Read all about history's hardest hard nuts. Who were the most famous (and not-so-famous) ruthless, brave, fearless and intrepid men and women of all time? Could you fight in the greatest battle ever, or wow the whole world with your brain power? Each spread reveals a different historical character and readers can learn all about what made each person a hard nut. Spreads also include special features such as quizzes, hard nut ratings, and coverage of amazing and important historical events.

Read all about history's hardest hard nuts. Who were the most famous (and not-so-famous) ruthless, brave, fearless and intrepid Romans? Could you fight in the greatest battle ever, or wow the whole world with your brain power?

Read all about history's hardest hard nuts. Who were the most famous (and not so famous) ruthless, brave, fearless and intrepid men and women of all time? Could you fight in the greatest battle ever, or wow the whole world with your brain power?

History was packed full of daring, clever and ruthless warriors. But who was the toughest nut of all? Bursting full of entertaining and witty fact-filled text in bite sized chunks and jam-packed with hilarious full-colour illustrations throughout. Includes Hardometers and a Hard Nut rating for some of history's toughest warriors.

“This excellent and charming story describes a tree that endured numerous hardships to become not only a staple of Southern cuisine but an American treasure.” —Library Journal What would Thanksgiving be without pecan pie? New Orleans without pecan pralines? But as familiar as the pecan is, most people don’t know the fascinating story of how native pecan trees fed Americans for thousands of years until the nut was “improved” a little more than a century ago—and why that rapid domestication actually threatens the pecan’s long-term future. In The Pecan, the acclaimed author of Just Food and A Revolution in Eating explores the history of America’s most important commercial nut. He describes how essential the pecan was for Native Americans—by some calculations, an average pecan harvest had the food value of nearly 150,000 bison. McWilliams explains that, because of its natural edibility, abundance, and ease of harvesting, the pecan was left in its natural state longer than any other commercial fruit or nut crop in America. Yet once the process of “improvement” began, it took less than a century for the pecan to be almost totally domesticated. Today, more than 300 million pounds of pecans are produced every year in the United States—and as much as half of that total might be exported to China, which has fallen in love with America’s native nut. McWilliams also warns that, as ubiquitous as the pecan has become, it is vulnerable to a “perfect storm” of economic threats and ecological disasters that could wipe it out within a generation. This lively history suggests why the pecan deserves to be recognized as a true American heirloom.

Discover all about history's hardest hard nuts. Who were the most famous (and not-so-famous) ruthless, brave, fearless and intrepid Ancient Egyptians? Could you fight in the greatest battle ever, or wow the whole world with your brain power? Each spread reveals a different historical character from Ancient Egypt and readers can learn all about what made each person a hard nut. Spreads include fantastically funny illustrations along with special features such hard nut ratings, and coverage of amazing and important events from Ancient Egypt.

As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of Buzz and Feathers presents a natural and human history of seeds, the marvels of the plant kingdom. "The genius of Hanson's fascinating, inspiring, and entertaining book stems from the fact that it is not about how all kinds of things grow from seeds; it is about the seeds themselves." -- Mark Kurlansky, New York Times Book Review We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life: supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and pepper drove the Age of Discovery, coffee beans fueled the Enlightenment and cottonseed sparked the Industrial Revolution. Seeds are fundamental objects of beauty, evolutionary wonders, and simple fascinations. Yet, despite their importance, seeds are often seen as commonplace, their extraordinary natural and human histories overlooked. Thanks to this stunning new book, they can be overlooked no more. This is a book of knowledge, adventure, and wonder, spun by an award-winning writer with both the charm of a fireside story-teller and the hard-won expertise of a field biologist. A fascinating scientific adventure, it is essential reading for anyone who loves to see a plant grow.