social context, as well as the contemporary issues and controversies raised by Angelou's autobiography. A rich resource for teachers and students, it will help to enhance the reader's understanding of the historical and social forces that shaped Maya Angelou's experience―race relations in the pre-civil rights South, segregated schools, the African American church, and the African American family. It also examines the issue of childhood sexual abuse, the inclusion of which has been the basis of most of the challenges to the autobiography, and the issue of the work's censorship since its publication.This rich resource begins with a literary analysis of the structure and dramatic elements of Angelou's autobiography, as well as discussion of the genre of autobiography. Subsequent chapters include introductions and documents that provide insight into the topics of race relations, lynchings, and racial etiquette; the education of African Americans in the South in the 1930s (particularly county training schools like the one Angelou attended); the otherworldliness, emotion, and music of the African American church; African American women as nurturers, and the effect of frequent migration on children such as Angelou; information from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect which puts the sexual abuse Angelou experiences in a broader context; and many news stories regarding censorship attempts on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Documents in the work include newspaper articles, interviews and first-person narratives, government documents, excerpts from books and journals, and legal statutes. Study questions, ideas for project topics, and suggested readings conclude each chapter and further enhance the usefulness of this interdisciplinary research tool for students and teachers.

Since the time of its publication in 1884, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has generated heated controversy. One of the most frequently banned books in the history of literature, it raises issues of race relations, censorship, civil disobedience, and adolescent group psychology as relevant today as they were in the 1880s. This collection of historical documents, collateral readings, and commentary captures the stormy character of the slave-holding frontier on the eve of war and highlights the legacy of past conflicts in contemporary society. Among the source materials presented are: memoirs of fugitive slaves, a river gambler, a gunman, and Mississippi Valley settlers; the Southern Code of Honor; rules of dueling; and an interview with a 1990s gang member.These materials will promote interdisciplinary study of the novel and enrich the student's understanding of the issues raised. The work begins with a literary analysis of the novel's structure, language, and major themes and examines its censorship history, including recent cases linked to questions of race and language. A chapter on censorship and race offers a variety of opposing contemporary views on these issues as depicted in the novel. The memoirs in the chapter Mark Twain's Mississippi Valley illuminate the novel's pastoral view of nature in conflict with a violent civilization resting on the institution of slavery and shaped by the genteel code of honor. Slavery, Its Legacy, and Huck Finn features 19th-century pro-slavery arguments, firsthand accounts of slavery, the text of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, and opposing views on civil disobedience from such 19th- and 20th-century Americans as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Stephen A. Douglas, and William Sloane Coffin. Nineteenth-century commentators on the Southern Code of Honor and Twain's sentimental cultural satire directly relate the novel to the social and cultural milieu in which it was written. Each chapter closes with study questions, student project ideas, and sources for further reading on the topic. This is an ideal companion for teacher use and student research in English and American history courses.

Don't get in that car without looking in the back seat! Everyone has heard the story about such-and-such, and while it sounds impossible, so-and-so swears that it must be true. Often gory, disgusting, shocking, and surprising, urban legends are central to everyday experience. From high schools and colleges to offices and organizations, urban legends are everywhere. This book collects more than 150 urban legends from around the world, such as The Mutilated Shopper, The Devil at the Disco, and The Thug in the Back Seat. The tales are grouped in thematic chapters, and each entry includes an introductory discussion of the legend and its presence in popular culture, the text of the legend, suggestions for further reading, and cross-references to similar tales. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography and a detailed index. Literature students will welcome the opportunity to read and write about these legends, social studies students will value them as a reflection of contemporary culture, and general readers will enjoy browsing them and learning more about their background and significance.Don't pick up that hitchhiker! Don't get in that car without looking in the back seat! If you knew what they put in that, no way would you eat it! Urban legends are central to everyday experience. Everyone has heard the story about such-and-such, and while it sounds impossible, so-and-so swears that it must be true. These legends are everywhere, from high schools and colleges to offices and organizations. They appear in films, television series, and novels, and are now widely spread over the Internet. This book collects and annotates more than 150 urban legends from around the world and is a valuable resource for students, general readers, and anyone interested in contemporary culture.Each entry provides introductory information about a legend, including its presence in films and other creative works; the text of the legend; a list of works for further reading; and references to similar tales. The legends are grouped in thematic chapters, such as animals, city life, and horror. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography and a detailed index. Students of literature will enjoy studying and analyzing these tales, while students in social studies courses will welcome them as a reflection of contemporary concerns.

Quantum mechanics is one of the great success stories of modern physics, making sense of the very small just as Einstein's theory of relativity made sense of the very large. But, for most students, the ideas that make quantum mechanics powerful can be confusing and counterintuitive. This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Great Ideas in Science series provides a history of quantum mechanics from the early breakthroughs of Planck and Einstein, at the beginning of the 20th century, to the present frontiers of quantum computing and quantum gravity. The approach is entirely non-technical, and is aimed at the general reader who may not have much mathematical background but who has a strong curiosity about some of the most important developments in modern science.Quantum Mechanics: A Historical Perspective traces the history of this powerful theory, including: ; The early discoveries by Max Planck and Albert Einstein regarding the quantization of radiation ; The early quantum theory, including Neils Bohr's theory of the atom ; The birth of modern quantum mechanics through the work of Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Born, Dirac and others ; Applications of quantum mechanics in chemistry, nuclear physics, electronics, and many other areas ; Recent work in quantum computation and quantum information theoryThe book emphasizes the fact that despite the great success of quantum mechanics, many exciting intellectual frontiers remain open for further researchers to explore. It includes a glossary, a timeline, and a bibliography of accessible resources for further research.