The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement (Unabridged)
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4.6 • 76 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From America’s favorite government teacher, a “fascinating and fun” (Adam Grant) portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country.
In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn’t make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history’s unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time.
You’ll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more.
This is a book about what really made America – and Americans – great. McMahon’s cast of improbable champions will become familiar friends, lighting the path we journey in our quest to make the world more just, peaceful, good, and free.
Customer Reviews
See AllA unique voice of storytelling
Non fiction is not a genre I’d normally choose. Especially about history. But Sharon tells these amazing stories in a way that is so captivating. This is how history should be told and learned from. The well researched details brought the stories to life.
A joy
Sharon, maybe you read reviews sometimes, so I’m addressing this to you. I knew this book was going to be good. It was a JOY! And your reading of it, made it even sharper and lovelier than words on a page could. It’s not just about US History, you’ve picked the little threads out, woven them together, emphasized the crazy when necessary, all making me feel more stable and clear in my understanding of where we sit today.
Everyone else, BUY THE AUDIO BOOK! It’s not just a good read, her verbal reading, it’s better than all but one audiobook I’ve ever listened to (and that was read by 40 celebrities). So good!!
You don’t need to be a history buff to love this book
This book was incredible. It told stories of American heroes who we’ve never heard of, pulled back the curtain on what makes America beautiful and an ever working democracy that requires the heroes the author shines light upon. I will listen to it again and again.