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 .

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.

Describes and assesses the activities of the National SecurityAgency, the nation's most secret government agency--established insecrecy, many times larger than the CIA, and in control of a hugebudget and a vast technology.

ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay's brilliant andcontroversial collection of essays and articles that define andexplain the ideals upon which the United States of America wasfounded. EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: ? A concise introduction that gives readers important backgroundinformation ? A chronology of the author's life and work ? A timeline of significant events that provides the book'shistorical context ? An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers formtheir own interpretations ? Detailed explanatory notes ? Critical analysis, including contemporary and modernperspectives on the work ? Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and bookgroup interaction ? A list of recommended related books and films to broaden thereader's experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great worksof literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary.The scholarship provided in En

John McCain is one of the most admired leaders in the UnitedStates government, but his deeply felt memoir of family and war isnot a political one and ends before his election to Congress. Withcandor and ennobling power, McCain tells a story that, in the wordsof Newsweek, "makes the other presidential candidates look likepygmies." John McCain learned about life and honor from his grandfather andfather, both four-star admirals in the U.S. Navy. This is a memoirabout their lives, their heroism, and the ways that sons are shapedand enriched by their fathers. John McCain's grandfather was a gaunt, hawk-faced man known asSlew by his fellow officers and, affectionately, as Popeye by thesailors who served under him. McCain Sr. played the horses, drankbourbon and water, and rolled his own cigarettes with one hand.More significant, he was one of the navy's greatest commanders, andled the strongest aircraft carrier force of the Third Fleet in keybattles during World War II.

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

A fresh, controversial, brilliantly written account of one ofthe epic dramas of the Cold War-and its lessons for today. "History at its best." -Zbigniew Brzezinski "Gripping, well researched, and thought-provoking, with manylessons for today." -Henry Kissinger "Captures the drama [with] the 'You are there' storytellingskills of a journalist and the analytical skills of the politicalscientist." - General Brent Scowcroft In June 1961, Nikita Khrushchev called it "the most dangerousplace on earth." He knew what he was talking about. Much has been written about the Cuban Missile Crisis a yearlater, but the Berlin Crisis of 1961 was more decisive in shapingthe Cold War-and more perilous. For the first time in history,American and Soviet fighting men and tanks stood arrayed againsteach other, only yards apart. One mistake, one overzealouscommander-and the trip wire would be sprung for a war that would gonuclear in a heartbeat. On one side was a young, untested U.S.president stil

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，

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."

“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

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.

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

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

“Nearly forty years after I first got involved, I remaincaptivated by the possibilities of politics and public service. Infact, I believe that my chosen profession is a noble calling.That’s why I wanted to be a part of it.” –Joe Biden As a United States senator from Delaware since 1973, Joe Biden hasbeen an intimate witness to the major events of the past fourdecades and a relentless actor in trying to shape recent Americanhistory. He has seen up close the tragic mistake of the VietnamWar, the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals, the fall of the BerlinWall, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of theSoviet Union, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a presidentialimpeachment, a presidential resignation, and a presidentialelection decided by the Supreme Court. He’s observed Nixon, Ford,Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and two Bushes wrestling with thepresidency; he’s traveled to war zones in Europe, the Middle East,and Africa and seen firsthand the devastation of genocide. Heplayed a vital role

The "dean of Cold War historians" ( The New York Times )now presents the definitive account of the global confrontationthat dominated the last half of the twentieth century. Drawing onnewly opened archives and the reminiscences of the major players,John Lewis Gaddis explains not just what happened but why —from the months in 1945 when the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.went from alliance to antagonism to the barely averted holocaust ofthe Cuban Missile Crisis to the maneuvers of Nixon and Mao, Reaganand Gorbachev. Brilliant, accessible, almost Shakespearean in itsdrama, The Cold War stands as a triumphant summation of theera that, more than any other, shaped our own.

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.

In this riveting collection, published for the first time,we follow Harry S. Truman and Dean Acheson, two giants of thepost–World War II period, as they move from an officialrelationship to one of candor, humor, and personal expression.Together they were primarily responsible for the Marshall Plan andNATO, among other world-shaping initiatives. And in these letters,spanning the years from when both were newly out of office untilAcheson’s death at the age of seventy-eight, we find them sharingthe often surprising and always illuminating opinions, ideas, andfeelings that the strictures of their offices had previously keptthem from revealing. Adapting easily to their private lives, they nonetheless felt apowerful need to keep in touch as they viewed with dismay what theyconsidered to be the Eisenhower administration’s fumbling offoreign affairs, the impact of Joseph McCarthy, John FosterDulles’s foreign policy, and the threat of massive nuclearretaliation. Adlai Stevenson’s poor campaign o

Uranium occurs naturally in theearth s crust-yet holds the power to end all life on theplanet. This is its fundamental paradox, and its story is afascinating window into the valor, greed, genius, and folly ofhumanity. A problem for miners in the Middle Ages, an inspirationto novelists and a boon to medicine, a devastat?ing weapon at theend of World War II, and eventually a polluter, killer, excuse forwar with Iraq, potential deliverer of Armageddon and a possiblelast defense against global warming- Uranium is the rivetingstory of the most powerful element on earth, and one which willshape our future, for better or worse.

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

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.

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