Showing titles in Biographies

Signed on September 17, 1787 - four years after the American War for Independence - the Constitution laid out the supreme law of the United States of America. Today it's easy for us to take this blueprint of our government for granted. But the Framers - 55 men from almost all of the original 13 states - argued fiercely for many months over what ended up being only a four-page document. Here is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the hotly fought issues - those between Northern and Southern States; big states and little ones - and the key players.

Leif Erikson was born to be an explorer. His father, Erik the Red, had established the first European settlement in present-day Greenland, and although he didn't yet know it, Leif was destined to embark on an adventure of his own. The wise and striking Viking landed in the area known as Vinland almost five centuries before Christopher Columbus even set sail! "Leif the Lucky" and the other fierce, sea-fearing pirates were accomplished navigators who raided foreign lands for resources, hunted for their food, and passed down Old Norse myths from one generation to the next.

Author Sumbul Ali-Karamali offers her personal account, discussing the many and varied questions she fielded from curious friends and schoolmates while growing up in Southern California - from diet, to dress, to prayer and holidays and everything in between. She also provides an academically reliable introduction to Islam, addressing its inception, development, and current demographics. Through this engaging work, listeners will gain a better understanding of the everyday aspects of Muslim American life.

Forget the gold medals, the championships, and the undefeated seasons. When all-star athletes were growing up, they had regular-kid problems just like you. Baseball legend Babe Ruth was such a troublemaker that his family sent him to reform school. Race-car champion Danica Patrick fended off bullies who told her “girls can’t drive”. And football superstar Peyton Manning was forced to dance the tango in his school play.

Born in Austria in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his first piece of music, a minuet, when he was just five years old! Soon after, he was performing for kings and emperors. Although he died at the young age of 35 Mozart left a legacy of more than 600 works. This fascinating biography charts the musician's extraordinary career and personal life while painting a vivid cultural history of 18th-century Europe.

Awarded the Albert Medal for bravery in 1913, Crean's heroic exploits are legendary yet have remained little known outside of those in the Polar community. Accompanied by sound effects, the story is brought to life as you travel with Tom on the historic journeys he made during his lifetime. His is a story of hardship, escape, and triumph over adversities in the most unforgiving terrain on our planet.

Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall is an Edwardian history book for younger listeners (age six to 12) which tells the story of England, concluding with the reign of Queen Victoria. Antonia Fraser and many other current historians declare that it was this book that opened the delights of history for them. It fell from fashion in the 1960s, but its recent re-release in hardback has seen it become a publishing surprise in the UK, with sales of some 75,000 copies in a few months.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was famous for her stylish collars (called jabots) and her commanding dissents. This opera-loving New Yorker always spoke her mind; as a young lawyer, RBG advocated for gender equality and women's rights when few others did. She gained attention for the cases she won when arguing in front of the Supreme Court, before taking her place on the bench in 1993. Author Patricia Brennan Demuth answers all the questions about what made RBG so irreplaceable and how the late Supreme Court justice left a legacy that will last forever.

From DaVinci to Rembrandt, van Gogh to Matisse, and Picasso to Warhol, you'll learn about both their artistic masterpieces and their personal messes. Fun and lighthearted, yet full of solid information, trivia, and provocative commentary, Lives of the Artists presents objective, 3-dimensional biographies of the world's great artists.

Almost anything scares young Eleanor: mice, the dark, and a host of imaginary dangers. But she learns to hide her feelings - her father disapproves of fear, and she longs only to please him. She knows she will always disappoint her beautiful, socialite mother, because Eleanor is painfully shy and plain.

As a young debutante in Manhattan, she spends her days teaching needy children and touring crowded tenements.

Discover eye-opening facts about a collection of go-getting women who have pioneered careers in a kaleidoscope of different industries. Prepare yourself for a celebration of women who opened doors and made it possible for more women to achieve amazing things today. List of women featured: Junko Tabei, Sophie Blanchard, Maria Merian, Elizabeth Magie, the London Matchgirls, Rosa May Billinghurst, Katherine Johnson, Annette Kellerman, Katia Krafft, Rosalind Franklin, James Barry, Madam C.J. Walker and Lotte Reiniger.

Want to know more about the life of Jennifer Lawrence? Listen to this audiobook to learn all about Jen's childhood, family, rise to stardom, likes and dislikes, romantic life, and more!

When the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, Welles Crowther's parents had no idea what happened to him. In the unbearable days that followed, they came to accept that he would never come home. But the mystery of his final hours persisted. Eight months after the attacks, however, Welles' mother read a news account from several survivors, who said they and others had been led to safety by a stranger carrying a woman on his back down nearly 20 flights of stairs.

Stand back, the girls are coming through: Learn about forty amazing Asian American women who have changed the course of history! From the big stage to the US Navy, from laboratories to the boardroom, from the Olympics to the pages in books, these girls and women lead every line. Bold, bright, and empowering profiles by Geisel Honor–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling artist Niña Mata place these incredible changemakers at the very front and inspire readers to tap into their own greatness.

Between 1854 and 1930, more than 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children were sent west on orphan trains to find new homes. Some were adopted by loving families; others were not as fortunate. In recent years, some of the riders have begun to share their stories. Andrea Warren alternates chapters about the history of the orphan trains with the story of Lee Nailling, who in 1926 rode an orphan train to Texas.

Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba is the true story of a girl who had a difficult birth, but went on to become the Queen of two ancient African kingdoms. Revered for her wisdom, courage, and strength, Njinga became a dominant political figure in Angola in the 1600s. This children’s book tells her story and the challenges she faced from the day she was born. Njinga must overcome the jealousy of her brother, the loss of her father, and the encroachment of the Portuguese at the dawn of a time of great trial for the African continent.

This is a story from the Great Explorers collection.

At least as far back as the ancient myth of Icarus, humans longed to fly - but it wasn't until December 17, 1903, on the windy dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, that the dream finally came true. And it was all thanks to Orville and Wilbur Wright, two former bicycle mechanics who built their first toy plane - a rubber-band powered rotary - when they were just children.

While men fought in the army during the American Revolution, women supported the fight for independence in other ways. They wrote about politics in newspapers, boycotted British goods, and made their own wares like fabric and tea. The Daughters of Liberty said no to British-made goods!

Even without cars or electricity, the Ancient Greeks had some pretty great thinkers. One of the greatest mathematical thinkers was Archimedes. Why do we always remember Archimedes yelling out "Eureka!" in the bathtub? Listen and find out!