On My Own Biography

A biography of the freed slave who made her fortune in Colorado and used her money to bring other former slaves there to begin new lives.

Describes the life and accomplishments of Bessie Coleman, who overcame racism and poverty to become the first African American woman pilot.

During the Great Depression, many people had to work long hours and were barely paid enough to survive. Cesar Chavez felt this treatment was unfair and worked to secure more rights. He formed a Union and led strikes and marches that forced landowners to increase wages and improve working conditions. This account shows how Chavez inspired others, proving that it was not necessary to resort to violence to produce change.

Introduces the life of Florence Nightingale, a pioneer of women's nursing, including her childhood, training, work in the Crimean War, and her school for nurses.

Focuses on the early life of Helen Keller, a woman who is well known for overcoming the handicaps of blindness and deafness.

A brief biography of the man who fought against slavery in the Kansas Territory and who led a revolt at Harper's Ferry in 1859.

As a young man growing up in Greenland, Leif Ericsson had heard stories about a land to the west across the Atlantic Ocean. One day, he gathered a crew and set off to explore the land himself. He landed at three different places, finally settling at Vinland", now Newfoundland, Canada, for the winter. When he returned home, he became a hero, and inspired many other Vikings to explore the new world.

Introducing new readers to some of history's most interesting and important people, these biographies focus on the pivotal episodes that show what kind of person the subject is (or was) and how he or she came to be famous.

An introduction to the life of Pocahontas, a Powhatan Indian, which covers her birth, meetings with English settlers, trip to England, family life, and death.

A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a single Olympics.