Most Popular Books by Steve Sheinkin

release date: Jan 01, 2012

In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos. This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.

The Port Chicago 50

"In San Francisco Bay there was a United States Navy base called Port Chicago. During World War II, it was a busy port where young sailors--many of them teenagers--loaded bombs and ammunition into ships bound for American troops in the Pacific. Like the entire Navy, Port Chicago was strictly segregated. All the officers giving orders were white; all the men loading bombs were black. On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked Port Chicago, killing 320 servicemen and injuring hundreds more. But the truly remarkable part of the story was still to come. Surviving black sailors were taken to a nearby base and ordered to return to the same exact work. More than 200 of the men refused unless the unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. The sailors called it standing up for justice. The Navy called it mutiny and threatened that anyone not immediately returning to work would face the firing squad. Most of the men agreed to back down. Fifty did not. This is a dramatic story of prejudice and injustice in America's armed forces during World War II, and a provocative look at a controversial group of young sailors who took a stand that helped change the course of history"--Jacket flap. In July 1944, an explosion at a California navy base killed hundreds of sailors loading munitions. Fifty black seamen, refusing to resume work in unsafe conditions, were charged with mutiny. The text contains profanity, violence, and racial slurs.

Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War

by: Steve Sheinkin, Tim Robinson

May 22, 1856: A MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA WALKS INTO THE SENATE CHAMBER, LOOKING FOR TROUBLE.

That Congressman, Preston Brooks, was ready to attack Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts over remarks Sumner made slamming senators who supported slavery in Kansas. Brooks lifted his cane to beat Sumner, and here the action in the book stops, so that Steve Sheinkin can explain just where this confrontation started. In the process, he unravels the complicated string of events - the small things, the personal ones, the big issues- that led to The Civil War. It is a time and a war that threatened America's very existence, revealed in the surprising true stories of the soldiers and statesmen who battled it out.

Two Miserable Presidents is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wisdom and Wit in the Wild West

A fresh look at Jewish folktales-wise, witty, hilarious.

After finishing school in New York, Rabbi Harvey traveled west in search of adventure and, hopefully, work as a rabbi. His journey took him to Elk Spring, Colorado, a small town in the Rocky Mountains. When he managed to outwit the ruthless gang that had been ruling Elk Spring, the people invited Harvey to stay on as the town's rabbi. In Harvey's adventures in Elk Spring, he settles disputes, tricks criminals into confessing, and offers unsolicited bits of Talmudic insight and Hasidic wisdom. Each story presents Harvey with a unique challenge-from convincing a child that he is not actually a chicken, to retrieving stolen money from a sweet-faced bubbe gone bad. Like any good collection of Jewish folktales, these stories contain layers of humor and timeless wisdom that will entertain, teach and, especially, make you laugh.

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

An introduction to the life of Benedict Arnold that highlights not only the traitorous actions that made him legendary, but also his heroic involvement in the American Revolution.

Rabbi Harvey Rides Again: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Folktales Let Loose in the Wild West

Rabbi Harvey is Back with Ten Hilarious New Adventures

In this follow-up to the popular The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wisdom and Wit in the Wild West, the Rabbi returns to the streets of Elk Spring, Colorado. Part Wild West sheriff, part old world rabbi, Harvey protects his town and delivers justice, wielding only the weapons of wisdom, wit, and a bit of trickery. These adventures combine Jewish and American folklore by creatively retelling comic Jewish folktales and setting them loose on the western frontier of the 1870s.

As his fame grows throughout the Rocky Mountains, Rabbi Harvey meets new characters?including the luckless gold miner Abigail?and faces a slew of new challenges. He encounters the return of “Big Milt” and Wolfie Wasserman (the most feared father-and-son outlaw team east of Nevada), and investigates another bold crime by the sweet-faced Bad Bubbe. And, as ever, the Rabbi is the quickest draw in the West?when it comes to pulling out bits of Talmudic insight to fit any occasion, that is. Like any great collection of Jewish folktales, these stories contain layers of humor and timeless wisdom that will entertain, teach and, especially, make you laugh.

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards))