Primary History

Young Jim Hawkins quiet life as the son of an innkeeper changes when an ancient sailor takes up lodging at the inn. When the old man dies without paying his bill, Jim must search the sailor's one possession, a large sea-chest, for payment. He finds a map that is the key to a fortune. This commences a Caribbean treasure hunt, with pirate Long John Silver only steps behind!

After Sir Walter Raleigh failed in his attempt to found a settlement at Roanoke, a colony on the Chesapeake Bay was successfully established. Primary source materials enhance lively text to give students an in-depth look at what led to the formation and success of the colony of Virginia. No other colony - except Massachusetts - was more influential in the formation of America as a nation.

Georgia: Using primary source documents, this fascinating book traces the history of the colony from its founding to becoming the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788.

Maryland: This exciting book recounts the history of the colony from its founding to the challenges of the colony's early years, the religious and political upheavals, death, disease, and hard labor endured by the colonists, through the wealthy years of the Maryland tobacco plantations, discontent with England, and finally to Maryland's vote for independence in 1776.

This is a vibrant and fascinating look at the history of the colony of New York. From the discovery of the island of Manhattan and the founding of a tiny Dutch trading village, to New York's emergence as one of the world's most influential cities, the history of the colony of New York is traced through primary source documents.

Using primary source materials to enhance the text, this audiobook tells the provocative story of the Connecticut colony and its first inhabitants. Included are the first constitution and the Fundamental Orders of 1639, which helped to create a representative self-government.

The Massachusetts colony would be the first to organize and unite with other colonies, and one of the first to take a stand when troubles developed with England, thereby leading the cause for independence. It was John Hancock of Massachusetts who would propose the Bill of Rights that still protects and guarantees the basic freedoms of Americans.

In 1681, King Charles II granted William Penn, a Quaker, sole proprietorship of more than 450,000 acres of land. The colony of Pennsylvania soon offered thousands of European settlers the civil liberties, representative government, and affordable land they wanted.

The first two editions of Finnish Lessons described how a small Nordic nation built a school system that provided access to a world-class education for all of its young people. Now available in 30 languages, this Grawemeyer Award-winning book continues to influence education policies and school practices around the globe. In this third edition, Pasi Sahlberg updates the story of how Finland sustains its exemplary educational performance, including how it responds to turbulent changes at home and throughout the world.

When young Neddie Wentworthstein is accidentally left behind by his family at a train stop in the Wild West, he suddenly finds himself at the center of a whirlwind adventure involving sinister villains and extraordinary new allies - all seeming to revolve around a little jade turtle given to him by a mysterious shaman.

Though troubled by violent border disputes with Massachusetts and bloody wars with Native American tribes, New Hampshire was settled by knowledgeable merchants and disgraced ministers. They quickly infused the colony with a spirit of rugged industriousness and defiant individualism that persists to this day. This engaging audiobook details the rise of that spirit as New Hampshire grew.

New Jersey has a fascinating history. The story of New Jersey spans its time as home to a variety of Native American tribes to an area coveted by the Dutch, Swedes, and English, and finally to its modern-day status as the Garden State.

Established on a culture of entrepreneurship as well as religious and political freedom, South Carolina's foundations might be seen as a microcosm of the founding of America. This compelling audiobook provides the background and history of this colony which would become a major factor in the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and later the Civil War.

Returning to Roanoke in 1590 after a three-year absence, Governor John White was shocked to find all of the colonists gone. This book examines the Lost Colony of Roanoke from its 1584 exploration, to the failed first settlement, to the mystery of the 1587 colony. Several of White's drawings are included.

North Carolina attracted settlers from Europe as well as from other American colonies. In this volume, learn about the resulting troubled relations with the Native Americans in that area, Bluebeard's piracy, and the colonist's rebellion against England.

This audiobook traces the history of Rhode Island from Roger Williams' exodus from the Massachusetts colony, thus creating a settlement - the colony of Rhode Island - where people could live in harmony and worship as they pleased. Using primary source documents to enhance a lively and accessible text, it is a vivid account of the story behind the foundation of this colony - and the independent spirit of those who settled there.

This first novel from Nebula Award-winning short story writer Ellen Klages was picked as a Junior Library Guild selection and named a Book Sense Number-One Children's Pick. It follows a young girl named Dewey, whose father is part of a super-secret project in 1943 Los Alamos. Dewey, a gifted scientist herself, slowly realizes the implications of "the gadget" her father is working on. She and Suze, another Los Alamos child, find comfort in each other's friendship.

The first thing every listener will want to know is whether Anne Shirley appears in these stories of Avonlea and Spencervale. She certainly does. As a matter of fact, page one starts off in this manner: "Anne Shirley was curled up on the window seat of Theodora Dix's sitting room one Saturday evening, looking dreamily afar at some fair starland beyond the hills of sunset. Anne was visiting for a fortnight of her vacation."

In the rich turbulence of English history, one day stands magnificently apart: June 15, 1215, the day of the signing of the Magna Charta. On this day, the first blow for English freedom was struck and forever affected the Western world. Here is the story of three true men, Stephen Langton, Williams Marshall, and Hubert de Burgh, whose heroic deeds are set against those of the ever deceitful and crafty King John.

Lawrence M. Friedman is Professor of Law at Stanford University and author of 23 books about law and legal history. Hailed as American law's greatest living historian, Friedman traces the evolution of America's legal system from the colonial period to the present. A Modern Library Chronicle, this book is concise, insightful, and graced with wit.