Cullen Gwin: 50 books

It was a cold day in October 1858. It had been warm for many days. Then it turned cool.There was a breeze blowing across the water.Eighteen year old Ida Lewis stared out across the sea. She loved living on Lime Rock.Her father was the keeper of the Lime Rock Lighthouse.Now Ida did the keeper's...

This was our last chance. I know that my wife thought this was a folly at first, but tomorrow she would see how right I was. Tomorrow a lot of our dreams would come true. Let me give you a bit of background.I had been a normal working slob my whole life. I was unhappy at my job as an accountant, but...

Mary Patten was 19 years old. She had been married for three years. Her husband was Joshua Patten and he was a sea captain. One day in 1856 her husband got a new job. A company wanted him to sail a cargo from New York to San Francisco. "We have to take the job," he told Mary. "But I...

It was 1803 and Stephen Decatur was in the Navy. He was on a ship that was in Europe.Stephen was the commander of a small ship. It was named the Enterprise.One day the head of the Navy called Stephen and some other men together."Men, I have some bad news," he said. "We have lost the Philadelphia."The...

The Dead Sea is a salt-filled sea which sits on the border between Israel, Jordan and Palestine. It is 31 miles (50 km) long and 9 miles (15 km) wide at its widest point. It is one of the world's saltiest bodies of water. At 997 feet (304 metres) deep, it is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. Fed...

James Marshall was tired, but he was happy. He had a good job.James was helping to build a mill. He was working for a man named John Sutter.James was glad to be working. He was also glad to be strong enough to work. He was not always strong enough.Find out how James finds gold at Sutter's...

George Washington was our first president and the father of our country. Many books and articles have been written about him, and his life has been studied thoroughly. We are also aided in knowing him by the many records he kept about his life, his farms, and his purchases. With all that information,...

Roman gladiators have captured the interest of many modern people. We look at the practice of fighting to the death for a crowd's amusement as horrifying. But who were the actual gladiators and what do we really know about them? Do you know: How did gladiator fights start? Were all gladiators slaves...

Chicago, Illinois sits at the southernmost end of Lake Michigan. In the early days of the United States, it was a great place to build a city. The lake supplied the fresh water they needed to live. Trees were everywhere, providing wood for buildings. The lake supplied the settlers with numerous kinds...

It was 1791. America was still a young country. Much of the land was not settled. Many people lived in forts, or they would live near a fort. Then they could run inside the fort if there was trouble.One of these people was Anne Bailey. Many people called her Mad Anne. She lived at Fort Lee with her...

Joe Oman was railroad tower man near the small station in Arcadia, California. Joe's job was boring. All he did was pull levers to signal the trains, and there were only a few trains a day. Then one day in October, 1911 Joe's job became very exciting indeed. A freight train lost its brakes and headed...

"Rider coming in!"The call rang out across the stable. Robert Haslam jumped up from his seat and ran to get his horse. He had already put the reigns and the saddle on it. He knew that it was his turn to run the Pony Express mail.Pony Bob, as he was called by his friends, loved his job. He loved the...

Henry Knox was a friend of George Washington. He helped to fight the Revolutionary War. But Henry was not just a soldier. He became the man that Washington counted on to figure things out. Here is how Washington came to trust Henry.In late 1775, the British were in Boston. They had taken over the...

Melville Dewey was a man of many talents. He is often called the father of modern library science. He developed a system for cataloging books that is still in widespread use today. He helped create New York's Lake Placid Club and bring the Olympics there. He was also a man with strong opinions.Melville...