Showing titles in History & Culture

When her father descends into madness, Verity Pruitt and her little sister Lilah find themselves uprooted from New York, on an orphan train to rural Arkansas. In Wheeler, Lilah is quickly adopted by the town’s beloved schoolteacher - but Verity is not. Willing to do anything to stay close, she pawns herself off as a farmhand, but even charming farm boy Abel Atchley can’t completely distract her from the sense that something is not quite right in this little town.

The Awakening of Malcolm X is a powerful narrative account of the activist's adolescent years in jail, written by his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz along with 2019 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe award-winning author, Tiffany D. Jackson.

Led by Athan's father, the revolutionary Safire have launched a secret assault upon the last royal kingdom in the South, hoping to depose the king and seize a powerful foothold on the continent. Athan proves a star pilot among their ranks, struggling to justify the violence his family has unleashed as he fights his way to the capital - where, unbeknownst to him, Aurelia has lived since the war's onset.

Black Americans who have shaped their country and beyond: We are familiar with a handful of African Americans who are mentioned in American history books, but there are also countless others who do not get recognized in mainstream media. Their actions may not have appeared to shake the world, but their contributions to shifting American culture were just as groundbreaking.

On February 5, 1908, Kate Skinner, a 21-year-old unmarried barmaid in Brighton, England, gave birth to twin girls. Mary Hilton, Kate's employer and midwife, adopted Violet and Daisy and promptly began displaying the babies as "Brighton's United Twins". Exhibitions at street fairs, carnivals, and wax museums across England and Scotland followed. At eight years old, the girls came to the United States, eventually becoming the stars of sideshow, vaudeville, and burlesque circuits in the 1920s and 1930s.

Filled with anecdotes and portraits of unique characters from the era, this fascinating audiobook by an award-winning author looks at the rise and fall of the disastrous social experiment known as Prohibition. It began with the best of intentions. Worried about the effects of alcohol on American families, mothers and civic leaders started a movement to outlaw drinking in public places.

John Taliaferro Thompson had a mission: to develop a lightweight, fast-firing weapon that would help Americans win on the battlefield. His Thompson submachine gun could deliver 100 bullets in a matter of seconds - but didn't find a market in the US military. Instead, the Tommy gun became the weapon of choice for a generation of bootleggers and bank-robbing outlaws, and became a deadly American icon. Following a bloody decade - and 80 years before the mass shootings of our own time - Congress moved to take this weapon off the streets, igniting a national debate about gun control.

Tracing the path to the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade and the continuing battle for women's rights, Blumenthal examines, in a straightforward tone, the root causes of the current debate around abortion and repercussions that have affected generations of American women. This eye-opening audiobook is the perfect tool to facilitate difficult discussions and awareness of a topic that is rarely touched on in school but affects each and every young person. It's also perfect for fans of Steve Sheinkin and Deborah Heiligman.

On a scorching hot day in July 1936, thousands of people cheered as the US Olympic teams boarded the SS Manhattan, bound for Berlin. Among the athletes were the 14 players representing the first-ever US Olympic basketball team. This is the incredible true story of basketball, from its invention by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, to the sport's Olympic debut in Berlin and the eclectic mix of people, events, and propaganda on both sides of the Atlantic that made it all possible.

Politics is... looks at the beliefs of political thinkers, leaders, and activists from around the world, covers the key branches of government and examines authority. While focusing on contemporary issues, the audiobook also traces the history of politics. It explains the ideas and '-isms' that shape our world as well as investigating the role of external factors, such as protest and the media, in political decision-making.

Marcus ist 13 Jahre alt und verdient sein Geld als Assistent des Chirurgicus in der ludus magnus, der größten Gladiatorenschule in Rom. Dort begegnet er auch seinem Idol Flamma, dem berühmtesten Gladiatoren seiner Zeit. Zur Schule ist er nie gegangen und sein Traum ist es, wie sein Idol Gladiator zu werden, um der Armut zu entkommen. "Marcus und der Gladiator" entführt in das antike Rom und zeigt das Leben zur Blüte Roms mit seinen Gladiatorenkämpfen und der Dekadenz der Reichen.

Cultures around the world celebrate tales and myths of daring and brave goddesses. These legendary ladies were tenacious, smart and strong. Meet Osun, the Yoruba goddess of love who refuses to be dismissed because of her gender and stands up to those who believe women are less important than men; Rhiannon, the Welsh queen of fairies who won't let anyone make decisions for her and instead follows her heart and Freyja, the Norse goddess of love and death who doesn't give into pressure, sets boundaries and is comfortable with being a single independent woman.

Cosa provava Cristoforo Colombo il giorno in cui partì per andare oltre l’orizzonte? Cosa significava per Dante intraprendere un incredibile viaggio all’Inferno? Quando Spartaco decise di spezzare le catene che lo tenevano prigioniero? In quale modo San Francesco riuscì a convincere il Papa che non avrebbe distrutto ma salvato la cristianità? Dodici giornate memorabili, dodici eventi, dalla scoperta dell’America alla disfatta di Caporetto, dal processo di Artemisia Gentileschi alla strage di Capaci, che hanno trasformato l’Italia e il mondo intero.

Inspired by the Broadway hit, Hamilton, and by Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere", author Dorothea Jensen wrote this short rhyming narrative about the Marquis de Lafayette and his crucial role in our Revolutionary War. This playful historical account is aimed at young and older adults. It would be entertaining and educational to perform in a classroom or other settings, such as events celebrating the upcoming bicentennial of Lafayette's 1824-5 Farewell Tour of America.

It’s the dawn of the twentieth century. Darwin has theorized that traits get passed down through generations, and Mendel has come up with a mathematical formula that predicts how traits reappear over time. But a key mystery remains: is there a recipe for living beings? If there is, where is it hidden? With the help of powerful new microscopes and x-rays, scientists peer ever closer into cells, searching for answers.

Growing up, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's parents taught her that she could achieve anything she wanted, and be whoever she wanted to be. In high school, she dreamt of being a Supreme Court judge. In 2022, her dream came true: she was sworn in as the first African American woman judge. Lovely One is Justice Jackson's journey to making her dreams a reality, the hurdles she faced, and the lessons she learned along the way.

The year was 1981. Just two months into his presidency, Ronald Reagan was shot after leaving a speaking engagement in Washington, DC. The quick action of the Secret Service and medical professionals saved the president's life. Mere days after his near-death experience, Reagan's personal strength propelled him back into his presidential duties. Adapted from Bill O'Reilly's historical thriller Killing Reagan, with characteristically gripping storytelling, this story explores the events of the day Reagan was shot.

In 20th-century America, no power - and no threat - loomed larger than the communist superpower of the Soviet Union. America saw in the dreams of the Soviet Union the overthrow of the US government, and the end of democracy and freedom. Albert Marrin examines a unique time in American history...and explores both how some Americans were lured by the ideals of communism without understanding its reality and how fear of communist infiltration at times caused us to undermine our most deeply held values.

Una edición ficcionada y dirigida al gran público de La bailarina de Auschwitz, las inspiradoras memorias de la doctora Edith Eger, superviviente de Aushchwitz, que suman ya más de tres millones de ejemplares vendidos. En 1943, Edie, una joven bailarina húngara, es deportada junto con su familia a Auschwitz. A pesar de los horrores del campo de exterminio, logra sobrevivir gracias a su determinación y al apoyo de su hermana.

Did you know the Olympic Games, modern medicine, and democracy all started in ancient Greece? This audiobook, designed for teens, takes you on an exciting journey through Greece’s history, from its early days to its most powerful moments. It’s filled with fascinating facts and stories about the people, battles, and ideas that still impact us today.