Books in You Choose: History series

You’re living in the United States during the time of the Westward Expansion. Settlers are heading west on the Oregon Trail as they seek better lives. Will you: Go west with your family as part of a wagon train? Serve as a trail guide for a group of settlers? Try to cope with the changes in your way of life as a western American Indian? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to opportunity, to wealth, to poverty, or even to death.

World War I has just exploded in Europe. The peace of the entire world is in danger. How will you help? Will you: Join the Belgian resistance movement? Fight as a British Army soldier? Serve as a volunteer with the American Field Service? YOU CHOOSE what to do next. The path you choose can lead to heroism, success, or death. The path you take is up to you.

It’s 1863, and the Civil War has torn apart the United States. For two years, the Confederacy and the Union have battled over slavery and states’ rights. Will you: Fight for the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg? OR Serve with Stonewall Jackson as a Confederate soldier at the Battle of Chancellorsville? OR Try to survive the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, as a civilian?

Starting in colonial times, thousands of African people were kidnapped and brought to the United States, where they were enslaved. Those who escaped were often caught, and, if so, treated harshly, or even killed, as were those who tried to help them escape. But that didn’t stop brave people from trying. By the 1850s an escape method dubbed the Underground Railroad was in full swing. Though it wasn’t a railroad, but a network of people helping enslaved people escape to the northern United States and Canada, it used railroad terms such as conductor and station. Imagine you were an enslaved person in the 1850s, desperate to escape to freedom, or a helper on the railroad, taking great risks so others could escape to freedom. The Underground Railroad lets you choose a path … to freedom or capture and, perhaps, death.

You are a New Englander with a bad case of gold fever. Gold has been discovered in California, and you want to go claim some for yourself. Here's a chance to set off on your own quest for gold. Everything in this book happened to real people, but you are in control now and YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to treasure or trouble. Will you strike it rich?

YOU are aboard the Titanic, the world’s largest ocean liner. The ship is sinking, and the ocean water is freezing. Will you survive? Do you get on the lifeboat or try to wait it out? Do you come to the rescue of the ship or continue in your path? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what to do next. The choices you make will lead you to life or death.

You’re one of millions of immigrants leaving your home in the early 1900s to move to the United States. You’re searching for a better life. Ellis Island, near New York City, is your first stop in your search for opportunity and freedom. Officials on the island have been processing immigrants there for decades, but not everyone gets through. If you pass the tests, you’re on your way to a new life in the United States. If you don’t, you may find yourself being sent back to your homeland. What path will you take? Will you: Be a Jewish youth leaving the violence of Russia in hopes of a better life in America? Be an Italian teen who lands at Ellis Island during World War I? A German immigrant who faces deportation? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to opportunity, to wealth, to poverty, or even to death.