Showing titles in Military & Wars

In the early 1860s, the United States is torn apart by Civil War. The conflict between the North and the South affects everyone, including many boys who want to join in the fight. Among them are young Edward Black, Lyston and Orion Howe, and Charles Moore. They're too young to fight in combat, but they show their courage by marching to battle as drummer boys.

It's March 2, 1955, and an ordinary 15-year-old girl from Montgomery, Alabama is about to do something extraordinary. When a white bus driver orders Claudette Colvin to give up her seat for a white passenger, she refuses to move. After Claudette is arrested, her brave actions help inspire Civil Rights leaders organize bus boycotts and perform similar acts to defy segregation laws.

Ida Lewis spent a lifetime on the water, starting when her family moved to the island of Lime Rock in 1857 for her father's job as lighthouse keeper. By age 15, Ida was the best swimmer in Newport, Rhode Island. And when her father suffers a stroke, Ida herself takes over as keeper of the lighthouse. But guarding the shore also means guarding the water. And when Ida spots four local boys in danger on the water, she knows she must take action, the boys' lives depend on it.

On December 7, 1941, Japan’s surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, propelled the United States into World War II. Now, listeners can step back in time to learn what led up to the attack, how the tragic event unfolded, and the ways in which one infamous day changed America forever.

On September 11, 2001, an entire country ground to a halt as terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City, the U.S. Pentagon in Washington D.C., and crashed an airliner near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Now listeners can step back in time to learn what led up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, how the tragic events unfolded, and the ways in which one devastating day changed America forever.

For years, the relationship between Great Britain and the American colonists had been wearing thin. Colonists felt they were being treated unfairly. The British thought they were putting down a rebellion. On April 19, 1775, the two sides clashed at Lexington and Concord. The American Revolution was about to begin. Now listeners can step back in time to learn about what led up to the battles, how the historic events unfolded, and the ways in which one shot changed America forever.

On April 9, 1861, soldiers gathered outside Fort Sumter. They were fighting for the Confederacy, which was made up of southern states that had left the United States. The soldiers demanded the U.S. Army leave the fort. Even though the fort had less than a week’s worth of supplies, the Army refused. Three days later, a fight for the fort began. That battle was the start of the Civil War. Now listeners can step back in time to learn about what led up to this historic conflict, how the costly event unfolded, and the ways in which one explosive day changed America forever.

In 1777, the American Revolution is well underway. At 16, Sybil Ludington knows the war all too well. Her father is a colonel in the Continental Army, battling for America's independence from Great Britain. Colonel Ludington and his regiment are home for the season when word comes that the British Army is attacking nearby. With her father too ill to ride, it's up to young Sybil to alert the American militia that the British are coming.

Michaela DePrince was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in the United States. She rose to fame as a ballet dancer in the late 2000s. Learn more about DePrince's life as a famous ballerina!

Nuclear weapon bunkers keep the world's dangerous nuclear weapons safe. Guards, electronic security systems, and barriers protect the bunkers. Learn more about these high-security places!

How can important information and valuable items be kept safe as years pass? Many of these items are stored in underground vaults, including recordings and photos from U.S. history, important documents, and more. Locks, guards, secret passwords, and technology all play a part in the protection of the items.

The Revolutionary War was over, but Washington’s officers had not received their wages from the Continental Congress in years. Afraid they would never get their money, the officers planned to storm Congress and demand it right away. Luckily, George Washington found out about the plot just in time. He delivered a passionate speech to his men, but they were unaffected. It was only when he struggled to read aloud a letter from Congress and had to put on his glasses, that they realized how much he had sacrificed for their country along with them. 

The sixth installment in the Newbery Honor-winning series from Tomie dePaola First-grader Tomie dePaola experiences uncertainty in the weeks following the attack on pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. What are the grown-ups talking quietly about at home and even at school? why does his class have to...

Union Colonel Thomas E. Rose was captured in a Civil War battle and thrown in the brutal and secure Libby Prison. He quickly realizes that tunneling out is the only way to escape and joins forces with Major A. G. Hamilton to begin digging to freedom.

Do you know the Confederacy had a navy during the Civil War? The CSS Shenandoah plundered Union ships in order to disrupt their commerce. Because they were out at sea, though, they never heard that the Confederates had surrendered, and they continued to fight! Learn about how these sailors were the last Confederate force to surrender.

Injured by a cannonball, James Edward Hanger was the first amputee of the Civil War. Determined to find a better solution than a peg leg, he worked to develop his own artificial limb company. He even continued working past retirement, providing Hanger Limbs for victims of World War I.

In a planned conspiracy to burn down major buildings in New York City during the Civil War, eight men of the Confederacy committed acts of terrorism. They attempted to destroy the city and claim it for the South by building a "Greek fire," which is stronger than regular fire because it is caused by chemical reactions.

Confederate Major Absalom Grimes carried letters between Civil War soldiers and their families, and became an expert prison escape artist in the process. Hear about Grimes' amazing life of adventure in this historical nonfiction story.

Learn the true story of a Civil War-era woman who became an entrepreneuring inventor of naval signal flares.

Learn about how foreign soldiers were prized by the Union and Confederate armies because they had experience fighting in European wars.