Most Popular Books by James Lincoln Collier

Louis Armstrong. "Satchmo." To millions of fans, he was just a great entertainer. But to jazz aficionados, he was one of the most important musicians of our times--not only a key figure in the history of jazz but a formative influence on all of 20th-century popular music. Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, Chicago, and New York during the "jazz age", Collier re-creates the saga of an old-fashioned black man making it in a white world. He chronicles Armstrong''s rise as a musician, his scrapes with the law, his relationships with four wives, and his frequent feuds with fellow musicians Earl Hines and Zutty Singleton. He also sheds new light on Armstrong''s endless need for approval, his streak of jealousy, and perhaps most important, what some consider his betrayal of his gift as he opted for commercial success and stardom. A unique biography, knowledgeable, insightful, and packed with information, it ends with Armstrong''s death in 1971 as one of the best-known figures in American entertainment.

Traces the rags-to-riches career of the clarinetist and his role in popularizing jazz music in the post-Depression 1930s, assesses his elusive personality, and reevaluates dozens of his landmark recordings

Twelve-year-old Jesse runs away from home and tries to survive on his own in the nearby mountains.

At fourteen, Fergy is tired of his family''s life style. He''s tired of living in a van with his parents, J. P. and Gussie, and his younger sister, Ooma. He''s sick of peddling honey and pamphlets of his father''s writings. And most of all he hates stealing things, even though J. P. says it''s all right to "reclaim" necessities from society. Fergy listens to J. P. talk about the evils of "the system," and gradually Fergy realizes that he no longer believes or respects his father. In fact, Fergy longs more than anything to be a part of that system! One day, when Fergy''s father steals a motor home from an elderly couple who have befriended them, Fergy knows the time has come to act. He''s fed up, and he has to escape. Early one morning, with Ooma in tow, Fergy runs away. Gussie''s wealthy parents live in Boston, and Fergy hopes that if he can find them, he and Ooma can have the "regular and normal" life he longs for. How Fergy comes to grips with his relationship with his parents and his own expectations makes a provocative, at times painful, but always absorbing story about a boy''s determination to make a better life for himself.

Johnny made a promise to his father, who was wounded fighting for the South. He promised to take care of the family and not run off to fight. Without Pa, Johnny’s family can barely scrape by. But when there’s an offer to take his mules and wagon on a bold mission to supply the Rebel troops, Johnny can’t resist. Then he’s captured by a Yankee—Cush, a runaway slave. Johnny doesn’t like taking orders from a black. But he’s got no choice. He’s bound for prison camp, tormented by his broken promise and wondering what will become of his family and himself.

To Tim Anderson, playing the guitar is as natural—and just about as important—as breathing. He''s already decided he''s going to be a musician. But his father has other career plans for him—all involving college. And now, because Tim is on the verge of flunking math, he''s been forbidden even to touch his guitar. It couldn''t have happened at a worse time. A top record company has just announced a nationwide contest for teenage rock groups—with a recording contract as first prize. Tim is sure his group, The Silver Sunshine, has a good chance of winning. Tim''s best friend, Charlie Hoving, urges him to ignore his father''s orders. But Tim just can''t do it. In spite of their disagreements, he basically likes and respects his father. So he obeys the ban (more or less)—until a crisis arises on the night of the contest ... Tim realizes his only chance to make it is to leave home and go to New York City. His decision leads to some unpleasant experience with a man named Crazy, some rude shocks from the record company executive who had given him encouragement back home, and some surprising, and confusing, discoveries while playing with a new group, The Sound System. Tim''s stubborn pursuit of his dream, and his initiation into the high-voltage world of rock music, make an exciting and absorbing story.

The friendship and loyalties of two twelve-year-old indentured servants--one English and one Native American--are tested when the English settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, plan a raid on a Powhatan Indian village.

Young Tim Meeker is caught between his brother''s patriotism and his father''s Tory sympathies in this story of the American Revolution.

Discusses the events and personalities that shaped this country, from the hotly contested election of 1800 that brought Thomas Jefferson into office through the westward expansion to the War of 1812 and James Madison''s presidency.

Nick Hodges had always been a troublesome boy. Growing up an orphan in his Uncle Jack''s care in a small New England town wasn''t easy. Everyone was a little wary, a little watchful—a little too watchful. One day, while Nick is walking in the woods, a neighbor thinks she sees him miles from where he actually is. Soon a series of events reinforcing Nick''s hotheaded reputation unfold. The incidents become increasingly serious until, finally, Nick is the scapegoat for a much more sinister crime, one that he wouldn''t even think of committing. As he uncovers history of the town''s influenza epidemic, and as he observes a strange occurrence in the graveyard, Nick begins to suspect something out of the ordinary is happening. And when he sees a figure running in the woods wearing the mirror image of his own shirt, Nick starts to piece together some of the answers—answers no one could have imagined. James Lincoln Collier has written a haunting story of a boy and his reflection—and what happens when two souls want to inhabit the same living body.

Young people search for hominids on another planet similar to Earth and experience all the dangers Earth possessed in prehistoric times.

It’s 1895 in New York City. Hard times have hit, and life isn’t going to get noticeably better any time soon. Almost-thirteen-year-old Chipper Carey is running with the Midnight Rats kid gang just to survive. Chipper doesn’t normally like to think beyond the present. His past has been bad enough! Ma died of consumption when he was six. His short-lived stay with Aunt Millie and Uncle Bert consisted of endless beatings. He never even knew his father. Sure, Chipper feels badly about the gang’s stealing and fighting. He knows Ma wouldn’t have approved. He knows she wanted and expected a respectable life for him. What does it matter that even he sometimes feels he’s different, maybe even better, than the rest of the gang? What ultimately has to matter is reality, and without the Midnight Rats, Chipper would have nothing. He’d starve. He’d face thrashings more serious than those inflicted by the police. Worst of all, he’d be alone. Fortunately for Chipper, fate takes over and introduces him to the wealthy Miss Sibley. For once, it becomes possible for him to forget that the rich are the enemy. For once, like his Ma, someone else believes that he really was meant for something better.

Fifteen-year-old Ben Buck and his family spent four years clearing the wilderness to build a new home in Pennsylvania. They fought the Indians and the British, and they made sacrifices most people wouldn''t have been strong enough to make, all so they could be independent and free. Now someone''s trying to take everything away from them—their land, their home, even Ben''s best friend, Joe. But the Bucks won''t give up without a fight, and Ben knows his family will have to win a war to stay free. But what he doesn''t know is that wars sometimes last a very long time. And even if you win in the end, you can lose almost everything along the way.

Fifty-five men met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a document that would create a country and change a world: the Constitution. Here is a remarkable rendering of that fateful time, told with humanity and humor. Decision in Philadelphia is the best popular history of the Constitutional Convention; in it, the life and times of eighteenth century America not only come alive, but the very human qualities of the men who framed the document are brought provocatively into focus—casting many of the Founding Fathers in a new light. A celebration of how and why our Constitution came into being, Decision in Philadelphia is also a testament of the American spirit at its finest.

The sequel to the Newbery Honor classic My Brother Sam Is Dead by bestselling author James Lincoln Collier! Tim has lost both his father and his brother, Sam, to the Revolutionary War. And for what? The war continues, with fighting and bloodshed all around him, no closer to peace. As the violence grows, Tim and his mother struggle to stay neutral, but Tim’s anger is unrelenting. Haunted by memories of his brother’s final moments, Tim is starting to realize that eventually, everyone must take a side. But which side should pay the price for his brother’s death: the British or the Rebels who led Sam into the line of fire? Each played a part in Sam’s death, so it’s up to Tim to decide how to avenge his brother. Will he be able to get the justice his brother deserves, or will he have to accept the fact that Sam’s death was the ultimate price for freedom? In an all-too-timely sequel, Newbery Honor–author James Lincoln Collier picks up the story of My Brother Sam Is Dead in another powerful examination of patriotism, family, and what it means to be an American.

History is dramatic—and the renowned, award-winning authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier demonstrate this in a compelling series aimed at young readers. Covering American history from the founding of Jamestown through present day, these volumes explore far beyond the dates and events of a historical chronicle to present a moving illumination of the ideas, opinions, attitudes, and tribulations that led to the birth of this great nation. The Reconstruction and Rise of Jim Crow describes the fallout of the Civil War, whose aftermath left the United States South angry and poor. This book details the struggles to decide how to deal with the newly freed slaves, through the years of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, sharecropping, and segregation. The story line also sets the stage for the country''s next battle, which is between the Jim Crow laws and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

Young Daniel Arabus and his mother are slaves in the house of Captain Ivers of Stratford, Connecticut. By law they should be free, since Daniel’s father fought in the Revolutionary army and earned enough in soldiers’ notes to buy his family’s freedom. But now Daniel’s father is dead, and Mrs. Ivers has taken the notes from his mother. When Daniel bravely steals the notes back, a furious Captain Ivers forces him aboard a ship bound for the West Indies—and certain slavery. Even if Daniel can manage to jump ship in New York, will he be able to travel the long and dangerous road to freedom? The second book in the Arabus family saga finds young Daniel trying to retrieve the notes that ensure his and his mother’s freedom, until he is forced aboard a boat and headed for certain slavery in the West Indies.

Traces the life of the internationally acclaimed musician and composer who helped popularize jazz.