Books in Legendary African Americans series

*Includes pictures *Includes Norris' own quotes about his life and career *Includes online resources, footnotes, and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “Whatever luck I had, I made. I was never a natural athlete, but I paid my dues in sweat and concentration and took the time necessary to learn karate and become world champion.” – Chuck Norris A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. It is not uncommon for a culture to create intricate mythologies around its combat arts champions, but those celebrity fighters who have produced enough tangible accomplishments to merit such adulation are generally limited to a few in each generation. In the second half of the 20th century, boxer Muhammad Ali commanded such reverence, and in the martial arts, two stars have primarily reestablished the entire combat genre for the international movie-going population. In terms of raw popularity, Chuck Norris represents the West. Whereas Bruce Lee developed a cinematic market by attaching scripts and formulaic plots to his masterful athleticism and martial arts skills that are still considered exotic to many Westerners, American Chuck Norris built his resume with little fanfare or sense of peripheral fantasy by studying and mastering the Korean karate form Tang Soo Do and by dominating in international competition for six consecutive years. Along the way, he came to study numerous related styles as well, attaining advanced black belt degrees in several. In a fighting career of approximately one decade, Norris was considered all but unbeatable for the last 8 years, and once his skills reached their peak, he held every significant major world title available in his weight class, as well as some without any weight distinction. Only after retirement was he redirected into the martial arts film industry set against uniquely American landscapes, where he created iconic characters and memorable combat scenes for several more decades. In contrast to Lee’s fame, which emerged from a Chinese version of martial arts entertainment laced with tinges of the superhuman, Chuck Norris was karate’s verismo artist, with his characters based on the realities of actual tournament and military experiences. His films capitalized upon the preexisting model of the American international male persona, both as it was and as he and the studios believed that it should be. In this way, Norris followed in the footsteps of Gary Cooper and John Wayne, with the addition of martial arts as a spur to the action. Critics have derided the quality of his acting from the onset of his career, but Norris has always maintained that his interest in acting was for the messages he intended for viewers, and he has never expressed a moment’s care for the pundits. A master of the paramilitary underdog and lone law enforcement officer film, his career would come to an apex with the television series Walker, Texas Ranger, a household name among viewers for nearly a decade and one that rivaled such classics as Gunsmoke and Bonanza. Not the sort to occupy his time with either second-guessing an issue or playing devil’s advocate, Norris has parlayed his fame into a forum from which he speaks openly of his conservative religious, political, and personal principles as an outspoken member of America’s far right. As an athletic icon, he is heavily involved with numerous charities, including the cleansing of the American school system of illegal drugs, and in the building of confident, self-assured citizens who are secure enough to resist the urge to respond to daily burdens with violence.

*Includes pictures. *Includes Pickford's quotes about her life and career. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. "Make them laugh, make them cry, and hack to laughter. What do people go to the theatre for? An emotional exercise. I am a servant of the people. I have never forgotten that.” – Mary Pickford A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. At the end of the 20th century, the American Film Institute compiled a list of the 25 greatest actors and actresses in Hollywood over the past 100 years, but only a select few worked all the way back in the silent era of films, before “talkies” revolutionized the industry at the end of the 1920s. Among them was Mary Pickford, who was ranked 24th but was arguably the most influential actress when it came to creating the career template for all actresses who followed, from name changes to salary. Like many actresses of the early 20th century, “Little Mary” got her start by acting on the stage, and she eventually made it to Broadway. By the time she had finished her run there, she had caught the eye of film director D.W. Griffith, who would go on to make Birth of a Nation and was working for the Biograph at the time. Pickford figured she would best make a mark by playing as many roles as possible, to the extent that she was appearing in an average of one film per week: "I played scrubwomen and secretaries and women of all nationalities... I decided that if I could get into as many pictures as possible, I'd become known, and there would be a demand for my work." And back before it was the norm, Pickford would avoid harsh winters in New York by heading to California to make movies there until it got warmer again, a move that foreshadowed the film industry’s wholesale move to Hollywood the following decade. Over the next several years, Pickford became the most famous actress in the industry, with only Charlie Chaplin rivaling her in popularity, to the extent that one film reviewer wrote she was “the best known woman who has ever lived, the woman who was known to more people and loved by more people than any other woman that has been in all history." By the time she had reached her peak, Pickford was making the unheard sum of $500 per week, and she was using her status to promote humanitarian causes and fundraising drives during World War I, a model that would be followed by so many Hollywood stars during World War II. Pickford was even one of the founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In a sense, it was fitting that “America’s Sweetheart” all but finished her career just as sound was being incorporated into movies, but ironically, the actress once called “loved by more people than any other woman” became something of a recluse in later years, until she started communicating with the outside world only by telephone. In fact, when she won a lifetime achievement Academy award, a TV crew was sent to her house to record her statement instead of having her appear to accept the award in person at the ceremony. American Legends: The Life of Mary Pickford examines the life and career of one of Hollywood’s most famous silent actresses. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Mary Pickford like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures. *Includes in depth accounts of Elvis Presley and The Beatles' historic performances on The Ed Sullivan Show. *Includes Sullivan's quotes about his life and his famous show. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. "Open big, have a good comedy act, put in something for children and keep the show clean. I believe in getting the best acts I can, introducing them quickly, and getting off." – Ed Sullivan’s explanation for the success of The Ed Sullivan Show "Ed Sullivan will be around as long as someone else has talent.” – Fred Allen A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. From the day television existed as an entertainment medium, giant companies have battled each other for viewers, but in the history of television programming, no show was as consistently excellent in the ratings as The Ed Sullivan Show, a variety show that brought on all kinds of acts, from dancers to artists and singers. It was the longest running show to maintain one time slot, and today it is widely remembered for introducing the nation to the likes of Elvis Presley and The Beatles. When Elvis was on the show in 1956, over 82% of the nation’s entire television audience tuned in, a rating that would make even the Super Bowl blush. Indeed, being booked on The Ed Sullivan Show became so important for performers that Aretha Franklin once noted, “And I was booked once to go on 'Ed Sullivan' and I got bumped and ran out the back door crying.” The Ed Sullivan Show has been commemorated as one of the most influential programs in the history of American television, and behind it all was the seemingly unassuming man whose name was on it. Even after Ed Sullivan had become an American institution on the strength of his show, one critic from Time asked, “What exactly is Ed Sullivan's talent?” Or as comedian (and frequent guest) Alan King put it, "Ed does nothing, but he does it better than anyone else in television." Of course, Ed Sullivan did have plenty of talent, especially when it came to identifying others’, and over the course of nearly two decades, he became America’s biggest starmaker. While Elvis and The Beatles are most remembered, Sullivan helped open the door to Motown acts, and his show was so culturally significant that Reverend Al Sharpton said of those performances, “I grew up in the 1950s and '60s, when it was almost a holiday when a black act would go on Ed Sullivan.” Perhaps the most ironic aspect of Sullivan’s fame is that almost everyone tended to agree that he was stilted and unnatural in front of cameras. In 1955, one writer for Time colorfully described Sullivan as “a cigar-store Indian, the Cardiff Giant and a stone-faced monument just off the boat from Easter Island. He moves like a sleepwalker; his smile is that of a man sucking a lemon; his speech is frequently lost in a thicket of syntax; his eyes pop from their sockets or sink so deep in their bags that they seem to be peering up at the camera from the bottom of twin wells.” At the same time, however, the writer conceded, "Yet, instead of frightening children, Ed Sullivan charms the whole family." To a degree, that may have worked in Sullivan’s favor, because it allowed him to come across like an everyday American, even as he was introducing audiences to potential stars with talents that most could not hope to emulate.

*Includes pictures. *Includes Ford's quotes about his own life and career. *Discusses the controversies surrounding Ford and Nazi Germany. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” – Henry Ford “I don’t know much about history, and I wouldn’t give a nickel for all the history in the world. It means nothing to me. History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we make today.” – Henry Ford in a 1916 newspaper interview. A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Few Americans have a reputation and legacy anything like Henry Ford’s, the man whose name is still associated with one of the world’s most famous car companies. Ford is unquestionably one of his country’s most famous industrialists, and his use of an assembly line to mass produce automobiles was not only innovative but also made it possible for Americans to own cars en masse. To this day, Ford Motor Company’s Model T is a household name more than a century after they were manufactured, not only because they were famous cars but because they represented affordable purchases that revolutionized the way people traveled across the country. Cars would never be a luxury item only for the wealthy again. Although Ford’s use of an assembly line meant human labor was not as necessary as it would otherwise be, he became known for advocating on behalf of labor rights, including offering an unprecedented $5 work day (the equivalent of $120 today), which doubled how much his workers were previously making and helped ensure his company would be both popular and a destination for workers. Ford helped Detroit become the Motor Capital, and he was progressive when it came to hiring minorities and women. In the process, Ford, who was born into a farming family of modest means, also enriched himself beyond his wildest imaginations, with Forbes magazine recently estimating that his net worth in today’s dollars was nearly $190 billion. However, while Ford may arguably be America’s most famous businessman, part of that is due to his virulent anti-Semitism and his association with Nazi Germany in the 1930s and the lead up to World War II. He invested in a weekly publication that became notorious for its screeds, and Ford was the only American praised in Hitler’s Mein Kampf because of his antagonism towards Jews. Hitler went so far as to call Ford an “inspiration”. On his 75th birthday, Ford was awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, which was the highest honor a non-German could receive from Nazi Germany, but one acquaintance later claimed that Ford was disgusted when he saw footage of Nazi concentration camps and what had happened to Jews across Europe. American Legends: The Life of Henry Ford profiles the life and career of one of America’s most famous and infamous industrialists. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Henry Ford like never before, in no time at all.

*Examines the legend that Abner Doubleday invented baseball, including the origins of the legend and its veracity. *Includes Doubleday's accounts of Fort Sumter, Antietam, and Gettysburg. *Discusses the controversies surrounding Doubleday's life and legacy. *Includes pictures of Doubleday and important people and places. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. “Gen. Doubleday was not a man of ‘personal magnetism’ nor what is called a dashing officer.’ He was an earnest and conscientious man and a safe and steady soldier-precise, methodical, and to be depended on in any emergency.” – General Don Carlos Buell A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Abner Doubleday (1819–1893) had one of the lengthiest Civil War resumes and an influence that made him worthy of national recognition. Doubleday is credited with firing the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening fight of the war, and he played a pivotal role on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, taking command of the I Corps early on the morning of July 1, 1863 after General John Reynolds was killed. Doubleday also led a division at South Mountain and then at Antietam, where he was injured during deadly fighting in the Cornfield and the West Woods. One colonel described him as a "gallant officer ... remarkably cool and at the very front of battle”, and his personal character was so admired among the rank-and-file that one of his men humorously asserted, “He is deficient considerably in the requisites of a commander. He does not drink whiskey…stays with his command and seems anxious to do his duty and fight Rebels….He also allows his wife to stay with him when he ought to keep a mistress.” Despite his Civil War service, few people remember Abner Doubleday for his military career today, and it has basically been relegated to the status of historical footnote. Instead, Doubleday has become the inadvertent beneficiary of the myth that he invented baseball, and he is almost universally remembered for that claim. In conjunction, the widespread belief that Doubleday invented baseball resulted in his hometown of Cooperstown, New York becoming home of Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame. This is all in spite of the fact that Doubleday never claimed to have invented the game much less said anything of note about it, which should come as no surprise since baseball was so commonplace by then that it was a popular game played in army camps among Civil War soldiers on both sides. American Legends: The Life of Abner Doubleday profiles the life of the Civil War general, examines his military career, and explains the origins of the myth that he invented baseball. Along with pictures, you will learn about Doubleday like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures. *Includes Lee's own quotes about his life, martial arts, and philosophy. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. “When you're talking about fighting, as it is, with no rules, well then, baby you'd better train every part of your body!” – Bruce Lee “The slender, swift Bruce Lee was the Fred Astaire of martial arts, and many of the fights that could be merely brutal come across as lightning-fast choreography.” – Pauline Kael’s review of Enter the Dragon A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. It would be nearly impossible for someone to pack more action into 32 years than Bruce Lee, whose name remains practically synonymous with martial arts excellence and kung fu movies. He was undoubtedly the forerunner to martial arts stars who came in his wake, including Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that he grew up as a sickly child. His upbringing was simultaneously one of great privilege and hardship, which had a huge impact on his career down the road; even when he began to fill out his skinny frame, trouble on the streets created a whirlwind set of circumstances that all but required Lee to move to America before he was 20. Despite being the most famous star of the genre and the man who almost singlehandedly popularized martial arts in the West, the films that helped make Lee a global icon were not even made in the United States but were instead shot and produced in Hong Kong, after which they received large-scale international distribution. Furthermore, for all of his fame, none of Bruce Lee’s movies are commonly regarded as masterpieces, and they have always been viewed more as popular entertainment than as significant artistic achievements. Some might be able to name the short list of movies in which he starred and may know that Enter the Dragon (1973) is his most iconic picture, but his movies were never among those considered for Academy Award nominations. Nonetheless, Bruce Lee has not been neglected by serious scholars of cinema, a fact that attests to the cultural significance of his films and his own star image. That Lee was able to become an international icon is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that he died suddenly and unexpectedly before the age of 33, leaving many to reasonably argue that he had yet to even reach the pinnacle of his career. As it was, the list of accomplishments speaks to his relentless work schedule and unparalleled drive. Bruce Lee was arguably the greatest martial artist who ever lived, but he’s also remembered today for being spiritual and philosophical. In addition to writing at length about those topics, Lee considered those elements essential to his physical fitness and training. In reference to a form of martial arts that came to bear his name, he explained, “Too much time is given to the development of skill and too little to the development of the individual for participation...[Jeet Kune Do] ultimately is not a matter of petty techniques but of highly developed spirituality and physique.” In the process of becoming so famous, Lee played an outsized part in changing the representation of Asians on screen and in pop culture, even though Lee was both a product of his cultural background and someone who broke away from his background and challenged cultural conventions. American Legends: The Life of Bruce Lee examines the life and career of the world’s most famous martial artist. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Bruce Lee like never before, in no time at all.

Who was the real Johnny Appleseed? Did Jim Bowie actually wrestle alligators? Featuring six American folk heroes, this series tells the stories of these legendary people within the cultural history of each figure's time. Children will not only learn about these classic legends, but also will discover how the stories came about and why not all the stories about these heroes are true. Readers will be able to explore the character of each historical figure, learn about how each legendary person has become part of America's cultural heritage, and how the lives of these figures continue to be celebrated today.

*Includes pictures of Douglass and important people, places and events in his life. A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. With the possible exception of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., no African American has been more instrumental in the fight for minorities’ civil rights in the United States than Frederick Douglass 1818–1895), an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. His list of accomplishments would be impressive enough even without taking into account the fact that he was born into slavery. Douglass was born into slavery, and it’s believed his father was a white man, even perhaps his master Aaron Anthony. When Douglass was about 12, his slaveowner’s wife, Sophia Auld, began teaching him the alphabet in defiance of the South’s laws against teaching slaves how to read. When her husband Hugh found out, he was furious, reminding her that if the slave learned to read, he would become dissatisfied with his condition and desire freedom. Those words would prove prophetic. Douglass is noted as saying that "knowledge is the pathway from slavery to freedom,” and he took that advice to heart, teaching himself how to read and write with his knowledge of the alphabet. On September 3, 1838, Douglass successfully escaped slavery, traveling by boat to Delaware, Philadelphia, and finally New York, all in the span of a day. Douglass found a “new world had opened upon me.” After escaping from slavery, Douglass became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining national notice for his dazzling oratory and anti-slavery writing. He stood out as the living embodiment of an intellectual former slave, the antithesis of slaveholders’ arguments that blacks were an inferior race. Douglass remained active in the fight for civil rights and abolition throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction, even meeting President Lincoln and strongly urging him to let black men enlist in the Union. As Douglass constantly stated, nobody had more to fight for in the Civil War than black men. Douglass continued his work all the way up to his death in 1895, continuing to advocate on behalf of blacks, women, immigrants and even Native Americans. Douglass famously said, "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong." Douglass remains well known today, but given the manner in which Jim Crow segregated and discriminated against minorities for another 60 years after his death, he is often overshadowed by the icons of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. American Legends: The Life of Frederick Douglass looks at Douglass’s incredible life story of preservation and perseverance, explaining how the man who literally started with nothing became his people’s Martin Luther King Jr. decades before King was born. Along with pictures of Douglass and other important people and events in his life, you will learn about America’s first great Civil Rights leader like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Discusses Little Bighorn in detail and explains the controversies and mysteries still surrounding Custer's Last Stand. *Includes pictures of Custer and important people, places, and events in his life. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. Since the Battle of Little Bighorn, George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) has possessed one of the most unique places in American history. Although he was a capable cavalry officer who served honorably during the Civil War, he remains one of the most instantly identifiable and famous military men in American history due to the fact he was killed during one of the country’s most well known and ignominious defeats, the Battle of Little Bighorn. And yet, this one relatively insignificant battle during America’s Indian Wars has become one of the country’s most mythologized events and continues to fascinate Americans nearly 140 years later. Though he’s now best remembered for “Custer’s Last Stand”, George Armstrong Custer began June 25, 1876 as one of America’s better regarded cavalry officers, and a man whose ambitions might one day take him to higher office. In fact, decades before radio and television existed, Custer mastered the art of public relations, dressing impeccably and having newspaper correspondents accompany him on campaign, all in an effort to help cultivate and enhance his legacy. Custer’s efforts worked, with one biographer noting that Americans during the 19th century viewed him as “a cavalier without fear and beyond reproach." Much like famous Confederate cavalry leader JEB Stuart, Custer added substance to the style. Despite being in his early 20s when the Civil War started, Custer rose through the ranks so quickly that he famously commanded a brigade of Michigan cavalrymen at Gettysburg, fighting the vaunted JEB Stuart and his horsemen to a standstill on the climactic 3rd day of that battle. Custer’s success continued through until the end of the war, with his men playing an integral role during the Appomattox Campaign that forced the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Had Custer’s career ended there, he would have been both successful and largely forgotten. Instead, the last 10 years of his life were full of political and military intrigue, as he attempted to position himself both in politics and the Army while making himself one of the best known fighters of the Indian Wars. Those actions, along with the Battle of Little Bighorn, made him controversial even in his day, but with his death coming to be widely viewed as a sacrifice for his country, his legend and legacy grew throughout the nation. No matter what critics or supporters thought of him, George Armstrong Custer was unquestionably relevant. American Legends: The Life of George Custer details Custer’s life and career, including all of its famous ups and infamous downs, while also addressing the controversial nature of Little Bighorn and his legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Custer like you never have before, in no time at all.