I love the book ""How we Are Smart" by Nikola-Lisa and Sean Qualis. It's really designed to talk about the different kinds of intelligence people have, but certainly is a valuable book for other reasons, as well.
The book picks out about 10-12 famous, but not as well-known men and women in areas from physics to ballet. On the page for each person, there is a short biography, a poem and a quote from each person.
Perhaps not necessarily a history text, but good for showing how all kids of writing can be used effectively for Social Studies. There are suggested activities for student involvement in the back of the book, as well.
