Michael Burgan

What would you do with a billion dollars? This question gets a definitive answer from billionaire Richard Branson: do everything! Born into a wealthy family in London, Branson suffered from dyslexia and was a poor student. Still, his knack for business started early with a successful parakeet-breeding enterprise at age 11. The charismatic entrepreneur launched his first major business, Virgin Records, at age 22 and spent the next few decades building...

It's one of the most famous sports images of all time. Former heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston is sprawled on his back in the boxing rim. Muhammad Ali stands over Liston, holding his right hand as if ready to throw another punch. The reigning world champion had just thrown a short, right-handed punch to the side of Liston's head. In a flash, Liston had gone down. The photo of the angry Ali standing over the fallen challenger was taken in an...

A thorough, illustrated biography discussing the childhood, career, family, and term of George W. Bush, forty-third president of the United States. Includes a table of contents, time line, phonetic glossary, sources for further research, an index, and detailed captions and sidebars to aid in comprehension.

"The book explains the life of Princess Grace."--

President Theodore Roosevelt called Jacob Riis the best American I ever knew. The pioneering photojournalist an immigrant from Denmark drew attention to the poverty and evils of slum life in the late 1800s. Riis won national acclaim when his photos illustrated his bestselling book How the Other Half Lives. The book focused on the difficult time immigrants faced as thousands of newcomers flooded into the United States each year. Riis called for reform...

On August 4, 1892, the murders of wealthy and prominent Andrew and Abby Borden rocked the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts. The accused? Mild-mannered and highly respected Lizzie Borden, the daughter of Andrew and the stepdaughter of Abby. But did she actually do it? And if she did, why?