During the civil rights movement, epic battles for justicewere fought in the streets, at lunch counters, and in theclassrooms of the American South. Just as many battles were waged,however, in the hearts and minds of ordinary white southernerswhose world became unrecognizable to them. Jason Sokol’s vivid andunprecedented account of white southerners’ attitudes and actions,related in their own words, reveals in a new light thecontradictory mixture of stubborn resistance and pragmaticacceptance–as well as the startling and unexpected personaltransformations–with which they greeted the enforcement of legalequality.

Your high-school history teachers never gave you a book likethis one! Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features outrageousand uncensored profiles of the men in the White House, completewith hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downrightwacko facts. You'll discover that George Washington spent a whopping 7 percent of his salary onbooze John Quincy Adams loved to skinny-dip in the Potomac River Warren G. Harding gambled with White House china when he ran lowon cash Jimmy Carter reported a UFO sighting in Georgia And Richard Nixon sheesh, don't get us started on Nixon! Now with a new chapter on the winner of the 2008 presidentialelection, Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents tackles all the toughquestions that other history books are afraid to answer: Are therereally secret tunnels underneath the White House? Whichpresidential daughter bared everything for Playboy? And what wasNancy Reagan thinking when she appeared on Diff'rent Strokes?American histor

For more than a half-century, Israel has been forced to defendits existence against international political disapproval, racistcalumny, and violence visited upon its citizens by terrorists ofmany stripes. While nations have always been made to defend theirmoral, political, economic, or social actions, Israel has theunique plight of having to defend its very right to exist. Covering Israel's struggle for existence from the Britishoccupation and the UN’s partition of Palestine, to the dashed hopesof the Oslo Accords and the second intifada, Yaacov Lozowick trainsan enlightening, forthright eye on Israel’s strengths and failures.A lifelong liberal and peace activist, he explores Israel’snational and regional political, social, and moral obligations aswell as its right to secure its borders and repel attacks bothphilosophical and military. Combining rich historical perspectiveand passionate conviction, Right to Exist sets forth theagenda of a people and a nation, and elegantly articulates Isra

(Presidio Books) A pocket-sized guide to being a good leader,for non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Discusses US Army values in'user-friendly' terms, from the perspective of a former member ofthe NCO core. Introduces three different types of leadership stylesfor 3-meter, 50-meter, and 100-meter soldiers. Softcover. DLC:United States Army--Non commissioned officers' handbooks.

America's endless fascination with Camelot has enshrinedcountess pictures of Jack and Jackie Kennedy, Caroline andJohn-John in our national iconography, but few books have focusedon their instinctive grasp of the media's visual magic. Now, in avolume that combines arresting photography and perceptive analysis,Camelot insiders and media experts tell the whole story of the"love affair" between the Kennedys and the camera—a far morecomplex and sophisticated relationship than we often suppose. The Kennedy Mystique looks behind and beyond what first meets theeye, reminding readers that JFK and Jackie recognized and used themedia's power, and encouraged photographers to capture privatemoments as well as public events. Unique commentaries from Kennedyintimates and observers like Letitia Baldridge, Hugh Sidey andRobert Dallek provide rare perspective on the photographs ashistorical records, as image-management, and as symbols. Readerslearn, for instance, that the heartwarming shots of Jack laughingwith

A blistering journalistic exposé: an account of governmentnegligence, corporate malfeasance, familial struggle, drugs,politics, murder, and a daring rescue operation in the Colombianjungle. On July 2, 2008, when three American private contractors andColombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt were rescuedafter being held for more than five years by the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the world was captivated by theirpersonal narratives. But between the headlines a major story waslost: Who exactly are the FARC? How had a drug-funded revolutionaryarmy managed to hold so many hostages for so long? Had our costlyWar on Drugs failed completely? Hostage Nation answers thesequestions by exploring the complex and corrupt political andsocioeconomic situations that enabled the FARC to gainunprecedented strength, influence, and impunity. It takes us behindthe news stories to profile a young revolutionary in the making, anelite Colombian banker-turned-guerrilla and the hard-drivenAmeric

Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese have been published in The New York Times , The WallStreet Journal , The Village Voice , Wired , Discover , and other national publications. D’Agnese’s workhas twice been included in the anthology “Best American ScienceWriting.” Both are winners of Educational Press Association awards.They live in North Carolina.

Sweet Land of Liberty is Thomas J. Sugrue’s epicaccount of the abiding quest for racial equality in states fromIllinois to New York, and of how the intense northern strugglediffered from and was inspired by the fight down South. Sugrue’spanoramic view sweeps from the 1920s to the present–more thaneighty of the most decisive years in American history. He uncoversthe forgotten stories of battles to open up lunch counters,beaches, and movie theaters in the North; the untold history ofstruggles against Jim Crow schools in northern towns; the dramaticstory of racial conflict in northern cities and suburbs; and thelong and tangled histories of integration and black power. Filledwith unforgettable characters and riveting incidents, and makinguse of information and accounts both public and private, such asthe writings of obscure African American journalists and therecords of civil rights and black power groups, Sweet Land ofLiberty creates an indelible history.

Voices in Our Blood is a literary anthology of the mostimportant and artful interpretations of the civil rights movement,past and present. It showcases what forty of the nation's bestwriters — including Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison,William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Alice Walker, Robert Penn Warren,Eudora Welty, and Richard Wright — had to say about the centraldomestic drama of the American Century. Editor Jon Meacham has chosen pieces by journalists, novelists,historians, and artists, bringing together a wide range of blackand white perspectives and experiences. The result is anunprecedented and powerful portrait of the movement's spirit andstruggle, told through voices that resonate with passion andstrength. Maya Angelou takes us on a poignant journey back to her childhoodin the Arkansas of the 1930s. On the front page of The New YorkTimes , James Reston marks the movement's apex as he describes whatit was like to watch Martin Luther King, Jr., deliver his heralded"I Hav

Following on the success of their recent collaboration DearMr. President, Dwight Young and Margaret Johnson join forces onceagain to produce this charming collection of correspondence to andfrom First Ladies during their time in office. A wonderful giftbook for any American, Dear First Lady reminds us that ours is agreat government "of the people, by the people, and for thepeople," which entitles us to make our views known to our leaders.Although some of these missives were written by the famous or theinfamous, most are from ordinary Americans who wished to connectwith their First Lady. Amusing, appealling, heartbreaking, andheartwarming, the letters appear as full-size facsimiles whereverpossible so readers can see for themselves the substance and styleof these intriguing exchanges. Dwight Young annotates each letter with biographical andhistorical stories that illuminate the context and provide broaderinsights into the public and private lives of presidents’ wives.Richly illustrated with arch

An official in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and both Bushadministrations, Peter W. Rodman draws on his firsthand knowledgeof the Oval Office to explore the foreign-policy leadership ofevery president from Nixon to George W. Bush. This riveting andinformative book about the inner workings of our government is richwith anecdotes and fly-on-the-wall portraits of presidents andtheir closest advisors. It is essential reading for historians,political junkies, and for anyone in charge of managing a largeorganization.