Rita J. Markel

Presents a detailed description of the events that led to the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D. and examines the influence that Roman culture, language, and technology has had on subsequent generations.

Fidel Castro, one of the world's most controversial leaders, rose to power in Cuba, a large island nation only 90 miles off the coast of Florida. A brilliant and charismatic leader, Castro defied all odds when he led a successful effort to depose the corrupt Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in the late-1950s. Soon after, Castro began to reshape Cuba into a communist state while allying himself with the United States' Cold War enemy, the Soviet Union....