This book examines the development of ancient Greek civilization through a path-breaking application of social scientific theories. David B. Small charts the rise of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations and the unique characteristics of the later classical Greeks through the lens of ancient social structure and complexity theory, opening up new ideas and perspectives on these societies. He argues that Minoan and Mycenaean institutions evolved from elaborate feasting, and that the genesis...

This book presents a novel and innovative approach to the study of social evolution using case studies from the Old and the New World, from prehistory to the present. This approach is based on examining social evolution through the evolution of social institutions. Evolution is defined as the process of structural change. Within this framework the society, or culture, is seen as a system composed of a vast number of social institutions that are constantly interacting and changing. As a res...

A baseline study of the growth of preindustrial cities worldwide.This work employs a subset of preindustrial cities on many continents to answer questions archaeologists grapple with concerning the populating and growth of cities before industrialization. It further explores how scholars differently conceive and execute their research on the population of cities. The subject cities are in Greece, Mesoamerica, the Andes, Italy, Egypt, Africa, United States, Denmark,...

A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Best Book of the YearAn Amazon.com Top Ten Best Book of 2009A Washington Post Book World’s Ten Best Book of the YearA California Literary Review Best Book of 2009An L.A. Times Top 25 Non-Fiction Book of 2009An NPR Best Book of the Year, Best MemoirWith this stunning graphic memoir, David Small takes readers on an unforgettable journey into the dark heart of his tumultuous chil...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed memoir Stitches comes a stunning story of one boy's heartbreaking coming of age in 1950s America.After his mother abandons the family, thirteen-year-old Russell Pruitt moves with his Korean War veteran father to a small town in southern California. Eager to fit in and figure out the mystifying rules of being a man, he succumbs to the sway of boys more feral than himself--leading to an ...

This whimsical story of a little girl who wakes one morning to discover she has grown antlers has delighted children since it was first published 15 years ago. The perfect Christmas present for any kid looking forward to a visit from Santa's reindeer--or any reader looking for some year-long fun!The family doctor, the school principal, and even Imogene's know-it-all brother, Norman, fail to resolve her dilemma. Imogene, the cook, and the kitchen maid, however, make...

Humorous rhymes tell about George Washington's farm where the cows wear dresses, the pigs wear wigs, and the sheep are scholars.

Acclaimed author Judith St. George shares the joy of discovery in this delightful book about the ups and downs of exploring. So you want to be an explorer? Explorers need courage, like Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world. But for budding explorers out there, the rewards can be great. Neil Armstrong earned lasting fame when he became the first person to set foot on the moon.

In the tradition of award-winning, illustrated novels Pax and The One and Only Ivan, Long Road to the Circus is a girl-empowering, funny, and fast-paced historical adventure by award-winning writer and librarian Betsy Bird.Twelve-year-old Suzy Bowles is tired of summers filled with chores on her family farm in Burr Oak, Michigan, and desperate to see the world. When her wayward uncle moves back home to the farm, only to skip his chores ev...

Wanna know what the real problem is? It's God.Deep down, in that quiet place of the heart, the problem isn't doubt-it's disappointment. Hurt by the church. Betrayed by leaders. Embarrassed by how "Christians" behave. So I walked away. For more than a decade, I left God behind and chased success, money, and happiness instead. I blamed God for the wounds His people caused me.But that wasn't God.What followed was not a return to religion-but an unexpec...

IF THE BURMA ARMY CAUGHT HIM, THEY'D EXECUTE HIM.David Small knew this as he crouched in a ditch, bullets cracking overhead—exactly the kind of place missionaries aren't supposed to end up—more Mr. Bean than James Bond, and absolutely certain he was about to die.Again.For ten years with the Free Burma Rangers, he's slipped across borders in the dead of night. Navigated landmine fields. Ducked as jets screamed overhead dropping 500-pound bombs. Pulle...

Confronting “the beast within” us all, The Werewolf at Dusk celebrates the singular genius of David Small, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Stitches.Long celebrated as a modern master of graphic literature, David Small has elicited in his work comparisons to Stan Lee and even Alfred Hitchcock. His internationally acclaimed graphic memoir, Stitches, told the story of a childhood in disarray. Werewolf at Dusk, ap...