National Network for Equitable Library Service

In the Heart of the Sea brings to new life the incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex. In a harrowing page-turner, Nathaniel Philbrick restores this epic story to its rightful place in American history.

You might know the basics about such historical figures as Columbus, Lewis and Clark, and Sally Ride. But what do you really know about these bold explorers? With juicy tidbits galore, this volume reveals these fascinating adventurers as both world-changers and real people.

Scientists have a reputation for being focused on their work and maybe even dull. But take another look. Did you know that it's believed Galileo was scolded by the Roman Inquisition for sassing his mom? That Isaac Newton loved to examine soap bubbles? That Albert Einstein loved to collect joke books, and that geneticist Barbara McClintock wore a Groucho Marx disguise in public?

Peg Kehret shares the true story about when she was twelve and stricken with polio. At first paralyzed and terrified, she fought her way to recovery, aided by doctors and therapists, a loving family, supportive roommates fighting their own battles with the disease, and plenty of grit and luck.

As a fourteen-year-old, he was Malcolm Little, the president of his class and a top student. At sixteen, he was hustling tips at a Boston nightclub. In Harlem, he was known as Detroit Red, a slick street operator. At nineteen, he was back in Boston, leading a gang of burglars. At twenty, he was in prison. It was in prison that Malcolm Little started the journey that would lead him to adopt the name Malcolm X, and there he developed his beliefs about what being black means in America--beliefs that shook America then and still shake America today.

Charlie Chaplin comes to life in this astonishing rags-to-riches saga of an irrepressible kid whose childhood was dealt from the bottom of the deck.

When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. It wasn't until years later that she was diagnosed with autism, a brain disorder that makes communication difficult. Today, Dr. Temple Grandin is a brilliant scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Her world-changing career has revolutionized the livestock industry--each year, half the cattle in the United States are handled in cruelty-free facilities she has designed.

Early on the morning of December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a massive surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Two brief and terrible hours later, much of the American fleet lay sunk or burning; 2,388 Americans were dead; and the United States and Japan were at war. Dozens of children witnessed this pivotal moment in history. And hundreds of young servicemen--both American and Japanese--came of age on this unforgettable day.

Describes the events of the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition when, after being trapped in a frozen sea for nine months, their ship, Endurance, was finally crushed, forcing Shackleton and his men to make a very long and perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land.

The presidents of the United States have been different not only in politics, but also as people. Kathleen Krull looks at our nation's fearless leaders with the eye of a gossipy neighbor, dishing the dirt on bad habits, bad fashion, and bad manners.