Books with author Martin W. Sandler

Millions of people from all over the world left their homelands in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to come to the United States. Their journeys were often long and perilous, but to these huddled masses, the sight of the Statue of Liberty signified hope for a new beginning in their new home-- America. Whether settling in city tenements or heading west for life on the frontier, these immigrants toiled to achieve the lives they had dreamed about. Their experiences helped to shape national identity and heritage.Over one hundred vintage photographs, posters, and paintings from the archives of the Library of COngress-- often called "the storehouse of the national memory"-- remind us of what becoming American meant to millions of people. Homeward BoundHomeward Bound

The Library of Congress, located in Wash., D.C., is often called ''the storehouse of our national memory,'' and is home to the largest collection of knowledge on earth. Here is a fascinating look into the past at some of the most important events in our country's history through the pictures stored in the Library's vast archives. It shows what it was like for people to leave their homelands behind in search of a better life in the U.S., and the struggles they went through once they arrived on these shores through: quotes from immigrants' letters and diaries; vintage photos; posters; and paintings. ''A breathtaking look back through time at the challenges and triumphs of the millions of immigrants who have journeyed to our country.'' Ages 8 and up. Illustrations.

Experience the race of rails to link the country—and meet the men behind this incredible feat—in a riveting story about the building of the transcontinental railroad, brought to life with archival photos. In the 1850s, gold fever swept the West, but people had to walk, sail, or ride horses for months on end to seek their fortune. The question of faster, safer transportation was posed by national leaders. But with 1,800 miles of seemingly impenetrable mountains, searing deserts, and endless plains between the Missouri River and San Francisco, could a transcontinental railroad be built? It seemed impossible. Eventually, two railroad companies, the Central Pacific, which laid the tracks eastward, and the Union Pacific, which moved west, began the job. In one great race between iron men with iron wills, tens of thousands of workers blasted the longest tunnels that had ever been constructed, built the highest bridges that had ever been created, and finally linked the nation by two bands of steel, changing America forever.

A nation in need of hope, the most powerful rocket ever launched, and the first three men to break the bounds of Earth: Apollo 8 was headed to the moon.In 1957, when the USSR launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth, America’s rival in the Cold War claimed victory on a new frontier. The Space Race had begun, and the United States was losing. Closer to home, a decade of turbulence would soon have Americans reeling, with the year 1968 alone seeing the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy as well as many violent clashes between police and protesters. Americans desperately needed something good to believe in, and NASA’s mission to orbit Earth in Apollo 8 and test a lunar landing module was being planned for the end of the year. But with four months to go and the module behind schedule, the CIA discovered that the USSR was preparing to send its own mission around the moon — another crucial victory in the Space Race — and it was clearly time for a change of plan. Martin W. Sandler unfolds an incredible chapter in U.S. history: Apollo 8 wouldn’t just orbit Earth, it would take American astronauts to see the dark side of the moon.