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Sign up todayThe Salt Thief: Gandhi's Heroic March to Freedom
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Learn moreThe dramatic story of Gandhi and India's long march to freedom by award-winning author Neal Bascomb.
In 1930, the Indian people, long ruled by their British occupiers, were at a breaking point. No more could many stand the terrible demands of colonial rule. At this pivotal moment, Mohandas Gandhi, who had suffered firsthand for decades the cruelty of his oppressors, saw an opportunity to win his people's freedom. And so, Gandhi led a small band of his followers on a grueling march from his ashram in western India to the Arabian Sea. After 24 days and 241 miles under a withering sun, the marchers arrived on the Dandi seashore. There, Gandhi scooped up a handful of salt to protest the much-hated British salt tax, demonstrating to the world the injustice of Britain's yoke and setting the stage for a popular national uprising.
In the dramatic months that followed, Gandhi led acts of nonviolent resistance against the British Raj across the country that would eventually culminate in a brutal crackdown. But Gandhi and those who bravely stood with him faced arrest, beatings, and even bullets without ever raising a hand in retaliation.
These events inspired India to demand its liberty from Britain, awakened the world to a movement that would forever change the course of history, and inspired generations of freedom fighters all over the globe.
Award-winning author Neal Bascomb chronicles what was arguably Gandhi's most notable campaign in his struggle for India's independence. His focus on nonviolent protest and revolutionary action introduces young readers to a pivotal historical moment with timely implications for today's world.
Neal Bascomb is the author of The Race of the Century: The Battle to Break the Four-Minute Mile, which Kirkus Reviews calls a "gripping narrative nonfiction tale" and The Nazi Hunters, winner of the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award, among numerous other awards. School Library Journal called his second young adult book, Sabotage, "excellent" in a starred review and The Grand Escape a "fantastic pick for avid history readers" also in a starred review. His book The Racers was named a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book and a starred review from School Library Journal called The Racers "Highly Recommended." In addition, he is the author of six nonfiction books for adults on subjects ranging from a 1905 Russian submarine mutiny to a contemporary high school robotics team. The Perfect Mile, Winter Fortress, and Hunting Eichmann went on to be New York Times and international bestsellers. Neal lives in Philadelphia with his family and rascal dog, Moses. Please visit his website at nealbascomb.com and follow him on Facebook @nealrbascomb.
Reviews
Praise for The Race of the Century: The Battle to Break the Four-Minute Mile:
"Amply researched, dramatically told, and an inspiring tribute to amateur sports, this work is highly recommended for libraries serving middle and upper elementary students." -- School Library Journal
"Bascomb brings his signature meticulous style to this gripping narrative nonfiction tale." -- Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Racers:
* "Masterly history detective Bascomb provides a fascinating chronicle... Will engage readers... Riveting... Compelling story line... Highly recommended for middle and high school students who enjoy narrative nonfiction and sports history." -- School Library Journal, starred review
* "Bascomb excels at launching the reader along famous racecourses...palpably describing the pressures felt by the drivers both literally and emotionally... Though geared toward car and racing enthusiasts, this book will enthrall any with a passing curiosity in those subjects or history lovers who enjoy an underdog tale. Period photos and posters, plus an extensive bibliography, fortify this impressive speed read." -- Booklist, starred review
"Exhilarating." -- Publishers Weekly
"Bascomb is adept at interweaving historical, biographical, and heart-pounding sports threads into a compulsive whole, in which Hitler and hubris get their comeuppance, and for a brief moment in 1938 before World War II fully detonates, Nazis are bested. With plenty of period illustrations and a fascinating author's note on Bascomb's joyride in a Delahaye 145, as well as bibliography, source notes, and index, this promises broad crossover appeal for teens and adults, history and sports buffs, engineering enthusiasts, and of course, anyone mesmerized by Ford v Ferrari." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Bascomb takes a complex, nuanced story and shapes a fascinating narrative that keeps pace with the speed of the track... A great read for all fans of the sport, or anyone looking for a little catharsis." -- Jewish Boston
"The perfect book for race-car-loving WWII buffs... Bascomb provides readers with a unique insight into the time period, focusing on a subject that is often overlooked in the history books... What makes this book so extraordinary is how it implicitly explores the connection between manufacturing and politics... So well-researched... You'll learn much from this distinctly interesting angle on one of the most well-written periods in history." -- Paperback Paris
Praise for The Grand Escape:
* "Bascomb does an extraordinary job of bringing the principal escapees to life... His account of the Herculean task of digging the tunnel is fascinating, viscerally evoking the claustrophobic act. He also invests his account with page-turning suspense and colorful detail. The narrative is enhanced by the inclusion of generous period photographs and contemporary maps and charts. Altogether the book is a marvel of research and an example of narrative nonfiction at its finest. It's a grand adventure." -- Booklist, starred review
* "Suspenseful reading, enhanced by diagrams and photographs. A fine escapade related with proper drama and likely to be news even to well-read young historians." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "It is a tale of triumph that became a template for future prisoners of war, and Bascomb's heavy, well-cited research provides the information readers need... A fantastic pick for avid history readers." -- School Library Journal, starred review
"Plenty of photographs put faces to the escapees, and diagrams and maps illuminate the prison layout, tunnel, and destinations for border crossing. An introductory 'List of Participants' is handy for reader review, and sources notes, bibliography, and index direct readers pursuing research. This, however, is a real-life thriller that's too compelling to relegate merely to World War I report writers." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"An excellent piece of history presented in a readable, entertaining format." -- School Library Connection
Praise for Sabotage:
* "Bascomb is a master of taking complicated histories and turning them into exciting works of nonfiction... This excellent treatise on a little-known episode of World War II is a first choice." -- School Library Journal, starred review
"This is an exciting and impeccably researched story of science, spies, and commando raids -- page-turning nonfiction at its best." -- Steve Sheinkin, Newbery Honor-winning author of Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
"Bascomb's detailed narrative builds tension through each attempt, narrow escape, and comeback... vivid descriptions of the principal participants and their motivations, rigors of Norway's climate and terrain, and the risks calculated (and those unforeseen), producing a gripping account of individual and collective heroic effort." -- Publishers Weekly
"The book is enhanced by impressive supplemental material, including a helpful list of participants, photographs, maps, and an intriguing author's note. A rich, well-paced narrative." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Bascomb admirably balances dramatic tension and context throughout... Sabotage will find its place in a growing body of narrative nonfiction centering on military and political history." -- Horn Book
"Bascomb's clear-eyed account, helped along by photos, maps, and diagrams, of the thrilling mission and its many challenges... will handily engage teens." -- Booklist
Praise and Awards for The Nazi Hunters:
Winner of the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award
Winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Teen Readers
"The Nazi Hunters is a fabulously exciting piece of history that teens should know about -- and now they will! Bascomb's detailed scenes allow readers to live through this true tale of courage and daring as if they were there." -- Deborah Heiligman, Printz Honor-winning author of Charles and Emma and Intentions
"I found The Nazi Hunters riveting, from its suspenseful search for Eichmann to the capture of the war criminal responsible for orchestrating the murder of eleven million people, including six million Jews. Neal Bascomb's book is incredibly well-researched and paced like an espionage thriller. The hunters' commitment to bringing Eichmann to justice is sure to captivate readers." -- Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow and The Boy Who Dared
"From cafe s in Buenos Aires to the halls of the fledgling Israeli government, from false identities to secret drops, this story has all the hallmarks of a spy novel. Bascomb has a knack for turning complex detail into a suspenseful, heart-pounding narrative." -- School Library Journal
"Photographs are included throughout the text, adding not just to the evidence of Eichmann's guilt but to the reader's sense of being along on the mission." -- The Horn Book Magazine
"Tension rises from the pages, thanks to Bascomb's command of pacing, judicious use of quoted material, inclusion of archival photographs and strong descriptions." -- Kirkus Reviews
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