Rebels with a Cause (Enslow Publishing, LLC)

This comprehensive biography by award-winning author Jeff Burlingame explores the life of John Lennon, whose music and life story still resonate and remain popular with both young and old fans, nearly four decades after his untimely death in 1980. He was known foremost as a musician, but played many roles during his too-short life. Born and raised in Liverpool, England, Lennon was a founding member of The Beatles, a solo musician, a peace activist, and a stay-at-home father to son Sean in his adopted hometown of New York City. He left a mark on popular culture that is without parallel.

This biography will have your readers on the edge of their seats. Muhammad Ali was a triple threat: heavyweight boxing champion, civil rights activist, and international sports icon. One of the most influential figures of the twentieth century, Ali dominated professional boxing for more than a decade in the 1960s and 1970s. Brash and outspoken, he proclaimed "I am the greatest." He backed it up. A true rebel, he refused to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, saying it violated his religious beliefs. And after retiring from boxing, Ali had one more fight: diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984, he raised awareness of and funds for treatment and research for over 30 years. When he died in 2016, the world lost one of its most treasured and rebellious sports figures.

This biography revisits an all American classic; the King of Rock and Roll. The original rock-n-roll rebel, Elvis Presley revolutionized the music industry. His hip-shaking performances made young fans scream, television censors scramble, and parents furious. But Elvis was far more than a sex symbol. Over a period of two decades, he had nearly 40 Top 10 hits. His music influenced The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and many others. Elvis showed remarkable range as a singer, excelling at rock songs, ballads, rhythm and blues, country, and even gospel. Elvis died of heart failure in 1977 at the age of 42, but his legend and music live on.

Madonna enjoys pushing the envelope, generating accolades and controversy with each cause and project to which she lends her fame. A pop culture icon for over 30 years, her ongoing artistic evolution inspires fans who find her unconventionality refreshing. A self-described fighter, she's been unafraid to take a political stance, openly championing women's rights and civil rights throughout her career. This book tracks the queen of reinvention from her early struggles and ambitions through her unparalleled metamorphosis from pop star, to film star, to author, and philanthropist. Curious minds will discover how she's thrived and survived as a world-renowned female artist and provocateur.

Malcolm X faced many injustices growing up as an African American in the early twentieth century. Funneling his anger over systemic racism into activism, Malcolm X became a leader of the civil rights movement as well as one of the best-known spokesmen for the Nation of Islam. In this engaging biography, students will learn about Malcolm X's trials, tribulations, and victories in the battle for civil rights. Students will be guided through the reading with historical context and primary source documents, as well as a glossary of important words, a timeline, and references for further reading.

Nelson Mandela's fight to end apartheid in South Africa is a riveting story of hardship, courage, and triumph. One of the great moral leaders of modern history, Mandela never gave up his struggle against racial oppression. Through Mandela's own words, primary documents, photographs, and engaging text, readers will learn about his early life in a small village, the stirrings of his political consciousness, his twenty-seven years of imprisonment for defying apartheid, and the events leading to his election as the first black president of South Africa. The book also explores Mandela's legacy of justice, equality, and dignity, which has inspired people to action around the globe.

Provide your readers with a memorable bio about a memorable man. "Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems..." In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of "pop art," which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into works of fine art. From Campbell's Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol was willing to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work, and by so doing, expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol's rebellious art and cultural commentary were oddly prescient.

Thomas Paine was the best-known rebel of his time. From England to America, and from America to France, he spread a doctrine of revolution and liberty. This volume uses inspiring quotes to highlight Paine's contributions. Through Paine's own words, along with photographs and primary documents, this text explores the American and French revolutions. In addition to Paine's contributions, the text also discusses the actions of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others. Students will be guided through their reading with a glossary of important words, a timeline, and references for further reading on the topic.

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that, one day, all people would be viewed equally, no matter the color of their skin. And he fought hard for civil rights for African Americans, eventually even giving his life to the cause. This compelling biography explores King's early life and his activism in his own words within the context of the Jim Crow American South, along with his victories and the way in which he changed our world. Students will be guided through their reading with a glossary of important terms, a timeline of King's life and important events in the civil rights movement, and resources for further learning.

Toussaint L'Ouverture was an eighteenth-century military hero who led the Haitian Revolution, one of the greatest and most successful slave uprisings in the world. L'Ouverture believed strongly in both racial equality and anticolonialism, and he not only led the revolution against French control of Haiti but also created a prosperous autonomous colony before breaking ties with France. Unfortunately, L'Ouverture died in exile before seeing the fruits of his labor. In this text, students will learn about the historical context in which the Haitian Revolution was fought, as well as L'Ouverture's role in it. Students will be guided through their reading with a glossary of important words, a timeline, and references for further reading on the topic.

Simón Bolívar was a revolutionary and a political leader whose courageous battles for Latin self-rule led to the establishment of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama as independent nations. Today, Bolívar is known as a great hero, and his name graces many institutions and streets across Latin America. This text examines Bolívar's life and influence using primary source documents, photographs, and an examination of the context in which Bolívar fought for Latin American independence. Students will be guided through their reading with a glossary of important words, a timeline, and references for further reading on the topic.

This bio will be a favorite among your readers. From the beginning of his career, country music legend Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black," was seen as a rebel, a perception solidified when he took the stage for his famous concert at Folsom State Prison in 1968. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, as a child Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express his pain, and eventually his songs of hardship and hope reached the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive, just as he fought to survive his own lifelong battle with addiction. Over the decades, his career soared and floundered, and then, very late in life, soared again, as he found a whole new audience of young people who responded to the hard, gritty truths he poured into every song: a true rebel with a cause.

César Chávez is best known for uniting Mexican American farmworkers and for his efforts to obtain civil rights for his people. He followed the nonviolent methods of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. A dedicated, stubborn religious leader, Chávez stuck to his cause in spite of tremendous obstacles. With numerous documented quotes from Chávez, union members, and even Pope Paul VI, the Chávez story recounts his difficult early life and how he inspired countless people to advocate for farmworker justice. Students will be guided through their reading with a glossary of important words, a timeline, and references for further reading on the topic.

This compelling biography traces the evolution of Mohandas K. Gandhi as he forged the philosophy of Satyagraha-from Indian words for "truth" and "firmness"-amid the brutal racism of South Africa and helped lead the struggle for Indian independence. But Satyagraha was a bigger concept even than the Indian subcontinent and the mighty British Empire. Readers will learn about the Mahatma-"Great soul in peasant's garb"-often in his own words, as well as the philosophy of truth and nonviolence that would later inspire Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and other rebels with a cause for ages to come. Students will be guided through their reading with a glossary of important words, a timeline, and references for further reading on the topic.