A Book About an Unsung Hero

A selection of books that fulfill the criteria for the UBN 2025 category of a book about an unsung hero.

Updated January 4, 2025
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The secret of life : Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the discovery of DNA's double helix
Markel, Howard
Paper Book
James Watson and Francis Crick's 1953 discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is the foundation of virtually every advance in our modern understanding of genetics and molecular biology. But how did Watson and Crick do it?and why were they the ones who succeeded? In truth, the...
Hidden figures : the American dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race
Lee Shetterly, Margot
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller -WINNER OF ANISFIELD-WOLF AWARD FOR NONFICTION -WINNER BLACK CAUCUS OF AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST NONFICTION BOOK -WINNER NAACP IMAGE AWARD BEST NONFICTION BOOK -WINNER NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES,...
Tom Crean : unsung hero of the Scott and Shackleton Antarctic expeditions
Smith, Michael.
Paper Book
Tom Crean's name is not commonly recognized today, but he was an integral member of three of the most important Antarctic expeditions of the twentieth century, and both a glacier and a mountain in Antarctica bear his name. Crean was clearly the sort wanted in a dangerous, uncertain venture: a loyal...
That librarian : the fight against book banning in America
Jones, Amanda
Paper Book
"Amanda Jones started getting death threats, all for standing up for our right to read . . . but she's not stopped fighting against book bans, or stopped advocating for access to diverse stories."--Oprah Winfrey, in a speech at the 2023 National Book Awards Part memoir,...
The miracle of Dunkirk : the true story of Operation Dynamo
Lord, Walter
Paper Book
The true story of the World War II evacuation portrayed in the Christopher Nolan film Dunkirk, by the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Day of Infamy. In May 1940, the remnants of the French and British armies, broken by Hitler's blitzkrieg,...
No ordinary dog : my partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden raid
Chesney, Will
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER No Ordinary Dog is the powerful true story of a SEAL Team Operator and military dog handler, and the dog that saved his life. Two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Laden's compound in May 2011. After the mission,...
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
Skloot, Rebecca
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The story of modern medicine and bioethics--and, indeed, race relations--is refracted beautifully, and movingly."--Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE * ONE OF THE "MOST...
The cruelest miles : the heroic story of dogs and men in a race against an epidemic
Salisbury, Gay.
Paper Book
"A stirring tale of survival, thanks to man's best friend." --Seattle Times When a deadly diphtheria epidemic swept through Nome, Alaska, in 1925, the local doctor knew that without a fresh batch of antitoxin, his patients would die. The lifesaving serum was a thousand miles...
The small and the mighty : twelve unsung Americans who changed the course of history, from the founding to the civil rights movement
McMahon, Sharon
Paper Book
A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From America's favorite government teacher, a "fascinating and fun" (Adam Grant) portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country. In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves...
The dictionary people : the unsung heroes who created the Oxford English Dictionary
Ogilvie, Sarah
Paper Book
**LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2024** 'Enthralling and exuberant ... Here is a wonder-book for word-lovers' Jeanette Winterson 'A lively, entertaining, and illuminating read. I loved it' Susie Dent What do...
The bad-ass librarians of Timbuktu and their race to save the world's most precious manuscripts
Hammer, Joshua
Paper Book
Led by mild-mannered archivist and historian Abdel Kader Haidara, a band of librarians in Timbuktu pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean's Eleven to save precious centuries-old Arabic texts from destruction by Al Qaeda.

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