The Small and the Mighty

I heard about The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon after friends in my book club were going to her book signing a few months ago. I hadn't heard of her or the book but looked into it and started following her on Instagram and then finally got the book from hold on the library. The book description says, "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."

This was a great read. I really loved learning about the inspiring people she introduced. Most were pretty new to me, while some (Claudette Colvin) I had already read about before and knew a lot about. The stories were engaging, though sometimes I had trouble following how she connected separate people's stories. I thought the book had a valuable message about how the strength of America is in individual people who make a difference in the ways they can.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)