Making a broad sweep of American history from pre-Colonial days through the 21st century, this encyclopedia—arranged in chronological sections—profiles such figures as Pocahontas, John Brown, Herman Melville, Thomas Edison, Crazy Horse, Duke Ellington, Margaret Mead, Edward R. Murrow, Cesar Chavez, Jesse Owens, Paul Newman, Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey. Insets provide additional information on such subjects as the Jim Crow Laws, the Red Scare, and the Watergate scandal, while the book's hundreds of images include paintings, photographs, and views of such artifacts as Amelia Earhart's flight jacket, John Muir's journals, and a poignant note found in the wreckage of the World Trade Center.