Showing titles in History & Culture

Born in 355 CE in the aftermath of Constantine's reign, Hypatia of Alexandria lived in a collapsing Roman Empire, a world where obedience to religious authorities trumped science, where reason and logic threatened the new world order. It was a world on the edge of the Dark Ages, a world deciding the question of science verses religion, freedom verses orthodoxy, tolerance verses hate.

Seattle, 1913. Dorothy spent her life learning the art of the con. But after meeting a stranger and stowing away on his peculiar aircraft, she wakes up in a chilling version of the world she left behind - and for the first time in her life, realizes she’s in way over her head. New Seattle, 2077. If there was ever a girl who was trouble, it was one who snuck on board Ash’s time machine wearing a wedding gown - and the last thing he needs is trouble if he wants to prevent his terrifying visions of the future from coming true.

Alexandra Stewart's eidetic memory won't let her forget anything, ever. And finally she has a life worth remembering - a Spanish tutor who gives perfecto a new name, a roommate that could double as her sister, and a special role in a spy organization with secret headquarters at Brown University.

Perhaps more than even Washington, Jefferson, or Adams, Ben Franklin is the Founding Father who best exemplifies the authentic American spirit and values. Eminent historian Thomas Fleming paints a lively portrait of this self-made man blessed with a wealth of talents: a best-selling author, the most important newspaper publisher in America, and a world-renowned scientist and inventor before he took on the task of becoming the true "Father" of American independence.

One evening, against the wishes of his frightened wife, young Puritan Goodman Brown embarks on a mysterious errand that leads him through the skeletal woods to a Black Mass being held by his fellow townsmen. His life is forever changed by contact with the evil congregation. And his horror is amplified by the attendance of one participant in whom he had placed his greatest trust.

Before Teddy Roosevelt earned his reputation as a strong, masculine hunter, explorer, and Rough Rider, he actually endured a sickly childhood. That's just one aspect of his life covered in this biography, which follows his transformation into a disciplined athlete and one of the world's best-known public servants and politicians.

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.

Meet young José and his friend Trino as the war breaks out in their hometown of Sahuayo. Follow José through his own struggles as the violence escalates, up to his joining the Cristero army in 1927 to fight for freedom of religion. Captured by government forces, José refused to deny his faith in exchange for his freedom.

Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists insisting that Black Lives Matter. Elliott engages poets from the past two centuries to create a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls.

From award-winning journalist and children’s book author Mary Cronk Farrell comes the inspiring and fascinating story of the woman who gave a human face to the Vietnam War. Close-Up on War tells the story of French-born Catherine Leroy, one of the war’s few woman photographers, who documented some of the fiercest fighting in the 20-year conflict. Although she had no formal photographic training and had never before traveled more than a few hundred miles from Paris, Leroy left home at age 21 to travel to Vietnam and document the faces of war.

From the Federalist Papers to the Bill of Rights, AudioLearn is your complete audio study guide to the Constitution.

The heart-pounding story of an unlikely band of ragtags who took on Hitler's Grand Prix driver.

"History" sounds really official. Like it's all fact. Like it's definitely what happened. But that's not necessarily true. History was crafted by the people who recorded it. And sometimes, those historians were biased against, didn't see, or couldn't even imagine anyone different from themselves. That means that history has often left out the stories of LGBTQIA+ people: men who loved men, women who loved women, people who loved without regard to gender, and people who lived outside gender boundaries.

Ophelia DeVore boldly overcame tragedy and hardship to become the first Black model in the United States of America. She possessed grace, finesse, intelligence, natural beauty, and courage. Being the first black graduate of the Vogue Modeling School, she eventually became a powerful business mogul, an exuberant entrepreneur, and a respected leader in her field. Her story is unique because she redefined "beauty" in America. Throughout her life, she sought to prove to the world beauty could be found in every shade of color.

On August 18, 1920, American women finally won the right to vote. Ratification of the 19th Amendment was the culmination of an almost 80-year fight in which some of the fiercest, most passionate women in history marched, protested, and sometimes broke the law in to achieve this huge leap toward equal rights. In this expansive yet personal volume, author Winifred Conkling covers not only the suffragists' achievements and politics but also the private journeys that fueled their passion and led them to become women's champions.

Wild Canada geese. That’s what 16-year-old Lucy Spencer and her family call the runaway slaves who ocassionally hide in their Ohio home. But when Lucy becomes involved in a daring rescue attempt, she learns the ultimate meaning of sacrifice. Popular young adult novelist and author of The Family Tree , Katherine Ayres takes readers back in time for an adventure of great courage and compassion.

Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote? In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African-American vote, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow.

From severe flooding in Louisiana to wildfires in the Pacific Northwest to melting permafrost in Alaska, catastrophic climate events are occurring more frequently—and severely—than ever. And these events are having a direct impact on the lives (and futures) of young people and their families.

June 6, 1944: The greatest amphibious invasion the world had ever seen was launched, involving thousands of ships, incredible planning and preparation, and a million courageous soldiers, sailors, and airmen willing to sacrifice their lives for victory. Author and journalist Bruce Bliven was there that day, on the beaches of France, and he recounts it all, from the risky plans developed by the American and British military leaders through the daring landing itself.

This lyrical biography explores the life and art of Yoko Ono, from her childhood haiku to her avant-garde visual art and experimental music. An outcast throughout most of her life, and misunderstood by every group she was supposed to belong to, Yoko always followed her own unique vision to create art that was ahead of its time and would later be celebrated. Her focus remained on being an artist, even when the rest of world saw her only as the wife of John Lennon. Yoko Ono's moving story will inspire any young adult who has ever felt like an outsider.