The Boomer Child’s Bookcase: Landmark Books

a list and appreciation by Michael Kube-McDowell

Page Created: 09 April 2005 – Last Revised: 07 July 2009


  I credit much of my early interest in miltary history to the Random House Landmark Books series, which if memory can be trusted I found first on the shelves of the Fairview Branch Library (my elementary school had no library of its own). Though its full scope was much broader, the meaty and well-illustrated juvenile history series eventually included dozens of titles covering America’s wars from the Revolution through Korea.The lineup of authors included many well-known names in adult nonfiction, including John Toland, Robert Loomis, C.S. Forester, and William Shirer. Laura Fermi wrote The Story of Atomic Energy for Landmark, Pearl S. Buck penned The Story of Sun Yat-sen, and Alistair Maclean profiled Lawrence of Arabia. While some of the titles were abridgements of adult editions, even those written especially for the series largely avoided either dumbing down the subject or talking down to the 9-to-15-year-old target audience.

The Landmark books are moderately collectible today, with prices driven higher by their popularity in the home-schooling movement.





Number of Titles

Year Pub

Landmark

World Landmark

1950

10

1951

10

1952

10

1953

10

10

1954

10

6

1955

10

6

1956

10

5

1957

8

6

1958

7

5

1959

5

5

1960

4

3

1961

4

4

1962

4

4

1963

3

3

1964

3

2

1965

3

1

1966

3

1

1967

3

1

1968

2

1

1969

2

1970

1

Total

122

63

From 1950 through 1956, Landmark produced ten titles per year. The books were published in a uniform 5-5/8 x 8-1/4 hardcover format with embossed cloth covers and dust jackets, approximately 200 pages long. In 1963, Random House changed from the embossed cover to a four-color photo cover with no dust jacket for both new titles and reprints. The cover price topped out at $1.95.A sister series, World Landmark Books, debuted in 1953, but did not enjoy the same success. By 1961, both series were down to four titles a year, and further cuts followed. World Landmark ended in 1968 with #63, The United Nations in War and Peace. Landmark lasted two more years, through #122, The Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd.

Number

Title – Author

Original Pub

1

The Voyages of Christopher Columbus by Armstrong Sperry

1950

2

The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty

1950

3

Pocahontas & Captain John Smith by Marie Lawson

1950

4

Paul Revere & the Minute Men by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

1950

5

Our Independence and the Constitution by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

1950

6

The California Gold Rush by May McNeer

1950

7

The Pony Express by Samuel Hopkins Adams

1950

8

Lee and Grant at Appomattox by MacKinlay Kantor

1950

9

The Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad by Adele Nathan

1950

10

The Wright Brothers by Quentin Reynolds

1950

11

Prehistoric America by Anne Terry White

1951

12

The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway

1951

13

The Santa Fe Trail by Samuel Hopkins Adams

1951

14

The Story of the U.S. Marines by George Hunt

1951

15

The Lewis and Clark Expedition by Richard L. Neuberger

1951

16

The Monitor and the Merrimac by Fletcher Pratt

1951

17

The Explorations of Pere Marquette by Jim Kjelgaard

1951

18

The Panama Canal by Bob Considine

1951

19

The Pirate Lafitte & the Battle of New Orleans by Robert Tallant

1951

20

Custer’s Last Stand by Quentin Reynolds

1951

21

Daniel Boone and the Opening of the Wilderness Road by John Mason Brown

1952

22

Clipper Ship Days by John Jennings

1952

23

Gettysburg by MacKinlay Kantor

1952

24

The Louisiana Purchase by Robert Tallant

1952

25

Wild Bill Hickok Tames the West by Stewart H. Holbrook

1952

26

Betsy Ross & the Flag by Jane Mayer

1952

27

The Conquest of the North & South Poles by Russell Owen

1952

28

Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia by Margaret Cousins

1952

29

Trappers & Traders of the Far West by James Daugherty

1952

30

Mr. Bell Invents the Telephone by Katherine B. Shippen

1952

31

The Barbary Pirates by C. S. Forester

1953

32

Sam Houston, the Tallest Texan by William Johnson

1953

33

The Winter at Valley Forge by Van Wyck Mason

1953

34

The Erie Canal by Samuel Hopkins Adams

1953

35

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo by Ted Lawson & Bob Considine (abridged)

1953

36

Thomas Jefferson, Father of Democracy by Vincent Sheean

1953

37

The Coming of the Mormons by Jim Kjelgaard

1953

38

George Washington Carver by Anne Terry White

1953

39

John Paul Jones, Fighting Sailor by Armstrong Sperry

1953

40

The First Overland Mail by Robert Pinkerton

1953

41

Teddy Roosevelt & the Rough Riders by Henry Castor

1954

42

To California by Covered Wagon by George R. Stewart

1954

43

Peter Stuyvesant of Old New York by Anna & Russell Crouse

1954

44

Lincoln & Douglas: The Years of Decision by Regina Z. Kelly

1954

45

Robert Fulton & the Steamboat by Ralph Nading Hill

1954

46

The F.B.I. by Quentin Reynolds

1954

47

Dolly Madison by Jane Mayer

1954

48

John James Audubon by Margaret & John Kieran

1954

49

Hawaii, Gem of the Pacific by Oscar Lewis

1954

50

The War Chief of the Seminoles by May McNeer

1954

51

Old Ironsides, the Fighting Constitution by Harry Hansen

1955

52

The Mississippi Bubble by Thomas B. Costain

1955

53

Kit Carson & the Wild Frontier by Ralph Moody

1955

54

Robert E. Lee & the Road of Honor by Hodding Carter

1955

55

Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis–abridged

1955

56

Commodore Perry & the Opening of Japan by Ferdinand Kuhn

1955

57

Davy Crockett by Stewart H. Holbrook

1955

58

Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross by Helen Boylston

1955

59

The Story of San Francisco by Charlotte Jackson

1955

60

Up the Trail From Texas by J. Frank Dobie

1955

61

Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House by Sterling North

1956

62

The Story of D-Day: June 6, 1944 by Bruce Bliven Jr.

1956

63

Rogers’ Rangers & the French & Indian War by Bradford Smith

1956

64

The World’s Greatest Showman: P.T. Barnum by J. Bryan III

1956

65

Sequoyah: Leader of the Cherokees by Alice Marriott

1956

66

Ethan Allen & the Green Mountain Boys by Slater Brown

1956

67

Wyatt Earp: U.S. Marshall by Stewart H. Holbrook

1956

68

The Early Days of Automobiles in America by Elizabeth Janeway

1956

69

The Witchcraft of Salem Village by Shirley Jackson

1956

70

The West Point Story by Col. Red Reeder & Nardi Reeder Campion

1956

71

George Washington: Frontier Colonel by Sterling North

1957

72

The Texas Rangers by Will Henry

1957

73

Buffalo Bill’s Great Wild West Show by Walter Havighurst

1957

74

Evangeline & the Acadians by Robert Tallant

1957

75

The Story of the Secret Service by Ferdinand Kuhn

1957

76

Tippecanoe & Tyler, Too! by Stanley Young

1957

77

America’s First World War: General Pershing by Henry Castor

1957

78

The Doctors Who Conquered Yellow Fever by Ralph Nading Hill

1957

79

Remember the Alamo! by Robert Penn Warren

1958

80

Andrew Carnegie & the Age of Steel by Katherine B. Shippen

1958

81

Geronimo: Wolf of the Warpath by Ralph Moody

1958

82

The Story of the Paratroops by George Weller

1958

83

The American Revolution by Bruce Bliven Jr.

1958

84

The Story of the Naval Academy by Felix Riesenberg Jr.

1958

85

Alexander Hamilton & Aaron Burr by Anna & Russell Crouse

1958

86

Stonewall Jackson by Jonathan Daniels

1959

87

The Battle for the Atlantic by Jay Williams

1959

88

The First Transatlantic Cable by Adele Gutman Nathan

1959

89

The Story of the U.S. Air Force by Robert Loomis

1959

90

The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook

1959

91

Heroines of the Early West by Nancy Wilson Ross

1960

92

The Alaska Gold Rush by May McNeer

1960

93

The Golden Age of Railroads by Stewart H. Holbrook

1960

94

From Pearl Harbor To Okinawa by Bruce Bliven Jr.

1960

95

The Copper Kings of Montana by Marian T. Place

1961

96

Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II by Robert D. Loomis

1961

97

The Story of the U.S. Coast Guard by Eugene Rachlis

1961

98

William Penn: Quaker Hero by Hildegarde Dolson

1961

99

John F. Kennedy & PT 109 by Richard Tregaskis

1962

100

The Story of Oklahoma by Lon Tinkle

1962

101

Americans into Orbit: The Story of Project Mercury by Gene Gurney

1962

102

The Story of Submarines by George Weller

1962

103

The Seabees of World War II by Edmund Castillo

1963

104

The U.S. Border Patrol by Clement Hellyer

1963

105

The Flying Tigers by John Toland

1963

106

The U.S. Frogmen of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

1964

107

Women of Courage by Dorothy Nathan

1964

108

Dwight D. Eisenhower by Malcom Moos

1964

109

Disaster at Johnstown: the Great Flood by Hildegarde Dolson

1965

110

The Story of Thomas Alva Edison by Margaret Cousins

1965

111

Medal of Honor Heroes by Colonel Red Reeder

1965

112

From Casablanca to Berlin by Bruce Bliven, Jr.

1966

113

Young Mark Twain & the Mississippi by Harnett T. Kane

1966

114

The Battle of the Bulge by John Toland (abridged)

1966

115

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies by Clifford Lindsey Alderman

1967

116

Combat Nurses of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

1967

117

Walk in Space: the Story of Project Gemini by Gene Gurney

1967

118

The Battle for Iwo Jima by Robert Leckie

1968

119

Midway, Battle for the Pacific by Edmund L. Castillo

1968

120

Medical Corps Heroes of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

1969

121

Flat Tops by Edmund Castillo

1969

122

The Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd by A.B.C. Whipple

1970

W01

The First Men in the World by Ann Terry White

1953

W02

Alexander the Great by John Gunther

1953

W03

The Adventures & Discoveries of Marco Polo by Richard J. Walsh

1953

W04

Joan of Arc by Nancy Wilson Ross

1953

W05

King Arthur & His Knights by Mabel Louise Robinson

1953

W06

Mary, Queen of Scots by Emily Hahn

1953

W07

Napoleon & the Battle of Waterloo by Frances Winwar

1953

W08

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police by Richard L. Neuberger

1953

W09

The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-sen by Pearl S. Buck

1953

W10

The Battle of Britain by Quentin Reynolds

1953

W11

The Crusades by Anthony West

1954

W12

Genghis Kahn & the Mongol Horde by Harold Lamb

1954

W13

Queen Elizabeth & the Spanish Armada by Frances Winwar

1954

W14

Simon Bolivar, the Great Liberator by Arnold Whitridge

1954

W15

The Slave Who Freed Haiti: The Story of Toussaint Louverture by Katherine Scherman

1954

W16

The Story of Scotland Yard by Laurence Thompson

1954

W17

The Life of Saint Patrick by Quentin Reynolds

1955

W18

The Exploits of Xenophon by Geoffrey Household

1955

W19

Captain Cook Explores the South Seas by Armstrong Sperry

1955

W20

Marie Antoinette by Bernadine Kielty

1955

W21

Will Shakespeare and the Globe Theater by Anne Terry White

1955

W22

The French Foreign Legion by Wyatt Blassingame

1955

W23

Martin Luther by Harry Emerson Fosdick

1956

W24

The Hudson’s Bay Company by Richard Morenus

1956

W25

Balboa: Swordsman & Conquistador by Felix Riesenberg

1956

W26

The Magna Charta by James Daugherty

1956

W27

Leonardo da Vinci by Emily Hahn

1956

W28

General Brock and Niagara Falls by Samuel Hopkins Adams

1957

W29

Catherine the Great by Katherine Scherman

1957

W30

The Fall of Constantinople by Bernadine Kielty

1957

W31

Ferdinand Magellan: Master Mariner by Seymour Gates Pond

1957

W32

Garibaldi: Father of Modern Italy by Marcia Davenport

1957

W33

The Story of Albert Schweitzer by Anita Daniel

1957

W34

The Marquis de Lafayette: Bright Sword of Freedom by Hodding Carter

1958

W35

Famous Pirates of the New World by A. B. C. Whipple

1958

W36

Exploring the Himalaya by William O. Douglas

1958

W37

Queen Victoria by Noel Streatfeild

1958

W38

The Flight and Adventures of Charles II by Charles Norman

1958

W39

Chief of the Cossacks by Harold Lamb

1959

W40

The Adventures of Ulysses by Gerald Gottlieb

1959

W41

William the Conqueror by Thomas B. Costain

1959

W42

Jesus of Nazareth by Harry Emerson Fosdick

1959

W43

Julius Caesar by John Gunther

1959

W44

The Story of Australia by A. Grove Day

1960

W45

Captain Cortes Conquers Mexico by William Johnson

1960

W46

Florence Nightingale by Ruth Fox Hume

1960

W47

The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler by William L. Shirer

1961

W48

The Story of Atomic Energy by Laura Fermi

1961

W49

Great Men of Medicine by Ruth Fox Hume

1961

W50

Cleopatra of Egypt by Leonora Hornblow

1961

W51

The Sinking of the Bismarck by William L. Shirer

1962

W52

Lawrence of Arabia by Alistair MacLean

1962

W53

The Life of Saint Paul by Harry Emerson Fosdick

1962

W54

The Voyages of Henry Hudson by Eugene Rachlis

1962

W55

Hero of Trafalgar by A. B. C. Whipple

1963

W56

Winston Churchill by Quentin Reynolds

1963

W57

The War in Korea: 1950 – 1953 by Robert Leckie

1963

W58

Walter Raleigh by Henrietta Buckmaster

1964

W59

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Elizabeth Payne

1964

W60

The Flying Aces of World War I by Gene Gurney

1965

W61

The Commandos of World War II by Hodding Carter

1966

W62

Ben-Gurion and the Birth of Israel by Joan Comay

1967

W63

The United Nations in War and Peace by T. R. Fehrenback

1968