Best Selling Books by William H. Harkins

Sam Houston is remembered in the name of a major city in the place he loved-Texas. Not only did he defeat Santa Anna s army to free Texas from Mexico, he worked hard to make the Republic of Texas a state and, as the Civil War loomed, to keep it in the Union. He served as president of the Republic of Texas, and then as a senator and governor of the state of Texas. But that s not all. Before Andrew Jackson sent him to Texas, Houston had already been successful as a congressman and governor of Tennessee, and as a self-appointed advocate for the Cherokee Indians. He had fought bravely in the War of 1812 at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Read all about this amazingly practical man who, above all else, heeded his mother s advice to live a life of honor.

An introduction to the life of the mathematician and philosopher, Pythagoras

Tells the story of a group of California bound American settlers who set out in the spring of 1846and became snowbound in the Sierra Nevadas during the winter of 1846 and 1847.

Who can resist a soft, cuddly rabbit? If your parents can but you cant, youll need to learn as much as possible about this pet to convince them you can take care of one. The key to raising healthy and happy rabbits is knowing what they need. You might be surprised to learn that they need a lot. They need a quiet place to liveindoorswhere they feel safe. (Yes, rabbits can be litter trained!) Its amazing how much they eat, and they should be fed twice a day. Most important, they need your love. A happy rabbit has a human that spends time with it every day. If youve got plenty of time and the love, a rabbit might just be the right pet for you. Can you convince your parents to agree?

Pocahontas was just a child when her world changed forever. White men from across the ocean built a fort near her village. Most likely, Pocahontas had never seen a white man before. Some of her people feared the settlers, but Pocahontas wanted to know more about them. She took the settlers food and taught Captain John Smith her language. Find out how this bright, brave young girl became an ambassador for her people, helping to keep the peace between them and the settlersu0082at least for a while. Discover how she charmed all of England, and why she still captures the hearts of Americans.

When it came time to question whether America should be independent from Great Britain, many were quiet. Fearful of committing treason against the King of England, many American colonists were afraid to speak their minds. Patrick Henry spoke when others wouldn t. When the British taxes and rules became more than the colonists could bear, Henry unleashed his contempt for the British monarchy. He even went so far as to warn that tyrants often meet with a violent end. He said what many Americans felt but were too afraid to say. Some believed he spoke treason and his words could ve led him to the gallows. Instead, his words led Americans to war, and to independence from the tyrannical King George III.

In 1606, one hundred and five men left England for the western shores of the Chesapeake Bay. They were looking for adventure, land, and treasure. Instead of gold and silver, the men found a dark and mysterious wilderness. A few, like John Smith, found friendship with the local natives. Others found new lives, hacked out of the Virginia wilderness. Most, however, found disease, starvation, and eventually death. Two-thirds of the original Jamestown settlers died within the first year. Still, the English kept coming. Land and opportunity were worth the risks. By 1621, Jamestown had grown to 1,200 settlers, and people from the first successful English colony began to branch out and settle other towns. The Building America series tells the story of the early years in which America struggled to become an independent nation. Jamestown: The First English Colony details the extraordinary circumstances and often harrowing experiences overcome by the persistent Englishmen who wanted to settle in Virginia.

A short biography of the French missionary who explored the northern extreme of the Mississippi River to see if it was the Northwest Passage

Tells the legend of Betsy Ross, a Patriot and seamstress who may have sewn America''s first flag.

In the eighteenth century, a woman had few choices. If she was lucky, she received a decent education. Then she got married. In an era when women didnt work, Clara Barton was one of the nations first career women. Not only did she work, she did a mans job and demanded a mans wage. Some said she was scandalous, but friends and family thought she was generous and charming. The wounded from the battles of the Civil War called her the angel of the battlefield.Clara Barton is remembered not only as a nurse, but also as a woman who threw convention aside and went to the battlefields to care for the wounded and dying. Her courageous heart, personal sacrifice, and demands for better medical care for the wounded during the Civil War earned her the respect and love of the entire nation. After the war, she applied the same attributes to the founding of the American Red Cross. She is still loved today.

Learn all about the tall, noisy whooping cranesee it dance, follow its flight path, and watch the stages as a chick hatches and grows into a cinnamon-colored juvenile and then into a stunning white bird with black wing tips and a red head. Why is this bird endangered? Devastating loss of habitat and overhunting of eggs and of adults for their skin in the 1800s made their numbers dwindle. By 1942, there were only sixteen whoopers still living in the wild. Now the whooping crane is making a comeback. In 2007, over 300 whooping cranes were migrating between Canada and Texas. Find out what scientists are doingand what you can doto help this endangered animal.

When we think of bravery at sea, we can''t help thinking of John Paul Jones. Numerous times, the enemy outgunned him, but he outthought them and outmaneuvered them. Born in Scotland to servants, going to sea as a young boy was an opportunity to change his place in life, u009dsomething rarely accomplished in the mid-1700s. From the son of a gardener, he rose to the rank of commodore of the newly established Continental Navy of the United States of America. When he wasn''t capturing enemy ships, he was charming the ladies of American and French society. So great was his reputation that Catherine the Great in far-off Russia sent for him to run her navy. Joness victories made him one of the greatest American heroes.

Some events so strongly affect the world that people remember exactly what they were doing when they heard the news. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was one of these events. Ask almost any American who was alive at the time where he or she was when his death was announced, and you will get an answer. A Democrat with plans for social reform, President Kennedy was both loved and hated. Despite the political friction his ideas generated, no one would have predicted the events of November 22, 1963, when, supposedly, a lone gunman changed the course of history. Most of Kennedy’s idealistic platform went to the grave with him. Almost half a century after his death, the United States continues to battle these same issues.

Centuries ago, when the earth was still young and sorcerers and fairies were believed to roam the misty forest, a mortal man changed history. Arthur, born into a dark world of savage violence, united the Britons against their enemies at the battle of Mount Badon. For centuries, Britons shared Arthur s story around their campfires. Eventually, the story passed out of the Dark Ages and into modern literature. Follow Arthur, his wife Guinevere, and the knights of the Round Table as the story evolves from a world of warlords and bloodshed into a kingdom of mythical medieval knights, sorcerers, love, and ultimately, betrayal.

At age nine, Tutankhamen became pharaoh, ruler of Egypt. His most important act was to reestablish his people''s religion of multiple gods. Before age twenty, he was dead. For over three thousand years, Egypt''s desert sand hid the tomb of Tutankhamen, and Egyptians forgot about the ancient king. Then, in 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter found a door buried in the sand. It led to the greatest ancient Egyptian treasure ever found. Tutankhamen didn''t have time to become a great pharaoh, but his tomb is a modern treasure—but not just for its gold and jewels, but for the stories it holds about ancient Egypt.

William the son of a duke and a peasant spent his childhood in hiding raised among the Norman peasantry. Lords owing fealty to him would have murdered him if they had found him. He spent his early adult years fighting rebel lords for his birthright. As Duke of Normandy he claimed the throne of England after the death of Edward the Confessor King of England who William said had promised to name him heir. When England refused him he built a huge fleet sailed across the channel and killed Harold the newly crowned English king at the Battle of Hastings. One by one English towns fell to William and his Norman army as they marched toward London. Cowering in fear Londoners had no choice they opened the gates and made William the Conqueror their first Norman king.

Presents a brief biography of Richard I who ruled Englandfrom 1189 to 1199 and provides information on his family the time he spent fighting in the Third Crusade and how he came to be known as Richard the Lionheart.

Color adds an irresistible dimension to any yard. Put a pair of wings on that color and suddenly your yard is alive with life! Butterflies live all over the country, so you’re likely to see them no matter where you live. To attract butterflies to your backyard, you need to provide the things they like: nectar, water, sun, and shelter. For most of us, this is as easy as planting some wildflower seeds in a sunny spot. In just a few months, the tiny seeds have grown into huge, beautiful flowers that butterflies just can’t resist. A butterfly log house for shelter is also easy to build. Everyone wins—you enjoy the butterflies, and the butterflies get a satisfying home.

Everyone loves a garden filled with bright colors, soft textures, and lovely smells. Add a little water to the mix and you have the perfect spot to relax and enjoy the best of nature. Relaxing by your water garden is the end of a long but rewarding process. Follow these step-by-step instructions for finding the best spot in your yard for a healthy water garden, designing and digging it, choosing water flowers, and adding fish. You can even build a toad house to attract wild visitors to your backyard. When all the designing, digging, lining, planting, and stocking is done, you can sit in your own private oasis and enjoy nature’s gorgeous bounty. Color, movement, scent—it all adds up to life!

Soviet History begins with bloodshed, oppression, and strife. Civil War stained the Russian landscape with the blood of its people after Nicholas II abdicated his throne to a provisional government. The Bolsheviks wanted Russia, and eventually they took her. Peasants became citizens with rights, but the truth is, the civil war only changed the name of their oppressor, u009dfrom czar to Communist dictator. After decades of isolation and sometimes harsh living conditions, Mikhail Gorbachev ushered in an age of reform, but in doing so, he made enemies. Then, Boris Yeltsin championed reform and the rights of the people. When Communist hard-liners made one last effort to regain control, Yeltsin held his ground. Unlike its birth, the death of the Soviet Union saw little bloodshed. After seventy years, even the Communist hard-liners no longer had the stomach for killing citizens to keep control. The union dissolved in 1991.

A biography of Clara Barton, a nurse who founded the American Red Cross.

When we think of bravery at sea, we can''t help thinking of John Paul Jones. Numerous times, the enemy outgunned him, but he outthought them and outmaneuvered them. Born in Scotland to servants, going to sea as a young boy was an opportunity to change his place in life-something rarely accomplished in the mid-1700s. From the son of a gardener, he rose to the rank of commodore of the newly established Continental Navy of the United States of America. When he wasn''t capturing enemy ships, he was charming the ladies of American and French society. So great was his reputation that Catherine the Great in far-off Russia sent for him to run her navy. Jones''s victories made him one of the greatest American heroes. Book jacket.

European explorers searched in vain for a northwest waterway through the North American continent. French traders living in the northeast heard of a great river that the natives called Messi-Sipi to the west. Was this river the Northwest Passage? Or was the Messi-Sipi really the Rio Grande, the river that Hernando de Soto had discovered a century earlier? That''s what Father Jacques Marquette and his companion explorer Louis Jolliet hoped to discover in 1673. It''s hard to imagine a more unlikely explorer and hero than Father Jacques Marquette, yet his gentle and compassionate nature made him the perfect ambassador to the friendly native peoples they met along the banks of the great Mississippi River. Book jacket.

Provides the background and history of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, and describes the emerging civilizations that gave rise to each culture''s myths, which explained their complex group of deities that pervaded their literature, art, and daily li

Gardening is a great hobby for children and adults. In this new series, young readers have their very own books with ideas and instructions for making water gardens, vegetable gardens, perennial gardens, butterfly gardens, and more. These books are filled with beautiful full-color photos showing kids designing, growing, and harvesting their own gardens. Step-by-step instructions for a craft to complement the garden are also given.