Stephanie Sammartino McPherson

"Iceberg, Right Ahead!" Only 160 minutes passed between the time a sailor on lookout duty uttered these chilling words and the moment when the mighty ocean liner Titanic totally disappeared into the cold, dark waters of the North Atlantic. This century-old tragedy, which took more than 1,500 lives, still captivates people in the twenty-first century. Seventy-three years separate the two major Titanic events—the 1912 sinking of the vessel and the...

Behind the fame of big-time sports lies a complex web of controversy and deceit. Doping-the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to gain a competitive athletic edge-is common in many sports. While doping can improve performance, it poses huge risks for athletes' health and careers. Some of the world's top athletes, from cyclist Lance Armstrong to professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez, have seen their images tarnished by doping scandals....

This book traces the life of the wife of first president George Washington from her childhood in Virginia, to her marriage to Daniel Parke Custis and her years as a wealthy widow, through her marriage to Washington. It highlights her role in supporting Washington through the years of the American Revolution, showing how she set standards to be followed by future First Ladies throughout American history.

Between standardized tests, extra-curricular activities, pressure from parents, and the strain of getting into college, school is more stressful than ever. Relieve some of that stress by learning techniques to deal with the mounting pressure felt by students every day.

Dr. Alice Hamilton's accomplishments were many, but one in particular changed her life forever. Working as a social worker in the Chicago slums, Alice noticed that lead factory workers were pale and thin, and some had trouble moving their wrists and hands. Setting out to investigate the cause of their ailments, Alice pioneered a new branch of medicine--industrial medicine. As a doctor, social worker, and fighter for peace, Alice single-handedly changed...

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, scientist Katalin Karikó was one of the few people who believed in the potential of mRNA to help cells fight off disease. Breakthrough chronicles Karikó's relentless pursuit of knowledge and dedication to helping people, depicting her as an inspirational figure for readers interested in science. The book contextualizes Karikó's work within her upbringing in a small village in rural Hungary, the...

When an election is coming up, you usually expect a face-off between the two major US political parties-Democrats and Republicans. It's easy to forget that there are numerous minor parties-and even groups within a single party-that have different goals. Why do we need political parties? In modern elections, they are important in shaping candidates' positions on issues, determining who is nominated to run on a party ticket, and working behind the scenes...

Sisters against Slavery recounts the lives of Sarah Grimke and Angelica Grimke Weld. These daughters of wealthy Southern planters and slave owners renounced slavery in the 1830's. Through their writings and through a series of lectures delivered in the North, the sisters became famous for their views on slavery and women's rights. Although the sisters were active as speakers and essayists for a relatively short time in the 1830's and 1840's, they...

As USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, noted, "Google has infiltrated the daily lives of millions of people." But this giant company had very humble beginnings. In 1996 Sergey Brin and Larry Page were graduate students at Stanford University in California when they decided to invent a new way to search the information on the World Wide Web. Their technology project soon became a search engine and a company, Google, that changed the way information...

Wildfire is a natural process that takes place in forests and grasslands all over the world. In dry conditions, a single spark can rapidly transform into flames that stretch for miles and sweep across the landscape, burning away everything in their path. Although commonly seen as destructive and deadly, fire is a necessary part of ecosystems; they refresh the land and allow for new plant growth. Environmental scientist Ferin Davis Anderson and author...