The newest addition to the Penguin Library of American IndianHistory explores the most influential Native AmericanConfederacy More than perhaps any other Native American group, the Iroquoisfound it to their advantage to interact with and adapt to whitesettlers. Despite being known as fierce warriors, the Iroquois werejust as reliant on political prowess and sophisticated diplomacy tomaintain their strategic position between New France and NewYork. Colonial observers marveled at what Benjamin Franklin calledtheir "method of doing business" as Europeans learned to useIroquois ceremonies and objects to remain in their good graces.Though the Iroquois negotiated with the colonial governments, theyrefused to be pawns of European empires, and their savvy kept themin control of much of the Northeast until the American Revolution.Iroquois Diplomacy and the Early American Frontier is a must-readfor anyone fascinated by Native American history or interested in aunique perspective on the dawn of Americ

If members of the History Book Club do not recognize the name Joy Hakim, grade school students know her as the grandmother who writes history. Hakim's widely acclaimed 10-volume A History of US has earned a place in classrooms across the nation. Now she aims to bring history into the nation's homes as well with a companion book for the upcoming PBS miniseries Freedom. She considers herself a storyteller, and indeed, she writes U.S. history from colonial times to the new millennium as the story of the march of liberty. As she recounts the struggles of women, workers, blacks, immigrants and other minorities to participate equally in American society and government, she reiterates the ideals of freedom of religion and speech, and the right to vote, to a fair trial and to education. Despite advertising claims that the book is "for families," Hakim seems to be writing for children. Young readers will like the personable characters, lively action and conversational style ("There's a whole lot more to this freedom s

"As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams" is a unique autobiography inwhich the anonymous writer known as Lady Sarashina interspersespersonal reflections, anecdotes and lyrical poems with accounts ofher travels and evocative de*ions of the Japanese countryside.Born in AD 1008, Lady Sarashina felt an acute sense of melancholythat led her to withdraw into the more congenial realm of theimagination - this deeply introspective work presents her vision ofthe world. While barely alluding to certain aspects of her lifesuch as marriage, she illuminates her pilgrimages to temples andmystical dreams in exquisite prose, describing a profound emotionaljourney that can be read as a metaphor for life itself.

One of the world's most respectedsociologists updates his classic work on public views of popularand high culture. Is NYPD Blue a less valid form of artistic expression than aShakespearean drama? Who is to judge and by what standards? In this new edition of Herbert Gans's brilliantly conceived andclearly argued landmark work, he builds on his critique of theuniversality of high cultural standards. While conceding thatpopular and high culture have converged to some extent over thetwenty-five years since he wrote the book, Gans holds that thechoices of typical Ivy League graduates, not to mention Ph.D.s inliterature, are still very different from those of high schoolgraduates, as are the movie houses, television channels, museums,and other cultural institutions they frequent. This new edition benefits greatly from Gans's discussion of the"politicization" of culture over the last quarter-century. PopularCulture and High Culture is a must read for anyone interested inthe vicissitudes of tas

Did Eisenhower avoid a showdown with Stalin by not takingBerlin before the Soviets? What might have happened if JFK hadn'tbeen assassinated? This new volume in the widely praised seriespresents fascinating "what if..." scenarios by such prominenthistorians as: Robert Dallek, Caleb Carr, Antony Beevor, JohnLukacs, Jay Winick, Thomas Fleming, Tom Wicker, Theodore Rabb,Victor David Hansen, Cecelia Holland, Andrew Roberts, Ted Morgan,George Feifer, Robert L. O'Connell, Lawrence Malkin, and John F.Stacks. Included are two essential bonus essays reprinted from theoriginal New York Times bestseller What If? (tm)-DavidMcCullough imagines Washington's disastrous defeat at the Battle ofLong Island, and James McPherson envisions Lee's successfulinvasion of the North in 1862.

In his major new work, Wall Street Journal Istanbulcorrespondant Hugh Pope provides a vivid picture of the Turkicpeople, descendants of the nomadic armies that conquered theByzantine Empire and reigned over the region for centures. Todaythe Turks encompass a region much larger than the politicalboundaries of the nation of Turkey - from the Xinjiang province ofwestern China, to Iran, Iraq, the Netherlands, Germany, all the wayto the Appalacian Mountains of the United States. One of theworld's foremost experts on modern Turkey - its languages, people,and history - and acclaimed co-author of Turkey Unveiled (a NewYork Times Notable Book), Hugh Pope has traveled the world toencounter and assimilate the many facets of this extraordinarilycomplex and fascinating ethnic group, distilling the essentailqualities shared by all people of Turkish descent. Rich withstories and legends stretching back centuries, Sons of theConquerors is a compellingly readable account of a profoundlyneglected subject. --This text re

From 1831 to 1837, George Catlin traveled extensively amongthe native peoples of North America—from the Muskogee andMiccosukee Creeks of the Southeast to the Lakota, Mandan, andPawnee of the West, and from the Winnebagos and Menominees of theNorth to the Comanches of eastern Texas. Studying their habits,customs, and modes of life, he made copious notes and numeroussketches of ceremonies, buffalo hunts, symbols, and totems.Catlin’s unprecedented fieldwork culminated in more than fivehundred oil paintings and his now-legendary journals, which, asPeter Matthiessen writes in his introduction, "taken together...constitute the first, last, and only ‘complete’ record of thePlains Indians ever made at the height of their splendid culture,so soon destroyed by traders’ liquor and disease, rapine andbayonets."

In this the first book ever written about the CIA's Office of Technical Service, former director Robert Wallace (a real-life Q, straight out of the James Bond films) and internationally renowned intelligence historian H. Keith Melton offer an unprecedented look at the CIA's most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible. Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions- including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the current War on Terror-the authors show how the CIA carries out its missions employing amazingly inventive tools. Illustrated with images never before seen by the public-and featuring everything from micro cameras to wired kitties to exploding pancakes-Spycraft is both a fantastic encyclopedia of gadgetry and a revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage.

In this audacious recasting of the American Revolution,distinguished historian Gary Nash offers a profound new way ofthinking about the struggle to create this country, introducingreaders to a coalition of patriots from all classes and races ofAmerican society. From millennialist preachers to enslavedAfricans, disgruntled women to aggrieved Indians, the people sovividly portrayed in this book did not all agree or succeed, butduring the exhilarating and messy years of this country’s birth,they laid down ideas that have become part of our inheritance andideals toward which we still strive today.

Live a life of peace, love, and happiness through spiritualawakening In Wake Up Now , author Stephan Bodian--nationallyrecognized expert on meditation and spirituality and formereditor-in-chief of Yoga Journal --reveals that spiritualawakening is not some faraway dream, or overly complicated toachieve, but an ever-present reality that is always available hereand now. Based on his own experience and over 30 years of teaching thedirect approach to spiritual awakening, Bodian has broken down theawakening process into five overlapping, loosely sequential stages:seeking, awakening, deepening and clarifying, embodying, and livingthe awakened life. Wake Up Now guides you through everystage of the journey, from the process of seeking through the oftenprolonged and challenging process of integrating the awakening intoeveryday life. "This book is one of the most concise guides to spiritualawakening I have read. Both profound and practical, it guides thereader through the intricacies of awakening as only someo