Nowhere can intricacies of the ideological, regional, and economic tensions that erupted into the American Civil War be better seen than in the individual actors who fought both on and off the battlefields and on either side for what they believed. While some vigorously struggled for emancipation, others vehemently resisted such a notion, while still others were motivated primarily by regional loyalties and the desire to preserve the only way of life...

With their eyes set on distant horizons, explorers from across Europe—including Leif Eriksson, Sir Francis Drake, and Alexander von Humboldt—voyaged to the New World. They discovered the lands that would later be known as the Americas—motivated by curiosity, commercial interests, or scientific inquiry. These adventurers charted previously unknown territories, encountered, and often tragically exploited, native peoples, and changed the fate of...

Religious freedom, economic security, and the allure of a second chance drew thousands of settlers away from their European homeland to the shores of what would one day become the United States. Under their tireless watch, new colonies were established, new traditions, customs, and practices cultivated. This captivating volume profiles many of the individuals who sought to fulfill the promise of the New World, from explorers to religious and political...

"Internet entrepreneurs have changed the way people shop, communicate, learn about current events, and navigate the world. Profiled in this book are founders of the worlds most popular Internet destinations: Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Arianna Huffington (The Huffington Post), Jack Dorsey (Twitter), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Perry Chen (Kickstarter), and Travis Kalanick (Uber)." --

Profiles prominent men and women of the civil rights movement, including Charles Houston, Ella Baker, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Andrew Young, Julian Bond, and Jesse Jackson.

Profiles the lives and military careers of Nathan B. Forrest, William J. Hardee, Ambrose P. Hill, John B. Hood, Stonewall Jackson, Joseph E. Johnston, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, George Pickett, and Jeb Stuart.

Discusses the lives and the struggle that faced by ten women who pursued careers in the medical field, including Dorothea Lynde Dix, Elizabeth Blackwell, Clara Barton, Mary Edwards Walker, Susie King Taylor, Susan LaFlesche Picotte, Clara Maass, Gerty Radnitz Cori, Antonia Coello Novello, and Mae Carol Jemison.