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Landmark Books (series)

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Logo for the Landmark Books series

Landmark Books was a children's book series published by Random House from 1950 to 1970, featuring stories of significant people and events in American history written by popular authors at the time. The series expanded in 1953 to include world history as a sub-series called World Landmark Books, and a second sub-series of larger-format books illustrated with color artwork or black and white photographs was introduced in the 1960s as Landmark Giant, which would continue releasing new titles beyond the end of the main series until 1974. Select titles from the American and World series were reissued in paperback from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

Volumes in the initial run of the American, World, and Giant series were numbered, and a list of titles was printed on the inside of each book's dust jacket. The series would grow to include 122 American, 63 World, and 25 Giant volumes by noted authors like C. S. Forester, Robert Penn Warren, Pearl S. Buck, Quentin Reynolds, MacKinlay Kantor, Shirley Jackson, Daniel J. Boorstin, and many others.

A blurb printed on the jacket of later entries in the series by Millicent Taylor, former Education Editor for The Christian Science Monitor, described the Landmark Books as being intended for ages ten to fifteen, uniformly under 200 pages, and illustrated with maps and drawings.

David Spear, writing in the American Historical Association's news magazine, says that the series "lured an entire generation of young readers" to the history discipline, "including many of today's professional historians."[1]

List of titles and authors

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# Title Author Year
1 The Voyages of Christopher Columbus Armstrong Sperry 1950
2 The Landing of the Pilgrims James Daugherty 1950
3 Pocahontas and Captain John Smith Marie Lawson 1950
4 Paul Revere and the Minute Men Dorothy Canfield Fisher 1950
5 Our Independence and the Constitution Dorothy Canfield Fisher 1950
6 The California Gold Rush May McNeer 1950
7 The Pony Express Samuel Hopkins Adams 1950
8 Lee and Grant at Appomattox MacKinlay Kantor 1950
9 The Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad Adele Gutman Nathan 1950
10 The Wright Brothers Quentin Reynolds 1950
11 Prehistoric America Anne Terry White 1951
12 The Vikings Elizabeth Janeway 1951
13 The Santa Fe Trail Samuel Hopkins Adams 1951
14 The Story of the U.S. Marines George Hunt 1951
15 The Lewis and Clark Expedition Richard L. Neuberger 1951
16 The Monitor and the Merrimac Fletcher Pratt 1951
17 The Explorations of Pere Marquette Jim Kjelgaard 1951
18 The Panama Canal Bob Considine 1951
19 The Pirate Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans Robert Tallant 1951
20 Custer's Last Stand Quentin Reynolds 1951
21 Daniel Boone John Mason Brown 1952
22 Clipper Ship Days John Jennings 1952
23 Gettysburg MacKinlay Kantor 1952
24 The Louisiana Purchase Robert Tallant 1952
25 Wild Bill Hickok Tames the West Stewart H. Holbrook 1952
26 Betsy Ross and the Flag Jane Mayer 1952
27 The Conquest of the North and South Poles Russell Owen 1952
28 Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia Margaret Cousins 1952
29 Trappers and Traders of the Far West James Daugherty 1952
30 Mr. Bell Invents the Telephone Katherine B. Shippen 1952
31 The Barbary Pirates C. S. Forester 1953
32 Sam Houston, the Tallest Texan William Johnson 1953
33 The Winter at Valley Forge Van Wyck Mason 1953
34 The Erie Canal Samuel Hopkins Adams 1953
35 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo Ted Lawson and Bob Considine 1953
36 Thomas Jefferson, Father of Democracy Vincent Sheean 1953
37 The Coming of the Mormons Jim Kjelgaard 1953
38 George Washington Carver, the Story of a Great American Anne Terry White 1953
39 John Paul Jones, Fighting Sailor Armstrong Sperry 1953
40 The First Overland Mail Robert Pinkerton 1953
41 Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders Henry Castor 1954
42 To California by Covered Wagon George R. Stewart 1954
43 Peter Stuyvesant of Old New York Anna Erskine Crouse and Russel Crouse 1954
44 Lincoln and Douglas: The Years of Decision Regina Z. Kelly 1954
45 Robert Fulton and the Steamboat Ralph Nading Hill 1954
46 The F.B.I. Quentin Reynolds 1954
47 Dolly Madison Jane Mayer 1954
48 John James Audubon Margaret Kieran and John Kieran 1954
49 Hawaii, Gem of the Pacific Oscar Lewis 1954
50 War Chief of the Seminoles May McNeer 1954
51 Old Ironsides, the Fighting Constitution Harry Hansen 1955
52 The Mississippi Bubble Thomas B. Costain 1955
53 Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier Ralph Moody (writer) 1955
54 Robert E. Lee and the Road of Honor Hodding Carter 1955
55 Guadalcanal Diary Richard Tregaskis 1955
56 Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan Ferdinand Kuhn 1955
57 Davy Crockett Stewart H. Holbrook 1955
58 Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross Helen Dore Boylston 1955
59 The Story of San Francisco Charlotte Jackson 1955
60 Up the Trail from Texas J. Frank Dobie 1955
61 Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House Sterling North 1956
62 The Story of D-Day: June 6, 1944 Bruce Bliven, Jr. 1956
63 Rogers' Rangers and the French and Indian War Bradford Smith 1956
64 The World's Greatest Showman: The Life of P. T. Barnum J. Bryan, III 1956
65 Sequoyah: Leader of the Cherokees Alice Marriott 1956
66 Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys Slater Brown 1956
67 Wyatt Earp: U.S. Marshal Stewart H. Holbrook 1956
68 The Early Days of Automobiles Elizabeth Janeway 1956
69 The Witchcraft of Salem Village Shirley Jackson 1956
70 The West Point Story Col. Red Reeder and Nardi Reeder Campion 1956
71 George Washington: Frontier Colonel Sterling North 1957
72 The Texas Rangers Will Henry 1957
73 Buffalo Bill's Great Wild West Show Walter Havighurst 1957
74 Evangeline and the Acadians Robert Tallant 1957
75 The Story of the Secret Service Ferdinand Kuhn 1957
76 Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too! Stanley Young 1957
77 America's First World War: General Pershing and the Yanks Henry Castor 1957
78 The Doctors Who Conquered Yellow Fever Ralph Nading Hill 1957
79 Remember the Alamo! Robert Penn Warren 1958
80 Andrew Carnegie and the Age of Steel Katherine B. Shippen 1958
81 Geronimo: Wolf of the Warpath Ralph Moody (writer) 1958
82 The Story of the Paratroops George Weller 1958
83 The American Revolution Bruce Bliven, Jr. 1958
84 The Story of the Naval Academy Felix Riesenberg, Jr. 1958
85 Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Anna Erskine Crouse and Russel Crouse 1958
86 Stonewall Jackson Jonathan Daniels 1959
87 The Battle for the Atlantic Jay Williams 1959
88 The First Transatlantic Cable Adele Gutman Nathan 1959
89 The Story of the Air Force Robert Loomis 1959
90 The Swamp Fox of the Revolution Stewart H. Holbrook 1959
91 Heroines of the Early West Nancy Wilson Ross 1960
92 The Alaska Gold Rush May McNeer 1960
93 The Golden Age of Railroads Stewart H. Holbrook 1960
94 From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa Bruce Bliven, Jr. 1960
95 The Copper Kings of Montana Marian T. Place 1961
96 Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II Robert D. Loomis 1961
97 The Story of the U.S. Coast Guard Eugene Rachlis 1961
98 William Penn: Quaker Statesman Hildegarde Dolson 1961
99 John F. Kennedy & PT 109 Richard Tregaskis 1962
100 The Story of Oklahoma Lon Tinkle 1962
101 Americans into Orbit: The Story of Project Mercury Gene Gurney 1962
102 The Story of Submarines George Weller 1962
103 The Seabees of World War II Edmund Castillo 1963
104 The U.S. Border Patrol Clement Hellyer 1963
105 The Flying Tigers John Toland 1963
106 The U.S. Frogmen of World War II Wyatt Blassingame 1964
107 Women of Courage Dorothy Nathan 1964
108 Dwight D. Eisenhower Malcolm Moos 1964
109 Disaster at Johnstown: The Great Flood Hildegarde Dolson 1965
110 The Story of Thomas Alva Edison Margaret Cousins 1965
111 Medal of Honor Heroes Col. Red Reeder 1965
112 From Casablanca to Berlin Bruce Bliven, Jr. 1965
113 Young Mark Twain and the Mississippi Harnett T. Kane 1966
114 The Battle of the Bulge John Toland 1966
115 The Story of the Thirteen Colonies Clifford Lindsey Alderman 1966
116 Combat Nurses of World War II Wyatt Blassingame 1967
117 Walk in Space: The Story of Project Gemini Gene Gurney 1967
118 The Battle for Iwo Jima Robert Leckie 1967
119 Midway: Battle for the Pacific Capt Edmund L. Castillo 1968
120 Medical Corps Heroes of World War II Wyatt Blassingame 1969
121 Flat Tops: The Story of Aircraft Carriers Edmund L. Castillo 1969
122 The Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd A. B. C. Whipple 1970
W-1 The First Men in the World Anne Terry White 1953
W-2 Alexander the Great John Gunther 1953
W-3 Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo Richard J. Walsh 1953
W-4 Joan of Arc Nancy Wilson Ross 1953
W-5 King Arthur and His Knights Mabel Louise Robinson 1953
W-6 Mary: Queen of Scots Emily Hahn 1953
W-7 Napoleon and the Battle of Waterloo Frances Winwar 1953
W-8 Royal Canadian Mounted Police Richard L. Neuberger 1953
W-9 The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-sen Pearl S. Buck 1953
W-10 The Battle of Britain Quentin Reynolds 1953
W-11 The Crusades Anthony West 1954
W-12 Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde Harold Lamb 1954
W-13 Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada Frances Winwar 1954
W-14 Simon Bolivar: The Great Liberator Arnold Whitridge 1954
W-15 The Slave Who Freed Haiti: The Story of Toussaint Louverture Katherine Scherman 1954
W-16 The Story of Scotland Yard Laurence Thompson 1954
W-17 The Life of Saint Patrick Quentin Reynolds 1955
W-18 The Exploits of Xenophon Geoffrey Household 1955
W-19 Captain Cook Explores the South Seas Armstrong Sperry 1955
W-20 Marie Antoinette Bernadine Kielty 1955
W-21 Will Shakespeare and the Globe Theater Anne Terry White 1955
W-22 The French Foreign Legion Wyatt Blassingame 1955
W-23 Martin Luther Harry Emerson Fosdick 1956
W-24 The Hudson's Bay Company Richard Morenus 1956
W-25 Balboa: Swordsman and Conquistador Felix Riesenberg 1956
W-26 The Magna Charta James Daugherty 1956
W-27 Leonardo da Vinci Emily Hahn 1956
W-28 General Brock and Niagara Falls Samuel Hopkins Adams 1957
W-29 Catherine the Great Katherine Scherman 1957
W-30 The Fall of Constantinople Bernadine Kielty 1957
W-31 Ferdinand Magellan: Master Mariner Seymour Gates Pond 1957
W-32 Garibaldi: Father of Modern Italy Marcia Davenport 1957
W-33 The Story of Albert Schweitzer Anita Daniel 1957
W-34 The Marquis de Lafayette: Bright Sword for Freedom Hodding Carter 1958
W-35 Famous Pirates of the New World A. B. C. Whipple 1958
W-36 Exploring the Himalaya William O. Douglas 1958
W-37 Queen Victoria Noel Streatfeild 1958
W-38 The Flight and Adventures of Charles II Charles Norman 1958
W-39 Chief of the Cossacks Harold Lamb 1959
W-40 Adventures of Ulysses Gerald Gottlieb 1959
W-41 William the Conqueror Thomas B. Costain 1959
W-42 Jesus of Nazareth Harry Emerson Fosdick 1959
W-43 Julius Caesar John Gunther 1959
W-44 The Story of Australia A. Grove Day 1960
W-45 Captain Cortes Conquers Mexico William Johnson 1960
W-46 Florence Nightingale Ruth Fox Hume 1960
W-47 The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler William L. Shirer 1961
W-48 The Story of Atomic Energy Laura Fermi 1961
W-49 Great Men of Medicine Ruth Fox Hume 1961
W-50 Cleopatra of Egypt Leonora Hornblow 1961
W-51 The Sinking of the Bismarck William L. Shirer 1962
W-52 Lawrence of Arabia Alistair MacLean 1962
W-53 The Life of Saint Paul Harry Emerson Fosdick 1962
W-54 The Voyages of Henry Hudson Eugene Rachlis 1962
W-55 Hero of Trafalgar A. B. C. Whipple 1963
W-56 Winston Churchill Quentin Reynolds 1963
W-57 The War in Korea: 1950–1953 Robert Leckie 1963
W-58 Walter Raleigh Henrietta Buckmaster 1964
W-59 Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt Elizabeth Payne 1964
W-60 Flying Aces of World War I Gene Gurney 1965
W-61 Commandos of World War II Hodding Carter 1966
W-62 Ben Gurion and the Birth of Israel Joan Comay 1967
W-63 The United Nations in War and Peace T. R. Fehrenback 1968
Giant-1 The FBI Story Don Whitehead, Foreword by J. Edgar Hoover 1961
Giant-2 The Continent We Live On Ivan T. Sanderson 1961
Giant-3 The American Indian William Brandon 1962
Giant-4 The Story of Baseball John M. Rosenburg 1962
Giant-5 Life in the Ancient World Bart Winer 1963
Giant-6 Life in Colonial America Elizabeth George Speare 1963
Giant-7 The Story of World War II Robert Leckie 1964
Giant-8 Life in Lincoln's America Helen Reeder Cross 1964
Giant-9 The Story of Football Robert Leckie 1965
Giant-10 The Story of World War I Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall and Robert Leckie 1965
Giant-11 Great American Athletes of the 20th Century Zander Hollander 1966
Giant-12 Life in the Middle Ages Jay Williams 1966
Giant-13 Washington, D.C.: The Story of Our Nation's Capital Howard K. Smith 1967
Giant-14 American Heroes of the 20th Century Harold Faber 1967
Giant-15 The Story of New England Monroe Stearns 1967
Giant-16 The Landmark History of the American People from Plymouth to Appomattox Daniel J. Boorstin 1968
Giant-17 Great American Battles Robert Leckie 1968
Giant-18 Life in the Renaissance Marzieh Gail 1968
Giant-19 New York: The Story of the World's Most Exciting City Bruce Bliven 1969
Giant-20 Americans to the Moon: The Story of Project Apollo Gene Gurney 1970
Giant-21 The Landmark History of the American People from Appomattox to the Moon Daniel J. Boorstin 1970
Giant-22 American Sports Heroes of Today Frederic Katz 1970
Giant-23 Pro Football Heroes of Today Berry Stainback 1973
Giant-24 Great Moments in American Sports Jerry Brondfield 1974
Giant-25 Pro Hockey Heroes of Today Bill Libby 1974

References

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  1. ^ Spear, David (17 October 2016). "The Story of the Landmark Books". Perspectives on History. American Historical Association. Retrieved 23 December 2019.

Further reading

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  • Mitchell, Gary; Hubbard, Dan (2019). A Collector's Guide and Checklist to American Landmark Books. Self published. ISBN 978-1796677751.
  • Mitchell, Gary; Hubbard, Dan (2019). A Collector's Guide and Checklist to World Landmark Books. Self published. ISBN 978-1090119407.