Coming of age duringWorld War I and attaining their finest hour in World War II and theCold War, these men -- FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur-- transformed America from an isolated frontier nation into aglobal superpower. As he tells their stories, Fromkin, author of A Peace to End All Peace , shows how this generation not onlymade America great but largely succeeded in making it a force forgood.
As a defender of national unity, a leader in war, and theemancipator of slaves, Abraham Lincoln lays ample claim to beingthe greatest of our presidents. But the story of his rise togreatness is as complex as it is compelling. In this superb,prize-winning biography, acclaimed historian Richard Carwardineexamines Lincoln’s dramatic political journey, from his early yearsin the Illinois legislature to his nation-shaping years in theWhite House. Here, Carwardine combines a new perspective with acompelling narrative to deliver a fresh look at one of the pillarsof American politics. He probes the sources of Lincoln’s moral andpolitical philosophy and uses his groundbreaking research to cutthrough the myth and expose the man behind it.
Who were the three men the American and Soviet superpowersexchanged at Berlin's Glienicke Bridge and Checkpoint Charlie inthe first and most legendary prisoner exchange between East andWest? Bridge of Spies vividly traces their paths to that exchangeon February 10, 1962, when their fate helped to define theconflicts and lethal undercurrents of the most dangerous years ofthe Cold War. Bridge of Spies is the true story of three extraordinarycharacters – William Fisher, alias Rudolf Abel, a British born KGBagent arrested by the FBI in New York City and jailed as a Sovietsuperspy for trying to steal America’s most precious nuclearsecrets; Gary Powers, the American U-2 pilot who was captured whenhis plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission overthe closed cities of central Russia; and Frederic Pryor, a youngAmerican graduate student in Berlin mistakenly identified as a spy,arrested and held without charge by the Stasi, East Germany’ssecret police. By weaving
The series of essays that comprise The Federalist constitutes one of the key texts of the American Revolution and thedemocratic system created in the wake of independence. Written in1787 and 1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay topromote the ratification of the proposed Constitution, these papersstand as perhaps the most eloquent testimonial to democracy thatexists. They describe the ideas behind the American system ofgovernment: the separation of powers; the organization of Congress;the respective positions of the executive, legislative, andjudiciary; and much more. The Federalist remains essentialreading for anyone interested in politics and government, andindeed for anyone seeking a foundational statement about democracyand America. This new edition of The Federalist is edited by Robert Scigliano, aprofessor in the political science department at Boston College.His substantive Introduction sheds clarifying new light on thehistorical context and meaning of The Federalist . Scig
Widely considered in his own time as a genial but provinciallightweight who was out of place in the presidency, Abraham Lincolnastonished his allies and confounded his adversaries by producing aseries of speeches and public letters so provocative that theyhelped revolutionize public opinion on such critical issues ascivil liberties, the use of black soldiers, and the emancipation ofslaves. This is a brilliant and unprecedented examination of howLincoln used the power of words to not only build his politicalcareer but to keep the country united during the Civil War.
The most important, acclaimed, and galvanizing politicalbiography of our era--which began with The Path to Power--continuesin this national bestseller. In Means of Ascent Lyndon Johnson'salmost mythic personality is seen at its most nakedly ambitious.The culminating drama--the explosive heart of the book--is Caro'sillumination of one of the great political mysteries of thecentury, the "87 votes that changed history."
This definitive edition of the original "Robert's" presentsrules of order, motions, debate, conduct of business, andadjournment. All problems of conducting a successful meetingsmoothly and fairly are resolved.
The former president's personal tale of political intrigue andsocial conflict during his first campaign for public office.Iluminates the origins of his commitment to human rights and bearsfurther witness to the accomplishments of an extraordinary man.
Remote, forbidding, and volatile, the Caspian Sea longtantalized the world with its vast oil reserves. But outsiders,blocked by the closed Soviet system, couldn't get to it. Then theSoviet Union collapsed, and a wholesale rush into the regionerupted. Along with oilmen, representatives of the world's leadingnations flocked to the Caspian for a share of the thirty billionbarrels of proven oil reserves at stake, and a tense geopoliticalstruggle began. The main players were Moscow and Washington-theformer seeking to retain control of its satellite states, and thelatter intent on dislodging Russia to the benefit of theWest. The Oil and the Glory is the gripping account of this latestphase in the epochal struggle for control of the earth's "blackgold." Steve LeVine, who was based in the region for The WallStreet Journal, The New York Times, and Newsweek, weaves anastonishing tale of high-stakes political gamesmanship, greed, andscandal, set in one of the most opaque corners of the world. InLeVine's tel
Despite all that has already been written on Franklin DelanoRoosevelt, Joseph Persico has uncovered a hitherto overlookeddimension of FDR's wartime leadership: his involvement inintelligence and espionage operations. Roosevelt's Secret War is crowded with remarkablerevelations: -FDR wanted to bomb Tokyo before Pearl Harbor -A defector from Hitler's inner circle reported directly to theOval Office -Roosevelt knew before any other world leader of Hitler's plan toinvade Russia -Roosevelt and Churchill concealed a disaster costing hundreds ofBritish soldiers' lives in order to protect Ultra, the Britishcodebreaking secret -An unwitting Japanese diplomat provided the President with adirect pipeline into Hitler's councils Roosevelt's Secret War also describes how much FDR had beentold--before the Holocaust--about the coming fate of Europe's Jews. And Persico also provides a definitive answer to the perennialquestion Did FDR know in advance about the attack on PearlHarbor? By temperament and chara
In this groundbreaking historical expose, Douglas A. Blackmonbrings to light one of the most shameful chapters in Americanhistory—an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath ofthe Civil War through the dawn of World War II.Using a vast recordof original documents and personal narratives, Douglas A. Blackmonunearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants whojourneyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and thenback into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter.By turns moving, sobering, and shocking, this unprecedented accountreveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against there-emergence of human labor trafficking, the companies thatprofited most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racismthat reverberates today.
Party Influence in Congress challenges current arguments andevidence about the influence of political parties in the U.S.Congress. Steven S. Smith argues that theory must reflect policy,electoral, and collective party goals. These goals call forflexible party organizations and leadership strategies. They demandthat majority party leaders control the flow of legislation;package legislation and time action to build winning majorities andattract public support; work closely with a president of theirparty; and influence the vote choices for legislators. Smithobserves that the circumstantial evidence of party influence isstrong, multiple collective goals remain active ingredients afterparties are created, party size is an important factor in partystrategy, both negative and positive forms of influence areimportant to congressional parties, and the needle-in-the-haystacksearch for direct influence continues to prove frustrating.
Now the inspiration for the CBS Television drama, "TheUnit." Delta Force. They are the U.S. Army's most elite top-secretstrike force. They dominate the modern battlefield, but you won'thear about their heroics on CNN. No headlines can reveal theirtop-secret missions, and no book has ever taken readersinside—until now. Here, a founding member of Delta Force takes usbehind the veil of secrecy and into the action-to reveal thenever-before-told story of 1st Special Forces OperationalDetachment-D (Delta Force). Inside Delta Forece The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit He is a master of espionage, trained to take on hijackers,terrorists, hostage takers, and enemy armies. He can deploy byparachute or arrive by commercial aircraft. Survive alone inhostile cities. Speak foreign languages fluently. Strike at enemytargets with stunning swiftness and extraordinary teamwork. He isthe ultimate modern warrior: the Delta Force Operator. In this dramatic behind-the-scenes ch
Never before has a journalist penetrated the wall of secrecythat surrounds the U.S. Secret Service. After conducting exclusiveinterviews with more than one hundred current and former SecretService agents, bestselling author and award-winning reporterRonald Kessler reveals their secrets for the first time. ? George W. Bush’s daughters would try to losetheir agents. ? Based on a psychic’s vision that a sniper wouldassassinate President George H. W. Bush, the Secret Service changedhis motorcade route. ? To make the press think he came to work early,Jimmy Carter would walk into the Oval Office at 5 a.m., then nodoff to sleep. ? Lyndon Johnson gave dangerous instructions tohis Secret Service agents and ?engaged in extensive philandering atthe White House.
"Jefferson aspired beyond the ambition of a nationality, and embraced in his view the whole future of man." --Henry Adams
Reagan’s War is the story of Ronald Reagan’s personaland political journey as an anti-communist, from his early days asan actor to his years in the White House. Challenging popularmisconceptions of Reagan as an empty suit who played only a passiverole in the demise of the Soviet Union, Peter Schweizer detailsReagan’s decades-long battle against communism. Bringing to light previously secret information obtained fromarchives in the United States, Germany, Poland, Hungary, andRussia—including Reagan’s KGB file—Schweizer offers a compellingcase that Reagan personally mapped out and directed his war againstcommunism, often disagreeing with experts and advisers. Anessential book for understanding the Cold War, Reagan’s War should be read by open-minded readers across the politicalspectrum.
In his final book, completed just before his death, Edward W.Said offers impassioned pleas for the beleaguered Palestinian causefrom one of its most eloquent spokesmen. These essays, whichoriginally appeared in Cairo’s Al-Ahram Weekly, London’s Al-Hayat,and the London Review of Books, take us from the Oslo Accordsthrough the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, and present information andperspectives too rarely visible in America. Said is unyielding in his call for truth and justice. He insistson truth about Israel's role as occupier and its treatment of thePalestinians. He pleads for new avenues of communication betweenprogressive elements in Israel and Palestine. And he is equallyforceful in his condemnation of Arab failures and the need for realleadership in the Arab world.
A compelling and deeply felt exploration and defense ofliberalism: what it actually is, why it is relevant today, and howit can help our society chart a forward course. The Future of Liberalism represents the culmination of fourdecades of thinking and writing about contemporary politics by AlanWolfe, one of America’s leading scholars, hailed by one critic as“one of liberalism’s last and most loyal sons.” Wolfe mines thebedrock of the liberal tradition, explaining how Immanuel Kant,John Stuart Mill, John Dewey, and other celebrated minds helpedshape liberalism’s central philosophy. Wolfe also examines thosewho have challenged liberalism since its inception, fromJean-Jacques Rousseau to modern conservatives, religiousfundamentalists, and evolutionary theorists such as RichardDawkins. Drawing on both the inspiration and insights of seminal workssuch as John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, Adam Smith’sTheory of Moral Sentiments, Kant’s essay “What is Enlightenment?,”and Mil
One ofthe most critical battles of the Afghan War is now revealed asnever before. Lions of Kandahar is an inside account from theunique perspective of an active-duty U.S. Army Special Forcescommander, an unparalled warrior with multiple deployments to thetheater who has only recently returned from combatthere. Southern Afghanistan was slipping away.That was clear to then-Captain Rusty Bradley as he began his thirdtour of duty there in 2006. The Taliban and their allies wereinfiltrating everywhere, poised to reclaim Kandahar Province, theirstrategically vital onetime capital. To stop them, the NATOcoalition launched Operation Medusa, the largest offensive in itshistory. The battlefield was the Panjwayi Valley, a densely packedwarren of walled compounds that doubled neatly as enemy bunkers,lush orchards, and towering marijuana stands, all laced withtreacherous irrigation ditches. A mass exodus of civilians heraldedthe carnage to come. Dispatched as a diversionary force insuppo
As the world's largest democracy and a rising internationaleconomic power, India has long been heralded for its great stridesin technology and trade. Yet it is also plagued by poverty,illiteracy, unemployment, and a vast array of other social andeconomic issues. Here, noted journalist and former Financial TimesSouth Asia bureau chief Edward Luce travels throughout India's manyregions, cultures, and religious circles, investigating its fragilebalance between tradition and modernity. From meetings with keypolitical figures to fascinating encounters with religious pundits,economic gurus, and village laborers, In Spite of the Gods is afascinating blend of analysis and reportage that comprehensivelydepicts the nuances of India's complex situation and its place inthe world.
In his inspiring new book, You Don’t Need a Title to Be aLeader , Mark Sanborn, the author of the national bestseller The Fred Factor , shows how each of us can be a leader in ourdaily lives and make a positive difference, whatever our title orposition. Through the stories of a number of unsung heroes, Sanbornreveals the keys each one of us can use to improve ourorganizations and enhance our careers. Genuine leadership – leadership with a “little l ”, as heputs it, is not conferred by a title, or limited to the executivesuite. Rather, it is shown through our everyday actions and the waywe influence the lives of those around us. Among the qualities thatgenuine leaders share: ? Acting with purpose rather than getting bogged down by mindlessactivity ? Caring about and listening to others ? Looking for ways to encourage the contributions and developmentof others rather than focusing solely on personalachievements ? Creating a legacy of accomplishment and contribution ineverything they do As reade
“H.W Brands has given us the authoritative Franklin biographyfor out time.” —Joseph J. Ellis author of the PulitzerPrize-winning Founding Brothers “Like its subject, this biography is both solid and enchanting.”—The New Yorker “[A] biography with a rich cast of secondary characters and alarge and handsome stock of historical scenery.... Brands writesclearly and confidently about the full spectrum of the polymath’sinterests.... This is a Franklin to savor.” —The Wall StreetJournal “Benjamin Franklin’s life is one every American should know well,and it has not been told better than by Mr. Brands.” —The DallasMorning News “A vivid portrait of the 18th-century milieu and of the18th-century man.... [Brands is] a master storyteller.” —TheChristian Science Monitor “A thorough biography of Benjamin Franklin, America’s firstRenaissance man.... In graceful, even witty prose.... Brandsrelates the entire, dense-p