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Showing 1 - 20 of 834 items
By Paul Johnson. 2002
Historian reassesses Bonaparte's spectacular career and character, examining the myth and the reality. Johnson contends that Napoleon "was not an…
ideologue but an opportunist, who seized on the accident of the French Revolution to propel himself into supreme power." 2002By Robert Vincent Remini. 2002
Personal and political portrait of John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), sixth president of the United States and son of the second…
president. Describes his long diplomatic career, his difficulties and accomplishments as commander-in-chief, his return to the House of Representatives after the presidency, and his defense of the participants in the 1839 Amistad slave revolt. 2002By Garry Wills. 2002
Explores how a successful Founding Father became an ineffectual fourth president. Views James Madison (1751-1836) in his role as the…
first executive to lead a war (in 1812) and the circumstances that influenced his time in office. Traces his life of public service afterwards. 2002By William Shawcross. 2002
British historian recounts the life and times of Great Britain's queen from her 1952 ascent to the throne to her…
2002 Golden Jubilee. Describes how Elizabeth II adjusted to modern times the ancient monarchy she inherited, surviving notable challenges, among them the tabloid reports of her family's affairs. 2002By John Keegan. 2002
Military historian explores the mystique of Britain's prime minister during World War II, discussing his life, works, and speeches. Portrays…
Churchill, the man and the political leader, in the context of England's history. 2002By Thomas Keneally. 2003
A concise biography of the Civil War president. Discusses Lincoln's backwoods upbringing, storytelling gift, and entry into politics. Focuses on…
his presidency during a pivotal time in United States history. 2003By Hillary Rodham Clinton. 2003
Former first lady's memoir of eight years in the White House that, she says, "tested my faith and political beliefs,…
my marriage and our nation's Constitution." Discusses how she and President Bill Clinton faced political opposition, legal challenges, personal tragedies, and the scandal of the Monica Lewinsky case. Bestseller. 2003By Louis Auchincloss. 2002
By Oliver North. 1991
Oliver North offers his detailed view of the Iran-Contra arms controversy in this secretly written autobiography. Presenting himself as a…
patriotic, religious, family man, North describes his childhood, his stint in Vietnam, and his work on the National Security Council staff at the White House. Stating that he never saw himself above the law, North conveys his perception of betrayal by his administrationBy Morris Rossabi. 1987
Portrait of the legendary Mongol drawn from Chinese, Korean, Persian, Russian, Armenian, and Syrian sources. The author focuses on Khan's…
military exploits and political maneuverings and suggests that the leader's mother and his favorite wife played essential roles in his rise to power. Without their guidance, Rossabi states, the Khan descended to drunkenness and debaucheryBy Jerrold Packard. 1981
A close look at the royal family, their lives, personalities, associates, and residences. Also explains various titles and ranks and…
what they signify, how to address members of the nobility, and customs surrounding the royal family and the courtBy Diana Healy. 1988
Brief, colorful biographical sketches of forty-one first ladies. Includes anecdotes and bits of information, such as the fact that Anna…
Symmes Harrison, the wife of William H. Harrison, who died a month after taking office, was the only first lady to be the grandmother of a presidentBy A. Rosalie David. 1978
An account of how scientists and archaeologists have adopted new methods to further reveal the secrets of the past, as…
in the postmortem examination of a young girl dead for more than 2,000 years. Includes a brief explanation of Egyptian history and burial ritualsBy John Ibbitson. 2023
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLEROne of Canada’s foremost authors and journalists, offers a gripping account of the contest between John Diefenbaker and…
Lester Pearson, two prime ministers who fought each other relentlessly, but who between them created today’s Canada. John Diefenbaker has been unfairly treated by history. Although he wrestled with personal demons, his governments launched major reforms in public health care, law reform and immigration. On his watch, First Nations on reserve obtained the right to vote and the federal government began to open up the North. He established Canada as a leader in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and took the first steps in making Canada a leader in the fight against nuclear proliferation. And Diefenbaker’s Bill of Rights laid the groundwork for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He set in motion many of the achievements credited to his successor, Lester B. Pearson.Pearson, in turn, gave coherence to Diefenbaker’s piecemeal reforms. He also pushed Parliament to adopt a new, and now much-loved, Canadian flag against Diefenbaker’s fierce opposition. Pearson understood that if Canada were to be taken seriously as a nation, it must develop a stronger sense of self. Pearson was superbly prepared for the role of prime minister: decades of experience at External Affairs, respected by leaders from Washington to Delhi to Beijing, the only Canadian to win the Nobel Prize for Peace. Diefenbaker was the better politician, though. If Pearson walked with ease in the halls of power, Diefenbaker connected with the farmers and small-town merchants and others left outside the inner circles. Diefenbaker was one of the great orators of Canadian political life; Pearson spoke with a slight lisp. Diefenbaker was the first to get his name in the papers, as a crusading attorney: Diefenbaker for the Defence, champion of the little man. But he struggled as a politician, losing five elections before making it into the House of Commons, and becoming as estranged from the party elites as he was from the Liberals, until his ascension to the Progressive Conservative leadership in 1956 through a freakish political accident. As a young university professor, Pearson caught the attention of the powerful men who were shaping Canada’s first true department of foreign affairs, rising to prominence as the helpful fixer, the man both sides trusted, the embodiment of a new country that had earned its place through war in the counsels of the great powers: ambassador, undersecretary, minister, peacemaker. Everyone knew he was destined to be prime minister. But in 1957, destiny took a detour.Then they faced each other, Diefenbaker v Pearson, across the House of Commons, leaders of their parties, each determined to wrest and hold power, in a decade-long contest that would shake and shape the country. Here is a tale of two men, children of Victoria, who led Canada into the atomic age: each the product of his past, each more like the other than either would ever admit, fighting each other relentlessly while together forging the Canada we live in today. To understand our times, we must first understand theirs.By Martin W. Sandler. 2023
From National Book Award–winning author Martin W. Sandler, here is a fascinating look at what shipwrecks reveal about our world&’s…
past—and how exploring them led to the development of a whole new field of science: marine archaeology.Most of the world&’s ocean floor remains to be discovered. In fact, it&’s estimated to be home to over 3 million sunken vessels and countless treasures of the past. This enthralling and adventure-filled nonfiction book for young readers recounts some of the most captivating shipwrecks from history, ranging from the Shinan, a Chinese merchant ship laden with riches from the 14th century, to the HMS Erebus and Terror, two polar exploration ships that mysteriously disappeared in the early 1800s. Combining new research, stunning archival material, and vivid storytelling, Shipwrecked! dives deep into the world of marine archaeology and shows young readers what each discovery reveals about the world before our time.By Nicholas Von Hoffman. 1978
No one so famous or controversial led so many secret lives. Loathed by some, and well respected by others, Roy…
Cohn was known as the toughest and most brilliant lawyer in America. From his role in the Rosenberg trial and as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy through his extraordinary friendship with J. Edgar Hoover and his vendetta against Robert Kennedy, Cohn's reputation grew larger than life. Presidents, celebrities, gangsters, judges, and endless politicians crossed Cohn&’s path, either as friend or foe, including J. Edgar Hoover, Senator Joseph McCarthy, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Ronald Reagan, Robert Kennedy, Barbara Walters, Fat Tony Salerno, Louis Nizer, Si Newhouse, Rupert Murdoch, George Steinbrenner, Donald Trump, and many more. Cohn was the target of numerous indictments and haunted by professional misconduct charges which led to his disbarment shortly before his death. His private life, even more outrageous than his life known to the public, constantly had his name in gossip columns; there were his lovers, his denial of his homosexuality and AIDS diagnosis, and finally his death from AIDS-related cancer in 1986. Nicolas von Hoffman has created a remarkable and provocative biography of a complex life that was driven by power. Interviewing family members, colleagues, clients, friends, and lovers, he gives an extraordinary portrait of the man, his ideological passion, and the patterns of power and money that made him, in the end, one of the most influential men in our society. From hidden bank accounts, numerous incidents of political fixing, and surprising connections, Citizen Cohn reveals the real Roy Cohn.By Mark Satin. 2023
An essential introduction to the visionary, beyond-left-and-right political activism of the last 60 years, and a deeply honest insider account…
of why those activists have—so far—fallen short.&“I appreciate that Satin is willing to be so candid. It helps us all learn. And he writes in a way that touches the soul.&” —Christa Slaton, First platform coordinator for the U.S. Green Party movement, and co-editor of the book Transformational Politics: Theory, Study, and Practice In a gripping first-person narrative that reads like a novel, using his own experiences as a lens, Mark Satin tells the story of three generations of thinkers and activists who tried—and are still trying—to create a post-socialist, post-conservative, visionary and healing new politics for the U.S. In this book, Satin shows that the increasingly militant movements of the Sixties drove many young people away—and into a search for a political system and world that could work for everyone. He looks at initiatives and organizations that over the next 30 years tried to further that search, such as the New World Alliance and the early U.S. Green Party movement. Then he illuminates the 21st century turn to &“radical centrist&” and &“transpartisan&” political initiatives. Each chapter begins with a brief, context-setting introduction. Throughout the book are intense, blow-by-blow accounts of organization- and movement-building, as well as brief glimpses at over 40 often underappreciated visionary books. And always there are deeply honest accounts of Satin&’s and other activists&’ often shaky relationships with colleagues, family, and lovers—because getting healing politics right cannot be divorced from getting personal and interpersonal behavior right. You will enjoy watching Satin&’s encounters with civil rights militant Hardy Frye, Weather Underground terrorist Mark Rudd, environmental activist Paul Hawken, &“beyond GNP&” economic thinker Hazel Henderson, futurists John Naisbitt and Alvin Toffler, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Gene Sharp, Aquarian Conspiracy author Marilyn Ferguson, critical race theory co-creator Derrick Bell, radical centrist author John Avlon, and more. Nobody, least of all Satin, comes across as all-wise here, and long before this subtle and courageous book ends you will realize that a truly visionary and healing politics can only be built if we&’re willing to address all the behavioral, intellectual, organizational, and attitudinal issues this book raises.By Chris Whipple. 2023
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Gatekeepers comes a revelatory, news-making look at how President Joe Biden…
and his seasoned team have battled to achieve their agenda—based on the author&’s extraordinary access to the White House during two years of crises at home and abroad.In January of 2021, the Biden administration inherited the most daunting array of challenges since FDR&’s presidency: a lethal pandemic, a plummeting economy, an unresolved twenty-year war, and the aftermath of an attack on the Capitol that polarized the country. Waves of crises followed, including the fallout from a divisive Supreme Court, raging inflation, and Vladimir Putin&’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Now, in The Fight of His Life, prizewinning journalist Chris Whipple takes us inside the Oval Office as the critical decisions of Biden&’s presidency are being made. With remarkable access to both President Biden and his inner circle—including Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA Director William Burns—Whipple pulls back the curtain on the internal power struggles and back-room compromises. Featuring shocking new details about how renegade Trump officials enabled the transfer of power, which key staffers really make the White House run (it&’s probably not who you think), why Joe Biden no longer speaks freely around his security detail, and what he really thinks of Vice President Kamala Harris, the press, and living in the White House, The Fight of His Life delivers a stunning portrait of politics on the edge.By William Stadiem, Essie Mae Washington-Williams. 2005
In this historically momentous memoir, the segregationist senator&’s mixed-race daughter speaks out about her life in the shadows. Breaking nearly…
eight decades of silence, Essie Mae Washington–Williams comes forward with the dramatic story of her life. Her father, the late Strom Thurmond, had been the nation&’s leading proponent of racial segregation. He famously undertook a twenty-four–hour filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, a desperate attempt to save the South from &“mongrelization&”. Her mother, however, was a black teenager named Carrie Butler who worked as a maid on the Thurmond family&’s South Carolina plantation. Set against the explosive civil rights era, this poignant memoir recalls how Essie Mae struggled with the discrepancy between the generous and even affectionate father she knew privately, and the Old Southern politician, railing against greater racial equality, who refused to acknowledge her publicly. From her richly told narrative, as well as the letters she and Thurmond wrote to each other over the years, emerges a fascinating portrait of a father who counseled and supported his daughter, yet would not break with the values of his Dixiecrat constituents.By Jose Antonio Ocampo, Isabel López Giraldo. 2023
Las memorias de uno de los economistas más importantes del país. José Antonio Ocampo es uno de los economistas más…
importantes y reconocidos de Colombia y América Latina. Su trayectoria es admirable y prolífica: ha sido ministro de Hacienda en dos ocasiones, ministro de Agricultura, director de Planeación Nacional y de Fedesarrollo, codirector del Banco de la República y, a nivel internacional, subsecretario general de la ONU para Asuntos Económicos y Sociales y secretario ejecutivo de la CEPAL. Adicionalmente, es un académico destacado que ha enseñado en varias universidades, tiene una extensa lista de publicaciones y ha participado en negociaciones económicas ante organismos como la ONU, el FMI, la Ronda Uruguay que creó la OMC y la Comunidad Andina, entre otros. En estas memorias, José Antonio Ocampo e Isabel López Giraldo conversan sobre todo eso y más. Hablan de cómo fue para Ocampo trabajar con Kofi Annan como secretario general de la ONU y de su encuentro con los presidentes Patricio Aylwin y Ricardo Lagos durante la transición democrática en Chile, y con Fidel Castro, entre muchos otros personajes mundiales. También abordan su período de cerca de diez años en Naciones Unidas y la labor que realizó allí en temas de cooperación financiera y tributaria internacional, género, migración y desarrollo sostenible. Ocampo se refiere, además, a su experiencia en los tres gobiernos de los que ha sido parte, los de César Gaviria, Ernesto Samper y Gustavo Petro. Su testimonio es, en esencia, una historia económica de Colombia y la región latinoamericana, y el retrato de un hombre entregado a su familia, a la academia y al servicio del país