Ozark Ramblings: Rescued Books

For my 52 Weeks of Rescued Books, I'll often be referring to the series in which the book was published. This page will contain information about those series as well as link to the posts about individual titles (I'll try to keep them in alphabetical order).

LANDMARK BOOKS

“One of the most critically acclaimed, best-selling children’s book series ever published.” – The New York Times

The original books were published between the 1950's and 1970's. My resource, Who Then Should We Read by Jan Bloom, states the books were created to honor a Random House editor's son's request for interesting biographies for young students. An website I found in researching says the books "were the brainchild of a think tank at Random House." Whatever the inspiration, the result was the commissioning of some of the best authors of the day to write about figures and events in history -- first American history and later the world.

If you have a boy that's a reluctant reader, the are several titles in the series that may peak his interest. Planes, trains and automobile fans can read Flat-tops: The Story of Aircraft Carriers, Clipper Ship Days, or the Golden Age of Railroads. Got someone interested in the military? We've got stories of the U.S. Air Force, Coast Guard, the Border Patrol, and Frogmen of World War II. There are also plenty of engaging titles focused on individuals: adventurers like Kit Carson, explorers like Henry Hudson, world leaders like Genghis Kahn. (I don't mean to imply girls won't find them interesting too, just that these books may be the spoonful of sugar for boys who hate reading time). Reading levels are for ages 10-15.

The originals were published in hardback with dust jackets. Later the books had a illustrated hard cover. Some of the books are in print today but I haven't been able to determine if they've been edited for content (a lot of the older editions have a clear Christian worldview).

The American Revolution
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
The Explorations of Pere Marquette
George Washington: Frontier Colonel
John Paul Jones, Fighting Sailor

Pocahontas and Captain John Smith
The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt
The Pony Express
The Swamp Fox of the Revolution
The Winter at Valley Forge

Winston Adventure Books

This series was published by The John C. Wintson Company between 1952 and 1956--I'm assuming in response to the very popular Landmark Books being published by Random House. Various popular authors were commissioned to write engaging works for young students. To distinguish the series and create a niche market, the publishers chose to focus on "the little-known incidents and nearly forgotten lives of unsung heroes that helped shape history.” Little known and nearly forgotten but none-the-less highly engaging. Learn how a group of Union soldiers snuck behind enemy lines and hijacked a locomotive, or a secret mission to Bermuda during the American Revolution to secure a supply of gun powder.

A Boy for a Man's Job: The Story of the Founding of St. Louis
Lost Colony: The Mystery of Roanoke Island
Prince in Buckskin: A story of Joseph Brant at Lake George