1. THE PILGRIMS’ FAREWELL * from William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620–1647
2. THE DECIMATION AND SURVIVAL OF PLYMOUTHCOLONY * from William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620–1647
3. MRS. ROWLANDSON’S CAPTIVITY from Mary Rowlandson, The Soveraignty & Goodness of God, Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, 1682
4. BEN FRANKLIN—ON THE LAM AT AGE 17, HOMELESS,JOBLESS, AND NIGH PENNILESS from Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1789
5. GEORGE WASHINGTON’S WINTER JOURNEY TO WARN THE FRENCH from George Washington, The Journal of Major George Washington, 1754
6. DANIEL BOONE DISCOVERS KENTUCKY ANDINCESSANT WARFARE from Daniel Boone, “The Adventures of Daniel Boone” in The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke by John Filson, 1784
7. THE BOSTON TEA PARTY from George Hewes, eyewitness account in Yankee Life by Those Who Lived It edited by June Barrows Mussey
8. SURRENDER—“IN THE NAME OF THE GREATJEHOVAH AND THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS” from Ethan Allen, A Narrative of Col. Ethan Allen’s Captivity, 1779
9. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE—“WEMUST ALL HANG TOGETHER, OR ASSUREDLYWE SHALL ALL HANG SEPARATELY” from the Reverend Charles A. Goodrich, Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, 1832
10. WASHINGTON CROSSES THE DELAWARE—“VICTORY OR DEATH” from Henry Cabot Lodge, American Statesmen: George Washington, 1890
11. CLARK’S SECRET MARCH ON VINCENNES, 1778 from Walter Havighurst, George Rogers Clark—Soldier in the West
12. A PIONEER SETTLER’S HARDSHIPS from Mr. Hubbell, public document, 1824
13. WILLIAM COOPER SAVES A TOWN from William Cooper, A Guide in the Wilderness: Or the History of the First Settlement in the Western Counties of New York, 1810
14. THE HAZARDS OF FLOATING DOWN THE OHIO RIVER from John M’Clung, Sketches of Western Adventure, Containing an Account of the Most Interesting Incidents Connected with the Settlement of the West from 1755–1794, 1832
15. AMERICAN PRIVATEER AND BRITISH MAN-OF-WAR CLASH from A.B.C. Whipple, Tall Ships and Great Captains
16. DAVY CROCKETT REPORTS FROM INSIDE THE ALAMO from Davy Crockett, Col. Crockett’s Exploits and Adventures in Texas, 1839
17. SAM HOUSTON, WITH SEVEN HUNDRED HALF-FED, HALF-CLAD, HALF-ARMED MEN, DECLARES, “WE GOTO CONQUER” TEXAS! from General Sam Houston, speech before the U.S. Senate, February 28, 1859
18. ANDREW JACKSON’S DUEL TO THE DEATH from James Parton, General Jackson, 1892
19. FIGHTING BELLY TO BELLY WITH A GRIZZLY BEAR from George Ruxton, Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains, 1847
20. ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE RIGHT UNDER THE PARSON’S NOSE from Reverend Peter Cartwright, Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, the Backwoods Preacher, 1857
21. THE FORTY-NINERS: BROKEN HEARTS AND EMPTYPOCKETS from Jim Nevins, “Letter from J. M. Nevins to Russell Nevins in Wisconsin, Sacramento City, Dec. 2, 1849”
22. MARK TWAIN ON THE DARING OF A MISSISSIPPI PILOT from Mark Twain, “Old Times on the Mississippi,” 1875
23. A FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY RIDES FOR THE PONY EXPRESS from Gladys Shaw Erskine, Broncho Charlie—A Saga of the Saddle
24. THE ESCAPE OF A FEMALE SLAVE from Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, 1861
25. QUICK-WITTED MRS. FISHER SAVES HER HUSBAND FROM QUANTRILL’S RAIDERS from Reverend H. D. Fisher, The Gun and the Gospel: Early Kansas and Chaplain Fisher, 1899
26. PICKETT’S CHARGE AT GETTYSBURG from General James Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America, 1896
27. SAVING THE REGIMENTAL COLORS from Henry CabotLodge and Theodore Roosevelt, “The Flag Bearer” in Hero Tales from American History, 1901
28. “TELL HIM HE MUST DIE”: ARMY NURSE LOUISA MAY ALCOTT COMFORTS A DYING SOLDIER from Louisa May Alcott, Hospital Sketches and Camp and Fireside Stories, 1892
29. “PORTUGEE” PHILLIPS’S DESPERATE RIDE from Paul I. Wellman, Death on Horseback: Seventy Years of War for the American West
30. DULL KNIFE’S LAST FIGHT from Paul I. Wellman, Death on Horseback: Seventy Years of War for the American West
31. NIGHTTIME STAMPEDE from James H. Cook, Fifty Years on the Old Frontier, 1923
32. DESPERADO WITH T WO COCKED, SMOKINGPISTOLS THREATENS TEDDY ROOSEVELT from Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt—An Autobiography, 1913
33. SHOOT-OUT WITH THE MARSHAL from Fred A. Stone,Flowers for Charley McDaniels”
34. SAVED BY COWBOYS from Philip Rollins, “A Conversation with Mr. Rollins”
35. EARTHQUAKE PULVERIZES SAN FRANCISCO;FIRES SPREAD; BANKER STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE from Paul Rink, A. P. Giannini: Building the Bank of America
36. SERGEANT YORK—“THE TERMINATOR” IN WORLD WAR I from Alvin C. York, Sergeant York: His Life Story and War Diary, 1928
37. FIVE AVIATORS DIE TRYING TO CROSS THEATLANTIC OCEAN—THEN CAME CHARLES LINDBERGH from Charles Lindbergh, We, 1927
38. JIMMY DOOLITTLE’S DAYLIGHT RAID OVER TOKYO from Carroll V. Glines, The Doolittle Raid: America’s Daring First Strike Against Japan
39. WANTED: AN ELEGANT FEMALE SPY TO BRIBE OR SEDUCE TOP OFFICIALS AT NAZI-CONTROLLED, VICHY FRENCH EMBASSY from H. Montgomery Hyde, Cynthia
40. ÉMIGRÉ PHYSICIST ENRICO FERMI TESTS THE PRECURSOR TO THE ATOMIC BOMB IN A CHICAGO SQUASH COURT from Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb
41. D-DAY: WORLD WAR II from Cornelius Ryan, The Longest Day—June 6, 1944
42. SNIPER FIGHT ON OKINAWA from William Manchester, Goodbye, Darkness—A Memoir of the Pacific War
43. THE PERILS OF CIVIL RIGHTS FOR NINE LITTLE ROCK STUDENTS from Henry Hampton and Steve Fayer with Sarah Flynn, Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s
44. ROY BENAVIDEZ, VIETNAM SUPERMAN from Roy Benavidez, Medal of Honor: One Man’s Journey from Poverty and Prejudice
45. ASTRONAUTS ROCKET TO THE MOON from Buzz Aldrin and Malcolm McConnell, Men from Earth
46. SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: THE PASSENGERS COUNTERATTACK THE HIJACKERS ON UNITED FLIGHT 93 from Jere Longman, Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew Who Fought Back