#1 NYT Best Seller

The Small and the Mighty

"Sharon McMahon is a national treasure and a one-woman cavalry for truth, saving our republic one loving and clear-eyed lesson at a time. She and this book are a gift to our country."

- Isabel Wilkerson, NYT best-selling author of The Warmth of Other Suns

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star icon#1 NYT Best Seller

star icon#1 Amazon Best Seller

star icon#1 USA TODAY Best Seller

star icon#1 Best History Book of the Year at Amazon

star iconTop 5 Best Books of the Year at Amazon

star iconBest Nonfiction of the Year at B&N

star iconGoodreads Best of 2024 Nominee

Kind words

“Sharon McMahon has a remarkable ability to make you laugh as you learn about the unsung heroes who shaped our country. By the end of the book, you won’t just be enlightened and entertained—you’ll feel empowered by newfound confidence that you don’t need to be rich or famous to make a difference.”

- Adam Grant

About the book

From America’s favorite government teacher, a heartfelt, inspiring portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country.

In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn’t make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history’s unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time.

You’ll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more.

This is a book about what really made America – and Americans – great. McMahon’s cast of improbable champions will become familiar friends, lighting the path we journey in our quest to make the world more just, peaceful, good, and free.

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Available from most major booksellers

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Reviews from readers

Kind words

“Sharon McMahon is not only America’s Government Teacher but also an everyday truth-telling historian whose storytelling abilities will leave you in awe. Her meticulous attention to detail brings to light untold histories, keeping you frantically turning the page. These revelations provide a roadmap toward understanding who we have always been: small and mighty. The book will inspire you to believe in the power of everyday people to change the world.”

- Bettina Love