Second Series Landmark Books

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Random House had huge success with their Landmark Books series, which ended up with a total of 185 titles (plus the 25 Giants). They also did quite well with another series for a younger age group, called the Step Up books; these non-fiction books attractively combined history and science in a single collection. Over time, however, many of the books from both series went out of print and (at least so far) have never been brought back. 

But not all. Random House kept reprinting about a dozen of the Landmark books (several with small tweaks), and a few of the Step-Up books—with titles like Meet Abraham Lincoln and Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the early 2000s, Random House tried to revive the Landmark series. They took the titles still in print, combined them with the Step Up books still available, added a few titles by Lucille Penner originally published in the 1990s, and from 2001-2005 published thirteen new titles (that we know of) with the rebranded logo. Most of these titles cover topics not found in the original series—like the Leif Erickson expedition, or the history of terrorism, or the reverse: the pacifists of American history. And there is an element of early DEI: this second series adds more titles dealing specifically with women and minorities, specifically one on the civil rights movement and biographies of black women Maya Angelou and Aunt Clara Brown.

So these are labeled Landmark, but not reprints of the original series. Some are Step Up reprints, but most are titles previously unknown. We're not sure exactly what happened, but we do know these didn't take off like the earlier books. We think physical copies of these are generally pretty scarce, but fortunately all the newer titles can be found online to read.

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18 Items found Print
Ain't Gonna Study War No More
by Milton Meltzer
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
As Far as the Eye Can Reach
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
from Random House
Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
from Random House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
Day the Sky Fell
by Milton Meltzer
from Random House
for 6th-9th grade
in War on Terror (Location: HISA-21WT)
Dinosaur Bone War
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
Hear that Train Whistle Blow!
by Milton Meltzer
from Random House
for 5th-7th grade
in History of Railroads (Location: HISA-19TRR)
Liberty!
by Lucille Recht Penner
from Random House
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.99
Meet Abraham Lincoln
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Barbara Cary
from Random House
Biography for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.94
Meet Christopher Columbus
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.24 $2.00 (2 in stock)
Meet George Washington
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Joan Heilbroner
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.94 $2.40 (3 in stock)
Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James T. de Kay
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.24
Meet Maya Angelou
by Valerie Spain
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.24 $2.40 (1 in stock)
One More Valley, One More Hill
by Linda Lowery
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Patriots in Petticoats
by Shirley Raye Redmond
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Pilgrims at Plymouth
by Lucille Recht Penner, illustrated by S. D. Schindler
from Random House
Non-fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
There Comes a Time
by Milton Meltzer
from Random House
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
Westward Ho!
Landmark Books
by Lucille Recht Penner
from Random House
for 1st-2nd grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)