Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy
Author: Kenneth C. Davis
Published October 6th, 2020 by Henry Holt and Co.
About the Book: From the bestselling author of the Don’t Know Much About books comes a dramatic account of the origins of democracy, the history of authoritarianism, and the reigns of five of history’s deadliest dictators.
What makes a country fall to a dictator? How do authoritarian leaders—strongmen—capable of killing millions acquire their power? How are they able to defeat the ideal of democracy? And what can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?
By profiling five of the most notoriously ruthless dictators in history—Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Saddam Hussein—Kenneth C. Davis seeks to answer these questions, examining the forces in these strongmen’s personal lives and historical periods that shaped the leaders they’d become. Meticulously researched and complete with photographs, Strongman provides insight into the lives of five leaders who callously transformed the world and serves as an invaluable resource in an era when democracy itself seems in peril.
Q&A
Q1. What led you to choose this topic and this audience (teens) for your new book?
A1. I have been writing about history for some thirty years and was always fairly optimistic about the future of America. In spite of the flaws I have catalogued in my books, I always believed in the United States as the “last, best hope on earth”—Lincoln’s words—and that its democratic system still moved towards more progress.
But something has changed. And for some time now, I have been concerned that democracy, at home and abroad, was under assault. That is not only sad but dangerous. I felt I had to tell the story of these dictators and how quickly democracy can vanish. It is meant as a warning, a cautionary tale for our time.
On the question of writing for teens, let me first say that I think my books aimed at younger readers are not that different from my earlier work aimed at older adults. In fact, many older readers don’t know these are “Young Adult” books. I try and write for everyone in an accessible style that welcomes the reader, older or younger.
I started writing for younger readers several years ago because I have spoken to so many of them in classrooms over time and came away impressed by their curiosity, engagement, and interest in history. But I wanted to deliver a message to those young people that democracy can’t be taken for granted and that they have a real stake in protecting our rights and freedoms.
Q2. What is the key takeaway you hope that young people get from reading it?
A2. There are several key issues at work in this book and, I would say, all of my work. First is that history is not a collection of facts—dates, battles, speeches, laws – but real stories about real people doing real things. When we read about history that way, it becomes far more compelling and connected to our own lives.
Next is that we read and learn from these accounts to understand who we are and how we got here. Part of that idea is the story of how enormous sacrifices have been made in the name of rights and progress—from abolition to suffrage, civil rights, and fair labor laws. That often comes from the bottom up, not the top down, which means people without a vote still had a voice.
It is also a book that asks hard questions about what people are willing to do in following a leader. And that brings me to my earlier point: Democracy is not a spectator sport. We must protect it if we think it is worth keeping.
Q3. What was the hardest part about writing the book?
A3. I actually write about that in the closing words of the book. This was, in many ways, an extremely difficult project. I have written about many hard and awful events and periods in the past, including the stories of racial slavery I told in my earlier book, In the Shadow of Liberty.
But describing the levels of cruelty, inhumanity, and indecency are unavoidable in writing the history of the Strongmen –the murderous dictators whose stories I tell. We can’t sugarcoat that history. Or ignore it. That made this project a true test of my fundamental belief in the general goodness of humanity. I had to write about the vast numbers of people who were complicit in the genocidal crimes of a Strongman like Hitler or Stalin.
Q4. If a teacher asked for recommendations for teaching your book, what would you suggest?
A4. My writing career has mostly been about asking questions and presenting facts and evidence in real stories. I think that teachers –especially those in Social studies—can follow that general premise with their students. Ask questions and allow students to find answers through accurate, documented evidence.
This approach of getting students to do real research, assess evidence, check sources, and make considered judgments based on facts is the essence of thinking for themselves. It is what today’s education must be about, especially in this era as facts and truth are under such assault.
In a more practical way, this book should fit into a number of curriculum areas – 20th century history; the Holocaust; civics and government; ethics, religion, and basic philosophy; economics; sociology and the behavior of crowds. I have always been a proponent of crossing disciplines.
Q5. What other resources do you feel would complement STRONGMAN in a curriculum?
A5. I would start with reputable journalism, including newspapers and websites that accurately document their reporting. We must establish the clear connection between history and the headlines. That will also help develop those “media literacy” skills that all of us –not just students—need to negotiate the world we live in.
Certainly, there are also a great many other books that could be placed beside Strongman –biographies, war narratives, Holocaust and other memoirs from each of these eras. I’ve included many of them in the Bibliography of Strongman.
I think you can include some historical fiction –cautiously reminding students that novels are not always accurate depictions of events. There are also a wealth of documentary films and series, often starting with what is offered from PBS.
Finally, I did not set out to write three books as a “set” – but I think that my earlier books can be read alongside Strongman. I think that In the Shadow of Liberty provides more context for how the history of slavery developed alongside American democracy. More Deadly Than War provides background for the role World War I played in shaping the world that produced the dictators I profiled in Strongman. And that is how we must read history – as a long, complex, series of connected narratives, not a list of events that are unrelated.
About the Author: Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times–bestselling author of America’s Hidden History and Don’t Know Much About® History, which gave rise to the Don’t Know Much About® series of books for adults and children. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed In the Shadow of Liberty, which was an ALA Notable Book and a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, as well as More Deadly Than War, which was named a Washington Post Best Children’s Book of the Month. A frequent guest on national television and radio and a Ted-Ed Educator, Davis lives in New York City.
Ken also offers free classroom visits to teachers through his website, which might be of interest to include: https://dontknowmuch.com/for-
Thank you, Kenneth, for sharing the truth of history with our students!
Nonfiction History Books for Kids: The Extraordinary Lives Series by Kane Miller Books
I am thrilled to introduce a new series that I am hosting, which explores nonfiction history books for kids. This is all we read in our house, and I’ve learned so much, so I am jazzed to dive deeply into some of the texts on the blog.
I am thrilled to introduce a new series that I am hosting, which explores nonfiction history books for kids. This is all we read in our house, and I’ve learned so much, so I am jazzed to dive deeply into some of the texts on the blog.
I want to start off by sharing a phenomenal series by Kane Miller: The Extraordinary Life of… series. You’ll want to get your hands on these.
Summary: A bold new series for young readers focusing on the lives of inspirational historical and modern figures.
Review: We have fallen in love with the Extraordinary Lives series. My first grader can’t get enough nonfiction. He could spend a full 12-hour day looking through the nonfiction section of the library. He devoured information about the election, reads history books that are above his age range, and just asks for more, more, more. When I learned about the Extraordinary Lives series, I knew it would be a good fit. What I didn’t realize was that my preschooler and I would get just as much joy from the series as my first grader.
Here’s one picture I caught of my son reading them:
Here’s a closer look at the books:
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: These books would be wonderful for use in book groups. I would be thrilled if my kids were in a classroom in which the teacher allowed them to choose the text of a person they were interested in studying. For instance, I LOVED learning about Mary Seacole. That particular book really captured me (although they were all fascinating to read). My sons each had their own favorites, and I imagine this would be the case in a classroom. Students might then present to their peers to teach about the person they chose. Choice is so important in the classroom, and this series offers such wonderful opportunities for learning.
Discussion Questions:
- Which book did you choose and why?
- What did you learn?
- How did the author create engaging content to help you learn more about the person?
Flagged Passage from the Katherine Johnson Text:
Read This If You Love: Nonfiction books, history books, biographies, Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, Schomburg: The Man Who Built the Library by Carole Boston Weatherford, Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe, Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney, We March by Shane W. Evans, Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renee Watson, Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford
Recommended For:
Leave It to Abigail!: The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams
Author: Barb Rosensock
Illustrator: Elizabeth Haddeley
Published: February 4th, 2020 by Little, Brown and Company
Summary: In this inspiring tribute, award-winning author Barb Rosenstock and New York Times bestselling artist Elizabeth Baddeley tell the true story of […]
Leave It to Abigail!: The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams
Author: Barb Rosensock
Illustrator: Elizabeth Haddeley
Published: February 4th, 2020 by Little, Brown and Company
Summary: In this inspiring tribute, award-winning author Barb Rosenstock and New York Times bestselling artist Elizabeth Baddeley tell the true story of one of America’s greatest founding mothers: Abigail Adams.
Everyone knew Abigail was different.
Instead of keeping quiet, she blurted out questions. Instead of settling down with a wealthy minister, she married a poor country lawyer named John Adams. Instead of running from the Revolutionary War, she managed a farm and fed hungry soldiers. Instead of leaving the governing to men, she insisted they “Remember the Ladies.” Instead of fearing Europe’s kings and queens, she boldly crossed the sea to represent her new country. And when John become President of the United States, Abigail became First Lady, and a powerful advisor.
Leave it to Abigail–an extraordinary woman who surprised the world.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:
Please view and enjoy the official educators’ guide for Leave It to Abigail (created by me!):
You can also access the teaching guide here.
You can learn more about Fight of the Century here.
Barb Rosenstock also created two other resources for educators:
A Pinterest Board
A Text Set
Recommended For:
William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate
William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad
Author & Illustrator: Don Tate
Publication Date: November 1, 2020 by Peachtree Publishing Company
Summary: You might be familiar with Harriet Tubman and other key leaders of the Underground Railroad, but do you know about the Father of the Underground Railroad?
William Still’s parents escaped slavery but had to leave two of their children behind, a tragedy that haunted the family. As a young man, William went to work for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, where he raised money, planned rescues, and helped freedom seekers who had traveled north. And then one day, a strangely familiar man came into William’s office, searching for information about his long-lost family. Could it be?
Motivated by his own family’s experience, William began collecting the stories of thousands of other freedom seekers. As a result, he was able to reunite other families and build a remarkable source of information, including encounters with Harriet Tubman, Henry Box Brown, and William and Ellen Craft.
Don Tate brings to life the incredible, stranger-than-fiction true story of William Still’s life and work as a record keeper of enslaved people who had fled to freedom. Tate’s powerful words and artwork are sure to inspire readers in this first-ever picture book biography of the Father of the Underground Railroad.
About the Author: DON TATE is the award-winning illustrator of numerous books for children, including Carter Reads the Newspaper, and is the author and illustrator of Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton for which he won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. He is also the co-contributor to the Brown Bookshelf, a blog designed to raise awareness of African Americans writing for young readers. He lives in Austin, Texas. Visit his website at www.dontate.com.
Review: I think history education is one of the ways I was let down as a kid, so I adore when I learn about a piece of history or a historical figure that we should all know about but has been left out of “chosen” history.
William Still was a huge part of abolitionism, the Underground Railroad, and the history of freed enslaved Americans. Based on Don Tate’s story, I learned that his transcription of the oral history of freedom seekers is how we know about many of the stories that are shared including Harriet Tubman’s and Henry Brown’s.
Don Tate’s book beautifully illustrates through his artwork and words the power of William Still and his impact on our history. We are lucky to have this book out in the world!
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation:
Peachtree Publishing has provided a downloadable poster which I love!
Flagged Passages:
Read an excerpt of the book here: https://peachtree-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WilliamStillandHisFreedomStoriesExcerpt.pdf
Read This If You Love: History, specifically the Civil War, Emancipation, Underground Railroad; Don Tate’s books
Recommended For:
**Thank you to Elyse at Peachtree for providing a copy for review!**
Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote
Author: Barb Rosensock
Illustrator: Sarah Green
Published: February 25th, 2020 by Calkins Creek
Summary: The fight for women’s suffrage between women’s rights leader Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson is presented as a four-round […]
Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote
Author: Barb Rosensock
Illustrator: Sarah Green
Published: February 25th, 2020 by Calkins Creek
Summary: The fight for women’s suffrage between women’s rights leader Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson is presented as a four-round boxing match in this nonfiction picture book.
When Woodrow Wilson was elected President, he didn’t know that he would be participating in one of the greatest fights of the century: the battle for women’s right to vote. The formidable Alice Paul led the women’s suffrage movement, and saw President Wilson’s election as an opportunity to win the vote to women. She battered her opponent with endless strategic arguments and carefully coordinated protests, calling for a new amendment granting women the right to vote. With a spirit and determination that never quit–even when peaceful protests were met with violence and even when many women were thrown in jail–Paul eventually convinced President Wilson to support her cause, changing the country forever.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:
Please view and enjoy the official educators’ guide for Fight of the Century (created by me!):
You can also access the teaching guide here.
You can learn more about Fight of the Century here.
Barb Rosenstock also created two other resources for educators:
A Pinterest Board
A Text Set
Recommended For:
Review, Book Trailer, and Giveaway!: Marjory Saves the Everglades: The Story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas by Sandra Neil Wallace, Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon
Marjory Saves the Everglades: The Story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Author: Sandra Neil Wallace
Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbon
Published September 22, 2020 by Simon Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Summary: From acclaimed children’s book biographer Sandra Neil Wallace comes the inspiring and little-known story […]
Marjory Saves the Everglades: The Story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Author: Sandra Neil Wallace
Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbon
Published September 22, 2020 by Simon Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Summary: From acclaimed children’s book biographer Sandra Neil Wallace comes the inspiring and little-known story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the remarkable journalist who saved the Florida Everglades from development and ruin.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas didn’t intend to write about the Everglades but when she returned to Florida from World War I, she hardly recognized the place that was her home. The Florida that Marjory knew was rapidly disappearing—the rare orchids, magnificent birds, and massive trees disappearing with it.
Marjory couldn’t sit back and watch her home be destroyed—she had to do something. Thanks to Marjory, a part of the Everglades became a national park and the first park not created for sightseeing, but for the benefit of animals and plants. Without Marjory, the part of her home that she loved so much would have been destroyed instead of the protected wildlife reserve it has become today.
About the Author: Sandra Neil Wallace hopes that her stories inspire readers as much as they inspire her. Her book The Teachers March! How Selma’s Teachers Changed History was written with her husband, Rich Wallace, and has received three starred reviews to date. Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went From the Football Field to the Art Gallery received the Orbis Pictus Book Award, was an ALA Notable Book and a Booklist Top 10 Biography for Youth. Formerly, Sandra was an ESPN reporter and was the first woman to host an NHL broadcast. She continues to break barriers as co-founder of DailyGoodNH.org and lives with her family in New Hampshire. To learn more, and to download free activity kits and other resources, visit SandraNeilWallace.com.
Facebook: Sandra Neil Wallace
Twitter: @SandraNWallace
On Instagram: @sandraneilwallace
Praise: “Marjory Saves the Everglades will inspire children of today and tomorrow to be persistent and follow their dreams to create a better world. Sandra Neil Wallace captures Marjory’s passionate commitment to justice for our natural world and all of its inhabitants.”
Review: Marjory Stoneman Douglas is such a special person to us Floridians, even before the tragedy at the school named for her. Marjory changed the course of history here in Florida helping establish our very own ecosystem where amazing wildlife live. We’ll forever be grateful for her, and I am so happy for this beautiful biography commemorating her life and teaching even me more than I knew about her.
Wallace did a fantastic job choosing which parts of Douglas’s amazing life to share, going through much of her life without overloading the narrative, while also showing how important the Everglades are.
The illustrations are perfect because they are so detailed and engulf you when reading about the Everglades. Also, they are so colorful bringing to life all of the amazing wildlife!
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This picture book biography will be perfect for older elementary and secondary classrooms! I would love to see it being used when speaking about humans/women who made a difference or wetlands, so it’ll be a perfect cross-curricular read hitting science, social studies, and reading.
There truly is so much that can be done with this picture book. While reading, I found many differen sections I could stop and do a lesson about an aspect: transportation over time, women’s right history, onomatopoeias, article writing, women in military, women during WWII, expansion of the USA, poaching, National Park history, swamp vs. Everglades, animals of the Everglades, effects of pollution, Friends of the Everglades, and more!
The back matter of the book also offers great opportunities to diving deeper including articles to learn more about Marjory and a mentor text timeline.
Discussion Questions:
- How did Marjory’s persistence show that anyone can do anything they put their mind to?
- How did Marjory change the world?
- How can we keep the Everglades safe?
- What birds and wildlife live in the Everglades that live no where else?
- How is the Everglades unique?
- What adjectives would you use to describe Marjory?
- Before saving the Everglades, what else did Marjory do that she should be honored for?
Book Trailer:
Flagged Passages:
Read This If You Love: Picture book biographies, Enviornmental-focused picture books
Recommended For:
Giveaway!:
**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review and Simon & Schuster for providing a copy for giveaway!**
“Studying the Past, Writing the Future: Some Thoughts on the Study of History”
Before I even finished co-writing Roses and Radicals: The Epic Story of How American Women Won the Right to Vote (Viking, 2018), I knew I wanted to write another book like it. By “like it” mean:
A book of history for younger readers.
- A book that tells the story of incredible, genuinely heroic, and underappreciated people.
- A book that, despite its younger audience, still captures the nuance, complexity, and, above all, rich profundity of some important chapter from the past.
It took me many months, many long walks, and many conversations with many people before I stumbled upon the subject of nonviolence. As had been the case with suffrage a few years before, I knew next to nothing about this topic, but as I began reading my way into it, I could tell that it would make for a great book.
There was a more specific link connecting the two projects as well: Alice Paul, who led the American women’s suffrage movement during the final decade of its long struggle. I had grown utterly fascinated with the intense, truly radical, and somewhat mysterious Paul while working on Roses and Radicals. As I began reading about nonviolence I came to understand that she herself was a nonviolent activist, even though only a tiny fraction of the scholarship about Paul views her work in this context. So the writing of my book, We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World, would begin by retelling her story, yet again, but this time in order to establish her rightful place alongside Gandhi, MLK, and Cesar Chavez.
But as I did this, I learned that We Are Power would be crucially different than Roses and Radicals. For one thing, it would tell more stories—and would thus require considerably more research. More important, however, these stories would be tied together not by a common set of characters, a single movement, or a shared setting, but by the strategy of nonviolent activism itself.
In this regard, We Are Power is not only a book of history, but a book of political theory, or, more precisely, a book about a half-dozen instances of this political theory being put into dramatic, inspiring practice. The book, as narrative, would be propelled by characters and conflicts, but the spine holding it all together would be the theory itself: the way nonviolence rethinks the very nature of political power and social change.
Unfortunately, I found this theoretical material, all on its own, dense, abstract, and, when read separately from the history, extremely dry and perhaps even boring. I knew that the parts of my book dedicated directly to this theory would have to be brief or I’d lose my readers. And yet, these parts, I learned as I wrote my various chapters, were in a sense the very point of the book. As they were interwoven into the various narratives I was constructing, they often found their place in and around the climaxes to each story.
The historical events were, I realized, the occasion to present the timeless truths at the center of nonviolent activism. This would explain why the title to my book of history—We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World—contains not one but two present tense verbs. It also explains why the book is able to pivot, in its conclusion, from past movements to a present struggle—the fight against climate change—that is very much ongoing.
Ultimately, We Are Power isn’t a book of history, or only a book of history. It’s a book about power and the way those who don’t appear to have power can claim it, in order to change the world in which they live. The truth about power at the center of this book is timeless.
I don’t have a lesson, per se, to offer teachers here, but instead a rather large bit of advice I encourage teachers to keep in mind when working on history with their students: studying the past is worthwhile not because there’s value in knowing, all by itself, what happened in earlier times, but because understanding history helps us see our present more clearly. This great, meta-historical truth needn’t receive a lot of attention in lessons, but it should be there, I believe, as an often-silent motivation for the entire enterprise.
Our responsibility to study the past is inseparable from our responsibility to apply what we learn to our actions in the present. When we teach young people history, we’re giving them a crucial tool in becoming informed citizens capable of transforming our present into a better future, and I can think of no lesson more important than that.
Published April 7th, 2020 by Abrams Books for Young Readers
About the Book: Author Todd Hasak-Lowy’s We Are Power is a stirring introduction to nonviolent activism, from American women’s suffrage to civil rights to the global climate change movement.
What is nonviolent resistance? How does it work? In an age when armies are stronger than ever before, when guns seem to be everywhere, how can people confront their adversaries without resorting to violence themselves? Featuring leaders Gandhi, Alice Paul, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Václav Havel, and Greta Thunberg, We Are Power brings to life the incredible movements that use nonviolent activism to change the world.
By answering the question “Why nonviolence?” and challenging the notion of who makes history and how, author Todd Hasak-Lowy shows the ways key movements have succeeded again and again in all sorts of places, using a variety of methods and against overwhelming odds. Breaking down nonviolent resistance into digestible lessons for next generation of activists, this book is an inspiring call to action, a reminder that true power ultimately rests in our hands.
We Are Power also includes an overview of other movements from the last one hundred years, a bibliography, and an index.
★ “Hasak-Lowy’s writing gives life to both the people and issues involved, taking time to explain historical backgrounds and the ways the lessons from one movement affected future ones.” — Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
★ “Highly recommended for its outstanding treatment of the history of social justice. A good resource for student activists.” — School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
★ “There has never been a time when a book is more relevant than this one.” — School Library Connection, STARRED REVIEW
“A striking and very timely conclusion highlights teenage Greta Thunberg’s bold challenge to fight global climate change.” — Publishers Weekly
“This excellent, timely overview will open eyes and deserves a wide readership.”— Kirkus
About the Author: Todd Hasak-Lowy is the author of several books for young readers, including the novels 33 Minutes and Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You. He is a professor in the department of liberal arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has a PhD from University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife and two daughters. Visit his website at toddhasaklowy.com.
https://www.toddhasaklowy.com/
https://twitter.com/nonviolence11
https://www.instagram.com/wearepower_book/
https://www.facebook.com/todd.hasaklowy.1
https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/we-are-power_9781419741111/
Thank you, Todd, for this look at how history helps write the future: good and bad!
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