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History
By the author of the bestselling biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, a reflection on: What are the roots… of creativity' What makes for great leadership' In this collection of essays, Walter Isaacson reflects on the lessons to be learned from Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and various other larger-than-life characters he has chronicled as a biographer and a journalist. Isaacson reflects on how he became a writer, the lessons he learned from various people he met, and the challenges he sees for journalism in the digital age. He offers living tributes to his hometown of New Orleans, which both before and after Hurricane Katrina offered many of the ingredients for a creative culture, and to the Louisiana novelist Walker Percy, who was an early mentor.
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Movie and television tie-ins, History, Canadian history
A fascinating account of the strange, rich history of Oak Island and the intrepid treasure hunters who have driven themselves… to financial ruin, psychotic breakdowns, and even death in pursuit of answers. Now as Michigan brothers Marty and Rick Lagina become the latest to attempt to solve the mystery, as documented on HISTORY's television show 'The Curse of Oak Island', Randall Sullivan takes readers along to follow their quest firsthand. 2018.
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History, European history
Approximately 100,000 single mothers lost their babies to forced separation in Ireland since independence in 1922. 35,000 pregnant, single women… were sent to nine Mother and Baby Homes, where thousands of their babies and young children died due to wilful neglect and indifference. Castlepollard Mother and Baby Home survivor, Paul Redmond, examines how and why the Mother and Baby Home network was built and how it transformed into a ruthless and efficient money-making machine, harvesting up to 97% of all babies born outside marriage, with many used as 'guinea pigs' for pharmaceutical research. The religious orders effectively generated vast profits from selling Irish babies to local and overseas arranged adoptions.
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History, Canadian history, Canadian authors (Non-fiction)
July 1st 1867 is celebrated as Canada's Confederation, but 1867 was only the beginning. As the country grew from a… small dominion to a vast federation encompassing ten provinces, three territories, and hundreds of First Nations, its leaders repeatedly debated Canada's purpose, and the benefits and drawbacks of the choice to be Canadian. "Reconsidering Confederation" brings together Canada's leading historians to explore how the provinces, territories, and Treaty areas became the political frameworks we know today. In partnership with The Confederation Debates, an ongoing crowdsourced, non-partisan, and non-profit initiative to digitize all of Canada's founding colonial and federal records, this book breaks new ground by integrating the treaties between Indigenous peoples and the Crown into our understanding of Confederation. Rigorously researched and eminently readable, this book traces the unique paths that each province and territory took on their journey to Confederation. It shows the roots of regional and cultural grievances, as vital and controversial in early debates as they are today.
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History, Canadian history, Canadian authors (Non-fiction)
In December 1917 Halifax was alive with excitement. The streets were filled with troops, and the city, far removed from… the bitter fighting in Europe, was reaping all the advantages of war. On the morning of December 6, however, the bloodshed came to Halifax with a vengeance when a French munitions ship and a Belgian relief vessel collided in the harbour. The munitions vessel drifted into the North End and exploded, killing more than sixteen hundred people instantly, wounding more than nine thousand others, and damaging or destroying approximately twelve thousand buildings. The complete devastation covered an area of 325 acres, and hardly a window in the city was left intact. The statistics are astounding enough, but the testimonies from survivors are even more astonishing.
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Movie and television tie-ins, History
It is a story like no other: an epic of endurance against destruction, of creativity in oppression, joy amidst grief,… the affirmation of life against the steepest of odds. It spans the millennia and the continents, from India to Andalusia and from the bazaars of Cairo to the streets of Oxford. It takes you to unimagined places: to a Jewish kingdom in the mountains of southern Arabia; a Syrian synagogue glowing with radiant wall paintings; the palm groves of the Jewish dead in the Roman catacombs. And its voices ring loud and clear, from the severities and ecstasies of the Bible writers to the love poems of wine bibbers in a garden in Muslim Spain. And a great story unfolds. Not, as often imagined, of a culture apart, but of a Jewish world immersed in and imprinted by the peoples among whom they have dwelled, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, from the Arabs to the Christians. Which makes the story of the Jews everyone's story, too. A tie-in to the PBS and BBC series. Followed by "Belonging 1492-1900".
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History, Ancient history
The ancient story chronicles, step-by-step, how a nation of farmers only recently emerged from the Stone Age could construct one… of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. To execute something as complex and massive as the Great Pyramid, Egypt needed architects, mathematicians, boat builders, stone masons, and metallurgists. It took twenty years to build the Great Pyramid. By the time its capstone was laid in 2560 B.C., the innovations born of the building quest had transformed agrarian Egypt into the world's most modern, most powerful nation.
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Women biography, General non-fiction, History
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, share the stories of the gutsy women who have inspired them-women with the… courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done. She couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old. "Go ahead, ask your question," her father urged, nudging her forward. She smiled shyly and said, "You're my hero. Who's yours?" Many people-especially girls-have asked us that same question over the years. It's one of our favorite topics. HILLARY: Growing up, I knew hardly any women who worked outside the home. So I looked to my mother, my teachers, and the pages of Life magazine for inspiration. After learning that Amelia Earhart kept a scrapbook with newspaper articles about successful women in male-dominated jobs, I started a scrapbook of my own. Long after I stopped clipping articles, I continued to seek out stories of women who seemed to be redefining what was possible. CHELSEA: This book is the continuation of a conversation the two of us have been having since I was little. For me, too, my mom was a hero; so were my grandmothers. My early teachers were also women. But I grew up in a world very different from theirs. My pediatrician was a woman, and so was the first mayor of Little Rock who I remember from my childhood. Most of my close friends' moms worked outside the home as nurses, doctors, teachers, professors, and in business. And women were going into space and breaking records here on Earth. Ensuring the rights and opportunities of women and girls remains a big piece of the unfinished business of the twenty-first century. While there's a lot of work to do, we know that throughout history and around the globe women have overcome the toughest resistance imaginable to win victories that have made progress possible for all of us. That is the achievement of each of the women in this book. So how did they do it? The answers are as unique as the women themselves. Civil rights activist Dorothy Height, LGBTQ trailblazer Edie Windsor, and swimmer Diana Nyad kept pushing forward, no matter what. Writers like Rachel Carson and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie named something no one had dared talk about before. Historian Mary Beard used wit to open doors that were once closed, and Wangari Maathai, who sparked a movement to plant trees, understood the power of role modeling. Harriet Tubman and Malala Yousafzai looked fear in the face and persevered. Nearly every single one of these women was fiercely optimistic-they had faith that their actions could make a difference. And they were right. To us, they are all gutsy women-leaders with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done. So in the moments when the long haul seems awfully long, we hope you will draw strength from these stories. We do. Because if history shows one thing, it's that the world needs gutsy women.
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Science and medicine biography, Archaeology, History
National Geographic Fellow and TED Prize-winner Dr. Sarah Parcak welcomes you to the brave new world of "space archaeology," a… growing field of exploration that has brought humanity to a tipping point of mass discovery in the ancient world Dr. Sarah Parcak pioneers the young field of satellite archaeology, using futuristic tools to unlock secrets from the past and transform how discoveries are made. As an archaeologist, she has worked on remote sensing projects across twelve countries and four continents, using multispectral and high-resolution satellite imagery analysis to identify thousands of potential archaeological sites. These include previously unknown settlements, roads, fortresses, palaces, tombs, and even potential pyramids. She presently directs major crowdsourcing efforts to map ancient civilizations across Peru and India. In Archaeology from Space, Sarah describes the field's evolution, major discoveries, and future potential. From surprise advancements after the declassification of spy photography, to a new map of the mythical Egyptian city of Tanis, she shares her field's biggest discoveries, revealing why space archaeology is not only exciting but essential to the preservation of the world's ancient treasures for future generations. Sarah's stories take readers back in time and across borders, into the day-to-day lives of ancient humans who displayed grit, ingenuity, and brilliance across the millennia. We share those same traits, and those same underlying genes. If we heed the lessons of the past, we can shape a vibrant future. Includes Illustrations
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Politics and government, History
In this timely history, the editor of the National Review chronicles the history of nationalism and its intellectual roots, revealing… how this political model-a refutation of globalism-became maligned and why it offers a viable way forward for America. In The Case for Nationalism, Rich Lowry refutes critics on the left as he argues that there is an intellectual argument for nationalism, revealing how citizens have always had to come together nationally to survive. Lowry argues that nationalism is an American tradition, one that is shared by such diverse leaders as Alexander Hamilton, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Regan. A true American nationalism should be grounded in our common citizenship, champion popular sovereignty, and exult American history, culture, and ideals. It should be the enemy of identity politics. Lowry reclaims the term "Nationalism" from those who equate it with racism and populism. Offering a sure-to-be-controversial viewpoint in the debate over the direction of our country, he explains that far from a road to disaster, nationalism is how Americans become the best version of themselves. It associates nationalism with the rise of fascism in Europe and considers any expression of it to be borderline dangerous. But if nationalism were tantamount to fascism, England and America-as Lowry explains, the countries that forged modern nationalism as we know it-would have succumbed to authoritarianism long ago. In fact, the idea that the nation belonged to the people rather than the crown led to the curtailment of monarchical power in England and its overthrow in America. According to Lowry, we must not accept globalism, for in doing so, we would sand off America's unique beliefs. Instead, we should embrace our national character, our greatness, and our mission as an example for the world to follow.
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United States history, History
From the New York Times bestselling, celebrated, and award-winning author of Empire of the Summer Moon and Rebel Yellcomes the… spellbinding, epic account of the dramatic conclusion of the Civil War. The fourth and final year of the Civil War offers one of that era's most compelling narratives, defining the nation and one of history's great turning points. Now, S.C. Gwynne's Hymns of the Republic addresses the time Ulysses S. Grant arrives to take command of all Union armies in March 1864 to the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox a year later. He breathes new life into the epic battle between Lee and Grant; the advent of 180,000 black soldiers in the Union army; William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea; the rise of Clara Barton; the election of 1864 (which Lincoln nearly lost); the wild and violent guerrilla war in Missouri; and the dramatic final events of the war, including the surrender at Appomattox and the murder of Abraham Lincoln. Hymns of the Republic offers angles and insights on the war that will surprise many listeners. Robert E. Lee, known as a great general and southern hero, is presented here as a man dealing with frustration, failure, and loss. Ulysses S. Grant is known for his prowess as a field commander, but in the final year of the war he largely fails at that. His most amazing accomplishments actually began the moment he stopped fighting. William Tecumseh Sherman, Gwynne argues, was a lousy general, but probably the single most brilliant man in the war. We also meet a different Clara Barton, one of the greatest and most compelling characters, who redefined the idea of medical care in wartime. And proper attention is paid to the role played by large numbers of black union soldiers-most of them former slaves. They changed the war and forced the South to come up with a plan to use its own black soldiers. Popular history at its best, with Hymns of the Republic Gwynne reveals the creation that arose from the destruction in this thrilling read.
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Humour, Historical biography, History
From popular TV correspondent and writer Mo Rocca, a charmingly irreverent and rigorously researched book that celebrates the dead people… who made life worth living. Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries - reading about the remarkable lives of world leaders, captains of industry, innovators and artists. But not every notable life has gotten the send-off it deserves. With Mobituaries-the book companion to the CBS podcast of the same name - the journalist, humorist and history buff is righting that wrong, profiling the people who have long fascinated him-from the 20th century's greatest entertainer to sitcom characters gone all too soon to a shamefully forgotten Founding Father. Even if you know the names, you've never understood why they matteruntil now. Rocca chronicles the stories of the people who made a difference, but whose lives-for some reason or another-were never truly examined. There's Thomas Paine, whose Common Sense lit the fuse for the American Revolution-and whose paltry obit summed up his life thusly: "He had lived long, did some good, and much harm." And then there's screen icon Audrey Hepburn. She remains a household name, but how much do we know about her wartime upbringing and how it shaped the woman we fell in love with? And what about Billy Carter and history's unruly presidential brothers? Were they ne'er-do-well liabilities or secret weapons. As a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning and the host of The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation, Rocca is an expert researcher and storyteller. He draws on these skills here. With his rigorous reporting and trademark wit, Rocca brings these men and women splendidly back to life like no one else can. Mobituaries is an insightful and unconventional account of the people who made life worth living for the rest of us, one that asks us to think about who gets remembered, and why.
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General non-fiction, History
"ExtraordinaryA nonfiction literary masterpieceI can't remember the last time a book affected me as profoundly as Three Women." -Elizabeth Gilbert… "Beautifully writtenThis is one of the most riveting, assured, and scorchingly original debuts I've ever read." -Dave Eggers "[An] instant feminist classic...Utterly engrossing...Game-changing" -O, The Oprah Magazine Desire as you've never seen it before: a riveting account of the sex lives of three ordinary American women, based on nearly a decade of reporting. Lina, a homemaker in suburban Indiana, is a decade into a passionless marriage when she embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming and transforms her life. Sloane, a glamorous entrepreneur in the northeast, is married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women. Maggie, a high school student in North Dakota, begins a relationship with her English teacher that will have extraordinary consequences for them both-as well as the community in which they live. For nearly a decade, Lisa Taddeo, an award-winning journalist and longtime contributor to New York magazine and Esquire, embedded herself with three everyday women to write this deeply immersive account of their erotic lives and longings. The result-shocking, powerful, and timely-reads like George Packer's The Unwinding, but for the state of female desire. Three Women is a major work from an exhilarating new voice.
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Science and technology, History
By 1979, we knew nearly everything we understand today about climate change-including how to stop it. Over the next decade,… a handful of scientists, politicians, and strategists, led by two unlikely heroes, risked their careers in a desperate, escalating campaign to convince the world to act before it was too late. Losing Earth is their story, and ours. The New York Times Magazine devoted an entire issue to Nathaniel Rich's groundbreaking chronicle of that decade, which became an instant journalistic phenomenon-the subject of news coverage, editorials, and conversations all over the world. In its emphasis on the lives of the people who grappled with the great existential threat of our age, it made vivid the moral dimensions of our shared plight. Now expanded into book form, Losing Earth tells the human story of climate change in even richer, more intimate terms. It reveals, in previously unreported detail, the birth of climate denialism and the genesis of the fossil fuel industry's coordinated effort to thwart climate policy through misinformation propaganda and political influence. The audiobook carries the story into the present day, wrestling with the long shadow of our past failures and asking crucial questions about how we make sense of our past, our future, and ourselves. Like John Hersey's Hiroshima and Jonathan Schell's The Fate of the Earth, Losing Earth is the rarest of achievements: a riveting work of dramatic history that articulates a moral framework for understanding how we got here, and how we must go forward.
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True crime, Politics and government, History
A David-and-Goliath story for our times: the riveting account of the heroes who are fighting a rising tide of wrongdoing… by the powerful, and showing us the path forward. We are living in a time of mind-boggling corruption, but we are also, as it happens, living in a golden age of whistleblowing. Over the past two decades, the brave insiders who decide to expose wrongdoing have gained unprecedented legal and social stature, emerging as the government's best weapon against corporate misconduct--and the citizenry's best defense against government gone bad. They are also forcing us to consider fundamental questions about our democracy, especially the proper balance between free speech and state secrecy, and between individual rights and corporate power. Drawing on relentless original research, including in-depth interviews with more than 200 whistleblowers and the elite coterie of legal trailblazers who have armed them for battle--plus scores of politicians, intelligence analysts, government watchdogs, cognitive scientists, and other experts--Crisis of Conscience is a modern-day David-and-Goliath saga, told through a series of riveting cases drawn from Big Pharma, the military, and beyond. Whistleblowers are not only heroes who expose and anatomize corruption and ensure that it is punished--usually at enormous cost to themselves--Mueller shows they are also the freethinking citizens on whom our republic was conceived, models we all must think and act more like if our democracy is to survive.
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World War II, History, War
An extraordinary story of survival and alliance during World War II: the icy journey of four Allied ships crossing the… Arctic to deliver much needed supplies to the Soviet war effort. On the fourth of July, 1942, four Allied ships traversing the Arctic separated from their decimated convoy to head further north into the ice field of the North Pole, seeking safety from Nazi bombers and U-boats in the perilous white maze of ice floes, growlers, and giant bergs. Despite the risks, they had a better chance of survival than the rest of Convoy PQ-17, a fleet of thirty-five cargo ships carrying $1 billion worth of war supplies to the Soviet port of Archangel-the limited help Roosevelt and Churchill extended to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to maintain their fragile alliance, even as they avoided joining the fight in Europe while the Eastern Front raged. The high-level politics that put Convoy PQ-17 in the path of the Nazis were far from the minds of the diverse crews aboard their ships. U.S. Navy Ensign Howard Carraway, aboard the SS Troubadour, was a farm boy from South Carolina and one of the many Americans for whom the convoy was to be a first taste of war; aboard the SS Ironclad, Ensign William Carter of the U.S. Navy Reserve had passed up a chance at Harvard Business School to join the Navy Armed Guard; from the Royal Navy Reserve, Lt. Leo Gradwell was given command of the HMT Ayrshire, a fishing trawler that had been converted into an antisubmarine vessel. All the while, The Ghost Ships of Archangel turns its focus on Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, playing diplomatic games that put their ships in peril. The twenty-four-hour Arctic daylight in midsummer gave no respite from bombers, and the Germans wielded the terrifying battleship Tirpitz, nicknamed The Big Bad Wolf. Icebergs were as dangerous as Nazis. As a newly forged alliance was close to dissolving and the remnants of Convoy PQ-17 tried to slip through the Arctic in one piece, the fate of the world hung in the balance.
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Politics and government, History
From an award-winning journalist covering gender and politics comes an inside look at the female candidates fighting back and winning… elections in the crucial 2018 midterms. After November 8, 2016, first came the sadness; then came the rage, the activism, and the protests; and finally, for thousands of women, the next step was to run for office-many of them for the first time. More women have been campaigning for local or national office over the past two years than at any other time in American history. Journalist Caitlin Moscatello reported on this wave of female candidates for New York magazine's The Cut, Glamour, and Elle. And in See Jane Win, she further documents this pivotal time in women's history. Closely following four candidates throughout the entire process, from the decision to run through Election Day 2018, See Jane Win takes readers inside their exciting, winning campaigns and the sometimes thrilling, sometimes brutal realities of running for office while female. MEET THE CANDIDATES: Abigail Spanberger, the former CIA agent and mom of three young girls running to unseat Tea Party favorite Dave Brat in Virginia. Catalina Cruz, a Colombian immigrant hoping to be the first Dreamer elected in New York through her bid for the State Assembly. Anna Eskamani, an Iranian-American woman running for state office in Florida, with a campaign motivated by her mother's health-care struggles and the Parkland shootings. London Lamar, an African American woman hoping to become the youngest woman in the Tennessee State House, running in one of the only Democratic and Black-majority areas of a largely conservative state. Beyond the 2018 victories, Moscatello speaks with leaders of organizations training female candidates, researchers, and successful strategists who helped women triumph-emphasizing authenticity and passion-a formula that will be more relevant than ever as we approach the 2020 presidential election.