The Assassination of JFK, 1963

ISBN 9781584155409

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The assassination of President John F. Kennedy shocked the nation. On November 22, 1963, a lone gunman allegedly changed the course of history. Half a century later, the United States continues to question what really happened that day.

Blitzkrieg! Hitler's Lightning War

ISBN 9781584155423

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Blitzkrieg—Hitler’s “lightning war” tactic—combined devastating air attacks with swiftly moving ground forces. The Germans tested their theories of air-ground coordination in the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War, a proving ground for German and Soviet weapons and tactics. In September 1939, Hitler launched his first blitzkrieg in Poland and captured the Polish capital of Warsaw in twenty-seven days, igniting World War II.

Hitler turned his attention to the west in the spring of 1940. Using both seaborne and airborne assault troops, along with blitzkrieg tactics, Germany overwhelmed Norway and Denmark, then rolled across the Low Countries and France in fewer than four months of actual fighting—including Poland.

Hitler’s blitzkrieg tactics lost their magic in the sand of North Africa and in the mud and snow of the Soviet Union from 1942 to 1945. Allied forces took the final measure of Hitler’s lightning war in the Ardennes Forest, during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.

Breaking the Sound Barrier: The Story of Chuck Yeager

ISBN 1-58145-398-9 • 9781584153986

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Chuck Yeager is called the guy with the right stuff for being the first to shatter the sound barrier myth. From his earliest days as an aircraft mechanic in the Air Corps he set out to do the best job possible and to learn as much as he could about whatever he was doing. Eventually, that determination led him to be a fighter and test pilot. Chuck loved to fly. He flew as often as he could in any craft he could. Eventually, he became the expert on military aircraft. He knew just what each plane could do, and more importantly, what it couldn’t. As important as knowing how far he could push a plane, he also knew when to pull back. His pioneering efforts made modern aviation and space exploration possible. Accomplishments aside, we can all agree on one thing—Chuck Yeager is an American hero.

Building the Panama Canal

ISBN 9781584156925

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The building of the Panama Canal was one of the great engineering feats of the twentieth century. For hundreds of years, mankind had dreamed about cutting through the Isthmus of Panama to build a canal, but the jungle, insects, and the damp, humid conditions had always combined to defeat any and all attempts to construct the waterway. It took the discovery of the mosquito as a disease carrier, the tenacity of the workmen, and the single-minded stubbornness of Theodore Roosevelt to make the canal dream a reality. .

But if the canal made some men great, it also destroyed the lives of others. That was the sad fate of Count Ferdinand de Lesseps of France, a national hero who had done the impossible by building the Suez Canal, then failed in Panama. The fate of de Lesseps is as much the story of the Panama Canal as is the success of Roosevelt.

The Civil Rights Movement

ISBN 1-58415-401-2 • 9781584154013

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At the time that Rosa Parks decided not to get out of her bus seat in 1955, African Americans across the United States were treated like second-class citizens. Sometimes they were not even considered citizens. They were not allowed to use “white-only” restaurants or hotels. They were kept out of public schools, parks, and swimming pools. And perhaps most importantly, they were not allowed to vote.

Over the course of the next decade, African Americans and their white supporters organized a movement that changed American society profoundly. They marched. They sat-in. They lobbied for new laws. They fought in the courts. It took incredible courage. While the activists tried to be non-violent, their efforts were often met with beatings and even murder.

But in just a few years time, the United States was a different country. The “Jim Crow” system that prevented African Americans from being full citizens of their own country was gone. It is a remarkable story, full of heroes known and unknown.

The Creation of Israel

ISBN 9781584155386

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The formation of the State of Israel in 1948 is one of the most important events in recent history. About 3,000 years ago, Israel was a powerful nation. But it soon fell from power and in the second century CE most Jews were forced out of their homeland. Many went to Europe, where they were subject to prejudice and persecution for centuries. By far the worst case was the Holocaust, in which six million Jews died. Their suffering accelerated a move toward the development of a Jewish state in what came to be called Palestine. However, Palestine was the home to hundreds of thousands of Arabs. Conflict between the two sides was inevitable. Open warfare broke out after the United Nations voted to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. Though the Israelis achieved their independence, the region has never known true peace.

The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Cold War Goes Hot

ISBN 1-58415-404-7 • 9781584154044

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The United States and the Soviet Union were the two main nations that defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. Yet their systems of government were completely different. These differences soon developed into the Cold War. Both sides became bitter enemies. But there was no actual fighting. That situation nearly changed in 1961. The Soviets secretly installed missiles with nuclear warheads in Cuba. These missiles could reach many cities in the United States. When President John F. Kennedy learned about these weapons, he confronted Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. The world teetered on the brink of a nuclear war. This is the story of that chilling event.

The Dawn of Aviation: The Story of the Wright Brothers

ISBN 1-58415-396-2 • 9781584153962

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly? Have you dreamt of having wings and taking off to soar, glide and dip with the birds? You are not the only one. Many people have wanted to leave the ground behind and join the clouds and the stars. Two such people were brothers named Orville and Wilbur Wright.

These men were always looking for an idea to explore. Thinking as one, they would put their heads together and figure out how to create something new. They invented a printing press out of scrap. They designed bicycles when they were still a new fad. Finally, they turned their minds towards flight. Through lots of determination and endless experimentation, Orville and Wilbur created "The Flyer". For a few glorious seconds, they left gravity behind and took to the skies at Kitty Hawk. It was a moment that changed their lives and the course of the world.

Disaster in the Indian Ocean, Tsunami 2004

ISBN 1-58415-344-X • 9781584153443

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The disaster in the Indian Ocean started with a massive undersea earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. What followed was a surge of water called a tsunami that killed thousands of people in nearly a dozen countries. Water rose up miles inland and destroyed everything in its path. Children were ripped from their parents’ arms, family members were lost to each other forever. This is their story. But more importantly, this is a story of hope, of how people woke up to destroyed cities and missing children and did not give up. They showed what they were made of by licking their wounds and then trying to find their lives again. This is also the story of how the world responded with the biggest humanitarian effort in history. Countries from all over the world sent money, food, water, soldiers, and doctors.

This moving account is based on the author's extensive research, including his personal trip to Indonesia in January 2005, where he witnessed the devastation firsthand and spoke to dozens of survivors.

Exploring the North Pole: The Story of Robert Edwin Peary & Matthew Henson

ISBN 1-58415-402-0 • 9781584154020

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The Arctic, the far, frozen north, can be a very dangerous place for people to visit. The Arctic is almost always bitterly cold, with temperatures that can go far below —50ºF and be in total darkness for four months out of a year. Terrible storms sweep across the ice and snow, and great crevasses, perilous openings in the ice, can swallow the unlucky traveler. By the early 1900s, many expeditions had tried to reach the farthest point north, the North Pole, but all of them had failed. Many explorers had died. Tales spread that no one could reach the North Pole. They warned that the land was cursed. But in the early twentieth century, two men decided to brave the Arctic again. They were Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson. And they were determined to do what no one had ever done. They were going to reach the North Pole.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

ISBN 1-58415-405-5 • 9781584154051

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There is perhaps no greater symbol of both political oppression and the human spirit in the 20th century than the Berlin Wall. Built during the height of the Cold War in 1961, the Wall was meant to both stop the number of citizens trying to leave East Germany for the freedoms and opportunities of the West and to prevent people spreading the ideals of democracy from coming in. In the 28 years the Wall stood, it is estimated over 1,000 people were killed trying to escape into West Berlin.

In the end, the Wall fell without a shot being fired. As Mikhail Gorbachev was laying the foundations for the peaceful dismantling of the Soviet Union, the people of East Berlin and East Germany began demanding their city and country be freed from Soviet occupation. Finally, in November 1989, the Wall was torn down and Germany was once again reunited. This is the story of the dark rise and the eventual uplifting triumph over the Wall that split not only a city and nation, but friends and families.

The Fall of the Soviet Union, 1991

ISBN 9781584155393

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Soviet history begins with bloodshed, oppression, and strife. Civil War stained the Russian landscape with the blood of its people after Nicholas II abdicated his throne to a provisional government. The Bolsheviks wanted Russia, and eventually they took her. Peasants became citizens with rights, but the truth is, the civil war only changed the name of their oppressor—from czar to Communist dictator. After decades of isolation and sometimes harsh living conditions, Mikhail Gorbachev ushered in an age of reform, but in doing so, he made enemies. Then, Boris Yeltsin championed reform and the rights of the people. When Communist hard-liners made one last effort to regain control, Yeltsin held his ground. Unlike its birth, the death of the Soviet Union saw little bloodshed. After seventy years, even the Communist hard-liners no longer had the stomach for killing their citizens to keep control. The union dissolved in 1991.

Hurricane Katrina and the Devasation of New Orleans

ISBN 1-58415-473-X • 9781584154730

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The citizens of New Orleans braced for the hit of Hurricane Katrina and then blew a big sigh of relief once the hurricane came and seemed to go.

But within hours of the category 4 storm ripping through the Gulf Coast states, people’s worst fears were realized. The city’s decades-old levees were not high or strong enough to hold back the storm surge caused by Katrina, and several levees burst. Water poured into the city, flooding buildings, homes, and streets. As the water rose, people panicked. Many were swept up in the floods and drowned. Others climbed to their roofs and pleaded for helicopter rescuers to come save them.

The federal government and relief organizations mobilized for help, but many complained that relief did not come quickly enough. Survivors began running out of food and water. Some began blaming racial discrimination—as many of the hurricane victims were African American— for the government’s slow response. But were those accusations fair? Or was there anything else that could have been done in the face of Mother Nature’s wrath?

The McCarthy Era

ISBN 9781584156949

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The McCarthy Era was the product of Joseph McCarthy, one of the most notorious politicians in United States history. Obsessed with routing out communists, McCarthy persecuted thousands of innocent Americans, destroying careers and ruining many lives. His tactics of making public accusations based on innuendo instead of proof became known as McCarthyism. From the time he was a child growing up in Wisconsin, McCarthy burned with ambition. As a teenager he started his own business; he earned his high school diploma in less than a year; and he became the youngest circuit court judge in state history. When he was elected to the U.S. Senate, he became the youngest senator in Congress. By the 1950s, average Americans viewed communism as a direct threat to their democratic way of life. McCarthy played on those fears to persecute anyone suspected of having communist affiliations. His crusade brought him power and fame—and ultimately led to his stunning public downfall.

An Overview of the Korean War

ISBN 9781584156956

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War broke out in Korea early on the morning of June 25, 1950. Korea—long known as the “Land of the Morning Calm”—surrendered its tranquillity to the Communist forces of North Korea. At 4:00 a.m., amid torrential rains and the thunder of big guns, some 90,000 North Korean troops poured across the 38th parallel separating the North and South. Only about one-third of South Korea’s army of 95,000 troops stood forth to meet the surprise attack. The North Koreans easily overwhelmed their southern neighbors. Seoul, the South Korean capital, fell to the invaders in three days. The United States, under the banner of the United Nations, rushed military forces to the defense of South Korea’s embattled army. But the North Korean aggressors pressed relentlessly southward. By August 4, the UN defenders clung desperately to a tiny foothold at the southern tip of the peninsula known as the Pusan Perimeter—hoping for reinforcements or a miracle.

An Overview of the Persian Gulf War, 1990

ISBN 9781584156963

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In the early hours of August 2, 1990, one hundred thousand mechanized troops of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army roared and rumbled across the border into Kuwait. By noon of August 4, the tiny, oil-rich nation belonged to the Iraqi invaders. When informed of Iraq’s unprovoked aggression, U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, “This will not stand.” In defense of Saudi Arabia and stability in the Middle East, he drew a line in the sand. Operating under the umbrella of the United Nations, President Bush assembled a multinational coalition and prepared for war. Over the next five months, Saddam refused to accept UN diplomatic efforts for Iraq’s complete withdrawal from Kuwait. He ignored a UN ultimatum to withdraw by January 15, 1991. On January 17, at approximately 3:00 a.m., Iraqis reaped the lethal consequences of their leader’s aggression and defiance. A huge coalition air armada struck Baghdad and ushered in a new era of high-tech warfare.

An Overiew of World War I

ISBN 1-58415-471-3 • 9781584154716

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When the Great War began in August 1914, many people thought it would be over by Christmas. Instead it lasted for more than four years and claimed millions of lives.

The most dominant feature of the conflict was the seemingly endless miles of trenches that faced each other, often just a few hundred yards apart. The only way of attacking was through brutal frontal assaults. Often thousands of men died in a few hours. When they weren’t fighting, men lived in subhuman conditions in the trenches.

Many people hoped that the horrors of the Great War would make it the “war to end all wars.” It wasn’t. The victorious Allies imposed very harsh terms on the defeated Germans. These terms led directly to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the outbreak of World War II just twenty years later.

The Russian Revolution, 1917

ISBN 9781584155379

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For centuries, ordinary Russians lived under the absolute power of the czars, the country’s hereditary rulers. For many, such a life involved few rights and grinding poverty. The Russian people increasingly wanted a greater voice in the way they were governed and a higher standard of living. These desires put pressure on the government of the czars. The civil unrest finally came to a head in 1917. The last czar, Nicholas II, was overthrown in what history calls the Russian Revolution. But the government still wasn’t stable. Russians realized they had no more freedom under the new communist government than they had had under the czars. Find out about the events that led up to the Russian Revolution, one of the landmark events of the twentieth century, and the decades of conflict that followed.

The Scopes Monkey Trial

ISBN 1-58415-468-3 • 9781584154686

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One of the most famous trials in U.S. history took place in a tiny town in Tennessee in 1925. Dayton was the site of what became known as the Scopes Monkey Trial.

The defendant, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating a recently passed state law. This law made it illegal to teach the theory of evolution. Under most circumstances, few people would have paid any attention.

Several of Dayton’s leading citizens saw a chance to put their town on the map. They were successful. Two of the country’s most famous people—William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow—soon became involved. Dozens of reporters poured into Dayton from all over the country. It was the first trial to receive live media coverage.

Scopes was found guilty. He had to pay a small fine. But the issues about evolution that the trial raised are still debated today.

The Sinking of the Titanic

ISBN 1-58415-472-1 • 9781584154723

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The sinking of the ocean liner Titanic in 1912 was one of the most famous events of the twentieth century. The ship was the largest and most luxurious passenger liner of the age. While she was being built, Titanic was described as “practically unsinkable.” Yet she went down on her maiden voyage after striking an iceberg. More than 1,500 passengers and crew members perished in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Nearly all died because the ship didn’t carry enough lifeboats. Yet according to the shipping regulations at the time, Titanic actually carried more lifeboats than she was legally required to. Many people also believe that the ship was traveling too fast. Yet her captain wasn’t doing anything different than nearly every other liner at that time. The sinking attracted worldwide media interest. This interest has never lessened. The loss of the Titanic is just as fascinating today as it was on the day it occurred.

The Story of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

ISBN 1-58415-397-0 • 9781584153979

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The Japanese attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 was one of the worst defeats in U.S. military history. It began a string of Japanese successes that seemed to threaten the security of the United States. Many U.S. citizens and government leaders were on the verge of panic. But the attack was probably the greatest mistake the Japanese made during World War II. At that time, many Americans didn't want to go to war. The anger and outrage that followed the attack swept away those objections. It unified the country and made the United States determined to win the war. From a strategic point of view, the attack probably wasn't necessary. The United States military was not prepared to fight a war. The Japanese probably could have achieved their goals if they hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor. They concentrated on the wrong targets. They sank or damaged ships that would play a minor role in the conflict to follow.

The Story of the Great Depression

ISBN 1-58415-403-9 • 9781584154037

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The Great Depression was one of the great crises of the twentieth century. For some time, the very survival of the country appeared to be at stake. Businesses failed, banks closed, people lost their homes, and thousands lined up at soup kitchens across the country. The future appeared bleak indeed. Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised the people of the United States "a new deal," and in 1932 he was elected president. Many of his New Deal policies shaped the country in ways that are still visible today, like Social Security and the 40-hour work week. The government struggled to help the people and to keep the economy stable.

The Great Depression could not be legislated out of existence, however. Only a world war was able to vanquish it.

The Story of the Holocaust

ISBN 1-58415-400-4 • 9781584154006

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Early in January 2005, high officials of many world governments gathered in the Polish town of Auschwitz. They were there to remember the sixtieth anniversary of its liberation from Nazi tyranny. The concentration camp at Auschwitz is the primary symbol of one of the worst crimes ever committed against human beings: the Holocaust.

Under the orders of German dictator Adolf Hitler, the Holocaust was the organized killing of an estimated six million Jews. The horror extended to millions of other people. They had the misfortune of being different from "normal" Germans. The Holocaust was a Monumental Milestone in that it made people recognize the importance of human rights and realize how easily fellow humans can violate those rights. It stands as a warning for all future generations.

Top Secret: The Story of the Manhattan Project

ISBN 1-58415-399-7 • 9781584153993

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In the 1930s, Hitler’s Germany became the most powerful—and feared—country in Europe. Hitler was determined to control the entire continent. After the shocking attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. In turn Germany declared War on America, igniting World War II. The biggest concern for America and the Allies was that Hitler was working on a nuclear “super bomb.” Believing the fate of the world hung in the balance, President Franklin Roosevelt approved a top secret project known as the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic weapon. In a race against the clock and under the direction of J. Robert Oppenheimer, scientists from all over the world working at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico spent four years developing what would become the world’s most deadly weapon. The decision to use the bomb on Japanese citizens ended World War II but began a controversy that rages to this day.

The Story of September 11, 2001

ISBN 9781584156932

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It was a beautiful late summer morning, the kind of day even busy New Yorkers took a moment to appreciate. The sky was spectacularly clear, tinted an azure blue, the air stirred by a gentle breeze. The mood of the city seemed optimistic as people hurried down the crowded streets on their way to work. Then the world as people knew it changed forever . . . The attack on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and New York City’s World Trade Center by three fuel-laden, hijacked airplanes was the worst attack ever on mainland American soil. The nation watched in horror as the events were captured by video and live news coverage. The attacks temporarily brought the nation to a stop, both emotionally and literally—for the first time, all commercial flights were grounded. Ironically, the attacks intended to undercut America’s way of life only served to reinforce its core values. And out of the carnage of that day came acts of unspeakable bravery, uncommon courage, and true heroism.

The Vietnam War

ISBN 9781584155416

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The Vietnam War sparked one of the most controversial periods in American history. Although Vietnam had been fighting for its independence for thousands of years, the United States didn’t enter the picture until the 1950s. Increasing tensions between North and South Vietnam officially brought the U.S. into the war in 1964. At the same time, a military draft was instituted.

People struggled to understand the role of the U.S. in Vietnam. Americans began learning more about the Vietnam War through television. As the first “televised” war, Americans were treated to horrific scenes with their evening news. Popular magazines and newspapers published the effects of battle on their front pages. These images added to the antiwar sentiment.

Meanwhile, three million U.S. troops faced constant danger in a war eventually determined to be “unwinnable.” After more than 58,000 American soldiers were killed, the U.S. finally pulled out of Vietnam in 1973, and South Vietnam fell in 1975. The effects of the war would last much longer.

The Watergate Scandal

ISBN 1-58415-470-5 • 9781584154709

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Under the cover of darkness, a team of burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. By a fluke, they were discovered by an observant security guard and arrested. At first glance it appeared nothing more than a random break-in. But when two Washington Post reporters began digging deeper into the background of the burglars, the trail led higher and higher and eventually straight to the White House—and into the Oval Office.

As the Watergate scandal unraveled, it turned into one of the United States’ greatest Constitutional crises, pitting the judicial system against a paranoid President who believed he was above the law. When secret tapes of conversations between President Richard Nixon and his top aides were discovered, it proved that the White House was running a shadow government, leaving Nixon no choice but to resign or face certain impeachment. The Watergate scandal is a story of the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of a free press to be the public’s eyes and ears.

Monumental Milestones: Complete Set (27 titles)

9781584156970

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