Mason: 1146 books

Marijuana. It's been called a gateway drug, an introduction to the world of harder illegal drugs. Yet many people consider it to be a safe drug—at least safer than heroin, LSD, or cocaine. However, while marijuana might not be directly responsible for causing any deaths, the consequences of its...

Methamphetamine is one of the most dangerous drugs available today. Meth and other amphetamines can seriously damage your body, ruin your relationships, and lead to prison and even death. Discover the true risks of these drugs, including the many awful effects they can have on your body, from rotting...

Meth, speed, chalk, glass, yaba, ice. Whatever you call it, methamphetamine has become one of the most abused and dangerous drugs in the world. It can be made in home labs from easily obtained ingredients, and its use crosses economic and social barriers. Urban or rural communities, it doesn't matter....

Blow, snow, crack . . . Whatever you call it, cocaine is a big problem in the United States and Canada. More than a million individuals in the United States can be classified as being addicted to cocaine. Cocaine: The Rush to Destruction tells the story of cocaine, its history and role in medicine,...

In September of 1814, the United States was a relatively young country engaged in a war with the most powerful nation of the time, Great Britain. A British fleet launched a devastating overnight bombardment of the American fort that defended Baltimore harbor. As the sun rose the next morning, a young...

What's wrong with a beer now and then? Or a glass of wine with dinner? For most people—of legal age—there's absolutely nothing wrong with having an occasional drink. But for others, those with drinking problems, there's no such thing as an occasional drink. For them, one drink leads to another...

By the beginning of the 1800s, America was a young country led by people who were ready to fight to defend American rights on the seas and at home. They were eager to teach Europe's older nations a lesson, and they wanted to add to America's land. America fought the War of 1812 as well as a war in...

Many anthropologists believe the human species originated in Kenya's Rift Valley, where hominid skulls more than 2 million years old have been discovered. That fact alone would make Kenya an important place. But this East African nation has many other extraordinary characteristics: diverse terrain,...

The name Democratic Republic of the Congo is a misnomer: the country has never been truly democratic or a republic. For decades this country in central Africa, which was once known as Zaire, was ruled by a brutal and corrupt dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko. Since the mid-1990s, when Mobutu's government...

Although graced with picturesque beaches, lush rain forests, and abundant diamond mines, the tiny West African nation of Sierra Leone is a land haunted by tragedy. It is the region from which the first slaves in North America were brought during the 1600s. A century later, thousands of freed slaves...

Nutrition can be complicated. How do you know what foods are healthy and what aren't? How much should you eat? How can you use the food labels to find the answers to these questions? Food labels let you know what kinds of ingredients are in your food, and how many nutrients are in there. Discover how to read food labels—and how to use them to choose the best foods you can!

The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States as a gift from the people of France in 1886. It was originally meant as an emblem of the friendship between the two nations, but over the years it has come to mean much more. The Statue of Liberty has come to represent the promise of America—a...

The Vietnam War was more divisive than any conflict in U.S. history. Between 1958 and 1975, more than 58,000 young Americans lost their lives in Southeast Asia. Because the war was unpopular at home, the American servicemen who returned home were often shunned or rejected. To heal these divisions,...

The human brain is a fragile organ, and as a result, brain damage is all too common. Tumors, strokes, accidents, gunshots, and impacts to the skull can all cause brain injury. These injuries can be minor—or they might cause memory loss or the inability to move normally. Many people who suffer brain...