True Stories of Heroes

True Adventure Stories

by Paul Dowswell

Profiles a variety of men and women who have shown some form of heroism, from the man who captured Blackbeard the pirate and members of the resistance against Hitler to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and a surgeon in war-torn Beirut.

Genres: Nonfiction, War, Chapter Books, History, Childrens, School, Biography

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

About the author

Paul Dowswell is a British writer of nonfiction and young adult novels who has written over 70 books for British publishers. He was a senior editor at Usborne Publishing, then went freelance in 1999.

Reviews

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning with the "Catastrophe at Chernobyl" and ending with Evel Knievel's infamous attempt at jumping the Snake River Canyon, reading this book is like taking a thrill-ride on a time machine!
I enjoyed each and every page. Highly recommended.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book, with each chapter focusing on a certain person, and a heroic or brave thing or situation in their life. My favorite stories were: "Blackbeard meets his Match", "Rubble and Strife in Battlefield Beirut", and "Cosmonaut Number One".
Suitable for ages 13-14+

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains 13 stories of real life heroes. Topics include Chernobyl, parachute jumpers, war spies, helicopter rescues, pirates, animal heroes, soldiers, athletes, cosmonauts, pilots, and a stunt man. Two of the heroes are female. The text is chunked and there are illustrations and diagrams occasionally. Written for ages 9 and up, I'd definitely preview for content before handing it to a child who may be easily disturbed. There is reference to war crimes, including torture tactics performed on a war spy. Great for those who love history!

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book a lot. It was many stores in one, which was very unique. I recommend this book for people who like historical events and military related books.

[Oxana · Rating 3 out of 5]

short and sweet and interesting

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super interesting and I loved hearing about WW2 specifically

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because it contained the story of Odette Sansom, a French woman who worked as a spy for the British government in WWII. My son, Malachi, has become fascinated with this woman and I wanted to know more about her. I did, in fact, love the story about her and the best way to explain her is with the words she uttered to the German officials when they announced to her that she was being sentenced to death on two counts. She looked them in the eye and said, "Gentlemen, you must take your pick of the counts. I can only die once." She was not executed after all and did survive internment in a concentration camp. Her's is by far my favourite story in this book. Some of the heroes chosen were odd choices to my way of thinking. But I did learn some things so it was certainly worth a read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is based on true stories. These stories are about What people did to save lives of other people.In one story, One man was skydiving. When it was time to pull the cord, The cord tangled around his neck.He lost consciousness and plummeted toward the earth. A man filming the whole thing from the plane took action and dived toward the man.
One connection is that I saw this kind of situation in the show called "Most Shocking".
I gave this book 4 stars because it kept you on the edge of your seat. You'll never know what will happen next. I recommend this book to action and suspense lovers.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Making Meaning Grade 5 Resource Kit

This book is a good book. Tells about people most students do not know. We need more books like this one. I did find it a bit odd that it included very few Americans, but did include a cosmonaut (why not an American astronaut). Also, it included Evel Kneivel...he is a hero? I thought he was more of a dare-devil.

However, be prepared for the chapter about Blue Beard (or another pirate). It tells about how he liked his women. But his "women may not felt the same way since he chose to share them with his crew"! Yes, that is in the 3rd paragraph of the chapter in a book for elementary and middle school readers.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book studies many interesting people from modern history. It is a very interesting way to learn some history with a smattering of science. It seems like it would be a good book for reluctant readers. However, I thought the first chapter on the disaster of Chernobyl would be more for older readers. It was a bit gruesome. Also, as another reviewer mentioned the part about Blackbeard sharing his wives also made me think this might be for an older reader.

[Aneely · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I take some of my Students on an Auto/Biographical journey, these books have really come into their own. Apart from other readers, my Year 9 reluctant readers have especially loved picking up these books and engaging in a series of short biographies, easy to pick up and put down, presented in a credible factual way. Some of my Students have gone on to read other Paul Dowswell books... special thanks to PD!!

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for teaching kids about what real superhero are. This would be a great book for middle or high school students. Great book to teach kids about our global society. From the Catastrophe at Chernobyl, to Stauffenberg's secret Germany and the first man in space. This is a great quick read with tons of real world heroes.

[Sophia Tang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells about people who save others and come out alive...Even though some stories they don't.....I recommend the book to every one of all ages......

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some known and some unknown to us stories in the book ... all interesting, all worth knowing about.

[Owen Eli]

Very interesting