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Best of Times: The Story of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens is one of the most famous authors in the world. His books, including
the classics A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations,
and Oliver Twist, have had an incalculable impact on literature. But the man behind
these flights of imagination was not as cheery as the comedy of his novels might suggest.
His father's extravagant spending left little for Dickens's education: he had only a few
years of schooling. At the age of twelve, when his father was remanded to debtors' prison,
Dickens was sent to work in a factory. The experience scarred him deeply, and he never got
over his fear of debt or forgot what it was like to be young, alone, and afraid.
Dickens's rise to literary fame was quick. The Pickwick Papers was all the rage by
the time its author was twenty-four. His astonishing eye for detail and his sense of humor
helped Dickens reach a previously untapped audience in the poor and the growing middle class.
While Dickens contributed substantial sums of money as well as time and energy to charitable
efforts, he was a cold father and a distant husband. His life was as complicated and dramatic
as his novels, revealing a complex and fascinating man who devoted himself to telling stories
that illuminated the people and the times of Victorian England. (read an
excerpt)
Deep Woods: The Story of Robert Frost
Robert Frost is considered the
quintessential New England poet, though he was born in California. Left penniless by
the death of her free-spending husband, Robbie's mother had to move her family east,
where they relied on the charity of relatives. Young Robert would grow to love the
landscape and make it a defining feature of his poetry.
Though he constantly struggled to provide for his family, Frost eked out a living as a
farmer, teacher, and poet, until his poetry began to draw positive notice. Though he
did not have a college degree, Frost went on to teach at some of the country's most
prestigious universities and collected twenty-six honorary degrees. His dozens of honors
included four Pulitzer Prizes, but this glory and success did not translate to his personal
life. He had to commit his mother, sister, and a daughter to sanitariums because of mental
illness. His only son committed suicide, and Frost himself suffered from depression. His
stature as a famous American poet was cemented when he read at President John F. Kennedy's
inauguration, but Frost was never quite comfortable with his notoriety. Deep Woods: The
Story of Robert Frost explores the story behind the life and words of one of America's
best-known writers. (read an excerpt)
Waging Peace: The Story of Jane Addams
From her first
glimpse of poverty as a young girl, Jane Addams resolved to find a way to help those
who could not help themselves. Her own privileged upbringing included a good education
and travel in Europe. In London, she discovered the settlement house phenomenon, an
idea she brought to life in Chicago when she opened the famous Hull House. There, Addams
and her team of dedicated volunteers worked tirelessly to provide those trapped in the
city’s slums with better sanitation and safer working and living conditions. From Hull
House, she branched out to larger concerns, working to win women the right to vote and
promoting peaceful solutions to the world’s problems. She was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1931—the first woman ever so honored. (read an
excerpt)
An American Hero: The Audie Murphy Story
By the time he was
twenty-one years old, Audie Murphy had become a World War II hero, distinguishing
himself by winning more medals than any other American soldier in history. Despite
coming from an impoverished background in Texas and having little formal education,
Murphy quickly rose through the ranks of enlisted men fighting in the European theater.
He was commissioned as an officer while still on the battle field and later received
the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for a soldier in battle.
After he returned to the United States, he suffered from post-traumatic-stress-syndrome
but managed to carve out a career as a movie star in forty-four films. Ironically, he
escaped the bullets intended for him during the war but then died in a plane crash
in his own country. Murphy is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. This book
is featured on the Audie Murphy Research Foundation national website.
(read an excerpt)
Petticoat Spies
Petticoat Spies (2002, Morgan Reynolds Publishing), contains the collected short
life stories of six female spies during the Civil War. (read
an excerpt)
An American in Texas: The Story of Sam Houston
The life of Sam Houston spanned the United States' dealings with the
Indians, westward expansion, slavery, and secession. He held more military
offices than anyone else in American history. (read an
excerpt)
Marcus Garvey: Black Nationalist
Although Marcus Garvey remains a controversial figure, he holds a secure
place in history. He advocated black pride in black culture. He inspired
hope and he influenced a renewed interest in African roots and history that
would continue to grow long after his passing. (read an
excerpt)
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