Most Popular Books by Hal Marcovitz

No issue seems to divide Americans as much as race. Nearly five decades after the adoption of federal civil rights laws, Americans are still wrestling with such issues as interracial marriage and affirmative action. Statistics show that teenagers are just as unsure of where they stand on such issues as adults. The role of race in the lives of young people is explored in this book.

Media bias occurs when factual journalism is spun in a particular way to appeal to either conservatives or progressives. Rather than concentrating on all of the facts, media bias has a tendency to expose facts or ideas that only tell one side of the story. This pertinent resource provides thorough and balanced information on bias in the media. Its visually appealing presentation and compelling examples provide context. Readers will be inspired to think critically about the role of objectivity in the media and reporting.

In 1836, a small group of Texan settlers fighting for their freedom from Mexico fortified an old Spanish mission near the village of San Antonio de Béxar. Surrounded and badly outnumbered by a larger Mexican army, the defenders of the Alamo vowed to fight rather than surrender. Their sacrifice allowed other Texans the opportunity to organize and prepare their army to face the Mexicans, and win freedom for Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto six weeks later. Today the Alamo remains a shrine to liberty, and a symbol of courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds.

This eBook tells the story of Sacagawea, the most famous guide of the team led by Lewis and Clark that explored the American northwest in the early 19th century.

It is said that the inspiration for the character of Uncle Sam was a man named Sam Wilson, who provided food for the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. By the 1830s, the figure of Uncle Sam had become a personified image of America, commonly used by newspaper and magazine cartoonists to represent the U.S. government''s decisions and policies. Perhaps the best-known image of Uncle Sam was created in 1917, during the First World War—a stern, white-haired man wearing star-spangled clothing, encouraging Americans to do their part to support their nation. Uncle Sam remains an important symbol of the United States and the policies and activities of our government.

Most young people in the United States today are willing to give something back to their communities. A recent report showed that each year an estimated 13 million teenagers donate more than 2.4 billion hours of their time to charitable causes, and the Gallup Youth Survey has found that roughly one-third of all teens participate in volunteer work. This volume examines the opportunities young people have for volunteering, and explores the issue of school-mandated community service.

Your face feels hot, your muscles tighten, you see red, you are angry and you don''t know what to do about it. Using real-life examples and quotations, this guide discusses the biological, emotional, and social effects of anger and provides research-based information about getting support and coping with it. Readers will take a quiz to figure out if they are aggressive, passive, or assertive, and take the first steps to improve how they deal with anger.

Most young people report that they believe in God, yet recent surveys by the Gallup Organization have shown that fewer than half of all teenagers in the United States regularly attend church. Is organized religion losing its influence on young people? How many teenagers think about careers in the clergy? This volume examines the influence of religion and values on young people today.

Rome, the eternal city, boasts a long and rich literary history with strong connections to the English Romantic poets Keats and Shelley, as well as Stendhal, Goether and Henry James.

The life of the Civil War general whose controversial fame rests chiefly on the disaster at the Little Big Horn in 1876.

Describes the life and accomplishments of the man who discovered that lightning is electricity.

Many young adults dream of getting a good education and finding a job they love. Teenagers recognize that higher education is an important key to finding a fulfilling job, although many young people are worried both about the rising cost of higher education and their future job possibilities given the current economic situation. This volume examines the choices that teens make when it comes to education and finding a career.

This title examines one of the worlds critical issues, biological and chemical warfare. Readers will learn the historical background of this issue leading up to its current and future impact on society. The Hague Peace Conventions, the Geneva Protocol, and the Chemical Weapons Convention are discussed in detail. Programs that protect the United States against biological or chemical attack are also introduced. Engaging text, informative sidebars, and color photographs present information realistically, leaving readers with a thorough, honest interpretation of biological and chemical warfare. Features include a timeline, facts, additional resources, Web sites, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index. Essential Issues is a series in Essential Library, an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.

You want something your best friend has... but you can''t have it. Suddenly, you find yourself absolutely burning with jealousy. How can you stop this from turning to anger? What can you do to make sure it doesn''t ruin a good friendship? This fun and reversible book offers direct and easy-to-follow strategies that can help you take the sting out of jealousy. Then you can flip the book over and see how your guy or girl friends deal with it!

About 1 in 10 people has a Personality Disorder, but many of these disorders will not be severe. If you have a personality disorder, parts of your personality make it hard for you to live with yourself, or may make it difficult for you to be around other people. Added stressors include if you''re worried that you''re going to upset or harm other people or yourself. This essential guidebook offers young readers and researchers a means of understanding Personality Disorders and their ramifications. Readers will learn about causes, effects, treatments, and medical advances.

Like its neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, the Republic of Yemen has a long and rich history. The southern Arabian region, which present-day Yemen shares, was once the home of the Sabaean kingdom. Led by the queen of Sheba, the kingdom formed an alliance with King Solomon, as recorded in the Old Testament. In the era of the burgeoning spice trade, the people of the Yemen region, which was advantageously located along the sea routes to Asia, had opportunities to attain great wealth. However, the British and other powers to the north eventually made their own claims on trade in the region. In the years after losing control of their great ports, the Yemenis have endured long periods of poverty and armed conflict, much of which has been waged between their rival northern and southern states. A much-needed unification between the north and south finally occurred in 1990, but Yemen still struggles to resolve its regional differences and compete with the oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf. Discusses the geography, history, economy, government, religion, people, foreign relations, and communities of Yemen.

Between 1892 and 1954, more than 12 million immigrants entered the United States through the Ellis Island processing station in New York harbor. To these immigrants, Ellis Island was a symbol of the American dream—once they passed through its gates, they could start a new life with opportunities that were not available to them in their countries of origin. Today, roughly one-third of our country''s population is descended from those who were processed at Ellis Island, and the facility is now a museum dedicated to American immigration.

In the early days of American independence, government leaders tried to identify an animal that would represent the new nation. They settled on the bald eagle, a proud raptor that fiercely defends its nest and its family. The eagle has been used to represent government power since the time of the Roman Empire. In 1787 the bald eagle was officially adopted as the emblem of the United States. The eagle is often shown holding an olive branch (representing peace) and arrows (representing war) in its talons. Today the bald eagle remains a living symbol of American strength and values.

Teenagers have always been interested in the supernatural and paranormal. This book notes that fascination with the world of fantasy is nothing new, and examines modern groups like Wiccans and Goths. Discussion of the supernatural and the paranormal is interspersed with scientific explanations. Many other topics are covered, including angels and the End Times. The book also explores reasons why teens are fascinated with the unseen world of magic and mystery.