Who Was...? Book Series

You can always recognize a painting by Kahlo because she is in nearly all—with her black braided hair and colorful Mexican outfits. A brave woman who was an invalid most of her life, she transformed herself into a living work of art. As famous for her self-portraits and haunting imagery as she was for her marriage to another famous artist, Diego Rivera, this strong and courageous painter was inspired by the ancient culture and history of her beloved...

Though she grew up in rural Pennsylvania, Rachel Carson dreamed of the sea. In 1936 she began work with the Bureau of Fisheries and soon after published Under the Sea Wind, her first of many nature books. Her 1962 bestseller, Silent Spring, sent shockwaves through the country and warned of the dangers of DDT and other pesticides. A pioneering environmentalist, Rachel Carson helped awaken the global consciousness for conservation...

"Born into slavery in 1862, Ida Bell Wells was freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Yet she could see just how unjust the world she was living in was. This drove her to become a journalist and activist. Throughout her life, she fought against prejudice and for equality for African Americans. Ida B. Wells would go on to co-own a newspaper, write several books, help cofound the National Association for the Advancement of Colored...

When Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016, many people around the world responded with mixed emotions. Learn all about the man who shaped Cuba for more than half a decade.
After overthrowing Fulgencia Batista in 1959, Fidel Castro became the leader of an island country only ninety miles away from Florida. While in power, Castro outlasted ten US presidents and turned the small nation into a one-party state with influence over the entire...

"On August 8, 1974, millions sat stunned as they watched Richard Nixon on TV when he announced he was stepping down as the President of the United States. He'd participated in a scandal that included secret tape recordings, a burglary, and a cover-up, and now his secrets and lies were catching up to him. How could Nixon, a man who had been reelected in a landslide victory just two years earlier, now be leaving office in disgrace? Author Megan Stine...

Ulysses S. Grant certainly does not have the typical war hero “back story.” Although a graduate of West Point, he never wanted to be a soldier and was terrified when he first saw battle. However, during the Civil War, after many Northern generals failed to deliver decisive victories, U.S. Grant rose to what the times required. He took command of Union forces, helped bring the war to an end in 1865, and went on to serve two terms as president....

Unearth the secrets of the mysterious giant stone statues on this tiny remote Pacific island. Easter Island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean thousands of miles from anywhere, has intrigued visitors since Europeans first arrived in the 1700s. How did people first come to live there? How did they build the enormous statues and why? How were they placed around the island without carts or even wheels? Scientists have learned many of the answers, although...

"Running through six countries in the middle of Africa, the Congo Basin contains some of the largest tropical rainforests in the world. Dealing with present-day issues of climate change, it is home to bonobo apes, mountain gorillas, forest elephants, and more. With details about the exploration (and exploitation) by the European colonialists and the aftermath of their arrival in the Congo, this book will give readers a better understanding of the...

Looks at the life and career of the physicist and NASA astronaut who became the first American woman in space in 1983.