Library History

John Taliaferro Thompson had a mission: to develop a lightweight, fast-firing weapon that would help Americans win on the battlefield. His Thompson submachine gun could deliver 100 bullets in a matter of seconds - but didn't find a market in the US military. Instead, the Tommy gun became the weapon of choice for a generation of bootleggers and bank-robbing outlaws, and became a deadly American icon. Following a bloody decade - and 80 years before the mass shootings of our own time - Congress moved to take this weapon off the streets, igniting a national debate about gun control.

Due to his wide range of musical talent and an incomparable career spanning forty-nine years, Johnny Cash has been inducted into the Country, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, and Gospel Halls of Fame. He also won 18 Grammys and 9 Country Music Association Awards. Who Was Johnny Cash? lets young listeners learn about every step in Johnny Cash's groundbreaking musical career. As one of the best-selling American musicians of all time, Cash, born JR Carter, was known for his rich, deep voice and musical style that featured a chugging, train-like beat.

In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to found the very first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The initial settlement—called the Lane colony—failed due to extremely low supplies and a hostile relationship with the Native American people who were already living on the land. Despite this miserable first attempt, Raleigh decided to establish another settlement. Over one hundred people agreed to join this new colony on Roanoke Island, just off the coast of what is now North Carolina.

Beginning in Italy, the Renaissance was a cultural movement that spread throughout Europe and affected art, science, technology, politics, and thought. From the 1300s to the beginning of the 1600s, scholars started to question what they knew and looked to literature and historical texts to develop new ideas for why things were the way they were. In just a short amount of time, the foundations for European life were uprooted and examined, leading people, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to explore new ways of thinking and being.

Four hundred years ago, no one bothered to write down the exact words of stage plays. Characters’ lines were scribbled on small rolls of paper (as in, an actor’s role) and passed around, but no master script was saved for the future. The main reason we’ve heard of Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet, and Shakespeare himself is that a group of people made the excellent choice to preserve the plays after the Bard died. If they hadn’t created the book known as the First Folio, Shakespeare and his works would surely have been lost to history.

In the early 1500s, Ponce de Leon was one of the most important Spanish military figures in the Caribbean. He made his first voyage across the Atlantic with Christopher Columbus and then, after years of battle with the native Taino, became the first governor of Puerto Rico. Although the story of his search for the Fountain of Youth is entirely fictional, his noteworthy expedition to—and naming of—Florida is one of his greatest legacies.

Although he started out as a teacher without aspirations to be an activist or politician, Harvey Milk found himself captivated by the history-making movements of the 1960s. He would eventually make history of his own by becoming the first openly gay elected politician in California. While in office, Harvey Milk advocated for equal rights for the gay community.

Born into slavery in 1862, Ida Bell Wells was freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Yet she could see just how unjust the world she was living in was. This drove her to become a journalist and activist. Throughout her life, she fought against prejudice and for equality for African Americans. Ida B. Wells would go on to co-own a newspaper, write several books, help cofound the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and fight for women's right to vote.

Even though he's best known for his successful PBS series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Fred Rogers never dreamed of working in television. In fact, he hated the very first program that he ever watched! Join author Diane Bailey as she takes listeners through the journey that brought Mister Rogers into our living rooms. From his childhood interest in puppet-making and music, to his courageous visit to Russia during the Cold War, this audiobook details Mister Rogers' quest for kindness and his gentle appeal to be more neighborly.

Called the "Great Pathfinder", Daniel Boone is most famous for opening up the West to settlers through Kentucky. A symbol of America's pioneering spirit Boone was a skilled outdoorsman and an avid reader, although he never attended school. Sydelle Kramer skillfully recounts Boone's many adventures, such as the day he rescued his own daughter from kidnappers.

The man who saved the lives of his PT-109 crewmen during WWII and became the 35th US president fought - and won - his first battle at the age of two-and-a-half, when he was stricken with scarlet fever. Although his presidency was cut short, our nation's youngest elected leader left an indelible mark on the American consciousness and now is profiled in our Who Was...? series.

Abigail Adams was a strong woman far ahead of her time. She urged her husband, President John Adams, to "remember the ladies" and despite having no formal education herself, she later advocated for equal education in public schools for both boys and girls. She was also the first First Lady to live in the White House! This biography tells the story of Abigail Adams and her role in America's Revolutionary War period.

You want girl power? Meet Annie Oakley! Born in 1860, she became one of the best-loved and most famous women of her generation. She amazed audiences all over the world with her sharpshooting, horse-riding, and action-packed performances. In an age when most women stayed home, she traveled the world and forged a new image for American women.

Over centuries and around the world, there is a long history of ruthless people who have wreaked havoc to get what they want. Whether empire-building or simply displaying a cruel streak, is there any excuse for the actions of people who have been responsible for the deaths of so many? Find out in these sixteen biographies of men and women throughout history who have left there deadly mark on history. From Attila the Hun and Vlad the Impaler to Adolf Hitler, listeners will learn the wicked origins of the world's most dangerous people.

Kamala Harris always wanted to help people and solve problems. Even as a young girl, she helped her community create changes that would impact all their lives for the better. When she grew up, Kamala wanted to continue helping people, so she worked hard and became a lawyer and a senator to do just that. Then she went on to become the first woman to ever be vice president of the United States—and possibly the first woman to become president too! Through it all, Kamala continues to do her best to help as many people as she can, and she inspires people everywhere to help others as well.

As a first grader, Ruby Bridges was the first Black student to integrate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was no easy task, especially for a six-year-old. Ruby's bravery and perseverance inspired children and adults alike to fight for equality and social justice. Perfect for back-to-school listening!

Before the Civil War, there was a crack team of abolitionists who used quilts and signal lanterns to guide enslaved people to freedom. RIGHT? WRONG! The truth is, the Underground Railroad wasn't very organized, and most freedom seekers were on their own.

There have long been legends of a curse bestowed upon anyone who disturbs the final resting ground of an Egyptian pharaoh. Lore surrounding these curses claim that they may bring bad luck, illness, or even death. The legend of the curse of King Tutankhamun's tomb spread after odd circumstances and mysterious deaths seemed to follow Howard Carter's research team shortly after discovering and unsealing King Tut's tomb in 1922. It was one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all things Egyptian—including a desire for the very wealthy to own actual mummies.

Introducing the lesser-known but equally intriguing Magaddino-Todaro Mafia Crime Family! While the Five Families of the New York Mafia often steal the spotlight, delve into the captivating world of Buffalo's criminal underworld with Mafia Library's newest non-fiction crime audiobook.

In Voyagers, the distinguished anthropologist Nick Thomas charts the course of the seaborne migrations that populated the islands between the Americas and the western coast of Asia from late prehistory onwards: firstly the colonization by speakers of Austronesian languages of the western Pacific littoral, from around 3000 BC, of the Philippines, Indonesia, Micronesia and Melanesia; followed by the later settlement, by Polynesian peoples, of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, the Marquesas, Easter Island and eventually New Zealand, up to AD 1250.