A history of the slick and foul-smelling substance that drives our existence and that becomes scarcer as our dependence on it grows.

Through curiousity and perseverance Edward Jenner found a way to make a vaccine for small pox, one of the most feared diseases throughout history.

An account of the life of the man who shaped the Soviet Union, from pre-revolutionary Russia to its evolution as a superpower and the descent of the "Iron Curtain."

The causes and results of the Dust Bowl and how the lessons learned are still used today.

"In twentieth century America, no power–and no threat–loomed larger than the communist superpower of the Soviet Union. America saw in the dreams of the Soviet Union the overthrow of the US government, and the end of democracy and freedom. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of the United States attempted to use deep economic and racial disparities in American culture to win over members and sympathizers. From the miscarriage of justice in the Scotsboro...

In spring of 1918, World War I was underway, and troops at Fort Riley, Kansas, found themselves felled by influenza. By the summer of 1918, the second wave struck as a highly contagious and lethal epidemic and within weeks exploded into a pandemic, an illness that travels rapidly from one continent to another. It would impact the course of the war, and kill many millions more soldiers than warfare itself. Of all diseases, the 1918 flu was by far...

An account of Grant's life and his role in the Civil War.

Brings Lincoln to life by placing him in the context of his own personal background and the larger circumstances of the country's greatest conflict.

A biography of Robert E. Lee, concentrating on the Civil War years

"Wildfires have been part of the American landscape for thousands of years. Forests need fire--it's as necessary to their well-being as soil and sunlight. But some fires burn out of control, destroying everything and everyone in their path. In this book, you'll find out about how and why wildfires happen, how different groups . . . have managed forests and fire, the biggest wildfires in American history--how they began and . . . stories of both rescue...