At the age of 17, Don Stinson accidentally landed a job in the White House during Watergate, the largest political scandal in American history. A truly insignificant member of the Nixon White House staff, he frequently loitered outside of the Oval Office to watch it unfold.  What he saw throughout the White House ran  the gamut from the deeply profound to the wildly hilarious.​     He was also a kid who did the same kind of harebrained things most teenagers do.​  Only steps away from the Oval Office, he fought with a foreign head of state for space in a restroom. ​​ He devised a shortcut that tripped countless alarms and summoned an agitated band of Secret Service agents. He spilled ice ​water on Frank Sinatra's sock.   And that was just the small stuff.​A funny, fast-paced memoir, Downstairs at the White House is richly decorated with presidents, first ladies, celebrities . . . and events that shook America.  ​

New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin gives young readers the causes and curses that divided America into Union and Confederate nations in Two Miserable Presidents: The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War, illustrated by Tim Robinson. A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the YearA Beacon of Freedom Award Winner Get the feeling something big is about to happen? Welcome to the Civil War―one of the scariest, saddest, and occasionally wackiest stories in American History.1856: Northern and Southern settlers attack each other in Kansas.1858: Congressmen start sneaking guns and knives into the Senate chamber.1860: President James Buchanan is heard wailing, “I am the last president of the United States!”Unraveling a very complicated string of events--the small things, the personal ones, the big issues--Steve Sheinkin takes readers behind the scenes that led to The Civil War. It is a time and a war that threatened America's very existence, revealed in the surprising true stories of the soldiers and statesmen who battled it out. “Chatty and accessible, this book does double duty: it introduces Civil War history for readers who don't know much about it and supplies browsable commentary for those familiar with the big picture...Beginning with a look at the role cotton played in the history, his fast-paced narrative is broken into short, tersely titled vignettes...The horrors of slavery and battlefield slaughter are clear, as are achievements of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and many more.” ―BooklistAlso by Steve Sheinkin:Bomb: The Race to Build―and Steal―the World's Most Dangerous WeaponThe Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & TreacheryThe Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil RightsUndefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football TeamMost Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam WarWhich Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About Westward ExpansionKing George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American RevolutionBorn to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America

Kennedy's Last Days is a gripping account of the events leading up to the most notorious crime of the 20th century. Adapted from Bill O'Reilly's best-selling historical thriller, Killing Kennedy, this audiobook will have young listeners - and grown-ups too - hooked on this fascinating and colorful period of history. In the first term of his presidency, as the Cold War escalates, John F. Kennedy struggles to contain the growth of Communism while dealing with the many other complexities facing him as president of the United States. In the midst of a 1963 campaign trip to Texas, Kennedy is gunned down by an erratic young drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes the scene, only to be caught and shot dead while in police custody. With an unforgettable cast of characters, non-stop action, and vivid detail, Kennedy's Last Days is history that reads like a thriller. This is a very special audiobook, irresistible on its own or as a compelling companion to Killing Kennedy.

From Martha Brockenbrough, award winning author of The Game of Love and Death, comes an intimate new YA audiobook focusing on the private life of Alexander Hamilton. Complex, passionate, brilliant, flawed-America's favorite Founding Father comes alive in this exciting biography. He was born out of wedlock on a small island in the West Indies and orphaned as a teenager. From those inauspicious circumstances, he rose to a position of power and influence in colonial America. Discover this founding father's incredible true story: his brilliant scholarship and military career; his groundbreaking and enduring policy, which shapes American government today; his salacious and scandalous personal life; his heartrending end. Richly informed by Hamilton's own writing, Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary is an in-depth biography of an extraordinary man.

A breathtaking and dramatic account of the JFK assassination by the New York Times best-selling author. Swanson transports listeners back to one of the most shocking, sad, and terrifying events in American history. As he did in his best-selling Chasing Lincoln's Killer, he deploys his signature "you are there" style to tell the story of the JFK assassination as it has never been told before.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer unravels the truth behind the secret assassination attempt on George Washington and how the plot helped create the CIA and the FBI in this young reader's adaptation for younger audiences.1776.The early days of the Revolutionary War.It supposedly began with Thomas Hickey, a private in the Continental Army, and New York governor William Tryon. In an astonishing power grab, they plotted to kill Hickey's boss: a man by the name of George Washington.In the end, Hickey was caught, brought to trial, and found guilty. It would seem he became the first person in the new nation to be executed for treason.But to this day, nobody knows for sure if this story is true. In The First Conspiracy, Brad Meltzer sheds light on the close-kept secrets and compelling details surrounding this story and exposes the history of how the assassination plot catalyzed the creation of the CIA and FBI.This page-turning investigation offers young readers an in-depth look at the facts and remaining questions that surround this contested historical event.

Abraham Lincoln stood out in a crowd as much for his wit and rollicking humor as for his height. This Newbery Medal-winning biography of our Civil War president is warm, appealing, and illustrated with dozens of carefully chosen photographs and prints.Russell Freedman begins with a lively account of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood, his career as a country lawyer, and his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd. Then the author focuses on the presidential years (1861 to 1865), skillfullly explaining the many complex issues Lincoln grappled with as he led a deeply divided nation through the Civil War. The book's final chapter is a moving account of that tragic evening in Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. Concludes with a sampling of Lincoln writings and a detailed list of Lincoln historical sites. This title has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades 2-3, Read Aloud Informational Text).

A YALSA-ALA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award Finalist A breathtaking and dramatic account of the JFK assassination by the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER!In his new young-adult book on the Kennedy assassination, James Swanson will transport readers back to one of the most shocking, sad, and terrifying events in American history. As he did in his bestselling Scholastic YA book, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER, Swanson deploys his signature "you are there" style -- a riveting, ticking-clock pace, with an unprecedented eye for dramatic details and impeccable historical accuracy -- to tell the story of the JFK assassination as it has never been told before. The book is illustrated with archival photos, diagrams, source notes, bibliography, places to visit, and index.

Complex, passionate, brilliant, flawed―Alexander Hamilton comes alive in this exciting YA biography by Martha Brockenbrough.He was born out of wedlock on a small island in the West Indies and orphaned as a teenager. From those inauspicious circumstances, he rose to a position of power and influence in colonial America. Discover this founding father's incredible true story: his brilliant scholarship and military career; his groundbreaking and enduring policy, which shapes American government today; his salacious and scandalous personal life; his heartrending end.Richly informed by Hamilton's own writing, with archival artwork and new illustrations, Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary is an in-depth biography of an extraordinary man.

The year was 1981. Just two months into his presidency, Ronald Reagan was shot after leaving a speaking engagement in Washington, D. C. The quick action of the Secret Service and medical professionals saved the president's life. Mere days after his near-death experience, Reagan's personal strength propelled him back into his presidential duties. Adapted from Bill O'Reilly's historical thriller Killing Reagan, with characteristically gripping storytelling, this story explores the events of the day Reagan was shot. From the scene of the shooting and the dramatic action of the Secret Service, to the FBI's interrogation of the shooter, the life-saving measures of the medical professionals and the president's extraordinary recovery, this is a page-turning account of an attempted assassination and its aftermath.This title has Common Core connections.

Donald Trump is the 45th president of the United States. Unlike other elected leaders of this nation, Trump has had zero experience in politics and so played the underdog during the campaign period. For those who do not know much about President Trump, here’s a book to have. Read about his history, including his strengths and weaknesses. Grab a copy today!

Thomas Jefferson lived a dozen lifetimes in one: patriot, scientist, architect, United States President, author of the Declaration of Independence. T This fascinating storytelling biography also presents real-life portraits of Washington, Adams, Madison, Franklin, Monroe, Hamilton , and Lafayette.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States. This book will feature the life of Dwight as he was growing up until the time that he was president. It will also include information on his significant contributions to the country. Reading his life story will hopefully create a desire in the young ones to follow his good examples. Grab a copy today!

The year was 1981. Just two months into his presidency, Ronald Reagan was shot after leaving a speaking engagement in Washington, D. C. The quick action of the Secret Service and medical professionals saved the president's life. Mere days after his near-death experience, Reagan's personal strength propelled him back into his presidential duties. Adapted from Bill O'Reilly's historical thriller Killing Reagan, with characteristically gripping storytelling, this story explores the events of the day Reagan was shot. From the scene of the shooting and the dramatic action of the Secret Service, to the FBI's interrogation of the shooter, the life-saving measures of the medical professionals and the president's extraordinary recovery, this is a page-turning account of an attempted assassination and its aftermath.This title has Common Core connections.

Character shapes a nation as Jim Weiss presents the action-filled, moving story of George Washington, a man of remarkable physical strenth and equally powerful emotions. Amid bullets and ballots, as commander-in-chief and constitutionalist, political leader and peaceful farmer, family man and father of a nation, here's a very "human" man who won a war and refused a crown; who saw with amazing clarity the future achievements and challenges of a new nation; who hoped to overcome slavery and unite all Americans, while holding that new nation together in its rocky first years by sheer will. By the end, you'll understand why George Washington truly merits the title "first in the hearts of his countrymen."

In his new young-adult book on the Kennedy assassination, James Swanson will transport readers back to one of the most shocking, sad, and terrifying events in American history. As he did in his bestselling Scholastic YA book, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER, Swanson will deploy his signature "you are there" style -- a riveting, ticking-clock pace, with an unprecedented eye for dramatic details and impeccable historical accuracy -- to tell the story of the JFK assassination as it has never been told before.The book will be illustrated with archival photos, and will have diagrams, source notes, bibliography, places to visit, and an index.

The laughter, tragedy and astonishing triumphs in this storytelling biography of Abraham Lincoln will entertain and inspire listeners as they experience touching personal moments, Lincoln's famous wit, great ethical issues, military battles, and the complete Gettysburg address. Jim Weiss' spirited narration will remind children and adults alike why Lincoln holds a special place in American history and in our hearts.

Abraham Lincoln stood out in a crowd as much for his wit and rollicking humor as for his height. This Newbery Medal-winning biography of our Civil War president is warm, appealing, and illustrated with dozens of carefully chosen photographs and prints.Russell Freedman begins with a lively account of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood, his career as a country lawyer, and his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd. Then the author focuses on the presidential years (1861 to 1865), skillfullly explaining the many complex issues Lincoln grappled with as he led a deeply divided nation through the Civil War. The book's final chapter is a moving account of that tragic evening in Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. Concludes with a sampling of Lincoln writings and a detailed list of Lincoln historical sites. This title has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades 2-3, Read Aloud Informational Text).

Enhanced with colorful illustrations, a simple biography offers a look at the life and times of this great leader, from his childhood days on a Virginia farm through his military achievements. Reprint.

Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, James A. Garfield became the twentieth President of the United States in 1881. His time as President was brief: he served only four months before he was shot in a railroad station by a man who was angry because Garfield would not give him a job. The wound became infected, and Garfield died several months later. In response, From Canal Boy to President was published to immediate success. It was often reprinted and widely read, well into the twentieth century. This biography provides only the basic details of Garfield's life, avoiding nuance, controversy, and partisan politics. But many generations of young Americans read it, and so it remains important today as a record of what late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Americans believed and wanted to believe about their nation, the potential of its public institutions, and how the political process can work to promote distinguished leaders to our highest office. The book illustrates Garfield's growth and character to support ideas about life in America that have long been cherished. For example, From Canal Boy to President describes Garfield's capacity for hard work through a series of humble jobs--he worked on farms and on the canal as a boy, and he worked as a carpenter and as a janitor to get through college. It also describes how his love of learning, his great study habits, and his development of public speaking skills led to success as a teacher, professor, college president, military commander, lawyer, and statesman.