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What Was...? Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of What Was...? books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: March 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the What Was...? series? Start with "What Was the Hindenburg? (By: Kevin McVeigh,David Groff,Janet B. Pascal)" (2013) and follow publication order through all 65 books.
The complete What Was...? reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order
What Was the Hindenburg? (By: Kevin McVeigh,David Groff,Janet B. Pascal)
2013
What Was the Battle of Gettysburg? (By: John Mantha,Jim O'Connor,James Bennett)
2013
What Was the Gold Rush? (By: Joan Holub,Tim Tomkinson)
2013
What Was the March on Washington? (By: Tim Tomkinson,Kathleen Krull)
2013
What Was the Boston Tea Party? (By: Lauren Mortimer,Kathleen Krull)
2013
What Was Pearl Harbor? (By: John Mantha,Patricia Brennan Demuth)
2013
What Was the Alamo? (By: Meg Belviso,David Groff,Pam Pollack)
2013
What Was the Underground Railroad? (By: Yona Zeldis McDonough,Lauren Mortimer)
2013
What Was Pompeii? (By: John Hinderliter,Jim O'Connor,Who Hq)
2014
What Was Ellis Island? (By: David Groff,Patricia Brennan Demuth)
2014
What Is the Statue of Liberty? (By: John Hinderliter,Joan Holub)
2014
What Is the Panama Canal? (By: Janet B. Pascal)
2014
What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition? (By: Megan Stine,Who HQ)
2014
What Was D-Day? (By: Patricia Brennan Demuth,David Grayson Kenyon)
2015
What Is the World Series? (By: Gail Herman,Scott Anderson)
2015
What Was Hurricane Katrina? (By: John Hinderliter,Robin Koontz)
2015
What Were the Salem Witch Trials? (By: Dede Putra,Joan Holub)
2015
What Is the Super Bowl? (By: David Groff,Dina Anastasio)
2015
What Was the Great Depression? (By: Dede Putra,Janet B. Pascal)
2015
What Was Woodstock? (By: Joan Holub)
2016
What Are the Summer Olympics? (By: Gail Herman)
2016
What Is the Declaration of Independence? (By: Jerry Hoare,Michael C. Harris)
2016
What Were the Twin Towers? (By: Ted Hammond,Jim O'Connor)
2016
What Was the Great Chicago Fire? (By: Janet B. Pascal)
2016
What Was the San Francisco Earthquake? (By: Dorothy Hoobler,Thomas Hoobler)
2016
What Was the Age of the Dinosaurs? (By: Megan Stine,Gregory Copeland)
2017
What Was the Wild West? (By: Stephen Marchesi,Janet B. Pascal)
2017
What Is Rock and Roll? (By: Gregory Copeland,Jim O'Connor)
2017
What Was the Ice Age? (By: Nico Medina,David Groff)
2017
What Are the Ten Commandments? (By: Yona Zeldis McDonough)
2017
What Is the World Cup? (By: Stephen Marchesi,Bonnie Bader)
2018
What Was the Titanic? (By: Gregory Copeland,Stephanie Sabol)
2018
What Was the Holocaust? (By: Jerry Hoare,Gail Herman)
2018
What Is Climate Change? (By: John Hinderliter,Gail Herman)
2018
What Is the Constitution? (By: Patricia Brennan Demuth)
2018
What Is the Women's Rights Movement?
2018
What Were the Roaring Twenties? (By: Jake Murray,Michele Mortlock)
2018
What Is the Stanley Cup? (By: Gregory Copeland,Gail Herman)
2019
What Was Stonewall? (By: Nico Medina,Jake Murray)
2019
What Is NASA? (By: Ted Hammond,Sarah Fabiny)
2019
What Was the Vietnam War? (By: Jim O'Connor)
2019
What Was the Berlin Wall? (By: Nico Medina,Stephen Marchesi)
2019
What Were the Negro Leagues? (By: Stephen Marchesi,Varian Johnson)
2019
What Are the Paralympic Games? (By: Andrew Thomson,Gail Herman)
2020
What Was the Bombing of Hiroshima? (By: Jess Brallier)
2020
What Is LEGO? (By: Ted Hammond,Jim O'Connor,Who Hq)
2020
What Is a Presidential Election? (By: Douglas Yacka)
2020
What Is the Civil Rights Movement? (By: Sherri L. Smith)
2020
What Is Nintendo? (By: Andrew Thomson,Gina Shaw)
2021
What Was the Age of Exploration? (By: Catherine R. Daly,Jake Murray)
2021
What Is Congress? (By: David Malan,Jill Abramson)
2021
What Is Black Lives Matter? (By: Lakita Wilson)
2021
What Are the Winter Olympics? (By: Jake Murray,Gail Herman)
2021
What Was the Plague? (By: Dede Putra,Roberta Edwards,Who Hq)
2021
What Was the Harlem Renaissance? (By: Sherri L. Smith)
2021
What Are Castles and Knights? (By: Dede Putra,Sarah Fabiny)
2022
What Is Juneteenth? (By: Kirsti Jewel)
2022
What Is the AIDS Crisis? (By: Nico Medina)
2022
What Is the Supreme Court? (By: Gregory Copeland,Jill Abramson,Who Hq)
2022
What Was Reconstruction? (By: Sherri L. Smith)
2022
What Is the Women's World Cup? (By: Ted Hammond,Gina Shaw)
2023
What Was the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921? (By: Caleb Gayle)
2023
What Was World War I? (By: Nico Medina,Dede Putra)
2023
What Was the Donner Party? (By: Ben Hubbard)
2023
What Was the Children's Blizzard of 1888? (By: Dede Putra,Steve Korté)
2023
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