This book takes the reader on a step-by-step account of how they can build their own home using local materials and general construction knowledge.

On December 30, 1960, Marisella Veiga with her mother and two brothers boarded a plane from Havana to Miami. Her father fled a few months later, joining his family with a total of fourteen U.S. cents in his pocket and an understanding that he would never see his homeland again. Seeking a less competitive job market and thanks largely to the sponsorship of a host family in St. Paul, the Veigas resettled in Minnesota, miles away from the Caribbean subtropics, where the climate was similar to home, Spanish was spoken, and thousands of exiles arrived each month. Veiga’s stories are rich with detail and character as she describes her integration into a northern midwestern landscape she grew to love, from adapting to the cold—learning to ice-skate before learning to speak English—to her obsession with Davy Jones. Yet, the weight of her biculturalism—being of two worlds but an outsider to both—has been central to her quest for identity: “Sometimes, I dream that if I can get in touch with the essence of that monolingual child with one set of customs, I would be satisfied. I would be complete, whole.” In this honest memoir, readers will find a resonant story of an exile’s journey, one that ultimately embraces those two worlds: a life of conflict and limbo but also one of richness and understanding.

It’s not only humans who can build incredible structures: around the world, mammals, birds, and insects can be found building incredible things. From big beaver dams to tiny caddisfly cases, this beautifully illustrated picture book explores each animal’s incredible home and uncovers the reasons why they build. Featuring 26 creatures from around the world, each amazing animal architect tells its own "micro story" about its impressive architectural skills in this delightfully unique wildlife book. Among the amazing builders you’ll meet: Ovenbirds, who carry clumps of mud up into the trees to make their nest Darwin’s bark spiders, who build webs stretching out as far as three buses, end-to-end Moles, who use their spade-like paws to dig extensive networks of tunnels with nesting spaces and storerooms where they keep earthworms to snack on later Polar bear mothers, who make their dens under the snow to stay in for five long months, nursing their cubs and eating nothing themselves Through lyrical text and entrancing edge-to-edge illustrations, admire the spectacular ingenuity of these animal architects.

American Historical Review is the oldest scholarly journal of history in the United States and the largest in the world. Published by the American Historical Association, it covers all areas of historical research.