Biography: adventurers and explorers Books

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Alasdair MacIntyre is one of the most influential and widely read moral philosophers of the last three or four decades. This remarkably erudite and comprehensive book is an indispensable guide for anyone who has a serious interest in twentieth-century moral and political philosophy.” —Richard Kraut, author of The Quality of Life“The book is a sympathetic treatment of the ideas that have consistently run through MacIntyre’s complicated career, but it doesn’t hesitate to pose to MacIntyre tough-minded intellectual challenges. It is a genuine philosophical dialogue between two serious thinkers.” —Ronald Beiner, author of Dangerous Minds"Provides a penetrating overview of the ideas of 20th-century moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. . . . Perreau-Saussine proves a talented historian of ideas, cogently elucidating how such diverse traditions as Marxism, Catholicism, and Aristotelianism come together in MacIntyre’s writings." —Publishers Weekly"[The book's] treatment of MacIntyre’s religious struggles and his journey to the Catholic Church is perhaps its strongest part and will be a revelation to anyone accustomed to a more narrowly philosophical approach to MacIntyre’s ideas." —Current"MacIntyre stands in the modern intellectual landscape as one of tradition’s great champions, but he was never a particularly happy warrior, even though he had a great deal to say about what makes men happy. Anyone who is intrigued by these puzzles will find this book of considerable interest." —Law & Liberty"Alasdair MacIntyre: An Intellectual Biography by Émile Perreau-Saussine seeks to defend the Scottish philosopher’s standing as one of the most profound theorists of capitalist modernity on either side of the Atlantic. . . . [A]long the way we do learn a great deal about MacIntyre’s life and how it informed his unique blend of Marxist-Catholic Scholasticism." —Jacobin"Alasdair MacIntyre is a moral philosopher of the first rank. . . . May our contemporaries be receptive to the wisdom and moderation that informs this splendid and timely book." —Claremont Review of Books"On the whole, this is a[n] . . . insightful essay in intellectual history. Or rather, it is three essays, dealing respectively with MacIntyre’s politics, philosophy, and theology. The first covers MacIntyre’s early involvement with the British New Left. . . . A second chapter deals with the philosophy of action and ethics. . . . A last chapter, on theology, sees Perreau-Saussine return to safer ground." —First Things"Perreau-Saussine makes a valuable contribution for those looking to understand the context and nature of Alasdair MacIntyre’s thought. He strikes a balance by pulling together biographical details, intellectual influences, and a variety of publications to craft a portrait of one of the twentieth century’s most influential philosophers." —The University Bookman"[F]or those who would like to consider the merits and demerits of liberal democracy in a judicious way, Émile Perreau-Saussine’s critical study of one of antiliberalism’s éminence grise is now available. It is both a specimen and a model of the sort of political philosophizing sorely needed in our trying times." —Law & Liberty“Alasdair MacIntyre: An Intellectual Biography, by the philosopher Émile Perreau-Saussine, is less an academic study than an essay on MacIntyrean themes. . . It’s engaging and accessible.” —The Nation"The real value of Perreau-Saussine’s biography lies less in its exposition of MacIntyre’s intellectual development than in its extended clarification of what is at stake in the questions MacIntyre explores. . . . For Perreau-Saussine, political progress will come when we better navigate these tensions within the liberal order, not when we seek to resolve them entirely outside it. Whether his eminent case proves his point is worth our careful reflection." —The Hedgehog Review"In this book, Perreau-Saussine traces the complex intellectual development of Scottish American philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre (b. 1924) with a view to showing the underlying unity of his life’s work. ...Recommended." —Choice“Émile Perreau-Saussine has produced an interesting and provocative interpretation of Alasdair MacIntyre and Nathan Pinkoski’s translation has provided the English-speaking world access to the work....Any university library with a serious politics, philosophy, or theology program should procure a copy.” —The American Journal of Jurisprudence"The scholarship behind the book—the volume of Anglophone philosophy Perreau-Saussine had to absorb, inside and outside MacIntyre’s corpus—is hugely impressive. And we owe Pinkoski a debt for doing the unglamorous kind of work Perreau-Saussine himself did first." —CommonwealTable of ContentsPreface by Pierre Manent Introduction 1. Politics 2. Philosophy 3. Theology Epilogue

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Book SynopsisA brilliant, semiautobiographical satirical novel from one of the foremost figures in twentieth-century Polish literature, now in a new English translationTrade Review“Having this book in my hands, I felt a joy at the thought that strong personalities, like that of Gombrowicz, sooner or later find recognition thanks to the sheer intensity of their existence.”—Czeslaw Milosz, New York Times “If ever a life demanded a diary, this was one.”—Paul West, Washington Post “A heroic translation . . . English-speaking readers can finally experience the diary as Gombrowicz intended it—as a single, coherent work . . . his major creative endeavor.” —Ruth Franklin, New Yorker “A genuinely astonishing masterwork that is bound to last.”—Eva Hoffman, The New York Times Book Review ‘Since 2000, Danuta Borchardt has been engaged with translating the four novels of Witold Gombrowicz published in his lifetime, and the process is now complete with Trans-Atlantyk. These masterly translations at last provide a satisfying, coherent survey of the author many consider to be among Polish literature’s most untranslatable stylists. . .While Borchardt brings a domesticating tendency, smoothing a few purposefully rough edges, her limpid prose is worth it. Gombrowicz’s arch humour now punches even harder.’—Scott Esposito, Times Literary Supplement “[A] masterpiece of European modernism. . . . Susan Sontag ushers this new translation into print with a strong and useful foreword, calling Gombrowicz’s tale ‘extravagant, brilliant, disturbing, brave, funny . . . wonderful.’ And it is.”—Publishers Weekly “Widely considered the Polish author’s masterpiece . . . the Diary lacks for nothing: history, politics, philosophy, literature, art, music, love, death, humor, communism, Poland, Europe, writing—everything is there.”—Paris Review Daily Longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize: For a book-length translation of prose into English published in 2014, given by PEN American Center. “Ferdydurke, among its centrifugal charms, includes some of the truest and funniest literary satire in print.”—John UpdikeLonglisted for the PEN Translation Prize : For a book-length translation of prose into English published in 2014, given by PEN American Center. -- Translation Prize * PEN American Center *

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Book SynopsisLise Meitner (1878-1968) was a pioneer of nuclear physics and co-discoverer, with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, of nuclear fission. This book tells the story of this brilliant woman whose extraordinary life illustrates not only the dramatic scientific progress but also the injustice and destruction that have marked the twentieth century.Trade Review"Sime has produced a magnificent biography that should help rescue Meitner from oblivion. . . . The story, especially in the lead-up to the discovery of fission by Hahn, Meitner, and Strassman, is absolutely gripping, full of twists and false dawns." * New Scientist *"The characters include the whole pantheon of European physicists. The several story lines of Meitner's life are carefully and smoothly interwoven, and once the war starts, the plot becomes breathtaking. . . . Meitner's story is moving, and the book is clearly a labor of love. Such labors are worth attending." * New York Times *"Sime has produced a thorough and intelligent treatment of an extraordinary scientist who received little of the credit she is due." * Library Journal *"An extraordinary and rewarding read. Sime has written the definitive biography of Lise Meitner and much more." * Physics and Society *"Sime provides an insider's account of the discovery of fission and the treatment of Jewish intellectuals and scientists during the rise of Nazi Germany. Her insights into the distortion of reality and memory help to explain why this extremely talented and significant contributor to atomic physics has been neglected." * CHOICE *"The story told by Sime is a powerful one. She not only explains how scientists went about their work in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century but how they came to grips with the tragedies of those years." * American Historical Review *"Sime is to be applauded for bringing to life the story of a brilliant physicist whose contributions to science and personal integrity were unparalleled." * San Francisco Chronicle *"Sime has infused the writing with a passion that is both refreshing and exhilarating. This is a book that deserves to be widely read and deliberated. Its significance exceeds the boundaries of the history of nuclear physics and chemistry." * Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences *"A moving, artfully detailed biography that should reestablish Lise Meitner among the greats. Sime maintains that elusive balance between scientific exposition, personal insight and political and cultural analysis that good scientific biographers strive for but seldom attain." * The Sciences *"Sime has written the definitive scientific biography of Meiter, a riveting and masterful account of a scientist's steadfast devotion to physics. Sime blends the science and history with seamless ease. Sime's extensive research offers fresh insights into the devastating legacy of Nazism's distortion of the scientific truth." * Washington Post *"Sime has constructed here an admirable restorative of scientific credit." * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Readable and entertaining. . . . De Wolk not only introduces a much more believable Stanford, warts and all, but also does a great job of showing how his legacy and reputation was managed, massaged and sanitized after his death." * True West *"American Disruptor provides a dense but swift-moving primer on Stanford’s rise from tavern owner’s son to tycoon." * Stanford Magazine *"The original tech bro? Leland Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University, emerges as a spiritual forefather of Silicon Valley-style monopolism, exploitation and conflicts of interest in this dramatic new biography by Bay Area journalism professor Roland De Wolk." * KQED Arts *"A superb new account of Stanford’s 'preposterous career and life.'" * Berkeleyside *"Stanford was an uneducated anti-intellectual, yet defined himself as “a technologist” and wanted Stanford University to thrive as a trade school. He played a major role in vaulting America into peak ascendancy, yet had few qualms bilking taxpayers out of millions of dollars in the process (before going on to be a U.S. Senator). And those are just a few of the threads that De Wolk pulls to weave an engaging and highly relevant portrait of a profoundly influential, turbulent and, yes—“scandalous” life." * Six Fifty *"Stanford’s warts have long been on display, and De Wolk doesn’t avoid them, but the details the author has unearthed reveal a far more complex figure, one who clearly loved his wife and son. The author sums him up as an ordinary man who found himself in extraordinary circumstances and contends that history 'shows that the business Stanford pioneered was the foundation not only for Silicon Valley but also for the modern corporation itself.'" * HistoryNet *"Vivid prose and a strong narrative drive." * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *"American Disruptor penetrates the thicket of hagiography surrounding Leland Stanford." * New York Review of Books *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Prologue: Fell Redemption 1. Start-Up 2. Everything Ventured 3. Crossing 4. The Gold under the Mountain 5. Ditching and Hitching 6. “The Road Must Be Built” 7. “Egyptian Kings and Dynasties Shall Be Forgotten” 8. Dungeons and Depredations 9. Living Up to the Landscape 10. Command and Control 11. “The Machine of Steam on the Road of Iron” 12. Unmasked 13. Gone Dark 14. Ingeniously Contrived Devices 15. Deposed 16. The Fundamental Standard 17. Sex and Socialism 18. “God Forgive Me My Sins. Am I Prepared to Meet My Dear Ones?” Requiem: American Disruptor Notes Bibliographical Note Bibliography Index About the Author Illustrations

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Book SynopsisRuth Bader Ginsburg's last book is a curation of her own legacy, tracing the long history of her work for gender equality and a more perfect Union. In the fall of 2019, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg visited the University of California, Berkeley School of Law to deliver the first annual Herma Hill Kay Memorial Lecture in honor of her friend, the late Herma Hill Kay, with whom Ginsburg had coauthored the very first casebook on sex-based discrimination in 1974. Justice, Justice Thou ShaltPursue is the result of a period of collaboration between Ginsburg and Amanda L. Tyler, a Berkeley Law professor and former Ginsburg law clerk. During Justice Ginsburg's visit to Berkeley, she told her life story inconversation with Tyler. In this collection, the two bring together that conversation and other materialsmany previously unpublishedthat share details from Justice Ginsburg's family life and long career. These include notable briefs and oral arguments, some of Ginsburg's last speeches, and her favorite opinions that she wrote as a Supreme Court Justice (many in dissent), along with the statements that she read from the bench in those important cases. Each document was chosen by Ginsburg and Tyler to tell the story of the litigation strategy and optimistic vision that were at the heart of Ginsburg's unwavering commitment to the achievement of a more perfect Union. In a decades-long career, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an advocate and jurist for gender equality and for ensuring that the United States Constitution leaves no person behind. Her work transformed not just the American legal landscape, but American society more generally. Ginsburg labored tirelessly to promote a Constitution that is ever more inclusive and that allows every individual to achieve their full human potential. As revealed in these pages, in the area of gender rights, Ginsburg dismantled long-entrenched systems of discrimination based on outdated stereotypes by showing how such laws hold back both genders. And as also shown in the materials brought together here, Justice Ginsburg had a special ability to appreciate how the decisions of the high court impact the lived experiences of everyday Americans. The passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020as this book was heading into production was met with a public outpouring of grief. With her death, the country lost a hero and national treasure whose incredible life and legacy made the United States a more just society and one in which We the People, for whom the Constitution is written, includes everyone.Trade Review"Even if you've read Ginsburg's memoir or seen the biopic On the Basis of Sex, this book will offer new insight into her storied career—and its lingering impact on the American legal system. . . . As Ginsburg said, 'Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.' We'll be joining her, once again, in the pages of this book." * O, The Oprah Magazine *"Anyone needing more reasons to admire Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) will find them in this inspiring collection of speeches (all previously unpublished), briefs, oral arguments, dissenting opinions, and a candid conversation with Tyler, a professor at the Berkeley School of Law who served as Ginsburg’s law clerk during the 1999 term. . . . An informative perspective on a tireless advocate for fairness and equity." * Kirkus Reviews *“Because each of Ginsburg’s words is so meaningful, this volume feels like a final gift. . . . Ginsburg inscribed herself into American history with the shining conviction of her vision of a more perfect union, expressed in her powerfully and deliberately chosen words. Working until the very end, she was determined to leave us this final anthology, and all of her words are significant.” -- Jeffrey Rosen, * Washington Post *Table of ContentsPreface: Amanda L. Tyler Acknowledgments Introduction: Amanda L. Tyler Herma Hill Kay Memorial Lecture Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Advocate Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Recent Speeches Afterword: Amanda L. Tyler Timeline: The Life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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Book SynopsisFact is torn from fiction in this first biography of Mexico's famous independence heroine, which also traces her subsequent journey from history to myth. María Ignacia Rodríguez de Velasco y Osorio Barba (17781850) is an iconic figure in Mexican history. Known by the nickname La Güera Rodríguez because she was so fair, she is said to have possessed a remarkably sharp wit, a face fit for statuary, and a penchant for defying the status quo. Charming influential figures such as Simon Bolívar, Alexander von Humboldt, and Agustín de Iturbide, she utilized gold and guile in equal measure to support the independence movementor so the stories say. In La Güera Rodríguez, Silvia Marina Arrom approaches the legends of Rodríguez de Velasco with a keen eye, seeking to disentangle the woman from the myth. Arrom uses a wide array of primary sources from the period to piece together an intimate portrait of this remarkable woman, followed by a review of her evolving representation in Mexican artTrade Review"The charm and the impact of this brilliant study owe, in part, to the reader’s cool distance from the fiery fiction of writers who stoked embers in the dry archives of la Güera’s life. We know more than they did. But along with knowing, we experience another level of enjoyment in Arrom’s book. It is the exposure to fiction and fantasy. Silvia Arrom manages to give us both pleasures, the hot and the cold." * ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America *"This book will fascinate readers. . . .[it turns] a life into a literary tale." * Hispanic American Historical Review *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Part One The Life 1. La Güera as a Young Woman, 1778–1808 2. La Güera on Her Own, 1808–1820 3. Independence Heroine? 4. An Aristocratic Lady, 1825–1850 Part Two The Afterlife 5. The First Hundred Years after Her Death 6. The Legend Crystallized in Valle-Arizpe's La Güera Rodríguez, 1949 7. La Güera after Valle-Arizpe: The Power of Fiction Conclusion Appendix A. Chronology of a Life Appendix B. Genealogy Glossary Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAlexis de Tocqueville famously wrote about democracy in America, but he also lauded Catholic society in Quebec, feared the nationalism he saw in Germany, and controversially defended French colonization of Algeria. Jeremy Jennings traces Tocqueville's lesser-known travels, recovering the wider insights of one of history's great political thinkers.Trade ReviewIn a magisterial biography, [Jennings] retraces the footsteps of Tocqueville, not just across America, but on his other foreign excursions—always with a notebook in hand and driven by a voracious intellectual curiosity…A highly readable introduction to the work of one of the 19th century’s most insightful political theorists, as well as a persuasive defence of his ideas. -- Toby Young * The Spectator *Jennings proves a splendid guide to Tocqueville’s travels…Tocqueville’s was, Beaumont wrote, ‘a great intelligence united with a noble heart.’ This same Tocqueville comes through in…Travels With Tocqueville—a man of moral seriousness, who combined subtlety with common sense, an original thinker both whom and about whom one cannot read too often or too much. -- Joseph Epstein * Wall Street Journal *Jennings offers a sweeping account of the nineteenth-century French aristocrat. Through a thorough examination of Alexis de Tocqueville’s personal correspondence, the author has produced a biography not only of the man in question, but also of his close friend and fellow political scientist Gustave de Beaumont. Their stories are intertwined and, in Jennings’s eyes, an understanding of their relationship is integral to understanding Tocqueville’s work…Jennings excels in his treatment of the relationship between Tocqueville and Beaumont. -- Oliver-James Campbell * Times Literary Supplement *Composed in an unvarnished but attractive style, alive to scholarly controversy but not mired in it, respectful of the reader’s intellect, and profoundly knowledgeable about its subject matter…Jennings’s book successfully reframes one of modernity’s most worked-over European writers and offers an elegant introduction to the mind-melting complexity of the international interactions that reshaped the nineteenth-century world. -- Alex Middleton * The Critic *Tocqueville, an aristocrat at heart—despite his serious liberal commitments—who liked to associate with people in similar positions and was influenced by them, nonetheless appears in Jennings’ portrait as a discerning tourist…Americans, he perceived, shared an implicit belief in human perfectibility…This kind of observation is what makes Tocqueville such a rewarding author to read. -- Nick Burns * New Statesman *Travels with Tocqueville Beyond America invites reflection…on what it is to travel and theorize a ‘new political science for a world altogether new.’ By implication, Jennings also invites reflection on the significance of home and our points of departure, on our loves of the new and of the old, and on the quest for rest in a restless, rapidly shifting world. -- Sarah Gustafson * Law & Liberty *Jennings has given us nuance against the cliché of Tocqueville; he has given us the process and the dynamics—not just the results and expected outcomes. Jennings is not just interested in ‘the man who understood democracy’…Instead, Jennings has given us more: the man who also questioned democracy and the democratic process. -- Andreas Hess * Society *[As] Jennings illustrates in his new book, not only were Tocqueville’s extensive wanderings remarkable for their variety and length. He looked at cities ranging from Manchester to Quebec City and countries as different as Ireland and Switzerland through an uncommon lens…Without his penchant for travel, Tocqueville would not have been the figure whose ideas continue to fascinate and stimulate. -- Samuel Gregg * Engelsberg Ideas *A superb study of the distinctive character of Tocqueville’s mind. Few scholars are as well equipped as Jennings to offer such penetrating insights into the origins of Tocqueville’s comparative method of political analysis. -- Arthur Goldhammer, translator of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and The Ancien Régime and the French RevolutionThis is intellectual biography at its best. Following Tocqueville on his many travels, and drawing extensively on his letters and journals, Jennings offers an erudite and riveting new portrait of the great liberal thinker whose influence is still keenly felt on both sides of the Atlantic. -- Ruth Scurr, author of Napoleon: A Life Told in Gardens and ShadowsGuiding us along Tocqueville’s paths through North America, Europe, and North Africa, Jennings deftly analyzes his abundant and meticulous notes on each place that he visited. At every turn, this book considerably enriches our understanding of Tocqueville’s democracy as inherently comparative. -- Olivier Zunz, author of The Man Who Understood Democracy: The Life of Alexis de TocquevilleThis is what many of us have waited for: a readable and engaging account of Tocqueville’s myriad travels and their impact on his intellectual development. Written by one of the leading experts on French political thought, it is at once impeccably researched, insightful, and thought-provoking. In short, a brilliant book. -- Helena Rosenblatt, author of The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century

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Book SynopsisVolume 18 of the Papers of John Adams chronicles John Adams' tenure as minister to Great Britain and his joint commission, with Jefferson, to negotiate treaties with Europe and North Africa. Adams found it impossible to do any Thing Satisfactory with Britain, and the volume ends with his decision to resign his posts.

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Book SynopsisLike a saint's relics, Dante's bones have been stolen, exhumed, and worshiped. Guy Raffa narrates the Florentine poet's hereafterthe physical afterlife of the writer who vividly imagined the spiritual afterlife. In the story of the bones lies the tale of Dante's evolution from Renaissance to Italian to nationalist hero, and finally global icon.Trade ReviewDante Alighieri changed literature forever by reimagining the afterlife, and Dante’s Bones now captures Dante’s afterlife in a way that has never been done. Adeptly guiding us through medieval politics as well as modern science, Guy Raffa achieves the elusive accomplishment of vividly bringing Dante to life through his death. -- Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante ClubDante’s Bones is at once a vivid retelling of Dante’s fortunes in the centuries following his death and an important work of historical scholarship. Guy Raffa’s deft prose illuminates the enduring contest over the great poet’s mortal remains, providing a remarkable instance—by turns comical, deadly serious, and always captivating—of the appropriation of literary genius for political and cultural purposes. -- Albert Ascoli, author of Dante and the Making of a Modern AuthorDante’s Bones is an enormous gift to readers and scholars of the poet and Italian history. With intensive scholarship in a wide variety of fields as his loom, Raffa has woven a fascinating tapestry out of 700 years of guarding, stealing, hiding, maintaining, studying, celebrating, debating, and claiming the material form and symbolic meaning of Dante’s remains. -- Arielle Saiber, author of Measured WordsRaffa tells the remarkable story of Dante’s afterlife, by turns grotesque, lively and farcical, as the loss and recovery of his bones intertwines with the tempestuous fate of Italy. -- Barbara Newman * London Review of Books *In fiction and in fact, Dante Alighieri has been influencing the world order for centuries. Just how he’s achieved global-icon stature is the subject of Guy P. Raffa’s fascinating, comprehensive new book. -- Jenny McPhee * Air Mail *Fascinating…In tracing the history of Dante’s bones, Raffa also provides an illuminating exploration of Italian nationalism and political thought. * Publishers Weekly *Pulling together many threads of Dante's story, Raffa offers an engaging, informative, and original account of the material culture of the poet’s epic body of work. Highly recommended. * Library Journal *Learned, literate, and quite entertaining…Raffa’s tale touches on art and architecture, forensic science, war, public spectacle, political machination, literary trends, body snatching, air raids, and more…An excellent book for anyone with an interest in Dante, the arc of Italian history, or merely an historical adventure well told. * StrategyPage *An intensively researched, gripping story of Dante’s lively bones that also tells a brisk history of modern Italy. Raffa keeps a detached historian’s eye on how Italian political figures used Dante to justify their own vision of the nation, the race, and the culture…Fascinating. -- Kelly Scott Franklin * Law and Liberty *Details the path that Dante’s remains trod in his physical afterlife, from the time of his death to the present, and of the people who wanted a piece of him for themselves…Has the marks of a detective story. -- John M. DeJak * Chronicles *Meeting the challenge of invigorating historical events with whodunit tones of intrigue, Guy P. Raffa’s Dante’s Bones delivers a fairly adventurous tale. -- Patrick James Dunagan * Rain Taxi *As Guy Raffa charts in his beautiful book Dante’s Bones, Dante’s corporeal afterlife is its own story. -- Candida Moss * Daily Beast *A fascinating narrative of translation (literal), cultural appropriation, and myth making. Dante becomes a humanist ideal, a nineteenth-century prophet, and hence father for Italy, and abstraction to which all political persuasions have sought to harness themselves. The actual travails of Dante’s remains also make for fascinating reading. -- Daragh O’Connell * Annali d’Italianistica *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A richly illuminating study … [and] a timely meditation on the vicissitudes of abstract, purist ideals under the pressure of savage real-world events.”—George Prochnik, New York Times Book Review“A thorough and fascinating chronicle.”—Brendan Simms, Wall Street Journal“[A] finely grained portrait.”—Robert E. Norton, Times Literary Supplement“[Robert Lerner] sets Kantorowicz in the context of his time, uniting heroic archival research, including numerous interviews with Kantorowicz's associates and friends, with discerning judgments to trace his remarkable odyssey. The result is a valuable contribution to modern European and American intellectual history.”—Jacob Heilbrunn, National Interest“Lerner’s biography is worthy of great praise, and it is very unlikely that it will ever be superseded.”—Walter Laqueur, Jewish Review of Books

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of The Australian Review’s 2017 Books of the Year""One of The Guardian’s Best Books of 2017""Selected for Bloomberg View’s “Must-Reads of 2017: From Space to Chinese Noir”""One of Project Syndicate’s Best Reads in 2017 (chosen by Kaushik Basu)""Shortlisted for the 2018 Ralph Waldo Emerson Award, Phi Beta Kappa Society"

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Book SynopsisBased on a decade of research, including in-depth interviews with many leading figures in the story, this edition is essential for anyone who wants to understand the roots of the turmoil engulfing the Middle East, from civil wars to the rise of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.Trade Review"A fascinating and deeply researched revisionist history."—Shadi Hamid, Foreign Affairs"An important work of journalism as well as history."—Richard Spencer, The Times"[Gerges] writes with brilliant insight."—Steve Donoghue, The National"Accessible and refreshing."—Gareth Smyth, Arab Weekly"[A] sweeping and powerful new book.... [A] solid, clearly written work of scholarship by a talented and experienced historian of the Middle East. . . . [A]n important contribution."—John Calvert, Middle East Journal

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive intellectual biography of the Enlightenment philosopherIn George Berkeley: A Philosophical Life, Tom Jones provides a comprehensive account of the life and work of the preeminent Irish philosopher of the Enlightenment. From his early brilliance as a student and fellow at Trinity College Dublin to his later years as Bishop of Cloyne, Berkeley brought his searching and powerful intellect to bear on the full range of eighteenth-century thought and experience. Jones brings vividly to life the complexities and contradictions of Berkeley's life and ideas. He advanced a radical immaterialism, holding that the only reality was minds, their thoughts, and their perceptions, without any physical substance underlying them. But he put forward this counterintuitive philosophy in support of the existence and ultimate sovereignty of God. Berkeley was an energetic social reformer, deeply interested in educational and economic improvement, including for the indigenous peoples of North

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A bright, engaging, reliable introduction to Hume’s life and work."---Kieran Setiya, Los Angeles Review of Books"Baggini’s intertwining of philosophy with biography is masterly."---Jane O’Grady, Literary Review"Baggini knows his subject thoroughly, explains his work in clear prose and adds biographical detail which is as illuminating as it is interesting."---Alan Dent, The Penniless Press"I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Julian Baggini’s The Great Guide: What David Hume Can Teach Us about Being Human and Living Well."---Diane Coyle, The Enlightened Economist"Entertaining and informative. . . .an imaginative glimpse of Hume living his life and doing his work."---Janna Thompson, Inside Story"As we travel around with Hume, Baggini provides his readers with a steady commentary and description of his subject’s various friendships and controversies, along with brief sketches of Hume’s core ideas and contributions. All this is lively and engaging."---Paul Russell, Times Literary Supplement"In this book the author skilfully weaves together biography with intellectual history and philosophy to provide a highly readable account of Hume’s guide to life"---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer"The Great Guide is an excellent introduction to Hume. The biographical travelogue lends reality to Hume as a person. The discussions of Hume’s major views are clear and careful. Hopefully the book will increase interest in Hume both inside and outside the academy."---Daniel E. Flage, European Legacy"Baggini traces Hume’s movements while exploring the evolution of his ideas. Hume had a profound impact on the history of philosophy. . . .But Hume’s more technical ideas about cause and effect isn’t the big takeaway from Baggini’s book, at least not for people who believe philosophy really is about virtue. Hume’s often contrarian ideas, his commitment to question everything, serves as an inspiration for living well. . . .What more could you want from a philosopher?"---Steven Gambardella, Sophist

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Silver Medal in Biography, Independent Publisher Book Awards""Winner of the Book-of-the-Year Award, Journal of the American Revolution""Finalist in History, ForeWord Reviews’ INDIES Book of the Year Awards""Readers will find an engaging book that provides a unique look at Hamilton’s life as well as the history of Jews in the Revolution and early national period. . . . [An] innovative study that illuminates previously obscured details of Alexander Hamilton’s childhood." * Journal of the American Revolution *"Ingenious. . . . Por­wanch­er impres­sive­ly draws on pri­ma­ry sources in half a dozen lan­guages."---Stephen Whit­field, Jewish Book Council"Remarkable, informative, and thorough."---Mike Fink, Providence Journal"Radical. . . . Porwancher’s prose is extraordinarily bright."---Adam Jortner, Reviews in American History"Innovative. . . . An invaluable contribution."---Nan Goodman, American Nineteenth Century History"Very well-written."---Alexander J. Groth, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs

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Book SynopsisThis illuminating autobiography traces Scarborough''s path out of slavery in Macon, Georgia, to a prolific scholarly career that culminated with his presidency of Wilberforce University. Despite the racism he met as he struggled to establish a place in higher education for African Americans, Scarborough was an exemplary scholar, particularly in the field of classical studies. He was the first African American member of the Modern Language Association, a forty-four-year member of the American Philological Association, and a true champion of higher education. Scarborough advocated the reading, writing, and teaching of liberal arts at a time when illiteracy was rampant due to slavery''s legacy, white supremacists were dismissing the intellectual capability of blacks, and Booker T. Washington was urging African Americans to focus on industrial skills and training.The Autobiography of William Sanders Scarborough is a valuable historical record of the life and work of a

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Book SynopsisTraces the life and career of an admirable and lesser-known civil rights figure who fought injustice on two continents. This account presents valuable new evidence about the civil rights movement in the United States as well as human rights and liberation issues in colonial Southern Rhodesia in the years leading up to independence and self-rule.

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Book SynopsisGarrett and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is a vivid account of Garrett's twenty-six-year reign.Trade ReviewThe book is an excellent social, political, and commercial history of 19th-century Baltimore and the nation . . . Highly recommended.—ChoiceThis volume was well written, nearly placing the reader alongside Garrett in his office or home library as he took on the enormous task on running the Baltimore & Ohio.—The Michigan RailfanIn a well-researched and engaginglywritten volume, Sander has traced the rise—and fall—of the B&O through the career of its most influential president.—Cambridge CoreSander’s biography is a sweeping and grand narrative of one of the nation’s seminal and transformative railroad presidents whose enterprise is still hard at work today.—Baltimore SunTable of ContentsPrologue: Taking Hold of the Throttle Part One: To the West: 1790-1861Chapter 1: The Whole Population is in Motion: 1790-1828Chapter 2: A Flourishing Condition: 1828-1840Chapter 3: An Era of Fine Pickings: 1840-1855Chapter 4: The Race to the Ohio: 1852-1858Chapter 5: The Personification of Firmness: 1858-1860Chapter 6: Railroad Competition and Coordination--and Political Division: 1858-1861 Part Two "Mr. Lincoln's Road": 1861-1865Chapter 7: In the Thick of the Struggle: 1861Chapter 8: A Southern Line No More: 1862-1863Chapter 9: The Right Arm of the Federal Government: 1863-1865 Part Three: Empire Building and Collapse: 1866-1915Chapter 10: A New World Order: 1866-1871 Chapter 11: Go West, Railroad President--and South: 1868-1873Chapter 12: The Czar of Maryland: 1866-1873Chapter 13: The Storm Is Upon You: 1873-1877Chapter 14: His Willpower Remained Unimpaired: 1878-1883Chapter 15: Final Battles: 1880-1884Chapter 16: After Garrett: 1884-1915 EpilogueEssay on SourcesAcknowledgements

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Book SynopsisReveals proven solutions for bettering the lives of people with serious mental illness, their families, and their communities. Leading scientist and gifted storyteller Rachel A. Pruchno, PhD, was shocked to encounter misinformation, ignorance, and intolerance when she sought to help her daughter, newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Turning to the scientific literature, Dr. Pruchno eventually found solutions, but she realized many others would need help to understand the highly technical writing and conflicting findings. In Beyond Madnesspart memoir, part history, and part empathetic guideDr. Pruchno draws on her decades as a mental health professional, her own family's experiences with mental illness, and extensive interviews with people with serious mental illness to discuss how individuals live with these illnesses, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression. The book presents real-world vignettes that vividly describe what it is like to experience some of tTrade ReviewAt every turn, [Pruchno] puts human faces on maladies that experts sometimes reduce to abstractions. . . . A heartfelt and extremely informative overview of serious mental illness.—Kirkus ReviewsTable of ContentsPrologueChapter 1. Preliminary PointsChapter 2. Breaking BrainsChapter 3. Crisis CareChapter 4. New NormalChapter 5. Ongoing ObstaclesChapter 6. Senseless SufferingChapter 7. Remarkable ResilienceEpilogueAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisA timely paperback edition of a collection of obituaries of 125 women who each made a differenceTrade ReviewThese women would make the most fascinating of dinner party guests. The Resistance fighters, cookery writers, showjumpers and aviators could not have led more different lives, but in their struggles and successes there are lessons for us all. -- Fiona Wilson

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Book SynopsisA twentieth century icon, Lawrence of Arabia, as Thomas Edward Lawrence is more commonly known, spent thirteen out of his forty-six years in the region from which he drew his name. This was as a scholar researching his university thesis, a spy surveying Sinai for the British Army before the First World War, an intelligence officer in Cairo, a liaison officer to the Arabs, and as a diplomat who galvanised and united the Arab tribes into an effective fighting force. He became an explosives expert and a guerrilla fighter who influenced Arab leaders in defeating their Ottoman occupiers. The story of his achievements in Arabia, derailing Turkish trains and attacking enemy strongholds, has become the stuff of legend. But his life after the disappointment of witnessing the Arabs being denied independence at the end of the First World War is as intriguing as his more famous escapades in the desert. Uncomfortable with the fame and celebrity status that Lowell Thomas's lectures brought upon

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Book SynopsisExplores the later years of Elizabeth I's reign through the lives of her key favourites', who she surrounded herself with at court and elsewhere in a refined game of courtly love.

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Book SynopsisOne of our nation’s most prominent writers discovers the truth about how to live a long and happy life from the centenarian next door in this “original and highly readable account of a splendid American life” (The Wall Street Journal).When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship—and a profound lesson in the meaning of life. Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom. Thus armored, Charlie’s sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru’s president. David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie’s resilience and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. As a gift to his children, he set out to tell Charlie’s secrets. The Book of Charlie is a “genuinely original, formula-shattering” (Bob Woodward) gospel of grit—the inspiring story of one man’s journey through a century of upheaval. The history that unfolds through Charlie’s story reminds you that the United States has always been a divided nation, a questing nation—a nation of Charlies in the rollercoaster pursuit of a good and meaningful life.

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Book SynopsisWolfram Siemann tells a new story of Clemens von Metternich, the Austrian at the center of nineteenth-century European diplomacy. Known as a conservative and an uncompromising practitioner of realpolitik, in fact Metternich accommodated new ideas of liberalism and nationalism insofar as they served the goal of peace. And he promoted reform at home.Trade ReviewA superb biographical portrait and work of historical analysis…Basing his account on a wealth of new documentation from the family archive, Siemann locates the man firmly within the intertwined history of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy…The most comprehensive, absorbing and authoritative biography of the man we have, defying the stereotypes that usually adhere to him. Let us hope that it will serve if not as a manual then at least as an inspiration—good statesmanship is needed more than ever. -- Brendan Simms * Wall Street Journal *This impressive biography is welcome. It covers every aspect of Metternich’s life with a wealth of detail, and dishes up some delightful gems… The real strength of the book lies in its coverage of the internal politics of the Habsburg Empire, Metternich’s attempts to reorganize it, and the power struggles at its heart after the death of Emperor Francis I in 1835. -- Adam Zamoyski * The Times *[An] evocative and deeply researched biography…Siemann brilliantly refreshes our understanding of Metternich and his era…Metternich was an intellectual in politics of a kind now rare in the modern world…And Siemann is as good on his subject’s emotional life as on his intellectual life. -- Christopher Clark * London Review of Books *A very extensive and well-researched chronicle of the subject’s monumental career…Metternich deserves, and here thoroughly receives, re-examination. It’s a biography for anyone who seriously wants to learn about its remarkable subject. * The Spectator *The culmination and encapsulation of a life’s work…it is a running joy, full of winking sidelights and delightful detours. * Times Literary Supplement *Vast in scope and profound in learning, Wolfram Siemann’s masterpiece, deftly translated by Daniel Steuer, refreshes every theme it touches and situates its protagonist in a landscape charged with texture and new meaning. At its center is a compelling and humane portrait of one of the most gifted and interesting statesmen of modern times. But this is more than a biography—it is a window into the heart of Europe’s nineteenth century. -- Christopher Clark, author of Iron Kingdom and The SleepwalkersMagisterial…As well as providing a first-rate intellectual biography and a spirited defense of his policies, Siemann reveals Metternich to us as a man of flesh and blood…If great biography, like great literature, permits us to peer into another person’s soul, then Siemann has succeeded admirably. The portrait of Metternich that emerges is one of a cosmopolitan rationalist and problem solver with empathetic qualities, rather than the die-hard reactionary of legend…As new tensions between the forces of nationalism and globalization emerge in our own day, Metternich’s efforts appear more relevant than ever. -- Mark Jarrett * Literary Review *Succeed[s] in forcing readers to wonder whether Metternich’s efforts to defend an essentially conservative order against populists and terrorists are so different from the struggles that liberal democracies face today. -- Andrew Moravcsik * Foreign Affairs *The first independent treatment of Metternich in the modern era. This was long overdue, and the scale of Siemann’s accomplishment would be hard to overstate…Siemann’s greatest achievement, however, lies in bringing new evidence to bear that changes our view of Metternich the statesman…Magnificent and fun to read…Metternich’s wait for a historian to properly judge his place in history took longer than he probably expected. But in Wolfram Siemann, he got his man. -- A. Wess Mitchell * Standpoint *[An] engaging and comprehensive biography…Excellent…Siemann has greatly advanced our knowledge of and admiration for [Metternich]. -- Andrew Roberts * New Criterion *One of the best biographies to appear on the American market in 2019…[An] enormously interesting life of the great diplomat. * Open Letters Review *In an era when supposedly benevolent interventions in other people’s countries have once again become fashionable, the case for leaving things alone needs to be made…This is why [Metternich] remains important…Fascinating. -- Peter Hitchens * First Things *So rich is this wonderful book in insight and information, so brilliantly does it illuminate Metternich’s exciting times, that no review can hope to do justice to its author’s achievement. Every general history of the period between the outbreak of the French Revolution and the revolutions of 1848 will need to be rewritten. It is a long book, but consistently stimulating, entertaining, even enthralling. -- Tim Blanning * GHIL Bulletin *[An] excellent biography…An exhaustive work of scholarship intended to set the historical record straight…History has credited him with crafting much of the European peace that lasted between 1815 and 1914; he deserves much more, and Siemann has given it to him. * Washington Examiner *A great reassessment of one of the most dazzling and controversial statesmen of the nineteenth century. * Lesart *A masterpiece. * Neue Zürcher Zeitung *This outstanding German historian offers the definitive biography of the Austrian statesman and completely collapses our negative image of him—a brilliant book that leaves nothing to be desired. * NRC Handelsblad *A work of unusual clarity and depth. * Choice *Should long serve as the standard biography. -- James Baresel * University Bookman *Very few historical figures have played so integral a role in so many events of world-historic importance…A profoundly engaging work of such depth and breadth that it is often possible to see Metternich more as a framing device for a sprawling history of the German region in a period of profound change…What Wolfram Siemann achieves in this magisterial work is to present Metternich as a man of his time. -- Bodie A. Ashton * German History *Siemann is the first biographer to mine Metternich’s family archive in Prague…Compels us to rethink virtually every aspect of Metternich’s career…Likely to be the standard life of Metternich for a very long time. -- Jack Cunningham * International Journal *

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Book SynopsisIn 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he''d completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a slew of critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing. Equal parts travelogue, training log, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo''s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvellous lens of sport emerges a cornucopia of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs, and the experience, after fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back.By turns funny andTrade ReviewMurakami gives me a reason. It might seem romantic, but it's true. I had to run…but I didn't enjoy running. I do enjoy, however, running with Murakami. -- Ioan Marc Jones * Huffington Post UK *Murakami distils his own process of writing fiction in this layered and meditative memoir. * Big Issue *A wonderful exploration of work, place and life’s meanders. * Geographical *It’s an inspiring, reflective read that’ll make you want to dust your trainers off -- Andy McNicoll * Professional Social Work *An outstanding read -- Peter Sharkey * Eastern Daily Press *

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Book SynopsisA guide to some of the world''s most fascinating places, as seen and experienced by writer, television host, and relentlessly curious traveler Anthony BourdainAnthony Bourdain saw more of the world than nearly anyone. His travels took him from the hidden pockets of his hometown of New York to a tribal longhouse in Borneo, from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Paris, and Shanghai to Tanzania''s utter beauty and the stunning desert solitude of Oman''s Empty Quarter''and many places beyond.InWorld Travel, a life of experience is collected into an entertaining, practical, fun and frank travel guide that gives readers an introduction to some of his favorite places''in his own words. Featuring essential advice on how to get there, what to eat, where to stay and, in some cases, what to avoid,World Travelprovides essential context that will help readers further appreciate the reasons why Bourdain found a place enchanting and memorable.Supplementing Bourdain''s words are a handful of essays by friends, colleagues, and family that tell even deeper stories about a place, including sardonic accounts of traveling with Bourdain by his brother, Christopher; a guide to Chicago''s best cheap eats by legendary music producer Steve Albini, and more. Additionally, each chapter includes illustrations byWesley Allsbrook.For veteran travelers, armchair enthusiasts, and those in between,World Traveloffers a chance to experience the world like Anthony Bourdain.

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of an extraordinary boy with a brilliant mind, a heart of gold and a tortured soul.''From the day he was born, Nick Traina was his mother''s joy. By nineteen, he was dead. This is Danielle Steel''s powerful story of the son she lost and the lessons she learned during his courageous battle against darkness. Sharing tender, painful memories, Steel brings us a haunting duet between and singular young man and the mother who loved him - and a harrowing portrait of a masked killer called manic depression.Nick rocketed through life like a shooting star. He spoke in full sentences at the age of one. He was a brilliant, charming child who never slept. His gift for writing was extraordinary, his musical talent promised a golden future. But by the time he entered junior high, he was hurtling towards disaster. His mother tried desperately to get him the help he needed - the opening salvos for what would become a ferocious battle for his life. At once a Trade ReviewA moving and haunting book * Daily Express *A powerful and personal story... His bright light is Danielle Steel's legacy and tribute to her son, as well as haunting depiction of manic-depression * Saturday Evening Post *Danielle Steel has written a spellbinding account of her son's struggle with bipolar illness... Valuable insights... We come away with a heightened sensitivity that perhaps only a writer of this distinction could convey, of what it is like to try to cope with a child with a severe psychiatric disorder... This is a book about what we can do - as parents, as physicians, as human beings * Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry *Reading His Bright Light moved me to tears as the memoir captures so vividly the ferocious nature of mental illness... Sharing [Nick's] story will save lives. His Bright Light will make a difference for countless others -- Laurie Flynn, Executive Director, NAMI (The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill)[A] searing portrayal of the loss of jer 19 year-old son... Ms Steel's heartfelt homage to her son may very well help others save a life * Dallas Morning News *

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Book Synopsis''I was born in Washington, DC, June 13, 1931, of parents who immigrated from Russia shortly after the first world war. Home was the inner city of Washington - a small apartment atop my parents'' grocery store on First and Seaton Street. During my childhood, Washington was a segregated city, and I lived in the midst of a poor, black neighborhood. Life on the streets was often perilous. Indoor reading was my refuge and, twice a week, I made the hazardous bicycle trek to the central library at Seventh and K streets to stock up on supplies''. Irvin Yalom is a gifted and lyrical writer whose memoir traces his life, from the apartment above his parents'' grocery store to a world stage via the intimacy of his consulting room. The memoir includes his self-analysis and is interwoven with vignettes from patients whose stories have played such a central role in his life. For his legion of fans, and anyone interested in the human psyche, this book is not to be missed.

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary story of a group of forgotten radicals who found themselves drawn to communist Moscow’s hotbed of international revolutionary activity: the Hotel Lux.Hotel Lux follows Irish radical May O’Callaghan and her friends, three revolutionary families brought together by their vision for a communist future and their time spent in the Comintern’s Moscow living quarters, the Hotel Lux. Historian Maurice Casey reveals the connections and disconnections of a group of forgotten communist activists whose lives collided in 1920s Moscow: a brilliant Irish translator, a maverick author, the rebel daughters of an East London Jewish family, and a family of determined German anti-fascists. The dramatic and interlocking histories of the O’Flahertys, Cohens and Leonhards offer an intimate insight into the legacies of the Russian Revolution from its earliest idealism through to the brutal Stalinist purges and beyond. Hotel Lux

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Book Synopsis[A] vibrant, poignant book. NPR Book Reviews1914. A teenage romantic heads to the enlistment office when his idyllic life in a Jewish enclave of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is shattered by World War I.1938. A seven-year-old refugee begins a desperate odyssey through France, struggling to outrun the rapidly expanding Nazi regime and reunite with his family on the other side of the Atlantic.2015. The creator of a world-famous video game franchise weighs the costs of uprooting his family and moving to France as the cracks in his marriage begin to grow.Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner calls on the voices of his father and grandfather to weave a powerful story about the enduring challenge of holding a family together in the face of an ever-changing world.

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Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, TIME, THE ECONOMIST, NPR, THE NEW YORKER, THE SMITHSONIAN, AND KIRKUS REVIEWSA ?thrilling and superbly crafted? (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook?s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day.One of The New York Times Book Review?s 10 Best Books of the Year?In this masterly history, Sides tracks the 18th-century English naval officer James Cook?s third and final voyage across the globe, painting a vivid and propulsive portrait that blends generations of scholarship with the firsthand accounts of European seafarers as well as the oral traditions of Indigenous Pacific islanders.??The New York Times Book ReviewOn July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment?Hampton Sides? bravura account of Cook?s last journey both wrestles with Cook?s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science-?the famed naturalist Joseph Banks accompanied him on his first voyage, and Cook has been called one of the most important figures of the Age of Enlightenment. He was also deeply interested in the native peoplehe encountered. In fact, his stated mission was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London, to his home islands. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast ofAustralia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well, and endeavored to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgment.Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain?s imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook?s intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook?s overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter.At once a ferociously-paced story of adventure on the high seas and a searching examination of the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration, THE WIDE WIDE SEA is a major work from one of our finest narrative nonfiction writers.

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Book SynopsisPULITZER PRIZE WINNER ? NATIONAL BESTSELLER ? A ?vivid and devastating? (The New York Times) portrait of an indomitable girl?from acclaimed journalist Andrea Elliott ?From its first indelible pages to its rich and startling conclusion, Invisible Child had me, by turns, stricken, inspired, outraged, illuminated, in tears, and hungering for reimmersion in its Dickensian depths.??Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland ElegiesONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times ? ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Atlantic, The New York Times Book Review, Time, NPR, Library JournalIn Invisible Child, Pulitzer Prize winner Andrea Elliott follows eight dramatic years in the life of Dasani, a girl whose imagination is as soaring as the skyscrapers near her Brooklyn shelter. In this sweeping narrative, Elliott weaves the story of Dasani?s childhood with the history of her ancestors, tracing their passage from slavery to the Great Migration north. As Dasani comes of age, New York City?s homeless crisis has exploded, deepening the chasm between rich and poor. She must guide her siblings through a world riddled by hunger, violence, racism, drug addiction, and the threat of foster care. Out on the street, Dasani becomes a fierce fighter ?to protect those who I love.? When she finally escapes city life to enroll in a boarding school, she faces an impossible question: What if leaving poverty means abandoning your family, and yourself? A work of luminous and riveting prose, Elliott?s Invisible Child reads like a page-turning novel. It is an astonishing story about the power of resilience, the importance of family and the cost of inequality?told through the crucible of one remarkable girl. Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize ? Finalist for the Bernstein Award and the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award ? Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize

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