Little children throughout the world wait impatiently for Christmas to arrive. As parents know, it can seem as if the days just crawl by. Now your family can learn and put to use Advent traditions from the country of Germany during the Christmas season. No doubt mothers have long been inventing ways to keep young children occupied during the Advent season-like Gerhard Lang's mother, who in the mid-1800s helped her young son count the days on a calendar...

Since the 1800s, Mill Valley has attracted spirited freethinkers, entrepreneurs, nature lovers, rabble-rousers, and more than a few rock stars. Early Mill Valley booster Sidney Cushing encouraged tourism with a train up Mount Tamalpais called "the Crookedest Railroad in the World." Laura White, more concerned with protecting Mill Valley's natural beauty than attracting more people, brought the town its "Outdoor Art Club" and a tradition of conservationism....

Originally sought out by city dwellers as a refuge from the tribulations of urban life, Summit developed from a bucolic rural spot in 1836 to a fully established suburb by 1940. The town's growth was intrinsically tied to the development of the railroad and the convenience of the commute it offered to nearby New York City. The houses constructed during these years reflected their owner's wealth, social standing, and aesthetic sensibilities, and exemplified...

A fascinating story exists just below Seattle's surface, buried in the city's many historic cemeteries. Founded in 1872 on land acquired from Doc Maynard, Lake View Cemetery holds the remains of one of Seattle's favorite sons, Bruce Lee, whose son Brandon Lee is buried beside him. Maynard is also buried here, along with most of the Seattle pioneers, including the Dennys, Borens, Maynards, Yeslers, and Morans. Princess Angeline, Chief Sealth's daughter,...

Pacific Northwest waters from Alaska to Oregon lie between the Arctic whaling grounds and the home whaling ports of San Francisco and Honolulu. While the Pacific Northwest was not a whaling destination, whales in these rich grounds were pursued for many years as whale ships moved between the whalers' summer whaling grounds and southern home ports. After 1900, whaling in the north Pacific changed from sailing ships to modern, steam-powered iron ships...

Celebrate the Power of Girls in This Book for Teens #1 New Release Teen & Young Adult Women's Biographies and Social ActivistsYou're a teenage girl and this is the time you're coming into your own. Girl empowerment is more accessible than you think. In The Book of Awesome Girls celebrate the power of girls and the famous girls who have shaped, and continue to shape, our future. An uncensored history of girl power. Before they were seasoned women,...

In the late 1800s, the area now known as Sparks consisted of ranches and farms. It was not until the early 1900s that Sparks would become the sixth-largest city in Nevada, almost overnight. E.H. Harriman moved the Salt Lake Division of the Southern Pacific Railroad from Wadsworth to swampland four miles east of Reno, and that area would become Sparks. The railroad was the largest and most reliable employer for 54 years, before leaving in 1957. Some...

This book tells the dramatic story of seven defining leadership moments from the American Revolution, as well as providing case studies that can improve your leadership at home, business, in your community, in the military, or in government. Leadership is not about position; it is about influence. You can be a leader no matter what your rank or position. It is not about power; it is about selflessness. You cannot be a good leader unless you can also...

Gadgets and Shadows: Book TwoA Sequel to The 7th of LondonSince Seven saved London and Queen Victoria, problems have begun growing in Victorica, formerly the free states of America. With government corruption running rampant and slavery becoming epidemic, rumors are flying about the Confederacy of the South building an army and threatening war. Still haunted by the memory of his old enemy, Seven and his lover, Silas Kettlebent, are sent to investigate...