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Showing 141 - 160 of 21543 items
By Joseph J. Ellis. 2021
In one of the most "exciting and engaging" (Gordon S. Wood) histories of the American founding in decades, Pulitzer Prize–winning…
historian Joseph J. Ellis offers an epic account of the origins and clashing ideologies of America's revolutionary era, recovering a war more brutal, and more disorienting, than any in our history, save perhaps the Civil War. For more than two centuries, historians have debated the history of the American Revolution, disputing its roots, its provenance, and above all, its meaning. These questions have intrigued Ellis—one of our most celebrated scholars of American history—throughout his entire career. With this much-anticipated volume, he at last brings the story of the revolution to vivid life, with "surprising relevance" (Susan Dunn) for our modern era. Completing a trilogy of books that began with Founding Brothers, The Cause returns us to the very heart of the American founding, telling the military and political story of the war for independence from the ground up, and from all sides: British and American, loyalist and patriot, white and Black. Taking us from the end of the Seven Years' War to 1783, and drawing on a wealth of previously untapped sources, The Cause interweaves action-packed tales of North American military campaigns with parlor-room schemes and chicanery, creating a thrilling narrative that brings together a cast of familiar and long-forgotten characters. Here Ellis recovers the stories of Catharine Littlefield Greene, wife of Major General Nathanael Greene, the sister among the "band of brothers"; Thayendanegea, a Mohawk chief known to the colonists as Joseph Brant, who led the Iroquois Confederation against the Patriots; and Harry Washington, the enslaved namesake of George Washington, who escaped Mount Vernon to join the British Army and fight against his former master. Countering popular histories that romanticize the "Spirit of '76," Ellis demonstrates that the rebels fought under the mantle of "The Cause," a mutable, conveniently ambiguous principle that afforded an umbrella under which different, and often conflicting, convictions and goals could coexist. Neither an American nation nor a viable government existed at the end of the war. In fact, one revolutionary legacy regarded the creation of such a nation, or any robust expression of government power, as the ultimate betrayal of The Cause. This legacy alone rendered any effective response to the twin tragedies of the founding—slavery and the Native American dilemma—problematic at best. Written with the vivid and muscular prose for which Ellis is known, and with characteristically trenchant insight, The Cause marks the culmination of a lifetime of engagement with the founding era. A landmark work of narrative history, it challenges the story we have long told ourselves about our origins as a people, and as a nationBy Rob Ruck. 2018
A sports historian looks at the impact of football players from the small island of American Samoa. Includes profiles of…
several NFL stars, including Junior Seau. The author travels to the island, where he learns about the fiercely competitive culture. Some strong language. 2018By Tammy M. Proctor, Mary Thorp, Sophie De Schaepdrijver. 2017
The diary of Mary Thorp, an Englishwoman who worked as a governess in German-occupied Brussels during World War I. Beginning…
in 1916, the entries describe the daily strains of life under foreign occupation. 2017By William K. Klingaman. 2019
A narrative history of the home front in the year following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that thrust the…
United States into World War II. Discusses the splintering in American society despite rhetoric of solidarity and the general mood of fear and instability. Some strong language. 2019By W. E. B. Du Bois, Nathan Huggins. 1986
Presents the essential writings of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963), who was a historian, sociologist, novelist, editor, and civil…
rights activist. Includes The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the United States of America 1638-1870 (1896), The Souls of Black Folk (1903), and more. Edited by Nathan Huggins. 1986By Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherríe Moraga. 2015
Collection of essays and poetry by women of color exploring issues including colonialism, homophobia, roots of radicalism, theory as it…
plays out in the real world, racism in the women's movement, and women's experiences in the developing world. Some violence, some strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2015By Andrea Dworkin, Chris Kraus. 2019
Collection of twenty-five essays by radical feminist Andrea Dworkin (1946-2005). Most were originally published between 1974 and 1999 and include…
explorations of her concept of feminism, sexual relationships and patriarchal oppression, and domestic violence. Violence and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2019By Kerrie Logan Hollihan. 2019
Uncovers the mysteries behind unearthed human mummies from around the globe, from mutilated bodies preserved in Irish bogs to sacrificed…
children entombed in an Incan burial site on a mountaintop. For grades 5-8 and older readers. 2019By Carrie Gibson. 2019
The author of Empire's Crossroads (DB 80362) explores the Hispanic past of North America, beginning with the arrival of Spanish…
explorers in the early sixteenth century and continuing through the early twenty-first century. Discusses key events and historical figures along with cultural issues of language, community, race, and nationality. 2019By Anita Sarkeesian, Ebony Adams, T. S. Abe. 2018
Introduction to a range of diverse and remarkable women in history from across the globe. Notable figures are grouped into…
five categories: reckless rebels, revelatory scholars, ruthless villains, restless artists, and relentless amazons. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2018A historian tells the story of the song that became known as the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and…
Sing." Examines the lives of the composer and lyricist, and describes how the song became a reflection of black social and cultural history. 2018By Dorothy E. Roberts. 2012
Legal scholar/activist argues that "race" is a political, not a biological, construct. Asserts that a growing interest in race-based genetic…
variation--especially in biotech and pharmaceutical research and marketing--is a throwback to the days of racial stereotypes based on physical differences and obscures the social impacts of racism. 2011By Sara Georgini. 2019
Examination of the religious lives of the Adams family and the impact of religion on their civic service, from John…
and Abigail Adams in the 1700s to Brooks Adams in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Discusses the generational changes in understanding what it means to be Christian. 2019By John A. Hodgson. 2018
Biography of a man who was born the son of a slave in 1783, and went on to become the…
most popular entertainer in America. Examines both his public life as a magician and ventriloquist and his experiences as a black man in pre-Civil War America. 2018By Nancy Princenthal. 2019
Examination of women artists in the 1970s and the art--visual and performance--they created around experiences of sexual violence. Discusses artists…
including Yoko Ono, Ana Mendieta, Suzanne Lacy, Lynn Hershman Leeson, and Leslie Labowitz. Analyzes the ways the art and criticism of it influenced broader cultural conversations. Some violence. 2019By Sarah Turnbull. 2003
Journalist describes traveling to Europe from Australia at the age of twenty-seven to experience a year abroad as a freelance…
journalist. Discusses meeting her future husband in Bucharest, moving in with him in Paris, and learning about French culture. Reflects on feelings of isolation and adventure. 2002By Brian Fagan. 2019
History of climatic shifts and adaptations by Europeans to them. Covers the last ten centuries, describing the Medieval Warm Period…
to the era of global warming that began in the 1850s. Examines human vulnerability in the face of sudden climate change. Includes author's afterword from 2019. 2000By Brando Skyhorse, Lisa Page. 2017
Fifteen essays examining the concept of passing, which the author defines as attempting to gain something tangible by occupying a…
space meant for someone else. Explores different types of passing, including race, disability, religion, sexuality, and more. Some strong language. 2017By Adam Rutherford. 2017
Author of Creation (DB 80022) examines the genetic history of humankind. Includes some humorous examples to explain the ways genes,…
alleles, and their variations work when it comes to genotypes--the genetic base information--and phenotypes--the ways that information is presented. Discusses what to consider when interpreting results. Some strong language. 2016By Timothy B. Tyson. 2017
Southern history scholar revisits the 1955 lynching of fourteen-year-old African American Emmett Till, from Chicago. While visiting relatives in Mississippi,…
Emmett's interaction with a white female shopkeeper led to his kidnapping and violent murder. Also describes the trial, funeral, and the case's impact on the civil rights movement. Violence and some strong language. 2017