Like a powerful locomotive, Lou Gehrig slugged his way through 14 years as the pride of the Yankees. Never missing a game during his career, the six-time All-Star set the American League record with 184 RBI in 1931, hit a record 23 grand slams, won two Most Valuable Player awards, and won the 1934 Triple Crown. Refusing to see himself as a natural, Gehrig achieved greatness through an unwavering dedication to practice. Then suddenly, the Iron Man began to rust. The home runs ceased. The hits became misses. Gehrig had contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Yet harnessing the...

The only biography series to include a section on career information. The "Ferguson Career Biographies" series tells the stories of some of the world's most influential and admired people, focusing on the subject's early education and training, challenges faced on the job, important mentors, and career achievements. Students follow each person's journey along one or more career paths and get a sense of the person's historical importance. These unique volumes present important information on each subject's career in a way that makes it easy to integrate into classroom and take-home...

As a 19-year-old heading east to play for the Boston Red Sox, Ted Williams could be heard muttering over and over again, "All I want out of life is when I walk down the street, folks will say, 'There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived.'" Through a tumultuous, boisterous career that touched four decades, Williams worked tirelessly to perfect the science of hitting and accomplish his goal. Two-time winner of the Triple Crown, Williams hit an astonishing.406 in his 1941 season, a record that stands to this day. During his last ballpark appearance at the 1999 All-Star game, 80-year-old...

This book tells of the contribution of African Americans to the cause of the Union in the American Civil War. At first shunned, free blacks and ex-slaves eventually donned uniforms and fought in more than 400 battles. Despite blatant prejudice and discrimination, they proved their valour and contributed hugely to the success of the Union.

This book provides a history of the New York City Subway system from its beginnings at the start of the 20th century to the present day. From one line in 1904, it now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with 6,400 cars, 468 stations, 4.5 million daily users and 842 miles of track - a longer distance than New York to Chicago.

Growing up in small-town, Depression-era Oklahoma, Mickey Mantle heard the same plea day in and day out from his parents: "Get out of the house and play some baseball!" Sooner than anyone expected, Mantle was a New York Yankee in 1951. Five years later, the switch-hitting phenomenon was on his way to stardom, completing the season with a Triple Crown for the highest batting average and most home runs and RBIs. Hailed as the successor to the great Joe DiMaggio, Mantle felt the pressure of success and faced difficulties stemming from physical infirmity and, later, alcohol abuse. In Mickey...