Showing results by author "Hourly History" in All Categories

Subhas Chandra Bose was a revolutionary who sought Indian independence, but as many would contend, he ended up on the wrong side of history. In order to shake off the British yoke, Bose enlisted aid from Germany and Japan during World War II. This has led some to roundly condemn Bose as nothing more than a fascist cast in the same mold as Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo, and Benito Mussolini. But is there more to this complicated figure than meets the eye?

The Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union lasted for more than 40 years. In general, this was a war of spies and subterfuge, of covert action and espionage. There was always a danger, however, that an error of judgment on either side could suddenly cause the Cold War to turn red-hot with an exchange of nuclear weapons. On many occasions, tensions between the countries increased, but the prospect of all-out nuclear war between America and Russia was never closer than during a two-week period in October of 1962.

Little Richard was an incredible performer and musical pioneer who revolutionized music for generations to come. For just about anyone else, such words might sound like hyperbole, but for Little Richard, it’s the pure and simple truth. Little Richard, with his jumpy driving sound and innovative vocalizations, certainly earned his title as the “Architect of Rock and Roll.”

Raoul Wallenberg lived at a time when one of the worst outrages of inhumanity was occurring: the Holocaust. As a Swedish businessman in Hungary, he bore witness to this tragedy firsthand as Hungarian Jews were being shipped off to Auschwitz.

Thanks to a certain novel and movie franchise, the Jurassic Period has been indelibly cemented in the public imagination as the time of dinosaurs. That was certainly true: the Jurassic Period saw reptiles such as the long-necked Brachiosaurus, the armored Stegosaurus, and the fearsome Allosaurus become the dominant living creatures on planet Earth, a position they maintained for more than 150 million years. However, many of the movie dinosaurs that decorated millions of lunchboxes and backpacks were not from the Jurassic Period at all, but from the following Cretaceous Period.

A prominent Lakota Sioux chief and medicine man, Sitting Bull was both a man of peace and a man of war as he sought to simultaneously fight and negotiate on behalf of his people during the westward expansion of the United States. His visions inspired and led the Native American warriors to victory in the legendary Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. This triumph would, however, be short-lived, and Sitting Bull and his loyal band of followers would be forced to surrender their freedom only five years later. This book reveals his incredible life and legacy in full.

The Battles of Saratoga are often regarded as the turning point in the American War of Independence when the North American colonies began their march to triumph against Great Britain. Fought in September and October 1777, these two battles were significant victories for a variety of reasons. The actual history of these monumental battles - their causes, the battles themselves, and their aftermath - is both complex and thrilling. Discover the history and legacy of the Battles of Saratoga in this book.

By the age of 26, John Wilkes Booth had achieved success on the stage. He had rugged good looks and the fame he craved. Yet that wasn’t enough for the fanatical actor. On April 14, 1865, just a few days following the end of the American Civil War, Booth stepped into the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington and shot Abraham Lincoln. He subsequently managed an incredible escape until he himself was killed.

Whether you approve or disapprove, globalization is an inescapable feature of the modern world. Trade between nations and continents is now commonplace, and this exchange of goods is inevitably accompanied by the exchange of ideas and cultures. This is not, as you might expect, a new phenomenon. A series of trade routes which were first established almost 2,000 years ago provided one of the first examples of intercontinental trade.

He built the greatest business empire the world had ever seen. He founded incredible libraries, art museums, and donated to charities by the boatload. In this audiobook, we will discover the incredible story of Andrew Carnegie’s life from beginning to end.

This audiobook explores the glories and misfortunes of the Maya civilization and provides a deeper look at their pre-Columbian battling dynasties and their highly structured approach to religion, science, and society.

The Marquis de Lafayette may be a name that sounds vaguely familiar. If you've studied even a little American history, you'll recall Lafayette as George Washington's right-hand man during the American Revolution. This remarkable man was just a teenager when he ventured across the seas from France to fight in a conflict that he was in no way obligated to participate in. Yet, here he was, this young man full of idealistic thoughts, ready to help a country set their path on the road to independence. Little did Lafayette know that this would be just the first ride among many he would take.

Thomas Jefferson left his imprint on his state of Virginia; his young country, the United States; France, where he served as ambassador; and the world, where his opposition to tyranny and his advocacy of freedom have inspired generations to believe that the pursuit of happiness, as he wrote in his Declaration of Independence, is an unalienable right.

Before Woodrow Wilson was president of the United States, he was the president of Princeton University and the only occupant of the White House to hold a PhD. But before he became a university professor, he was a 12-year old boy who didn't know how to read.

Discover the remarkable history of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.... The Battle of the Little Bighorn and the massacre of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and five companies of the U. S. 7th Cavalry in June 1876 is one of the best-remembered events of the turbulent period known as the Wild West. This defeat came as a stunning shock to most Americans. Before Custer’s Last Stand, there was a general assumption that in any full-scale battle between Native Americans and the U.S. Army, the army would prevail.

In 1874, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led a US Army expedition into the Black Hills of South Dakota, which was at that time under the control of the Lakota people. To the expedition members, this was unknown territory on the leading edge of the American frontier. The purpose of the expedition was not only to find a possible location for a fort and a route through the Black Hills to the Southwest but also to investigate rumors of gold deposits. Custer’s cavalry and infantry were accompanied by specialist miners and geologists whose role was to search for that gold.

The most common depictions of Native Americans feature mounted warriors and iconic events such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Wounded Knee Massacre. The best-known Native American leaders include Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, and most people’s impression of such a leader includes the wearing of a feathered headdress. All these archetypes have one thing in common: they are all Sioux, and many are Lakota, one of the coalition of seven Sioux Nations.

The Comanche were once the most dominant Native American tribe in the Great Plains of North America. From their homelands on the prairies, they ranged across the American West and South into Mexico. They were also one of the most feared of all Native American people, fighting virtually every other Native American tribe they had contact with and waging successful guerilla wars against invaders from Spain, Mexico, and the Eastern United States.

Whether advocating for the peaceful use of nuclear energy or mentoring the next generation of scientists, Bohr’s influence extended far beyond his laboratory. Here in this book, we explore both his life and his life’s work in full.

Betty Ford was the First Lady of President Gerald Ford. Many biographies seem to focus on just that one aspect of her life, but as consequential as her time in the White House was, she was more than that. Since her earliest days as a little girl in Michigan, Betty Ford lived a life that was full of learning, full of adventure, and full of service. She was a dancer who graced stages in New York City. She was a woman who rebuilt her life after a difficult first marriage.