Showing titles in Historical

Christopher Columbus is one of the most famous explorers of all time, but he was neither the first nor last adventurer to ever stumble upon a great discovery. From the Silk Road of Asia to the icy shores of Antarctica, our knowledge of the world today is in large part due to several intrepid pioneers, risking life and limb for the sake of exploration. After all, setting off into the dark unknown requires an enormous amount of bravery. But every explorer quickly learns that courage and curiosity aren't enough to save you if you can't read a map or trespass on somebody else's land!

Discover how animals influenced 20 of the world's most beloved authors, from Charles Dickens to J. K. Rowling. Did you know that a dog saved Pablo Neruda's life? Or that Mark Twain had a cat named Bambino? Or that Edgar Allan Poe wrote with a cat on his shoulders? Writers and Their Pets tells these stories and many more that will delight not only children but also literary experts, history lovers, and animal enthusiasts. Writers and Their Pets features a diverse list of both male and female international authors, from the 19th to the 21st century.

In 1858, New York City was growing so fast that new roads and tall buildings threatened to swallow up the remaining open space. The people needed a green place to be - a park with ponds to row on and paths for wandering through trees and over bridges. When a citywide contest solicited plans for creating a park out of barren swampland, Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted put their heads together to create the winning design, and the hard work of making their plans a reality began.

Dramatic, lyrical, and beautiful, O Captain, My Captain tells the story of one of America’s greatest poets and how he was inspired by one of America’s greatest presidents.

Author Teri Kanefield examines the life of America’s famous suffragette, Susan B. Anthony, who was born into a world in which men ruled women. She began her public career as a radical abolitionist, and after the Civil War, she became an international figurehead of the women’s suffrage movement.

Ever since Howard Carter uncovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the young pharaoh has become a symbol of the wealth and mystery of ancient Egypt. This Who Was . . . ? explains the life and times of this ancient Egyptian ruler, covering the story of the tomb’s discovery, as well as myths...

You want girl power? Meet Annie Oakley! Born in 1860, she became one of the best-loved and most famous women of her generation. She amazed audiences all over the world with her sharpshooting, horse-riding, action-packed performances. In an age when most women stayed home, she traveled the world...

When Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain in 1519, he believed he could get to the Spice Islands by sailing west through or around the New World. He was right, but what he didn't know was that the treacherous voyage would take him three years and cost him his life...

Did you know that John Adams had to coax Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence? It's true. The shy Virginia statesman refused at first, but then went on to author one of our nation's most important and inspiring documents. The third U.S. president, Jefferson was also an...

At age two, Helen Keller became deaf and blind. She lived in a world of silence and darkness and she spent the rest of her life struggling to break through it. But with the help of teacher Annie Sullivan, Helen learned to read, write, and do many amazing things. This inspiring biography is...

Born in Austria in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his first piece of music, a minuet, when he was just five years old! Soon after, he was performing for kings and emperors. Although he died at the young age of thirty-five, Mozart left a legacy of more than 600 works. This fascinating...

For a long time, the main role of First Ladies was to act as hostesses of the White House...until Eleanor Roosevelt. Born in 1884, Eleanor was not satisfied to just be a glorified hostess for her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Eleanor had a voice, and she used it to speak up...

The world is changing for two girls in China in the 1970s. Da Qin - Big Piano - and her younger sister, Xiao Qin - Little Piano - live in the city of Wuhan with their parents. For decades, China's government had kept the country separated from the rest of the world. When their country's leader, Chairman Mao, dies, new opportunities begin to emerge. Da Qin and Xiao Qin soon learn their childhood will be much different than the upbringing their parents experienced.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 25 when he helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was soon organizing black people across the country in support of the right to vote, desegregation, and other basic civil rights. Maintaining nonviolent and peaceful tactics even when his life was...

A condensed biography of the little Corsican who became Emperor of France. This audiobook gives a sweeping account of the life of Napoleon, from his humble beginnings, through his brilliant victories in battle after battle, to his disastrous Russian campaign, and his re-burial in Paris.

Robert Fulton's failure as a painter led to one of the most important technological advances of the industrial age: the steamboat. Fulton's designs and personal influence linked together America's waterways and revolutionized trade and travel for a century to come.

They called her "Minty." When she grew up, she became Harriet Tubman, the courageous and heroic woman who helped hundreds of slaves escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad. But she was just a little girl for a while—and this is her story. Minty, short for Araminta, was a feisty and...

Focusing particularly on George Washington's youth, Sterling North fully captures the spirit of the man as he examines his childhood in colonial Virginia, his early experiences as a member of the militia, and his many other adventures leading up to the Revolutionary War. The fully rounded person who emerges from this captivating portrait is uncomfortable with words, shy with women, totally at home in the outdoors, and deeply in love with the country he helped found.

Nathan Hale was an American patriot and soldier. Educated at Yale, he volunteered for service in the Continental Army at the outbreak of the war for independence. He rose to the rank of captain, whereupon he volunteered for a mission to reconnoiter the British position on Long Island. He was captured by the British, quickly tried, and hanged. Before his hanging, he uttered the infamous last words, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

From Washington's Virginia childhood, through his days as a soldier and general, to his inauguration as the first president of the brand-new United States, and into retirement, this biography captures the full breadth and achievements of his life. It covers both the personal and the private, reveals his views on everything from governmental power to the abolition of slavery, and separates fascinating truth from well-worn legend - including that infamous, but false, tale about chopping down the cherry tree.