National Network for Equitable Library Service

Before Winnie-the-Pooh, there was a real bear named Winnie. And she was a girl! In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in World War I, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war. Harry Colebourn's real-life great-granddaughter tells the true story of a remarkable friendship and an even more remarkable journey--from the fields of Canada to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England...

Few Americans know that the Revolutionary War did not begin with the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 but over a year earlier in April 1775. Now historian Derek Beck draws on previously unpublished documents to tell the full story of the war before American independence-from both sides. Spanning the years 1773-1776, this sweeps readers from the Boston Tea Party to the halls of Parliament-where Ben Franklin was almost run out of England for pleading on behalf of the colonies-to the fateful Expedition to Concord that resulted in the shot heard round the world.

In the summer of 1804, two of America's most eminent statesmen squared off, pistols raised, on a bluff along the Hudson River. That two such men would risk not only their lives but the stability of the young country they helped forge is almost beyond comprehension. Yet we know that it happened. The question is why. In War of Two, John Sedgwick explores the long-standing conflict between Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr. A study in contrasts from birth, they had been compatriots, colleagues, and even friends. But above all they were rivals.

Bronx-born top turret-gunner Arthur Meyerowitz was on his second mission when he was shot down in 1943. He was one of only two men on the B-24 Liberator known as "Harmful Lil Armful" who escaped death or immediate capture on the ground. After fleeing the wreck, Arthur knocked on the door of an isolated farmhouse, whose owners hastily took him in. Fortunately, his hosts not only despised the Nazis but had a tight connection to the French resistance group Morhange and its founder, Marcel Taillandier.

The long continuous period from 1914 to1949, was unprecedented in human history-an extraordinarily dramatic, often traumatic, and endlessly fascinating period of upheaval and transformation. This new volume in the Penguin History of Europe series offers comprehensive coverage of this tumultuous era.

In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. Norse netsuke, each face individual, each full of quirks, the Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Harry played Wizard's Chess with them in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Housed at the British Museum, they are among its most visited and beloved objects. Questions abounded: Who carved them? Where?

Less than three months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and inflamed the nation, President Roosevelt signed an executive order declaring parts of four western states to be a war zone operating under military rule. The U.S. Army immediately began rounding up thousands of Japanese-Americans, sometimes giving them less than 24 hours to vacate their houses and farms. For the rest of the war, these victims of war hysteria were imprisoned in primitive camps.

From her first flight at 15, Jackie Moggridge was hooked on flying. However, with the outbreak of World War II, Jackie's training was cut short. Determined to fly, she joined the ATA. Ferrying aircraft from factory to frontline was dangerous work, but Jackie excelled. She ferried more than 1500 aircraft during the war, more than any other ATA pilot, male or female. Spitfire Girl tells Jackie's remarkable story, in her own words. This is the memoir of the remarkable Jackie Moggridge: female pilot, Spitfire expert, and pioneer.

If you made a list of people who rocked the world, how many girls would be on it? Cleopatra was only 18 when named queen of the Egyptian empire, and Victoria was only 19 when crowned Queen of England. Phillis Wheatley is credited with starting the African-American literary tradition, and jazz singer Bessie Smith was only nine when she made her stage debut. This book covers the best-known heroines as well as some you may never have heard of, like Mary Anning, who discovered a dinosaur fossil in 1809 at the age of 11 and went on to become one of the first professional female scientists.

What do King Tut, Galileo, Crazy Horse, Bruce Lee, Chico Mendes, Elvis Presley, Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, and the Dalai Lama all have in common? They each left their mark on the world in a big way-and all were boys or young men when they did! Did you know that King Tut was one of the youngest pharaohs ever to rule Ancient Egypt? If that sounds like a huge responsibility in itself, imagine that he was able to restore order, peace, and prosperity to the people after years of chaos! Have you ever heard about Chico Mendes?