The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon

The Small and the Mighty

Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, From the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement

Sharon McMahon

Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · September 24, 2024

A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From America’s favorite government teacher, a “fascinating and fun” (Adam Grant) portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country.

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Who it’s for
A compact history lesson that turns overlooked Americans into vivid entry points for discussion.
Genres
U.S. History, 20th-Century America, Activist Lives
Published
Penguin Publishing Group, September 24, 2024

About this book

A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From America’s favorite government teacher, a “fascinating and fun” (Adam Grant) portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country. In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn’t make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers.

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Through meticulous research, she discovers history’s unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time. You’ll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more. This is a book about what really made America – and Americans – great. McMahon’s cast of improbable champions will become familiar friends, lighting the path we journey in our quest to make the world more just, peaceful, good, and free.

Quiet Impact

A compact history lesson that turns overlooked Americans into vivid entry points for discussion.

Come here for

  • Unsung lives, big historical ripples
  • Classroom-ready civics with conversation fuel

Expect

  • Straightforward, accessible framing
  • Built for teaching, reading, and talking

Where it sits

Activist Lives39%
U.S. History33%
20th-Century America26%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • U.S. History
  • Civics
  • American Government
Authors
Sharon McMahon
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
Published
September 24, 2024
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
U.S. History