This volume celebrates stories of great heroes from the pages of history from Moses and David through Clara Barton and Henry Longfellow. It is divided into nine sections: Mighty Men of Long Ago, Heroes of the Middle Ages, Four Leaders in the Old World, Discoverers and Explorers, Colonists and Pioneers, Patriots of the Revolution, Winners of the West, Famous Inventors, and The Greatest Americans, It is written from a distinct Western and American point of view, but each chapter is a short summary of these people deemed “heroes.” John Burnham was chair of the History and Social Sciences Department at Western State Normal School and Western State Teachers College. He was a nationally known history and social studies educator, and author or co-author of six elementary and secondary U.S. history textbooks that were widely used throughout the United States during the 1920s and 1930 .