The Survivors’ Stairs

The Survivors’ Stairs

Thirty-eight steps saved the life of Kayla Bergeron—and hundreds of other people. Bergeron says she was working on the 68th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center when two planes rammed the twin towers on September 11, 2001. “We made our way down,...

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Raiders of the Lost Notebook

Raiders of the Lost Notebook

The "Lost Notebook" sounds like something that Indiana Jones would pursue through jungles and across sands. But for mathematicians worldwide, the quest for this rare gem has taken them on a much different path—through libraries and stacks and stacks of documents....

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How Many Words Should You Write Per Day?

How Many Words Should You Write Per Day?

I’m not sure how he did it, but the late Michael Crichton supposedly wrote 10,000 words a day, which is the equivalent of about 40 pages. His keyboard must have been on fire by day’s end. But don’t be discouraged by such examples of insane productivity. His...

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VeggieTales, the Bunny Song, and King Nebuchadnezzar

VeggieTales, the Bunny Song, and King Nebuchadnezzar

You may recall the classic VeggieTales video, Rack, Shack, and Benny, where the scheming zucchini, Nezzer, sings the infamous “Bunny Song.” Who can forget the lyrics, which talked about not wanting healthy food and loving the bunny, but not their dads or moms? In...

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Safe at Home

Safe at Home

With a portrait of Abraham Lincoln looking on, Jackie Robinson sat at the mahogany desk across from Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. “Do you know why you were brought here?” Rickey asked Robinson, according to Arnold...

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Where is the Best Spot for Writing?

Where is the Best Spot for Writing?

Whenever I see somebody writing in a noisy coffee shop, tapping away on a laptop, I wonder how in the world they can concentrate with all of the racket surrounding them. For me, the two major requirements for writing are quiet and no interruptions. In a crowded coffee...

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Of Moose and Men in 2nd Printing

Of Moose and Men in 2nd Printing

My latest book, Of Moose and Men, has gone into its second printing three months after rolling off the press, my publisher, Harvest House, recently reported. I co-wrote Of Moose and Men with Torry Martin, a big red-headed ex-hippie from Tennessee, and one of the most...

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The Cauldron and the Chalice

The Cauldron and the Chalice

Two Irish lads, Jim Quinn and Paddy Flanagan, were digging around in a potato field in 1878 when they struck silver. They dug up a hoard of stunning metalwork dating back to the 7th or 8th centuries—a treasure trove that included the famous Chalice of Ardagh. My...

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The Philistines! A Major New Find Announced

The Philistines! A Major New Find Announced

I like the way that NPR begins its report on a major new archaeological discovery: "There's no denying the Philistines have taken some guff over the past, well, thousands of years. After all, they're one of the Hebrew Bible's most infamous villains, seed of both...

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Infernal Machines: Civil War Submarines

Infernal Machines: Civil War Submarines

"If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate," businessman Thomas J.Watson once said. James R. McClintock, Baxter Watson, and Horace Hunley certainly had their share of failures as they pioneered the creation of submarines during the Civil War....

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History by the Slice