
The Small and the Mighty
Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, From the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement
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
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Start with this bookAbout 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 Lives | 39% |
|---|---|
| U.S. History | 33% |
| 20th-Century America | 26% |
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