G. K. Chesterton's "The Ballad of the White Horse" is the last great epic poem written in the English tradition. First published in 1911, it tells the heroic tale of Saxon King Alfred the Great and his defeat of the invading Viking army at the Battle of Ethandun. While Chesterton's work was not intended to be completely historically accurate, it is a deeply evocative and detailed account of an ancient and forgotten world. King Alfred has been driven...

Tells of the Civil War's first contraband camp that began when three escaped slaves were granted protection at a Union-held fort, prompting runaway slaves to seek freedom there and build the country's first African American community.

A collection of poems that combine to provide a portrait of the life of nineteenth-century African-American botanist and inventor George Washington Carver. This collection of poems assembled by award-winning writer Marilyn Nelson provides young readers with a compelling, lyrical account of the life of revered African-American botanist and inventor George Washington Carver. Born in 1864 and raised by white slave owners, Carver left home in search...