Benson, Sonia

Traces the rise of the Mesoamerican civilizations, with information on dates, locations, sites, history, arts and sciences, religions, economies, governments, and declines.

Presents an overview of ancient civilization, summarizes theories about early life in the Americas, and examines the history, society, and culture of the Andean civilizations.

Provides alphabetically arranged entries that describe seventy-four extinct, endangered, vulnerable, and threatened amphibians, fish, plants, and reptiles, each with information on physical characteristics and behaviors, habitat and distribution, history, and preservation efforts.

Provides entries that describe eighty extinct, endangered, vulnerable, and threatened mammals, each with information on physical characteristics and behaviors, habitat and distribution, history, and preservation efforts.

Contains biographies of significant people from early American civilizations, including the Incas, the Mayas and their ancestors, and the Aztecs, and features a selection of related primary source texts and photographs of artifacts.

Provides alphabetically arranged entries that describe 240 extinct, endangered, vulnerable, and threatened animals and plants, each with information on physical characteristics and behaviors, habitat and distribution, history, and preservation efforts.

In the second half of the 19th century, America transformed itself into an industrial power, ready to assume a dominant position on the world scene in the 20th century. The development of industrialization and the consumer society brought about opportunities for many Americans as part of an ever-growing middle class, but also resulted in environmental and social degradation that we continue to deal with at the present time.

Presents twenty-one full or excerpted articles, memoirs, letters, essays, speeches, testimony and other notable works of Hispanic Americans, each with an explanation of events discussed in the text.