Showing titles in History & Culture

Will dreams of an escape. Hesitant to return home to his cruel, abusive father, the lowly village boy encounters two youths walking his way and is delighted when they engage him in playful sword fighting. And when he joyfully accepts an offer to move to the castle and become a squire, he’s utterly unaware of the deadly perils he’s about to confront.\ Training as a knight-to-be, Will and his companions discover tunnels running beneath the castle and are viciously attacked by murderous exiles intent on toppling the monarchy.

Immerse yourself in the captivating life of Václav Havel, the extraordinary writer, philosopher, political dissident, and politician in Vaclav Havel: Art, Activism, and Political Change. This engaging edition from the Czech Out book series is specifically designed for young adults seeking to explore the rich history of the Czech Republic and delve into the remarkable legacy of Václav Havel.

Tři roky a osm měsíců žije devítiletý Felix Salinger v odlehlém katolickém sirotčinci v horách, ačkoli není katolického vyznání. Jeho rodiče nejsou mrtví. Přivedli ho k matce Mince, představené jeptišek, aby se měl dobře. A určitě si pro něj brzy přijdou, jak Felix věří, jen co vyřeší potíže, které mají se svým knihkupectvím. Protože židovští knihkupci to mají v Polsku roku 1942 těžké. Jak moc těžké, to Felix pochopí, až když se v sirotčinci objeví muži s podivnými páskami na rukávech a začnou vyhazovat a pálit židovské knihy z místní knihovny.

At the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nation's leaders, 15-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and a handful of schoolmates to take action against the Nazis if the adults would not. Naming their secret club after the fiery British leader, the young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually had the boys tracked down and arrested. But their efforts were not in vain.

From National Book Award finalist Albert Marrin comes a fascinating look at the history and science of the deadly 1918 flu pandemic--and its chilling and timely resemblance to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak. In spring of 1918, World War I was underway, and troops at Fort Riley, Kansas, found...

"This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?" New London, Texas. 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the...

After unwittingly helping her mother poison King Louis XIV, 17-year-old alchemist Mirabelle Monvoisin is forced to see her mother's Shadow Society in a horrifying new light: They're not heroes of the people, as they've always claimed to be, but murderers. She herself included. Mira tries to ease her guilt by brewing helpful curatives, but her hunger tonics and headache remedies cannot right past wrongs or save the dissenters whom her mother vows to purge.

Aurelia Isendare is a princess of a small kingdom in the North, raised in privilege but shielded from politics as her brother prepares to step up to the throne. Halfway around the world, Athan Dakar, the youngest son of a ruthless general, is a fighter pilot longing for a life away from the front lines. When Athan’s mother is shot and killed, his father is convinced it’s the work of his old rival, the queen of Etania - Aurelia’s mother. Determined to avenge his wife’s murder, he devises a plot to overthrow the queen, a plot that sends Athan undercover to Etania.

C.S. Forester, creator of the beloved Horatio Hornblower series, takes young readers on an exciting adventure to the shores of Tripoli in North Africa. That's where, more than 200 years ago, the United States was threatened by "pirates" who snatched American merchant ships and imprisoned sailors - and the country's young, untested navy took on the task of fighting the pirates in their home waters.

This is the inspiring life and legacy of vocal artist and civil rights icon Paul Robeson - one of the most important public figures in the 20th century - adapted for young adults by the acclaimed Robeson biographer. Featuring a foreword by multiple award-winning author Jason Reynolds, Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me will introduce listeners in middle and high school to the inspiring and complicated life of one of America’s most fascinating figures, whose story of artistry, heroism, conviction, and conflict is newly relevant today.

Gary Paulsen takes listeners along on his maiden voyage, proving that ignorance can be bliss. Also really stupid and incredibly dangerous. He tells of boats that owned him, good, bad, and beloved, and how they got him through terrifying storms that he survived by sheer luck. His spare prose conjures up shark surprises and killer waves as well as moonlight on the sea, and makes listeners feel what it’s like to sail under the stars or to lie at anchor in a tropical lagoon where dolphins leap, bathed in silver.

This audiobook presents an all-star collection of essays about activism and hope, edited by bestselling YA author Maureen Johnson. Now, more than ever, young people are motivated to make a difference in a world they're bound to inherit. They're ready to stand up and be heard - but with much to...

These essays recount his adventures alone and with friends, taking listeners through the seasons. In Paulsen’s north country, every expedition is a major one, and often hilarious. Once again Gary Paulsen demonstrates why he is one of America’s most beloved writers, for he shows us fishing and hunting as pleasure, as art, as companionship, and as source of life’s deepest lessons.

When 16-year-old Angus Campbell finds himself orphaned and his life at risk, he leaves Tabriz and makes his way to Teheran to seek employment with the British ambassador there. His knowledge of Persian, Arabic, Armenian, Kurdish, and Pushtoo secures him a post as a secretary for Mr. M'Neill.

Gloria Steinem was no stranger to injustice even from a young age. Her mother, Ruth, having suffered a nervous breakdown at only 34, spent much of Gloria's childhood in and out of mental-health facilities. And when Gloria was only 10 years old, her father divorced her mother and left for California, unable to bear the stress of caring for Ruth any longer.

Bestselling authors Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz bring us a romantic retelling of Little Women starring Jo March and her best friend, the boy next door, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence. 1869, Concord, Massachusetts: After the publication of her first novel, Jo March is shocked to discover...

After the Civil War, the Confederates may have laid down their arms, but they were far from accepting defeat. By warping the narrative around what really happened during and after the Civil War, they created an alternate history now known as the Lost Cause. These lies still manifest today through criticism of Critical Race Theory, book banning, unequal funding for education, and more. This book sets the record straight and explains the true history of the Civil War, and its complex and far-reaching aftermath.

Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire - an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves. Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor.

Meet Barbara Reichmann, once known as Gucia Gomolinska: smart, determined, independent, and steadfast in the face of injustice. A Jew growing up in predominantly Catholic Poland during the 1920s and ’30s, Gucia studies hard, makes friends, falls in love, and dreams of a bright future. Her world is turned upside down when Nazis invade Poland and establish the first Jewish ghetto of World War II in her town of Piotrko´w Trybunalski.

How did the lowly potato plant feed the poor across Europe and then cause the deaths of millions? How did the rubber plant enable industrialization? What is the connection between malaria, slavery, and the outcome of the American Revolution? How did the fabled silver mountain of 16th-century Bolivia fund economic development in the flood-prone plains of rural China and the wars of the Spanish Empire? Here is the story of how sometimes the greatest leaps also posed the greatest threats to human advancement.