Sam Epstein

The extraordinary life of Jackie Robinson is illuminated as never before in this full-scale biography by Arnold Rampersad, who was chosen by Jack's widow, Rachel, to tell her husband's story, and was given unprecedented access to his private papers. We are brought closer than we have ever been to the great ballplayer, a man of courage and quality who became a pivotal figure in the areas of race and civil rights. We follow Robinson through World War II, when, in the first wave of racial integration in the armed forces, he was commissioned as an officer, then court-martialed after refusing to move to the back of a bus. After he plays in the Negro National League, we watch the opening of an all-American drama as, late in 1945, Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers recognized Jack as the right player to break baseball's color barrier - and the game was forever changed. Jack's never-before-published letters open up his relationship with his family, especially his wife, Rachel, whom he married just as his perilous venture of integrating baseball began. Her memories are a major resource of the narrative as we learn about the severe harassment Robinson endured from teammates and opponents alike; about death threats and exclusion; about joy and remarkable success. We follow his blazing career: 1947, Rookie of the Year; 1949, Most Valuable Player; six pennants in ten seasons, and in 1962, induction into the Hall of Fame. But sports were merely one aspect of his life. We see his business ventures, his leading role in the community, his early support of Martin Luther King Jr., his commitment to the civil rights movement at a crucial stage in its evolution; his controversial associations with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Humphrey, Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller, and Malcolm X.

Describes the activities at several farms where unusual plants or animals are raised.

Recounts how squirrels, robins, grasshoppers, and other creatures in an urban environment find their food and avoid being eaten themselves.

A photo essay presenting a beagle at work at Kennedy Airport sniffing out contraband fruits and meats that many travelers bring into the country.

The numbers from one to ten and ten fruits are introduced as a monkey swings on a vine looking for his lunch. On board pages with die-cut holes.

Looks at a selection of the instruments scientists and engineers use to measure, view, analyse and probe, ranging from the ancient to the modern.

Examines eleven cases involving young people in which the American Civil Liberties Union felt civil rights, guaranteed by the Constitution, had been denied.

A study of power and change in Washington, D.C. during the middle of the twentieth century.

A brief biography of the well-known anthropologist concentrating on her first important studies in Samoa in the mid-1920's.

A biography of the 18th century Italian whose experiments with microbes disproved the theory of spontaneous generation and provided a base for the work of future scientists.

A biography of a curious physician and the unusual patient who enabled him to carry out experiments concerning digestion.

Enthralled by the new science of natural history, a famous American painter establishes a museum in his home and organizes a scientific expedition to find and dig up a complete mammoth skeleton.

A simple explanation of how electricity is generated and how it can be conserved.

Focuses on the twenty-season career of Henry Aaron which culminated in the hit that beat Babe Ruth's record.

Describes the celebration of several Japanese festivals including Hi Matsuri, Girls' Day, The One Thousand Person Procession, the Okunchi Festival, and the Peace Festival.

Traces the careers of three baseball stars elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.

Describes some of the many ways things are held together with string, glue, saliva, nails, and other materials.