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The Small and the Mighty

Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement

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The Small and the Mighty

By: Sharon McMahon
Narrated by: Sharon McMahon
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About this listen

A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From America’s favorite government teacher, a “fascinating and fun” (Adam Grant) portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country.

In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn’t make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history’s unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time.

You’ll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more.

This is a book about what really made America – and Americans – great. McMahon’s cast of improbable champions will become familiar friends, lighting the path we journey in our quest to make the world more just, peaceful, good, and free.

©2024 Sharon McMahon (P)2024 Penguin Audio Americas Civics & Citizenship Politics & Government United States World Inspiring Social justice

Critic reviews

“With shimmering research, an observant eye, and a bright moral compass, Sharon McMahon leads us through the thickets of the past until we can see where we came from and where we are going.”―David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon

“Sharon McMahon is a national treasure and a one-woman cavalry for truth, saving our republic one loving and clear-eyed lesson at a time. She and this book are a gift to our country.”—Isabel Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Caste and The Warmth of Other Suns
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I knew this would be good as I love Sharon's Instagram but the way she interwove these stories together was what suprised me and makes this book so much more. as a teacher thank you for all the stories about how teachers have changed the world in their own circles.

amazing stories interwoven

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Sharon brings a sincerity and desire to educate on a past that is part of our present and imperative for the future. Shares historical facts and personal stories that connect us all to humanity.

Makes history meaningful

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This is the best audio book I have listened to.I have learnt so much about outstanding and courageous humans in a time when I feel the world has lost its goodness and purpose. The sheer strength of determination of unsung heros - and how their lives have improved and impacted on history. Thank you

Chapter 1 onwards

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