Who was Rome’s greatest general, statesman, and nation-builder: Caesar or Pompey? Few people have had as many words written about them down through the centuries as Julius Caesar—the brilliant general who made Queen Cleopatra of Egypt his mistress. He has captured the imagination of playwrights, historians, soldiers and emperors. Little has been written about his ally, son-in-law, and eventual enemy Pompey the Great, who crashed onto the Roman scene as a victorious twenty-three-year-old general and who, at the height of his career was arguably more famous, more popular, and more successful than Caesar. Caesar Versus Pompey tells the parallel life stories of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, as their lives and loves became intertwined and interdependent, as they grew from rivals to partners, then from joint rulers to warring foes. One strove to preserve the Roman Republic, the other destroyed it.

Elaine Magnusson describes an activity for elementary or middle school social studies classes that requires the students to examine typical items from Japan. Magnusson suggests sources for locating such items. Although this activity could easily be adapted for other regions or countries, Magnusson does include a word search of Japanese terms. The National Clearinghouse for U.S.-Japan Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington provides this lesson online. This lesson originally appeared in "Teaching About Japan: Lessons and Resources," which was edited by Mary Hammond Bernson and Linda S. Wojtan.