Extraordinary people in extraordinary times : heroes, sheroes, and villains / Patrick M. Mendoza.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 132-139) and index.

chapter 1. Mochi -- chapter 2. Shadow on the wall -- chapter 3. Medal and the lady: the Mary Edwards Walker story -- chapter 4. Nathan's legacy -- Dempsey shorts -- chapter 5. Mother Maggard -- chapter 6. Silas Soule: a forgotten hero of Sand Creek -- chapter 7. Theodosia: a lady lost -- chapter 8. Jules Bledsoe: the voice -- chapter 9. Charles Gates Dawes: he won the Nobel Peace Prize and wrote a song that went to the Top 40 -- Ten interesting facts about presidents and vice-presidents -- chapter 10. Day Doris Miller became a man -- First shots fired on December 7, 1941 -- chapter 11. Billie and Patches -- chapter 12. Sam Antonio: the last Acoma to survive -- chapter 13. Shoichi Yokoi: the last Japanese soldier -- Last officer to surrender -- chapter 14. One extraordinary event: the day they hanged an elephant -- Hartleypoole chimp incident -- chapter 15. Governor Ralph Carr: a man of compassion -- Interesting facts about the internment camps -- chapter 16. Jeannette Pickering Rankin: the lady from Montana -- Quotes from Jeannette Pickering Rankin -- chapter 17. Villains: Lavinia Fisher -- Footnotes in crime -- chapter 18. Those weren't ladies, they were pirates: Anne Bonny and Mary Read -- Pirate briefs -- chapter 19. Jonita -- chapter 20. Jóse Marti: his eloquence is still heard -- Quotes from Jóse Marti -- chapter 21. Daisy Anderson: "I just want people to get along with each other" -- chapter 22. Doctor Victor Westphall and Angel Fire.

A collection of twenty-two tales about extraordinary heroes and villains from different historical eras.