Books with author Ann Byers

“Who will look after me . . . and why can't we all go together?” Kurt Fuchel asked his father these questions, as the young boy prepared to embark on a journey to England . . . alone. Fuchel was one of ten thousand children who made this journey shortly before World War II began. In 1938, Jews searched for a way out of Germany. But anti-Jewish laws and nations unwilling to accept fleeing refugees made escape difficult or impossible. England’s effort to save the children effort came to be known as the Kindertransport, and author Ann Byers discusses the heroes who organized the transports and the children who were saved from the Holocaust.

Pedro lvares Cabral sailed around the world for Portugal in the early sixteenth century. His efforts led to a treaty opening the spice trade with India, but also years of war between his men and the kingdom of Calicut. Along the way he also discovered Brazil, perhaps by accident, opening the door for centuries of Portuguese colonization there. This biography dives into Cabrals background, his exploration assignments, and the impact, both positive and negative, of his voyages to India and Brazil.

The outermost khanate of the Mongol Empire was the Golden Horde, which conquered the Rus in northwestern Russia in the thirteenth century and continued to rule there in some capacity until the Russian Empire annexed Crimea, the khanates last holdout, in 1783. Despite vast cultural and geographic differences between Rus and the Mongols traditional homeland on the steppes of Central Asia, the Golden Horde flourished, with Moscow becoming the dominant principality. This fascinating and little-known history is related in thrilling, panoramic narrative detail and includes profiles of Rus leaders such as Alexander Nevsky and Daniel of Moscow.

As the Warsaw ghetto in Poland went up in flames in April 1943, Jewish fighters fought bravely for twenty-seven days against Nazi soldiers. With deportation to a death camp all but certain, young Jews in the ghetto decided not to go quietly. Although the Nazis defeated the Jewish resistance group, the spirit of the uprising lived on. For Jews living in Europe during the Holocaust, survival was often the only form of resistance. But Jews in ghettos, concentration camps, and partisan groups across Europe did fight back. Told through the words of teen resisters, author Ann Byers details the stories of courageous young people who fought back against Nazi Germany.

Bent Melchior, a fourteen-year-old Danish Jew, was crammed into the hold of a fishing boat. But this was not a normal fishing trip. Surviving the crowded, filthy conditions on this trip meant reaching freedom. After many hours at sea, Melchior had reached safety in Sweden. The remarkable story of rescuing the Danish Jews has many heroic tales. In the midst of World War II and the slaughter of millions in the Holocaust, the Danes resisted Nazi brutality and saved thousands of people from death.

Bent Melchior, a fourteen-year-old Danish Jew, was crammed into the hold of a fishing boat. But this was not a normal fishing trip. Surviving the crowded, filthy conditions on this trip meant reaching freedom. After many hours at sea, Melchior had reached safety in Sweden. The remarkable story of rescuing the Danish Jews has many heroic tales. In the midst of World War II and the slaughter of millions in the Holocaust, the Danes resisted Nazi brutality and saved thousands of people from death.

Alice Lok was deported to Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp, in 1944. Upon her arrival, she faced a "selection." Alice had to stand in line as a Nazi doctor examined the new camp inmates. If the doctor pointed one direction, it meant hard labor—but labor meant life. If the doctor pointed the other way, that meant immediate death. Alice was lucky. She survived Auschwitz and two other camps. However, millions of Jews were not so lucky. There were six Nazi death camps in operation during World War II and thousands of other work and prison camps. Author Ann Byers details the stories of young people who were forced to live in Nazi camps during the Holocaust.