Readers get an interesting glimpse into the lives of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. View More...
Nothing Like It in the World gives the account of an unprecedented feat of engineering, vision, and courage. It is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad--the investors who risked their businesses and money; the enlightened politicians who understood its importance; the engineers and surveyors who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives; and the Irish and Chinese immigrants, the defeated Confederate soldiers, and the other laborers who did the backbreaking and dangerous work on the tracks. The U.S. government pitted two companies--the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific... View More...
Completed shortly before Ambrose's untimely death, To America is a very personal look at our nation's history through the eyes of one of the twentieth century's most influential historians. Ambrose roams the country's history, praising the men and women who made it exceptional. He considers Jefferson and Washington, who were progressive thinkers (while living a contradiction as slaveholders), and celebrates Lincoln and Roosevelt. He recounts Andrew Jackson's stunning defeat of a superior British force in the battle of New Orleans with a ragtag army in the War of 1812. He brings to life Lewis a... View More...
In "To America," Stephen E. Ambrose, one of the country's most influential historians, reflects on his long career as an American historian and explains what an historian's job is all about. He celebrates America's spirit, which has carried us so far. He confronts its failures and struggles. As always in his much acclaimed work, Ambrose brings alive the men and women, famous and not, who have peopled our history and made the United States a model for the world.Taking a few swings at today's political correctness, as well as his own early biases, Ambrose grapples with the country's historic sin... View More...
In "To America," Stephen E. Ambrose, one of the country's most influential historians, reflects on his long career as an American historian and explains what an historian's job is all about. He celebrates America's spirit, which has carried us so far. He confronts its failures and struggles. As always in his much acclaimed work, Ambrose brings alive the men and women, famous and not, who have peopled our history and made the United States a model for the world.Taking a few swings at today's political correctness, as well as his own early biases, Ambrose grapples with the country's historic sin... View More...
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "The single most important explanation, and the fullest explanation, of how Donald Trump became president of the United States . . . nothing less than the most important book that I have read this year."--Lawrence O'Donnell How did we get here? In this sweeping, eloquent history of America, Kurt Andersen shows that what's happening in our country today--this post-factual, "fake news" moment we're all living through--is not something new, but rather the ultimate expression of our national character. America was founded by wishful dreamers, magical thinkers, and tru... View More...
In this highly acclaimed book, Bonnie Angelo celebrates a group of remarkable women who played a pivotal role in developing the characters of the modern American presidents -- their mothers. Angelo, a veteran reporter and writer for TIME magazine, explores the lives, thoughts and feelings of these women who so influenced the twentieth century's most powerful leaders. From the aristocratic and formidable Sara Delano Roosevelt to diehard Democrat Martha Truman, from stoic Hannah Milhous Nixon to the hard-living Virginia Clinton Kelly, First Mothers is an in-depth look at the special mother-son ... View More...
Traces the progression of the civil rights movement and its effect on history through biographical sketches of four prominent and influential African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. View More...
This carefully researched and insightful account by Sibert medalist Marc Aronson focuses on the intertwined lives of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Puritan Commonwealth in England. Set against a broad canvas of the turmoil that engulfed Britain in the 17th century, the book examines the clashes of the monarchy and the church with Parliament, which led these two powerful men to take opposite courses. Here is a panoramic view of the period, from elaborate masques to the trial of a heretic, from wars fought against Ind... View More...
For some, patriotism means flags and parades, for others it's "My country right or wrong." But it's much more than that, and as Alan Axelrod observes in this revealing review of our history, true patriotism is built on a bedrock of understanding--who we are as individuals and as a nation, how our ideals and our democracy have evolved, and what it really means to be an American. It's a challenge that calls for an open mind and a clear perspective on the people, events, and issues that shaped our society--and that's just what 1001 Events That Made America provides. This handy, informative chrono... View More...
