Quote of the Day

“Any formal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always ready to defend their most “precious possession” - their ignorance.

• Hendrick Willem Van Loon

From the 1910s until his death, Van Loon wrote many books, illustrating them himself. Best remembered among these is The Story of Mankind (1921), a history of the world intended for children, which won the first Newbery Medal in 1922. The book was later updated by Van Loon, then again by his son, and later still by other historians.