Books published by publisher e m hale, 1961

This book is based upon Marco POlo's own book. Not one bit of conversation or quotation has been invented by me. All quoted matter is taken from the well-known Marsden edition. Marco dictated his book in Italian. Since the translation into English was made about 100 years ago, when the English language was stiffer than it is now. I have sometimes used simpler words.

The book is illustrated by Douglas Gorsline. George Washington Carver (1964 - 1943), was an African American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. Carver's reputation is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes, which also aided nutrition for farm families. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts. He also developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP.

Back in the sixth century the British Isles were not as they are now. England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, all were divided up into small kingdoms each with its own ruler, each looking for trouble. They fought together, won or lost their lands, shifted their boundaries, until, as one writer says, we need the magic of Merlin to set us straight about the places. But here on this island of Great Britain the conditions under which men lived were much the same in all of the kingdoms. Most of the people were poor beyond belief, and moreover they had no possible way of escaping from that plight of poverty. They were in a complete state of slavery to the rich... Read these tales, then, and realize as you read, that here through the most potent magic of all, the power of the printed word to convey reality, you have come upon a might that moved the world.

This book tells the story of John Butterfield, a mid-19th Century stagecoach and freight line operator and his line of stagecoaches, which took passengers and mail across the U.S. in the 1850s. Born on a farm in Berne, New York in 1801, Butterfield grew up on the farm and was mostly self-educated. At the age of 19, he became a professional stage driver. He was always interested in transportation, becoming involved in the livery business, establishing stage routes throughout New York. He also gained experience with steamboats, railroads, and local plank-roads. As a skilled businessman, he soon controlled most of the stage lines west of New York, and in 1849 he formed the companies that became American Express and Wells-Fargo, as well as the Butterfield Overland Stage Company. In 1857, American Express won the government contract for the first transcontinental stage line, carrying the mail from Missouri to California for $600,000 per year—the largest mail contract that had ever been awarded. Thus, Butterfield became president of the Overland Mail Company. Covering an exciting period in American history, this story of bravery and adventure will appeal to readers of all ages!