John Wesley Powell always had the spirit of adventure in him. As a young man, he traveled all over the United States exploring. When the Civil War began, Powell went to fight for the Union, and even after he lost most of his right arm, he continued to fight until the war was over. In 1869, he embarked with the Colorado River Exploring Expedition-- ten men in four boats-- to float through the Grand Canyon. Ten explorers went in, but only six came out....

The Donner Party expedition is one of the most notorious stories in all of American history. It's also a fascinating snapshot of the westward expansion of the United States, and the families and individuals who sacrificed so much to build new lives in a largely unknown landscape. From the preparation for the journey to each disastrous leg of the trip, this book shows the specific bad decisions that led to the party's predicament in the Sierra Nevada...

A middle-grade introduction to World War II is presented through stories of high-flying action, heroism and survival that illuminate such topics as the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the contributions of volunteer pilots and the roles of aircraft carrier military bombers.

In 1914, the world's biggest countries (and some of its smallest, too) were gearing up for a massive fight. Land, history, geography -- each country came to war for different reasons and with different resources. But most ended up the same: sending their young men to fight for their lives in the mud, on the sea, and in the air, in a conflict that would eventually claim more than 9 million lives.

"The first American pilots to fight in World War I flew for the French military. France created a squadron of volunteer Americans called the Lafayette Escadrille (named after the great Marquis de Lafayette). Follow this squadron on their high-flying adventures: How they got into the French military. How they learned to fly. How they fought--and died. And how these American pilots would go down in history with other legendary flying aces, like the...