This week in history, in 1522, the Spanish carrack Victoria returned home with just eighteen crew-members. She had completing the first circumnavigation of the globe. The expedition had begun in 1519 with five fully-crewed ships under the command of Ferdinand Magellan. During the long journey across the Atlantic and Pacific and beyond, most of the

Dear friends, My new novel just went on sale! Secrets of Hominea is a magical middle grade fantasy: a tale of giants, gnomes, queens, and adventurers — and of science and history. It’s for readers age 9 to 14. I hope you’ll buy a copy and help spread the word. You can get a paperback

The Jericho River just got a wonderful review/endorsement from Ancient History Encyclopedia! To read it, just click the headline or the image below … Get Your Kids Interested in World History!  

Revolutionary France had a black general. His name was Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. He was born in Haiti, the son of a French nobleman and an African woman enslaved on his plantation. Haiti was a French colony then, and young Dumas was a slave under French law. In fact, his father actually sold the boy when he was

Says Yoda things like: “Powerful have you become; the dark side I sense in you.” Sounds it like speaks he English from the olden days — Shakespeare’s English, maybe. Yet uses not Yoda “thou hast” or “erstwhile” or “thee” — or any other term found no longer in English. Old English does not speak Yoda,