*Includes pictures of important people and places.
*Explains the origins, history, religion, and social structure of the Creek.
*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.
"The Muscogee was once a mighty people. The Georgians trembled at your war-whoop, and the maidens of my tribe, on the distant lakes, sung the prowess of your warriors and sighed for their embraces. Now your very blood is white; your tomahawks have no edge; your bows and arrows were buried with your fathers. Oh Muscogees, brethren of my mother, brush from your eyelids the sleep of slavery; once more strike for vengeance; once more for your country." - Tecumseh, 1811
From the "Trail of Tears" to Wounded Knee and Little Bighorn, the narrative of American history is incomplete without the inclusion of the Native Americans that lived on the continent before European settlers arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the first contact between natives and settlers, tribes like the Sioux, Cherokee, and Navajo have both fascinated and perplexed outsiders with their history, language, and culture. In Charles River Editors' Native American Tribes series, readers can get caught up to speed on the history and culture of North America's most famous native tribes in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.
Though they are not as well known as tribes like the Sioux or Cherokee, the Creek are one of the oldest and most important Native American tribes in North America. With roots that tie them to the Ancient Moundbuilders, the Creek were one of the most established groups in the Southeastern United States, and came to be known as one of the Five Civilized Tribes. It's also believed that the Creek were the first natives encountered by Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto's historic expedition in the mid-16th century. The Creek became known as one of the Five Civilized Tribes for quickly assimilating aspects of European culture, but in response to early European contact, the Muscogee established one of the strongest confederacies in the region. Despite becoming a dominant regional force, however, infighting brought about civil war in the early 19th century, and they were quickly wrapped up in the War of 1812 as well. By the end of that fighting, the Creek were compelled to cede millions of acres of land to the expanding United States, ushering in a new era that found the Creek occupying only a small strip of Alabama by the 1830s.
Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Creek comprehensively covers the culture and history of the famous group, profiling their origins, their history, and their lasting legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Creek like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes a suggested playlist of the King's greatest songs.
*Includes pictures of Elvis and important people, places, and events in his life.
*Discusses some of Elvis's most famous encounters with celebrities like Ann-Margret and The Beatles.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading.
"When I first heard Elvis' voice, I just knew I wasn't going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my boss... Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail." - Bob Dylan
Born in Mississippi, a young kid named Elvis Presley came to Memphis as a teenager and changed music forever. Fusing country and rhythm and blues with rock, Elvis brought traditional African-American sounds to the forefront of music in the 1950s, but he did so as a handsome white man before the height of the Civil Rights Movement. On top of that, his famous stage fright led to the hip gyrations that would make him the envy of young girls and the scorn of their parents.
What followed was rock music's perfect storm. Managed by Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis became the biggest music act in the world, producing about holiday classics, love ballads, and up-tempo rock songs that all hit the top of the charts in the late '50s. Elvis merged the quintessential rock star looks with success, scoring nearly 20 #1 singles. With live broadcasts on TV appearances and movie roles, Elvis became a pop culture fixture and a music icon that made even The Beatles giddily nervous to meet him.
Given the unprecedented success of his musical career, the last decade of Elvis's life is a tragic tale of substance abuse, controversy, and an inevitable slide down from the top, as new music acts started to eclipse him. Despite all that, however, Elvis' sudden death, like his meteoric rise to fame, shook the world, when he was found dead in his bathroom in 1977 at just 42 years old. Fittingly, Elvis has been just as big in death as he ever was in life. His fame never waned, and in 1982, portions of Graceland were opened to the public and it quickly became the third most visited home in the United States behind the White House and Biltmore. Elvis' had a fervent following during his life, but it morphed into something borderline religious following his death. His fans, who remain tirelessly devoted decades after his passing, make pilgrimages to Graceland, treating it like a shrine.
Legends of Music: The Life and Legacy of Elvis Presley chronicles the amazing story of how a humble kid became The King, while also analyzing the legacy of the most successful solo music performer in history. Along with a suggested playlist and pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Elvis like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Covers the lives, crimes, and deaths of the Public Enemies.
*Explains the legends and myths surrounding all of the public enemies in an attempt to separate fact from fiction.
*Includes pictures of important people, places, and events.
*Includes Bibliographies for further reading.
America has always preferred heroes who weren't clean cut, an informal ode to the rugged individualism and pioneering spirit that defined the nation in previous centuries. The early 19th century saw the glorification of frontier folk heroes like Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. After the Civil War, the outlaws of the West were more popular than the marshals, with Jesse James and Billy the Kid finding their way into dime novels. And at the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s, there were the "public enemies," common criminals and cold blooded murderers elevated to the level of folk heroes by a public frustrated with their own inability to make a living honestly.
In 1933, the Chicago Crime Commission designated the first Public Enemy, and the most famous of them all. Despite his organized crime spree during the '20s, Al Capone was a popular figure in Chicago, viewed by many as a Robin Hood because he took pains to make charitable donations to the city. At the same time, he bribed government officials and cops, ensuring they looked the other way despite his violent ways of doing business. Throughout the decade, Capone was often out in public, despite several attempts on his life, and the gang war between Al Capone and Bugs Moran was well known and even celebrated to an extent. Even to this day, Chicago's gangster past is viewed as part of the city's lore, and tours of the most famous spots in Chicago's gang history are available across the city.
Eventually, J. Edgar Hoover's FBI appropriated the term "Public Enemy" and applied it to outlaws like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Bonnie and Clyde.
Two months after Franklin D. Roosevelt's inauguration in 1933, a petty thief who had spent almost a decade behind bars for attempted theft and aggravated assault was released from jail. By the end of the year, that man, John Dillinger, would be America's most famous outlaw: Public Enemy Number One. From the time of his first documented heist in early July 1933, until his dramatic death in late July of the following year, he would capture the nation's attention and imagination as had no other outlaw since Jesse James.
The man who became Public Enemy Number One after the deaths of John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd was Baby Face Nelson, who ran with Dillinger in 1934. Baby Face was a merciless outlier who pulled triggers almost as fast as he lost his temper. By the time fate caught up with Baby Face Nelson in November 1934 at the "Battle of Barrington," a shootout that left his body riddled with nearly 20 bullet holes, he was believed to have been responsible for the deaths of more FBI agents than anybody else in American history.
There was no shortage of well known public enemies like John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson, but none fascinated the American public as much as Bonnie and Clyde. While the duo and their Barrow Gang were no more murderous than other outlaws of the era, the duo's romantic relationship and the discovery of photographs at one of their hideouts added a more human dimension to Bonnie and Clyde, even as they were gunning down civilians and cops alike. When Bonnie and Clyde were finally cornered and killed in a controversial encounter with police, a fate they shared with many other outlaws of the period, their reputations were cemented.
Public Enemies chronicles the lives, legends, and legacies of America's most famous public enemies. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Capone, Dillinger, Baby Face, and Bonnie & Clyde like never before.