Plant History

Before there even was modern era medications and its pharmacopoeia of artificial medications, there were medicinal plants. Prehistoric civilizations have widely used them for the strategic treatment of common illnesses as well as life-threatening ailments. More recently, the information about medicinal plants was handed over from one generation to the next.

George Washington as he's rarely seen. Besides being a general and the first president of the United States, George Washington was also a farmer. His efforts to create a self-sufficient farm at Mount Vernon, Virginia, mirrored his struggle to form a new nation. Excerpts from Washington's writings are featured throughout the book, which also includes a timeline, resource section, as well as essays on Washington at Mount Vernon and his thoughts on slavery.

On January 25, 1862, naturalist Charles Darwin received a box of orchids. One flower, the Madagascar star orchid, fascinated him. It had an 11.5-inch nectary, the place where flowers make nectar, the sweet liquid that insects and birds eat. How, he wondered, did insects pollinate the orchid? It took 130 years to find the answer.

In this audiobook, you will understand how Christopher Columbus proposed something new: reaching the riches of the East Indies by sailing west from Europe. The rulers of Spain agreed to support his risky venture, and he sailed off in 1492. He unexpectedly ran into two continents nobody in Europe knew about. He didn’t discover the continents; that had been done centuries before.

Why is ancient medicine the best medicine? Simply because it's been around for so long. Most drugs that your doctor will prescribe are produced in a lab and sold by large drug companies. Of course, these drugs have their place and do save some a lot of people from death or chronic illness. However, what is concerning is that so many ailments can be healed and so many symptoms can be eased by merely checking out what is already in your spice cabinet.

Throughout the medieval period, it was believed that the only way to keep law and order was to make sure that the people were scared of the punishments given for crimes committed. Medieval Torture & Punishments. examines all the various harsh, and sometimes gruesome, punishments from fines, public shaming, and mutilation to death.