Books published by publisher Compass Point Books (2006-01-01)

It was the biggest event in the history of women’s sports. And for the Americans, it came down to five kicks. After regulation play and two overtimes in the final game of the 1999 women’s World Cup soccer match, the score was 0-0. Penalty kicks would decide the world champion. The Chinese and the Americans would each pick five players. One kick per player. With the score tied 4-4, the Americans had one more chance to win it all. Brandi Chastain was up. If she made her kick, the Americans would win the World Cup. Success! After her winning goal, Chastain dropped to the turf, whipped off her jersey, and screamed with joy. The photo of the triumphant female athlete would circle the globe. Twenty-seven years after Title IX, the world now knew that women’s sports had arrived. The victory was more than the end of a soccer game. It was the end of a crusade to prove that women’s sports should be taken as seriously as men’s. What a win!

Little boys, some as young as 6, spent their long days, not playing or studying, but sorting coal in dusty, loud, and dangerous conditions. Many of these breaker boys worked 10 hours a day, six days a week all for as little as 45 cents a day. Child labor was common in the United States in the 19th century. It took the compelling, heart breaking photographs of Lewis Hine and others to bring the harsh working conditions to light. Hine and his fellow Progressives wanted to end child labor. He knew photography would reveal the truth and teach and change the world. With his camera Hine showed people what life was like for immigrants, the poor, and the children working in mines, factories, and mills. In the words of an historian, the more than 7,000 photos Hine took of American children at work aroused public sentiment against child labor in a way that no printed page or public lecture could.

In 1861 the United States was at a crossroads. People in the Southern states believed that Northerners were trying to change their way of life. People in the North were upset that Southerners wanted to govern themselves. The issue of slavery was caught in the middle. As the events of the Civil War unfolded, each side fought for what they believed in.

The 1870 passage of the 17th Amendment to the Constitutionthat no man could be denied the right to votewas a big step forward in the civil rights movement. However, nearly 100 years later, most African-Americans in the South still could not vote. In March 1965, a march from Selma, Alabama, to the state Capitol in Montgomery was planned to demand voting rights. But the marchers only made it six blocks before they were stopped and brutally attacked by state troopers. March 7 became known as Bloody Sunday. The beatings outraged Americans who rallied to support the civil rights movement.

When supplies were running low, Knox led a group of men through treacherous conditions to retrieve weapons and ammunition for the Colonial Army. His brave actions brought about a much-needed victory for the Patriots and saved the city of Boston from destruction. In doing so, Knox played a significant role in saving the American cause. Henry Knox's mission to save Boston from the British makes an unforgettable story, yet it's unfamiliar to many people.

World War II was in its early days when brutal German dictator Adolf Hitler paid a visit to Paris, the capital of France. Only days before, on June 14, 1940, German soldiers had overrun the city, shocking the world. Hitler now viewed the city's cultural treasures as his own. He posed for a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower, the beloved symbol of France and the country's free, democratic people. The photo, taken by his personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann, would show the world that Nazi Germany had triumphed over its bitter enemy. Many who viewed the photo in newspapers around the globe would draw a second conclusion that Germany would almost certainly invade Britain next. And if Britain fell, Hitler would be a huge step closer to his ultimate goal of world domination.

Millions of tons of plastic slip into oceans every year. Some floats and travels slowly with the currents, endangering the health of marine animals. The rest is hardly visible but is far more dangerous. Tiny bits of plastic sprinkle the ocean's surface or mix into the sandy seafloor and beaches. It ends up inside birds, fish, and other animals, harming them-and ultimately humans. Experts struggle with fear and hope as they work to stop the flood of plastic threatening living organisms across the globe.

The mighty Soviets were the favorites to win hockey gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics. But a team of U.S. college players had other ideas. The stunning upset of the Soviet hockey team by the young Americans has been called the greatest moment in international hockey. And to many people the victory was about much more than sports. Americans had gone through difficult times at home and abroad. Beating the best hockey team in the world―and its major Cold War rival―gave Americans a sense of pride. One iconic photo captured the impact of that “miraculous” historic event.

No one knew his name. But soon millions would know about his bravery. For almost two months in spring 1989, Beijing’s Tiananmen Square had been the site of growing protests against China's hardline communist government. In early June, China’s leaders had had enough. In a matter of days soldiers cleared the square. They used sticks and cattle prods. They shot rubber bullets, then real ones. They used bayonets. Student protesters fought back with firebombs and rocks, but they were no match for the soldiers. Gunfire still rang out in parts of Beijing, but China’s leaders felt in control. As tanks rumbled through the streets near Tiananmen Square, a man in a white shirt came suddenly into view. He held up his right hand, like a police officer trying to halt traffic. The first huge tank in a row of four stopped just a few feet in front of the man. The tanks behind it stopped as well. Photographer Jeff Widener took a picture of the brave protester halting the huge armored fighting vehicles. The image was soon sent around the world, becoming one of the most famous photographs ever.

In May 1963 news photographer Charles Moore was on hand to document the Children’s Crusade, a civil rights protest. But the photographs he took that day did more than document an event; they helped change history. His photograph of a trio of African-American teenagers being slammed against a building by a blast of water from a fire hose was especially powerful. The image of this brutal treatment turned Americans into witnesses at a time when hate and prejudice were on trial. It helped rally the civil rights movement and energized the public, making civil rights a national problem needing a national solution. And it paved the way for Congress to finally pass laws to give citizens equal rights regardless of the color of their skin.