Middle World

This young listeners edition of the worldwide best seller Three Cups of Tea has been specially adapted for younger listeners and updated by Greg Mortenson to bring his remarkable story of humanitarianism up to date for the present.

"A vivid, action-packed story that is based as much on confrontation and problem-solving as it is on Theo's evolution and courage." — Midwest Book Review "This book made me feel anew the sense of wonder that originally drew me to the fantasy genre in the first place." Reedsy Discovery Theodore Beckett knows nothing of magic until his bedroom wall smiles... ... and then tries to kill him. Doors to a whole new world suddenly crash open for Theo, a world filled with monsters, magicians, and dragons. His role in this secret society slowly unfolds when Theo learns he is the son of its lost ...

From drones to satellites, missile defense systems to cyber warfare, Israel is leading the world when it comes to new technology being deployed on the modern battlefield. The Weapon Wizards shows how this tiny nation of 8,000,000 learned to adapt to the changes in warfare and in the defense industry and become the new prototype of a 21st century superpower, not in size, but rather in innovation and efficiency - and as a result of its long war experience.

Ferdinand Lot (1866-1952) was one of the great historians of his generation, and the transition from Roman to Medieval civilization was a process that fascinated him most of his life. Rather than placing the emphasis for Rome’s fall on purely political or military reasons, Lot put forth multiple explanations for the birth of the Middle Ages which embrace not only politics and war, but linguistic, geographic, cultural, social and economic factors.

In the heart of the Ottoman Empire as World War I rages, Stepan Miskjian's world becomes undone. He is separated from his family as they are swept up in the government's mass deportation of Armenians into internment camps. Gradually realizing the unthinkable - that they are all being driven to their deaths - he fights, through starvation and thirst, not to lose hope.

In Degrade and Destroy, the bestselling author and Wall Street Journal national security correspondent Michael R. Gordon reveals the strategy debates, diplomatic gambits, and military operations that shaped the struggle against the Islamic State. With extraordinary access to top U.S. officials and military commanders and to the forces on the battlefield, Gordon offers a riveting narrative that ferrets out some of the war’s most guarded secrets.

Stunned by the silence of Antarctica, the lively streets of Rio de Janeiro, the grandeur of the Forbidden City in Beijing, and the beauty of the metro stations in Moscow, inveterate traveller Vilas Kale explored the far corners of the world with enthusiasm and great interest. In his younger days he hitchhiked with his cousins across the Middle East and Europe, a trip that fuelled his need to see more, do more, experience more. And even as he found success as an entrepreneur, that spirit of adventure prevailed, taking him on more exciting trips to Africa, Australia, the United States, ...

A three part treatise on Democracy, Economics, and Social Relationships.

When 12 year old Zoe moves to a new town she stumbles upon an enchanted book in the attic of her new home Inside its glowing pages lies Haven Grove a magical realm where lost and forgotten things reside As Zoe starts reading the books unusual stories she discovers the power not only to find missing items but to reconnect missing pieces of herself On her first journey inside the himsical book world Zoe is determined to rescue her lost music box with the help of a new friend Sylphina the fairy Along the way they meet quirky characters navigate tricky places like Willy Sweet Shoppe and visit ...

The life Kamila Sidiqi had known changed overnight when the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul. After receiving a teaching degree during the civil war - a rare achievement for any Afghan woman - Kamila was subsequently banned from school and confined to her home. When her father and brother were forced to flee the city, Kamila became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own.

That was where she needed to be, in a field of purple flowers, where no one could bother her. She would sit there until the confusion left her head and the stink of the camp left her nostrils. Shauzia has a dream. She dreams of getting away from the refugee camp in Pakistan and travelling to France. There she knows she would find a better life, away from the war in her home country of Afghanistan...But escape is not so easy. Once she leaves the camp, she has no money, no food - and only her dog Jasper for company. But Shauzia is determined to find a new future for herself...

Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza, Palestine, edited by Refaat Alareer, is a compelling collection of short stories from 15 young writers in Gaza, members of a generation that has suffered immensely under Israel's siege and blockade. Their experiences, especially during and following Israel's 2008-2009 offensive known as Operation Cast Lead, have fundamentally impacted their lives and their writing.

The Spanish Flu was a pandemic occurring mainly in the fall of 1918 and affecting most of America and Western Europe. In America it killed 675,000 but in Europe and worldwide 20-40 million souls died from the disease. It killed more persons than all the 20th century wars—World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Afghanistan. Years later the virus was found and made in a lab. It was stored in the CDC, the communicable disease center for the US. It is not known if the virus escaped from its safe locked laboratory by accident or if someone did it purposely. Dr. MacArthur Donne, a...

Demigod. Dragon Rider. Kick-Ass Warrior. 15-year-old Zoey knows a bad hand when it’s dealt and survival is slim. With only two days until her boyfriend dies from a wound inflicted by Loki, The God of Trickery, her only option is to betray her father Thor’s trust and commit treason against Asgard. Stealing Mjolnir, she leaves the land open to attack from giants and dark elves. With hammer in hand and honed martial arts skills, she lays her life on the line to fight a fierce and brutal dragon guarding the only magical artifact powerful enough to heal the boy she loves. Defenders of Asgard...

Aref is excited for his journey to reunite with his father in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Aref makes a friend on an airplane, wonders what Michigan will be like, and starts school in the United States. While he does miss his grandfather, his Sidi, Aref knows that his home in Oman will always be waiting for him. Award-winning author Naomi Shihab Nye’s highly anticipated sequel to The Turtle of Oman explores immigration, family, and what it means to feel at home.

Twins Arthur and Rose created the magical world of Roar when they were very young, and until recently, they’d all but forgotten it exists. But when the villain who still haunts their nightmares kidnaps their grandfather, Roar becomes part of their lives again. When the twins go back to Roar for their first visit after rescuing Granddad, they soon discover there’s no time to explore - Crowky, the villain, is poised to destroy their world, using a weapon that brings their deepest fears to life.

For many centuries, the world of Islam was at the forefront of human achievement: the foremost military and economic power in the world, the leader in the arts and sciences of civilization. Christian Europe, a remote land beyond its northwestern frontier, was seen as an outer darkness of barbarism and unbelief from which there was nothing to learn or to fear.

The Ottoman Empire has long exerted a strong pull on Western minds and hearts. For over 600 years the empire swelled and declined, rising from a dusty fiefdom in the foothills of Anatolia to a power which ruled over the Danube and the Euphrates with the richest court in Europe. But its decline was prodigious, protracted and total.

What do you think of when you consider the Middle Ages? Knights in armor and damsels in distress? Vikings plundering monasteries? Religious dissenters burning at the stake? The dead bodies piling up as war, famine, and plague devastated Europe? Think again. While all these are part of the tapestry of the medieval era, the threads of politics, personality and war, culture, religion, education and the arts are vastly more intricate and fascinating.

Few historians end up as historical actors in their own right, but Bernard Lewis has both witnessed and participated in some of the key events of the last century. When we think of the Middle East, we see it in terms that he defined and articulated.In this exceptional memoir he shares stories of his wartime service in London and Cairo, decrypting intercepts for MI6, with sometimes unexpected consequences. After the war, he was the first Western scholar ever invited into the Ottoman archives in Istanbul.