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,...

The #1 New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist that "breaks new ground for graphic novels" (Francois Mouly, art editor, The New Yorker).David Small, a best-selling and highly regarded children's book illustrator, comes forward with this unflinching graphic memoir. Remarkable and intensely dramatic, Stitches tells the story of a fourteen-year-old boy who awakes one day from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he has ...

“Among the most masterful storytellers alive today” (Gene Luen Yang), “few creators mine the pathos of a dark midcentury childhood like Small” (Washington Post).Since the publication of Stitches a decade ago, David Small has emerged as one of the seminal authors in the genre of graphic literature. Here, in Home After Dark, a Boston Globe Best Book of 2018, Small provides a “painfully honest” and “haunting work of unfolding surpri...

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...

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...