'Magisterial...a biography that is almost as much a personaladventure story as an intellectual treatise.' - Andrew Roberts 'A penetrating interpretation...No one with a serious interestin the Napoleonic period can afford to ignore it. ' - TimesLiterary Supplement

Before becoming the 44th President-elect of the United States, in July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners' minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what President Obama called "the audacity of hope." In The Audacity of Hope, President Obama called for a different brand of politics–a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in congress and on the campaign a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of "our improbable experiment in democracy." He explores those forces–from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media–that can stifle even thebest-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surpris

Queen Elizabeth I and England’s First Spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham’s official title was principal secretaryto Queen Elizabeth I, but in fact this pious, tight-lipped Puritanwas England’s first spymaster. A ruthless, fiercely loyal civilservant, Walsingham worked brilliantly behind the scenes to foilElizabeth’s rival Mary Queen of Scots and outwit Catholic Spain andFrance, which had arrayed their forces behind her. Though he cut anincongruous figure in Elizabeth’s worldly court, Walsingham managedto win the trust of key players like William Cecil and the Earl ofLeicester before launching his own secret campaign against thequeen’s enemies. Covert operations were Walsingham’s genius; hepioneered techniques for exploiting double agents, spreadingdisinformation, and deciphering codes with the latest code-breakingscience that remain staples of international espionage.

The daring idea that convention - human decision - lies at the root both of necessary truths and much of empirical science reverberates through twentieth-century philosophy, constituting a revolution comparable to Kant's Copernican revolution. This is the first comprehensive study of Conventionalism. Drawing a distinction between two conventionalist theses, the under-determination of science by empirical fact, and the linguistic account of necessity, Yemima Ben-Menahem traces the evolution of both ideas to their origins in Poincaré's geometric conventionalism. She argues that the radical extrapolations of Poincaré's ideas by later thinkers, including Wittgenstein, Quine, and Carnap, eventually led to the decline of conventionalism. This book provides a new perspective on twentieth-century philosophy. Many of the major themes of contemporary philosophy emerge in this book as arising from engagement with the challenge of conventionalism.

Niall Ferguson is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History atHarvard University, a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College,Oxford University, and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution,Stanford University. The bestselling author of Paper andIron , The House of Rothschild , The Pity of War , The Cash Nexus , Empire , and Colossus , he alsowrites regularly for newspapers and magazines all over the world.Since 2003 he has written and presented three highly successfultelevision documentary series for British television: Empire , American Colossus , and, most recently, TheWar of the World .

The Norton Critical Edition offers a complete historical and philosophical introduction to Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party. It will help both students making their first approach to Marx's thought and those ready to study the Manifesto in more depth. For beginning students, this edition provides a carefully anno-tated text of the Manifesto, a useful historical and philosophical introduction by Frederic Bender, and a chronology of events sur-rounding publication of the Manifesto. More experienced students will benefit from sections on the sources of Marx's thought, the sig-nificance of the Manifesto in the history of Marxism, and recent interpretations of the work. THE EDITOR: FREDERIC L. BENDER is professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He is the author of The Betrayal of Marw and editor of Karl Marx: The Essential Writings.

The Prince and Other Writings, by Niccolo Machiavelli, is partof the Barnes Noble Classics series, which offers qualityeditions at affordable prices to the student and the generalreader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages ofcarefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable featuresof Barnes Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers andscholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporaryhistorical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes andendnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems,books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired bythe work Comments by other famous authors Study questions tochallenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographiesfor further reading Indices Glossaries, when appropriateAlleditions are beautifully designed and are printed to superiorspecifications; some include illustrations of historical interest.Barnes Noble Classics pulls together a constell

The late 1990s saw a number of attacks against American military and governmental offices,most notably the U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa in 1998. On September 11,2001, however,the scale of this conflict changed dramatically,The hijacking of four commercial airliners on that sunny Tuesday morning led to the deaths of some 3,000 people. As in 1998, the terrorist group responsible for this devastating campaign was Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, or "The Base," a loose network of extremists many of whom are willing to die for their cause, the promotion of a militant form of Islam and the destruction of the West. In Al-Qaeda, Jane Corbin, the award-winning senior BBC correspondent for Panorama the British equivalent of 60 Minutes -- crosses four continents in search of bin Laden's terror network. The result of four years research, reporting and travel throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Aanerica, she has conducted hundreds of interviews with key eyewitnesses, investigators, and intelligence officers a

New introductions commissioned from today's top writers andscholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporaryhistorical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes andendnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems,books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired bythe work Comments by other famous authors Study questions tochallenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographiesfor further reading Indices Glossaries, when appropriateAlleditions are beautifully designed and are printed to superiorspecifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes Noble Classics pulls together a constellationof influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich eachreader's understanding of these enduring works.

The former editor in chief of the Economist returns to theterritory of his bestselling book The Sun Also Sets to lay out anentirely fresh analysis of the growing rivalry between China,India, and Japan and what it will mean for America, the globaleconomy, and the twenty-first-century world. Though books such asThe World Is Flat and China Shakes the World consider them only asindividual actors, Emmott argues that these three political andeconomic giants are closely intertwined by their fierce competitionfor influence, markets, resources, and strategic advantage. Rivalsexplains and explores the ways in which this sometimes bitterrivalry will play out over the next decade—in business, globalpolitics, military competition, and the environment—and reveals theefforts of the United States to manipulate and benefit from thisrivalry. Identifying the biggest risks born of these struggles,Rivals also outlines the ways these risks can and should be managedby all of us.

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In a natural follow-up her national bestseller Front at the White House,the dean of the White House press corps presents a vivid and personal chronicle of the Americal presidency.Currently a columnist for Hearst and a former White House bureau chief for UPI,Helen Thomas has covered an astounding nine presidential administrations-from Kennedy through George W.Bush-endearing herself with her trademark“Thand you,Mr.President”at the conclusion of White House press conferences.Here,in a riveting chapter for each administration she has covered,Thomas delights,informs,spins yarns,and offers opinions on the commanders in chief and their families,She tells about Kennedy’s love of sparring with the press,the memorable invitation LBJ extended to Hubert Humphrey to become his running mate,and Reagan’s down-home ways of avoiding the press's tougher questions.As entertaining and compelling as Helen Thomas herself,Thanks for the Memories,Mr,President is a unique glimpse into presidential history.

America's power is in decline, its allies alienated, its soldiers trapped in a war that even generals regard as unwinnable. What has happened these past few years is well known. Why it happened continues to puzzle. Celebrated Slate columnist Fred Kaplan explains the grave misconceptions that enabled George W. Bush and his aides to get so far off track, and traces the genesis and evolution of these ideas from the era of Nixon through Reagan to the present day.

Starred Review。 Some failures lead to phenomenal successes，andthis American nurse’s unsuccessful attempt to climb K2，the world’ssecond tallest mountain，is one of them。Dangerously ill when hefinished his climb in 1993，Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeksby the small Pakistani village of Korphe； in return， he promised tobuild the impoverished town’s first school， a project that grewinto the Central Asia Institute， which has since constructed morethan 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan。 CoauthorRelin recounts Mortenson’s efforts in fascinating detail，presenting compelling portraits of the village elders，con artists，philanthropists，mujahideen， Taliban officials，ambitious schoolgirls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way。As the bookmoves into the post-9/11 world， Mortenson and Relin argue that theUnited States must fight Islamic extremism in the region throughcollaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access toeducation，

On the South Branch of the Raritan River in New Jersey, BillPlummer casts his line in the hope that fly-fishing will fortifyhim in the face of a failed marriage, his father's death, and afaltering career. With the discovery of his father's fly-fishingdiary, Bill has set his mind to understanding his father's devotionto the sport and fathoming the depths of what he thought was adistant and enigmatic man. He comes to delight in the peculiarpleasures of the pastime, finding in it points of tangency to hisown son, while developing the strength for a second marriage. Wishing My Father Well is a moving intergenerational memoirwhich will remind readers of James Prosek's Joe and Me, JamesDodson's Faithful Travelers, and Mitch Albom's Tuesdays WithMorrie.

The renowned biographer and New York Times bestselling author of The Kennedy Women returns with this first volume in a multigenerational history that will forever change the way America views its most famous family ... 作者简介: Harper's,playboy,The New Republic,New York,Washingtonian,and The New York Times Magazine.Helives in Washington,D.C.,and Palm Beach,Florida.

The #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of A Patriot's History of the United States examines tencurrent challenges. America is at a crossroads. Weface two options: continue our descent toward big government,higher taxes, less individual liberty, and more debt or pull ourcountry back on the path our Founding Fathers planned for us. Butthat path isn't always so easy to see. Following the success of his previous books, conservativehistorian Larry Schweikart tackles some of the key issuesconfronting our nation today: education, government bailouts, guncontrol, health care, the environment, and more. For each he asks,"What would the founders say?" and sets out to explore our historyand offer wisdom to help us get back on track. What would really becompatible with the vision that Washington, Jefferson, Madison, andthe other founders had for America? Written in Schweikart's informal yet informative style, WhatWould the Founders Say? is sure to delight his fans and anyonelooking fo

About national and international power in the "modern" or PostRenaissance period. Explains how the various powers have risen andfallen over the 5 centuries since the formation of the "newmonarchies" in W. Europe.

First published in 1923, The Prospects of IndustrialCivilization is considered the most ambitious of BertrandRussell's works on modern society. It offers a rare glimpse intooften-ignored subtleties of his political thought and in it heargues that industrialism is a threat to human freedom, since it isfundamentally linked with nationalism. His proposal for onegovernment for the whole world as the ultimate solution, along withhis argument that the global village and prevailing politicaldemocracy should be its eventual results, is both provocative andthoroughly engaging.

The conclusion to The Baroque Cycle is a veritable doorstop, but a doorstop perhaps worth its weight in 18th-century gold coins—especially to those who need a reminder about the dangerous misuses of science and “progress.” Critics can’t heap enough praise on Stephenson’s eloquent narration, true-to-life characters, and impeccable plotting (“generated via Waterhouse’s Logic Mills,” says the San Francisco Chronicle). Stephenson exquisitely unearths Baroque history, too, from mints to gardens to Jacobites. While compelling, you’ll best appreciate this epic history-romance-science fiction story “once you have a solid liberal arts education under your belt” (Chronicle). Stephenson mostly gets away with his philosophical pedantry because he’s so smart and inventive. If you have the courage to delve in, you won’t be disappointed. And if you can’t bring yourself to start with Quicksilver, System includes a preface relating “the story thus far” that reviewers found helpful enough.

Cooper Ramo is Managing Director and a partner at Kissinger Associates, one of the world's leading strategic advisory firms. Prior to joining Kissinger Associates, he was Assistant Managing Editor of Time and worked in the advisory and banking business in China.

From the woman who has reported on every president from Kennedy to Clinton comes a privileged glimpse into the White House -- and a telling record of the ever-changing relationship between the presidency and the press. Helen Thomas wanted to be a reporter from her earliest years. She turned a copy-aide job at the Washington Daily News into a powerful and successful career spanning thirty-seven years and eight U.S. presidents. Assigned to the White House press corps in 1961. Thomas was the first woman to close a press conference with "Thank you. Mr. President." She was also the first female president of the White House Correspondents Association and the first woman member, later president, of the Gridiron Club. In this revealing memoir, which includes hundreds of anecdotes, observations, and personal details. Thomas looks back on a career spent with presidents at home and abroad, on the ground and in the air. Providing a unique view of the past four decades of presidential history. Front Row at the W

Based on over five years of research, Inside Al Qaeda provides the definitive story behind the rise of this small, mysterious group to the notorious organization making headlines today.