Books in Eyewitness to World War II series

Hoping to finally end World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. Three days later, the U.S. dropped another massive bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. The result was total devastation. Within seconds of the blasts, more than 120,000 men, women and children died. Thousands more would die from radiation sickness in the months to come. The war was over but the ongoing fear of nuclear destruction had begun.

The United States entered World War II after a surprise attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. U.S. officials feared that Japanese Americans would betray their country and help Japan. Nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and moved into relocation centers, which some viewed as concentration camps. The internees, backed by many other Americans, believed that their fundamental rights as U.S. citizens had been denied. Years later the government apologized for its unjust actions.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." Early that morning hundreds of Japanese fighter planes unexpectedly attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than 2,000 Americans were killed and the battleships of the Pacific Fleet lay in ruins. The brutal attack launched the United States into war, a conflict that engulfed the world.

Hoping to finally end World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on 6 August 1945. Three days later, the US dropped another massive bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. The result was total devastation. Within seconds of the blasts, more than 120,000 men, women and children died. Thousands more would die from radiation sickness in the months to come. The war was over but the ongoing fear of nuclear destruction had begun.

Nearly 8,000 Jewish-owned businesses, schools, hospitals, and homes were destroyed during one night of brutality in November 1938. German Nazis and their supporters took to the streets of Germany and Austria bent on destruction. They burned hundreds of synagogues to the ground, killed more than 100 Jews, and sent 30,000 more to concentration camps. Kristallnacht, "the night of broken glass," would mark the beginning of the Holocaust.

Through narrative nonfiction text, readers learn about the men who used the Navajo language to create a successful, top-secret code that was never cracked by enemy forces. Additional features to aid comprehension include a table of contents, primary-source quote sidebars, fact-filled captions and callouts, a glossary, an introduction to the author, and a listing of source notes.

Through narrative nonfiction text, readers learn about the experiences of Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II, including their work, family life, and efforts to combat prejudice. Additional features to aid comprehension include a table of contents, primary-source quote sidebars, fact-filled captions and callouts, a glossary, an introduction to the author, and a listing of source notes.

Through narrative nonfiction text, readers learn about the experiences of prisoners and liberators at Buchenwald, the first Nazi concentration camp freed by the U.S. Army. Additional features to aid comprehension include a table of contents, primary-source quote sidebars, fact-filled captions and callouts, a glossary, an introduction to the author, and a listing of source notes.

The United States entered World War II after a surprise attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. U.S. officials feared that Japanese Americans would betray their country and help Japan. Nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and moved into relocation centers, which some viewed as concentration camps. The internees, backed by many other Americans, believed that their fundamental rights as U.S. citizens had been denied. Years later the government apologized for its unjust actions.

Through narrative nonfiction text, readers learn about the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the perspectives of American and Japanese leaders, scientists, U.S. Army officials, and Japanese citizens. Additional features to aid comprehension include a table of contents, primary-source quote sidebars, fact-filled captions and callouts, a glossary, an introduction to the author, and a listing of source notes.