Black Ships Before Troy


Book Description

For Greek myth fans, those who can’t get enough of the D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, and readers who have aged out of Rick Riordan, this classroom staple and mythology classic is perfect for learning about the ancient myths! As the gods and goddesses of Olympus scheme, the ancient world is thrown into turmoil when Helen, the most beautiful woman in all of Greece, is stolen away by her Trojan love. Inflamed by jealousy, the Greek king seeks lethal vengeance and sends his black war ships to descend on the city of Troy. In the siege that follows, history’s greatest heroes, from Ajax to Achilles to Odysseus, are forged in combat, and the brutal costs of passion, pride, and revenge must be paid. In the end, the whims of the gods, the cunning of the warriors, and a great wooden horse will decide who emerges victorious. Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, is one of the greatest adventure stories of all time and Rosemary Sutcliff's retelling of the classic saga embodies all of the astonishing drama, romance, and intrigue of ancient Greece. Don’t miss The Wanderings of Odysseus, the companion to Black Ships Before Troy, and follow Odysseus on his adventure home. This book has been selected as a Common Core State Standards Text Exemplar (Grades 6-8, Stories) in Appendix B.




Black Ships


Book Description

"Haunting and bittersweet, lush and vivid, this extraordinary story has lived with me since I first read it." -- Naomi Novik, author of His Majesty's Dragon The world is ending. One by one the mighty cities are falling, to earthquakes, to flood, to raiders on both land and sea. In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle. Daughter of a slave taken from fallen Troy, chosen at the age of seven to be the voice of the Lady of the Dead, it is her destiny to counsel kings. When nine black ships appear, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must decide between the life she has been destined for and the most perilous adventure -- to join the remnant of her mother's people in their desperate flight. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest, and only she can dare the gates of the Underworld itself to lead him to his destiny. In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman dreams of the world beginning anew. This is her story.




Black Ships Off Japan


Book Description

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.




The Century of the Black Ships (Novel)


Book Description

For nearly a century, Japanese writers gave voice to the anxieties of a nation headed inexorably toward war. Not just any war, but one that in the minds of many would eventually--and inevitably--take place with Japan's neighbor across the Pacific, the United States. In the wake of U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry's first visit to Japan with his Black Ships in 1853, Japanese novelists and military analysts, along with a few foreign counterparts, produced a dizzying array of prophetic visions of this coming conflict, creating a massive body of popular works through which Japan would debate its own passage, however violent, into the modern, globalized era. Painstakingly researched by one of Japan's preeminent men of letters, Tokyo Prefecture Vice Governor Naoki Inose, The Century of the Black Ships is a landmark study of a literary tradition that anticipated the defining moment in the lives of a nation and its people.




Black Ships and Sea Raiders


Book Description

The end of the Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean was a time of social, political, and economic upheaval – conditions reflected, in many ways, in the world of Homer’s Odyssey. Jeffrey P. Emanuel examines the Odyssey’s Second Cretan Lie (xiv 191 – 359) in the context of this watershed transition, with particular emphasis on raiding, warfare, maritime technology and tactics, and the evidence for the so-called ‘Sea Peoples’ who have been connected to the events of this period. He focuses in particular on the hero’s description of his frequent raiding activities and on his subsequent sojourn in the land of the pharaohs, and connections between Odysseus’ false narrative and the historical experiences of one particular Sea Peoples group: the ‘Sherden of the Sea.’







Return of the Black Ships


Book Description




The Black Joke


Book Description

A groundbreaking history of the Black Joke, the most famous member of the British Royal Navy’s anti-slavery squadron, and the long fight to end the transatlantic slave trade. The most feared ship in Britain’s West Africa Squadron, His Majesty’s brig Black Joke was one of a handful of ships tasked with patrolling the western coast of Africa in an effort to end hundreds of years of global slave trading. Sailing after the spectacular fall of Napoleon in France, yet before the rise of Queen Victoria’s England, Black Joke was first a slaving vessel itself, and one with a lightning-fast reputation; only a lucky capture in 1827 allowed it to be repurposed by the Royal Navy to catch its former compatriots. Over the next five years, the ship’s diverse crew and dedicated commanders would capture more ships and liberate more enslaved people than any other in the Squadron. Now, author A.E. Rooks chronicles the adventures on this ship and its crew in a brilliant, lively narrative of the history of Britain’s suppression efforts. As Britain slowly attempted to snuff out the transatlantic slave trade by way of treaty and negotiation, enforcing these policies fell to the Black Joke and those that sailed with it as they battled slavers, weather disasters, and interpersonal drama among captains and crew that reverberated across oceans. In this history of the daring feats of a single ship, the abolition of the international slave trade is revealed as an inexplicably extended exercise involving tense negotiations between many national powers, both colonizers and formerly colonized, that would stretch on for decades longer than it should have. Harrowing and heartbreaking, The Black Joke is a crucial and deeply compelling work of history, both as a reckoning with slavery and abolition and as a lesson about the power of political will—or the lack thereof.




Becoming the Iceman


Book Description

Becoming the Iceman is a project inspired by Wim and Justin to show the world that anyone can adopt the ability to become an Iceman or Icewoman. The project's goal is to show that the ability to control the body's temperature is not a genetic defect in Wim, but an ability that can be adopted by everyone. For many generations, we have been taught to fear the cold: "Don't forget your jacket You don't want hypothermia, do you?""Put your gloves on before you get frostbite "Of course, these are consequences of extreme cold exposure, but with the proper understanding, anyone can learn to use the cold as a natural teacher.You may have seen Wim Hof on television running barefoot through the snow or swimming in ice-cold waters. While performing those incredible feats, Wim remained completely warm and comfortable the entire time Wim is the epitome of what can happen if someone uses the cold to train the body. Like any new tool, you must understand how it works before you can use it efficiently. This pertains to the cold as well. You may be wondering, "How can you prove that anyone can learn this ability?Well, as of Fall 2009, Justin Rosales had no experience with the cold whatsoever. He was a college student attending Penn State University. After Justin's friend, Jarrett, showed him one of Wim's videos on You-Tube, he became exceedingly interested in understanding this ability. He wanted to see if it was possible for anyone to learn. In Spring 2010, after speaking to Wim for several months via email, Wim invited Justin to attend his workshop in Poland. After many weeks of working as a dishwasher, Justin was able to pay for the trip and learn the technique of the Iceman.With more training and countless experiences with the cold, Justin began to slowly adapt. The length of time he could remain exposed increased dramatically. He quickly realized that the technique to withstand the cold was, indeed, an ability that could be learned by everyone. This book tells the tale of Wim and Justin's journey to Becoming the Iceman




Black Salt


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the history of British seafarers of African descent from the Tudor period to the present day.