Biography: historical, political and military Books

Book SynopsisOver the past several hundred years, many women have made major, significant contributions to society, to their countries and to their field of endeavor-be it literature, music, art, politics or the enhancement of women in general. Many of these women have not received the acknowledgement and recognition that they deserve. This book is an attempt to rectify that deficiency. In a warm, storytelling fashion, the authors lay out the scenarios and contributions of fifty of the most famous women of history. These individuals have accomplished great things, not only in their time period, but often against great odds and difficulties. Students of history and students in general need to be aware of the contributions of these women. Certainly there are others that arguably could be included, but this is a first attempt to sensitize the students of this century to the great accomplishments of the women who came before them, and established a foundation for a just, equitable society wherein all women are valued, recognized and acknowledged. Students of history will find this panoramic overview a rich robust source of knowledge and proponents of women's issues will tend to recognize the grandeur and splendor of women's contributions to civilization and humanity in general.Table of ContentsForewordPrefaceIntroductionMercy Otis Warren 1728-1814Betsy Ross 1752-1836Dolley Madison 1768-1849 Sacajawea 1788-1812Sojourner Truth 1797-1883Harriet Jacobs 1813-1897Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910Susan B Anthony 1820-1906Clara Barton 1821-1912Harriet Tubman 1822-1913Jessie Benton Fremont 1824-1902Elizabeth Jennings Graham 1827-1901Louisa May Alcott 1832-1888Frances Willard 1839-1898Anne Howard Shaw 1847-1919Emma Lazarus 1849-1887Nellie Bly 1864-1922Lillian Wald 1867-1919Jane Addams 1860-1935Marie Curie 1867-1934Frances Perkins 1880-1965Helen Keller 1880-1968Eleanor Roosevelt 1884-1962Georgia O Keefe 1887-1986Amelia Earhart 1897-1937Margaret Chase Smith 1897-1995Claire Booth Luce 1903-1987Grace Hopper 1906-1992Kate Smith 1907-1986Rosa Parks 1913-2005Billie Holiday 1915-1959Fannie Lou Harner 1917-1977Marguerite Higgins 1920-1996Coretta Scott King 1927-2006Madeline L Engel 1918-2007Bella Abzug 1920-1998Shirley Chisholm 1924-2005Muriel Siebert 1928-2013Maya Angelou 1928-2014Barbara Bush 1925-2018Sandra Day OConnor 1930-Ruth Bader Ginsberg 1933-Jane Goddall 1934-Barbara Jordan 1936-1996Madeline Albright 1937-Aretha Franklin 1942-2018Billie Jean King 1943-Hillary Clinton 1947-Meryl Streep 1949-Sally Ride 1951-2012.

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Book SynopsisThe word khan is not a name, but a title. It means chieftain or king. It is a word used in various forms by the different tribes and nations that from time immemorial have inhabited Central Asia, and has been applied to a great number of potentates and rulers that have from time to time arisen among them. Genghis Khan was the greatest of these princes. He was, in fact, one of the most renowned conquerors whose exploits history records.

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Book SynopsisIt would be difficult to find, in all the range of the past, a man whose career has been so full of wonderful and exciting vicissitude as that of Louis Philippe. His life covers the most eventful period in French history. The storms of 1789 consigned his father to the guillotine, his mother and brothers to imprisonment, and himself and sister to poverty and exile. There are few romances more replete with pensive interest than the wanderings of Louis Philippe to escape the bloodhounds of the Revolution far away amidst the ices of Northern Europe, to the huts of the Laplanders, and again through the almost unbroken wilds of North America, taking refuge in the wigwams of the Indians, and floating with his two brothers in a boat a distance of nearly two thousand miles through the solemn solitudes of the Ohio and the Mississippi from Pittsburg to the Gulf.

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Book SynopsisIn writing the series of historical narratives to which the present work pertains, it has been the object of the author to furnish to the reading community of this country an accurate and faithful account of the lives and actions of the several personages that are made successively the subjects of the volumes, following precisely the story which has come down to us from ancient times. The writer has spared no pains to gain access in all cases to the original sources of information, and has confined himself strictly to them.

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Book SynopsisThe aim of the History of Julius Caesar is to prove that, when Providence raises up such men as Cæsar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon, it is to trace out to peoples the path they ought to follow; to stamp with the seal of their genius a new era; and to accomplish in a few years the labour of many centuries. Happy the peoples who comprehend and follow them! Woe to those who misunderstand and combat them!

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Book SynopsisThe aim of the History of Julius Caesar is to prove that, when Providence raises up such men as Cæsar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon, it is to trace out to peoples the path they ought to follow; to stamp with the seal of their genius a new era; and to accomplish in a few years the labour of many centuries. Happy the peoples who comprehend and follow them! Woe to those who misunderstand and combat them!

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Book SynopsisSir Walter Scott first published his biography on Napoleon in 1827. The work represents an important contribution to the study of France during the Napoleonic Era. The book provides an honest and thorough account of the man and the society in which he lived.

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Book SynopsisSir Walter Scott first published his biography on Napoleon in 1827. The work represents an important contribution to the study of France during the Napoleonic Era. The book provides an honest and thorough account of the man and the society in which he lived.

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Book SynopsisSir Walter Scott first published his biography on Napoleon in 1827. The work represents an important contribution to the study of France during the Napoleonic Era. The book provides an honest and thorough account of the man and the society in which he lived.

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Book SynopsisSir Walter Scott first published his biography on Napoleon in 1827. The work represents an important contribution to the study of France during the Napoleonic Era. The book provides an honest and thorough account of the man and the society in which he lived.Table of ContentsPrefaceChapter IConduct of Russia and England during the War with AustriaMeditated Expedition of British Troops to the ContinentSent to WalcherenIts Calamitous Details and ResultProceedings of Napoleon with regard to the PopeGeneral Miollis enters RomeNapoleon publishes a Decree, uniting the States of the Church to the French EmpireIs ExcommunicatedPius VII. is banished from Rome, and sent to Grenobleafterwards brought back to SavonaBuonaparte is attacked by an AssassinDefinitive Treaty of Peace signed at SchoenbrunNapoleon returns to France on the 14th November, 1809,Chapter IIChange in Napoleon's Domestic LifeCauses which led to itHis anxiety for an HeirA Son of his Brother Louis is fixed upon, but dies in ChildhoodCharacter and influence of JosephineStrong mutual Attachment betwixt her and NapoleonFouché opens to Josephine the Plan of a DivorceHer extreme DistressOn 5th December, Napoleon announces her Fate to JosephineOn 15th they are formally separated before the Imperial CouncilJosephine retaining the rank of Empress for LifeEspousals of Buonaparte and Maria Louisa of Austria take place at Vienna, 11th March, 1810,Chapter IIIAlmost all the Foreign French Settlements fall into the hands of the BritishFrench Squadron destroyed at the Isle of Aix, by Lord Cochraneand at the Isle of Rosas, by Lord CollingwoodReturn to the Proceedings in SpainSoult takes OportoAttacked and Defeated by Sir Arthur WellesleyFerrol and Corunna retaken by the PatriotsBattle of Talavera, gained by Sir Arthur WellesleyCreated Lord WellingtonThe French Armies take many Towns and Strong PlacesSupreme Junta Retreat to CadizThe Guerilla SystemGrowing Disappointment of BuonaparteHis immense ExertionsBattle of BusacoLord Wellington's famous Retreat on Torres Vedras, Chapter IVChange in Napoleon's Principles of GovernmentBecomes suspicious of Talleyrand and FouchéFouché endeavours, {iv}without the knowledge of Napoleon, to ascertain the Views of England with respect to PeaceHis Plan is defeated by a singular Collision with a similar one of Napoleonand Fouché is sent away as Governor-General of RomeHis Moral and Political CharacterMurmurings of the People against the Austrian AllianceContinental SystemIgnorance of Napoleon of the Actual Political Feelings of Great BritainThe License SystemLouis BuonaparteEndeavours in vain to Defend Holland from the Effects of the Continental SystemHe Abdicates the Throne, and retires to Gratz in StyriaHolland is annexed to the French Empire, Chapter VGustavus IV. of Sweden is Dethroned and succeeded by his UncleThe Crown Prince killed by a fall from his HorseCandidates proposed for the SuccessionThe Swedes, thinking to conciliate Napoleon, fix on BernadotteBuonaparte reluctantly acquiesces in the ChoiceParting Interview between Bernadotte and NapoleonSubsequent attempts of the latter to bind Sweden to the Policy of FranceThe Crown Prince unwillingly accedes to the Continental SystemNapoleon makes a Tour through Flanders and HollandReturns to Paris, and takes measures for extending the Continental SystemSeizure of the ValoisCoast along the German Ocean annexed to FranceProtest by the Czar against the appropriation of OldenburgRussia allows the Importation, at certain Seaports, of various articles of British CommerceNegotiations for Exchange of Prisoners between France and Englandand for a General Peace, broken off by Buonaparte's unreasonable demands, Chapter VIView of Napoleon's gigantic PowerThe Empress Maria Louisa delivered of a SonCriticism on the Title given him, of King of RomeSpeculations in regard to the advantages or disadvantages arising from this EventRetrospectEx-Queen of EtruriaHer severe and unjustifiable Treatment by NapoleonLucien Buonaparte is invited to England, where he writes Epic PoetryAttempt to deliver Ferdinand, defeatedOperations in PortugalRetreat of MassenaBattles of Fuentes d'Onoro fought by Lord WellingtonOn the South Frontier of Portugal, by Lord BeresfordOf Barossa, by General GrahamEnterprise of Arroyo-MolinasSpaniards defeated under BlakeValencia captured by the French, and he and his Army made Prisoners of WarDisunion among the French GeneralsJoseph wishes to abdicate the Throne of Spain, Chapter VIIRetrospect of the Causes leading to the Rupture with RussiaOriginate in the Treaty of TilsitRussia's alleged Reasons of ComplaintArguments of Napoleon's Counsellors against War with RussiaFouché is against the WarPresents a Memorial to Napoleon upon the SubjectHis answerNapoleon's Views in favour of the War, as urged.

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Book SynopsisIt was Solomon's fortune, during his captivity, to be owned by several masters. The treatment he received while at the "Pine Woods" shows that among slaveholders there are men of humanity as well as of cruelty. Some of them are spoken of with emotions of gratitude-others in a spirit of bitterness. It is believed that the following account of his experience on Bayou BÅuf presents a correct picture of Slavery, in all its lights and shadows, as it now exists in that locality. Unbiased, as he conceives, by any prepossessions or prejudices, the only object of the editor has been to give a faithful history of Solomon Northup's life, as he received it from his lips.

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Book SynopsisFamous American Statesmen, published in 1888, is a collection of 10 biographical sketches of America's most famous statesmen. With the great, one's thoughts and manners easily become great; ... what this country longs for is personalities, grand persons, to counteract its materialities," says Emerson. Such lives as are sketched in this book are a constant inspiration, both to young and old. They teach patriotism -- deeper love for and devotion to America. They teach that life, with some definite and noble purpose, is worth living.Table of ContentsPreface; George Washington; Benjamin Franklin; Thomas Jefferson; Alexander Hamilton; Andrew Jackson; Daniel Webster; Henry Clay; Charles Sumner; Ulysses S. Grant; James A. Garfield; Index.

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Book SynopsisGeorge and Barbara Bush belonged to and were active members of a Houston church for more than 50 years. The rector of that church, Reverend Russell Jones Levenson, Jr., believes he was invited into private moments with these public individuals so he could serve as a witness: a witness to observe, and a witness to tell.With never-before shared correspondence, experiences, and personal stories, Levenson offers new insight into the Bushes' wit and wisdom; their commitment to family and friends; their tireless desire to bless the lives of others; and their steadfast loyalty to their church, their faith, and their God. Before embarking on writing this book on faith, Levenson sought and received the blessing of all the Bush children, including the 43rd president.Readers will laugh, cry, and be inspired as Levenson ponders how and why he was put in this unique pastoral position, asking questions like, "What on earth was I doing reading the sports section of the paper with the forty-first president, his cabinet member Brent Scowcroft, and a Chinese official on a breezy morning at Walker's Point in Kennebunkport, Maine?" Levenson writes with emotion about being with President Bush and Barbara Bush as they each took their last breaths on this earth. He then describes in full detail the surreal experience of planning a state funeral and giving a eulogy with other presidents in the front row. This is book is for readers who yearn for our public officials to serve with faith and integrity like the Bushes. But above all else, this book shows how powerful it is when world leaders are humbled before the power that rests above all powers.

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Book SynopsisHarriet Martineau lived an extraordinary literary life. She became a reviewer and journalist in the 1820s when her family’s fortune collapsed; published a best-selling series, Illustrations of Political Economy (1832-34), that made her fame and fortune by the age of thirty; overcame a hearing disability to become a “literary lion” in London society; toured the United States and wrote two founding texts of sociology based on her experiences; explored north Africa and the Middle East to observe non-European societies; wrote “leaders” (editorials) on slavery for the London Daily News during the American Civil War; and commented publicly on matters of politics, history, and religion in an era when women supposedly maintained their place in the sphere of domesticity.This edition of her Autobiography reproduces the original 1877 text, which Martineau composed in 1855 and had printed in anticipation of her death. It includes illustrations of the author and her homes; excerpts from the “Memorials,” added by her editor Maria Chapman; and reviews that praise and critique Martineau’s method as an autobiographer and achievement as a Victorian woman of letters.Trade Review“Words like ‘extraordinary’ and ‘remarkable’ are not misplaced in describing Harriet Martineau’s Autobiography. Controversial throughout her life, she is, in Linda Peterson’s words, ‘a superb storyteller,’ recounting all that happened to her with outspoken directness. In a field dominated by male practitioners, Martineau's uncompromising account of her life, relationships, travels, and illnesses deserves much wider recognition. In this first comprehensively annotated edition of the text since it was originally published in 1877, readers can fully appreciate what made Martineau a compelling teller of her own tale.” — Valerie R. Sanders, University of Hull“Harriet Martineau’s Autobiography is something much more complex than a conventional autobiography. Martineau’s long and elaborate work was self-consciously written in a hybrid form to offer advice and support for many areas of Victorian women’s experience. It considers the spiritual life, illness, education and, most powerfully of all, professional journalism as a way of life. It is an important book, less well known than it should be. This attractive and scrupulously, but unobtrusively, annotated edition by a leading scholar of Victorian women’s life writing brings a major text within reach of all those interested in Victorian women and their public and private lives.” — Brian Maidment, University of SalfordTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionHarriet Martineau: A Brief ChronologyA Note on the TextAutobiographyAppendix A: Illustrations from the Autobiography (1877)Appendix B: Selections from the Memorials (1877) Private Memorandum (June 1829) Letter from Harriet Martineau to her Mother(22 January 1830) Letter to the Editor of “Men of the Time”(22 March 1856) Obituary, London Daily News (29 June 1876) Appendix C: Contemporary Reviews Margaret Oliphant, Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (April 1877) John Morley, Macmillan’s Magazine (May 1877) W.R. Greg, The Nineteenth Century (August 1877) Works Cited and Recommended Reading

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of the first three years of the Jackson presidency. The book covers other events in the United States during that period. Andrew Jackson himself is the focus of this work, but there were many actors on the national stage. Presidential attitudes toward the Native Americans shaped Indian policy. Jackson''s cabinet supported his ideas on money, politics, and other issues. This book gives a true understanding of President Jackson. The real Jackson was a man of controversy and different from the usual conception of a flawless president. This is a concise history of power, passion, romance and honour.

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Book SynopsisFlorence Hope Luscomb's life spanned nearly all of the twentieth century. Born into a remarkable family of abolitionists and progressive thinkers, the young Florence accompanied her feminist mother to lectures and political rallies, soon choosing a course of political engagement and social activism from which she never retreated. Politcal Women counters the traditional narratives that place men at the center of political thinking and history. Showing how three generations of Luscomb's family had set the stage for her activism, this biography presents her story against the backdrop of Boston's politics and larger struggles for social justice. Luscomb participated in every significant social reform movement of her time -- from securing women's right to vote and supporting trade unionism to advocating an end to the war in Vietnam. Luscomb also ran for public office; she was narrowly defeated when she ran for Boston's city council in 1922. Although unsuccessful as a third-party candidate for Congress (in 1936 and 1950) and for Governor of Massachusetts (in 1952), she was one of the few women of her time to seek office. Independent, athletic, and spirited, she apparently never thought that traditional gender prescriptions applied to her. A practicing architect before the First World War, an exuberant hiker all her life, and a member in collective-living arrangements, Luscomb enjoyed a life of rich experiences and sustaining relationships. In Florence Luscomb's biography, Sharon Hartman Strom suggests that although women were excluded from the activities and sites associated with conventional politics until recently, they did political work that gave purpose to their lives and affected political thinking in their communities, states, and ultimately the nation.Trade Review"Sharon Hartman Strom's biography of Florence Hope Luscomb is a fascinating tribute to a strong, determined woman. More important, because Luscomb's activism-amazingly-spanned the early twentieth century women's suffrage movement, the post-World War I peace movement, 1950s McCarthyism, and the rebirth of peace and social justice organizing in the sixties and seventies, Strom is able to use Luscomb's life to explore the important connections among these movements." -Kristi Andersen, Department of Political Science, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, and author of After Suffrage: Women in Partisan and Electoral Politics Before the New Deal "The greatest strength of Political Woman is in the author's superb sense of the long continuities of American activism, in uniting movements and eras that are all too often seen as quite separate. In telling the story of this one amazing individual, Professor Strom encapsulates the history of twentieth century progressive politics, its commitment to feminism, peace activism, and union rights. It is a wonderful story." -Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies, Penn State University, and author of Hood and Shirts: The Extreme Right in Pennsylvania "In this beautifully crafted biography, Sharon Hartman Strom provides both a vivid portrait of her individual subject and a searching interpretation of the larger historical meanings of Luscomb's life. Strom frames her biography with autobiography: in a moving introduction and epilogue, she recounts her relationship with Luscomb and reflects on their shared tradition of activism. Deeply researched, insightful, and highly readable, Political Woman offers a valuable new resource for courses on reform and radicalism, women's history, and life writing." -Barbara Melosh, Professor of English and History at George Mason University "Strom's biography merges vigorous historical narrative with a talent for listening to a life... Besides her sophisticated political analysis, Strom probes several personal issues through the narrative, including Luscomb's family choices (she lived with her beloved mother until Hannah's death), and the economic and professional choices that resulted in poverty in her old age." -The American Historical Review "Strom succeeds in weaving Florence Luscomb's life story around the political currents of the last century, especially in Boston. Social and women's historians will welcome this story of one woman's contribution to the cause of equality and democracy." -The Journal of American HistoryTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Abbreviations of Organizations Used in Text Introduction: "Not Bad for an Old Lady" 1. "This Wilderness World" (1815-80) 2. "Let Every (Wo)Man be Persuaded in (Her) ... Own Mind" (1863-90) 3. "My Class is Woman" (1890-1917) 4. "My Tender Reputation" (1917-33) 5. "Life Has Been Damn Lonely" (1933-40) 6. "Born Once ... Died Twice Already" (1940-45) 7. "A New, Really Liberal Party in America" (1946-54) 8. "Riding Roughshod Over American Freedoms" (1950-56) 9. "Popular Education is Indispensable" (1956-85) Epilogue: "May the Circle be Unbroken" Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThis book follows the life of James Madison, our 4th president, who at the tender age of twenty-five was thrust into significant politics as an elected member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Even in his first venture into statesmanship. Madison took notes on constitutional deliberations, a practice that he would continue in the Federal Convention that proposed the United States Constitution and throughout much of his legislative career whether in Philadelphia, New York City, or Williamsburg, Virginia. Just as most of our knowledge of the framing of the U.S. Constitution is provided by Madison''s painstaking notes of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, much of our knowledge of George Mason''s many contributions to the Virginia Constitution of 1776 are also known through Madison''s efforts. His major personal contribution to that seminal state constitution is a brief but key phrase in the Virginia Declaration of Rights that would in many respects become a pattern for the Bill of Rights that Madison was later largely responsible for addition to the United States Constitution. His addition of a simple clause converted Mason''s proposed language from religious toleration, where an official church would permit citizens to attend other churches, to religious freedom with its clear implication that it was one of the Rights of Man that were so important to that revolutionary generation. Throughout his career he remained committed to religious freedom and he is still considered one of its greatest contributors. During the brief time between his terms in Congress he would prevail in battles against the re-establishment of the Episcopal Church in Virginia and would win legislative approval for the Statute for Religious Freedom that Jefferson wrote and in which he took enormous pride, but which required the legislative management of James Madison to become law. Madison is best and justifiably known as "Father of the Constitution" because of his heroic role in bringing together the Federal Convention in 1787, influencing its outcomes through the Virginia Plan, maintaining records of the debates, winning its ratification in the largest state and influencing several other states.

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Book SynopsisWhen Josephine Knowles left for the Klondike gold fields with her husband in 1898, she didnt know she would be facing a constant battle with cold, disease, malnutrition, and the ever-present possibility of death. With quiet determination, she resolved to survive, to endure each fresh hardship without complaint, and to be of service to the community around her. Gold Rush in the Klondike is Knowless true story of her year in the Yukon territory, a revealing, never-before-published personal memoir of day-to-day life at the height of the Klondike Gold Rush. Written in a clear, forthright, nineteenth-century style, Gold Rush in the Klondike presents terrifying struggles against a hostile environment, picturesque descriptions of an untouched Arctic wilderness, and Knowless keen observations of men and women on the frontier. A Victorian gentlewoman of refinement, Knowles found herself among swearing, whoring, sometimes violent miners, whom she won over with her grit and compassion. Deciding to never moralize or condemn, Knowles writes frankly of the intense hardships that drove miners into lives of drink and dissipation and the frontier women who were forced to make stark choices between prostitution and starvation. Knowless adventures include encounters with author Jack London (Knowles firmly disapproved of Londons cruel mistreatment of his sled dogs), nursing miners during a typhoid outbreak until she fell ill herself, witnessing savage fights among the miners, dangerous travel through the mountain passes and river rapids of the Yukon, and a daring surreptitious visit to a gambling saloon. Amid all hardships, Knowles formed warm relationships with the mining community, for, as she put it, All the diseases and other troubles had knitted us into one large family. Illustrated with period photographs, Gold Rush in the Klondike is an invaluable historical document of a lost time and place and an admirable portrait of one womans determination in the face of danger.

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Book SynopsisJohn Brown is a common name, but the John Brown who masterminded the failed raid at Harpers Ferry was anything but common. His failed efforts have left an imprint upon our history, and his story still swirls in controversy. Was he a madman who felt his violent solution to slavery was ordained by Providence or a heroic freedom fighter who tried to liberate the downtrodden slave? These bipolar characterizations of the violent abolitionist have captivated Americans. The view that prevailed from the time of the raid to well into the twentieth century - that his actions were the product of an unbalanced mind - has since shifted to the idea that he committed courageous acts to undo a terrible injustice.The debate still rages, but not as much about his ultimate goal as the method he used in attempting to right what he considered an intolerable wrong. Are citizens justified in bypassing the normal legal or governmental processes in a violent way when they fail, in the eyes of the dissenter, to correct a wrong that touched so many? Brown’s use of violence was to strike terror in the heart of slave owners, terror that Brown hoped would intimidate them to free their slaves to ensure their families’ safety.Despite the differences between modern terrorist acts and Brown’s own violent acts, when Brown’s characteristics are compared to the definition of terrorism as set forth by scholars of terrorism, he fits the profile. Nevertheless, today Brown is a martyred hero who gave his life attempting to terminate the evil institution of human bondage. Brown’s violent method of using terrorism to accomplish this is downplayed or ignored, despite labeled by historians as America’s first terrorist. The modern view of Brown has unintentionally made him a "good terrorist," despite the repugnance of terrorism that makes the thought of a benevolent or good terrorist an oxymoron.This new biography covers Brown's background and the context to his decision to carry out the raid, a detailed narrative of the raid and its consequences for both those involved and America; and an exploration of the changing characterisation of Brown since his death.Trade ReviewThis is an interesting and thought provoking read, which is accordingly recommended. It would make an interesting, but uncomfortable, wargame. * Miniature Wargames - John Drewienkiewicz *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1: The Making of a Terrorist 2: Launching the War of Liberation 3: Igniting the Fuse: The Attack on Harpers Ferry 4: Anguish and Travail 5: An Agitated Nation 6: The Rush to Judgment 7: Hemp Justice 8: Rehearsal for War Notes Bibliographical Comment Index

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Book SynopsisPresidential candidate Mitt Romney''s Mormon tradition is revealed as no real religion but a cult invented by a charlatan, a disguise for a subversive ideology opposing all that is best in the American tradition. The British recruited Mormon leaders into their 19th century plot to break up the US, leading to the cult''s strategic occupation of Utah territory. Mormonism has never abandoned its secrecy and its enmity to America. Mitt Romney is the hoped-for figure who will fulfil Mormon prophecy and take over the United States. This book provides warning insights into a possible Romney presidency by exploring over 182 years of Latter-day Saints tradition. As Romney is a notorious liar and flip-flopper, it is useless to examine his political positions at any given moment. He attempts to pose as an ultra-patriot, but his family considered the barbaric Mormon practice of polygamy more important than loyalty to the United States. Romney spent years attempting to recruit for the cult, in which black Americans were regarded as inferior. Although Romney demands an aggressive foreign policy, nobody in his family every served this country in uniform -- although at least one ancestor fought against the Union in the attempted 1857 Mormon secession of Utah. As president, Romney would rely on and build up the Mormon Mafia in the intelligence community. He might try to carry out Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith''s apocalyptic White Horse Prophecy, which calls for a Mormon take-over of the United States, followed by a campaign to conquer the world for their theocracy. Every voter needs to read this book.

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Book SynopsisCalvin Coolidge was one of America''s most unusual presidents. Selected as vice president by rebellious convention delegates and thrust unexpectedly into the presidency on the death of his predecessor, he nonetheless imprinted his authority on both party and country. Like Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, he came to personify not just an administration but a social and political era''. Although historians still dispute his legacy, the thirtieth president''s image remains both distinctive and enduring. This is partly because Coolidge was a walking contradiction of his times. He had little of the charisma'' deemed essential to political success and was obsessed with fiscal prudence in an age of acquisitiveness and wild financial speculation. His economic views were more suited to a nineteenth century agrarian nation than to an emerging industrial-capitalist giant. His personal life embodied the values of white, Puritan New England, not those of the big northern cities, whose cosmopolitanism and moral relativism increasingly set the tone for the nation in the Coolidge years.

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Book SynopsisThe 44th U.S. President, Barack Obama, has fulfilled the dream of "inclusiveness" for American society by moving contemporary society closer towards universal equality for all. Dr Thomas E Carney has written a powerful and incisive volume on the life and policies of Obama from his birth in Hawaii in 1961, through his diverse roots in Hawaii and Indonesia, to his education in Jakarta (St. Francis of Assisi) and Honolulu (Punahou), Occidental and Columbia Universities, to his presidency of the prestigious Harvard Law Review in 1990. The challenges Barack Obama faced are traced from his graduation from Harvard Law School in 1991, his first jobs with Business International Corporation and the New York Public Interest Research Group, through his internship with the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin where he met future wife Michelle who was his appointed mentor, to his own law position with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland. Obama also worked as a community organiser early in his career seeking justice in voting rights, tenant rights, employment rights, and anti-trust suits. He worked on the Illinois Vote Project in 1992 and became a lecturer at the University of Chicago''s Law School where he taught Constitutional Law. This excellent biography follows Barack Obama through his election from the 13th district to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, his successful campaign to win a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois in 2004, and the winning of the presidency in 2008. All the important policies of President Obama''s election in 2008 and first term are discussed in detail: the economy and government TARP policies; fights against terrorism; the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; the DREAM issues over immigration; and the DOMA discussions. As the first Africa-American President, this life story of President Barack Obama extending to the end of his first presidential term is a wise and moving story of hard-fought success. Barack Obama''s life offers a strong role model of fine character for Americans young and old.

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Book SynopsisArguably our most obscure president, and generally judged mediocre at best, Millard Fillmore came to the presidency in July 1850 when his predecessor, Zachary Taylor, unexpectedly died. Despite his relative anonymity, Fillmore was thrust into the nation''s greatest historical argument the great debate concerning the future of slavery in the republic. With considerable political aplomb, he helped guide the passage of the measures collectively known as the Compromise of 1850, including the sensitive and controversial Fugitive Slave Act. Rather than resolve the agitation, these measures gave way to a decade of rancorous conflict which brought about the Civil War. This interpretative study seeks to understand why this president remained anchored to a past that was no longer effective in his own time.

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Book SynopsisThis is an excellent full length biography of America''s second president who was the Colossus of Independence'' arguing for the passage of the Declaration of Independence on the floor of the Second Continental Congress. Adams'' venerated political writings established the framework for our nation''s government on the state and federal levels. A fine judge of character, Adams nominated George Washington to lead the Continental Army, negotiated foreign loans to aid the Revolution, gained recognition for America''s independence abroad, and was part of the diplomatic team ending the Revolutionary War with the Treaty of 1783. Chosen as America''s first ambassador to Britain, Adams renewed amicable relations with the former mother country. Through his political writings, Adams influenced the framework for the U.S. Constitution with his earlier state constitution for Massachusetts. Elected as Vice President when George Washington was elected first U.S. President, Adams established the ground rules for the U.S. Senate to operate, presiding as he did over that august legislative body. He served as Washington''s right hand man and when elected to the presidency himself in 1796 he carried on Washington''s "no entangling alliances" policies and made his own decision to keep the U.S. out of a full-scale war with France during the French Revolution. His Puritan New England background buttressed his sense of morality which he infused into every document he wrote and which dictated his close family relationships especially with his wife Abigail Smith Adams. John Adams was the "thinker" for the revolutionary generation who incorporated all elements of the American political tradition such as republicanism, the separation of powers, the compact theory for government''s creation, the separation of church and state, the need for public education, the necessity for all citizens to enjoy the guarantees outlined later in the Bill of Rights, and the concept that the federal government should rise above the states. The brainpower of John Adams, through his notable documents and treatises, established the American political tradition. This book, covering Adams'' life chapters from birth to death, shows in both public and private life how John Adams was morality triumphant, and was one of the most intelligent of the Founding Fathers.

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Book SynopsisIn the twenty years since Richard Nixon''s death, both his achievements and his failures remain hotly contested. His domestic achievements included revenue sharing, the end of the military draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. In terms of foreign policy, he opened relations with the People''s Republic of China, signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union, and ended the war in Vietnam. For these achievements, he was re-elected in 1972 by one of the largest margins in American history, defeating Democratic candidate Senator George McGovern. In the 20th century, the only comparable victories were Franklin D Roosevelt in 1936 and Lyndon B Johnson in 1964. The shadow of Watergate continues to hang over Nixon''s presidency, and is often the first thing most people associate with Richard Nixon. Fairly or unfairly, there remains much to learn about Watergate and Nixon''s presidency due to the large number of records and White House tapes still being opened. In addition, as subsequent presidential scandals have occurred, Watergate fades slightly, although it does not completely disappear. Only gradually have scholars turned their attention to subjects other than Watergate, observing the plea by President Clinton in his eulogy of Nixon that we judge the 37th president on his full record, and not just his shortcomings. As more records from his presidency are opened, he will continue to receive fuller biographical treatment.

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Book SynopsisComing from humble origins in Illinois, Ronald Reagan always carried an optimism that life would get better, and with his education from small Eureka College, he moved on to become a radio announcer in Iowa and an actor for Warner Brothers in Hollywood. As World War II ended, his political consciousness grew to the point that he appreciated a palpable Communist influence in Hollywood an influence he fought as president of the Screen Actors Guild. He became a Republican turned off by large government programs and high tax rates that stifled personal initiative, and a televised 1964 speech in support of Senator Barry Goldwater''s presidential campaign put him on the political map. After his acting career moved from motion pictures to television, he decided at his friends'' urging to run for governor of California in 1966. He won and served two terms as a successful governor, cutting government waste and abuse of the welfare rolls while protecting law and order and the environment. After the great trials of the nation with Watergate and the Vietnam War, Reagan challenged fellow Republicans for president in 1976 unsuccessfully, but he learned a lot. Following the economic decline of the late 1970s, the nation was ready for Reagan as president in the 1980 election. He won wide success and popularity over two terms even overcoming the Iran-Contra scandal -- by cutting taxes, trusting the people''s ability to work hard and give to others in need, and by never backing down to the Soviet Union. He also dreamed of nuclear weapons'' elimination; he at least managed the elimination of one class of weapons with the INF Treaty signed with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. The Cold War was effectively won with Reagan''s presidency.

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Book SynopsisHistory generally has not been kind to Ulysses Grant. For the longest time, even his military reputation had been sullied by the stinging indictments of Lost Cause advocates who enjoyed unquestioned sway over the popular interpretation of Civil War history. The apotheosis of Robert E Lee''s role in the war required the diminishment of Grant''s reputation. Fortunately, this impression has been convincingly reversed and Grant is now hailed as the proper savior of the Union. The same reversal cannot be said of interpretations of Ulysses S Grant, the President. Until recently, Grant has been pilloried as a hopelessly naïve, bumbling incompetent who was way over his head in the political arena. The combined forces of self-styled reformers of his own day and the criticism of Lost Cause devotees consigned Grant to the ranks of America''s worst presidents. In the popular imagination, as reflected in ongoing surveys, polls, and rankings, Grant still suffers from a poor evaluation. Only in the last generation of historians have we begun to revisit the Grant presidency and suggest that he may well have been a very capable and strong president; one who was inspired by noble sentiments and aspirations that simply were not attainable in his own time. This study continues in the revisionist tradition to suggest that Grant was an excellent chief executive even though much of what he strove to accomplish was not realised in his time.

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Book SynopsisThe Age of President Garfield was an exciting age as it featured the music of John Philip Sousa''s marching bands, the new dime novels, captains of industry such as John D Rockefeller, legendary cowboys of the Old West, the Indian Wars, and the expansion of America''s interest in empire building abroad. James A Garfield rose from birth in a log cabin in Ohio, to work as a canal boy, earned an education at Ceauga Academy, Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, and graduated from Williams College in 1856. He became president of Western Reserve in 1857, studied law, married Lucretia Randolph, and was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1859. During the Civil War, he became a hero, earned the rank of Major General and assisted General William S Rosecrans as his Chief of Staff. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1862, he was a Radical Republican seeking to redeem the South and protect the freedmen. Selected for the U.S. Senate in 1880, then nominated for the U.S. Presidency in Chicago also in 1880, he won the election and became the 20th U.S. President with Chester A Arthur as his Vice President. This book is a rich tapestry filled with characters, events, institutions, and causes dominating the era. Roscoe Conkling, James G Blaine, Andrew Carnegie, King Kalakaua of Hawaii, Queen Victoria, and Gilbert and Sullivan are a few of the parallel characters, and the creation of the United States Geological Survey, expansion of the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress, and the American chapter of the Red Cross are some of the enduring legacies. Garfield''s era saw the invention of the Bessemer steel process and the Otis elevator, the coming of the street trolley and gas lighting, immigrants pouring into Industrialising America and the formation of workers'' unions. Garfield''s presidency was at the height of the Gilded Age, one of the most fascinating moments in all of American history. This book must be read to understand how America moved from frontier to empire. A sophisticated and nuanced treatment of President James A Garfield.

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Book SynopsisIt had never occurred to Rutherford B. Hayes that he could be a presidential contender until he won an unprecedented third term as Ohios governor in 1875. Up to that point, he had been content with his life, but once he got the presidential bug it could not be shaken. At the 1876 Republican National convention, Maines Senator James G. Blaine appeared to have the presidential nomination within his grasp until there was a stampede for Hayes on the seventh ballot. As a Civil War hero, congressman, governor, and solid family man, Hayes was an attractive candidate. As a reformer, he had no ties to the scandals that had marred the Johnson and Grant Administrations. After a hotly contested campaign, Hayes lost the popular vote to New York Governor Samuel Tilden by a quarter million votes. The electoral count was unclear as both parties claimed to have won three Southern states. It took three months and the creation of an Electoral Commission to declare Hayes the presidential winner, just two days before his inauguration. For four years, President Hayes battled a hostile Congress controlled by Democrats as he attempted to reform the civil service, defending the independence of the presidency in an attempt to end sectionalism. His most controversial decision was to try a course of conciliation toward the South in an attempt to heal the rift from the Civil War. Many historians have said that Hayes ended Reconstruction, but in reality it was over before Hayes took office. When he was nominated to run for President, Hayes promised to serve only one term and did not renege on that promise. He returned to Ohio to live out his life with his family and to work for his community, veterans, education, prison reform, and equal rights.

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Book Synopsis“A beautiful and powerfully affecting portrait of a boyhood in a military family.” —Phil Klay, author of Missionaries and the National Book Award-winning Redeployment As a child, Jerad Alexander lay in bed listening to the fighter jets take off outside his window and was desperate to be airborne. As a teenager at an American base in Japan, he immersed himself in war games, war movies, and pulpy novels about Vietnam. Obsessed with all things military, he grew up playing with real guns, joined the Civil Air Patrol for the uniform, and dreamed of enlisting and playing his part in the Great American War Story. Once in Iraq as a U.S. Marine, however, he came to realize he was fighting a lost cause, enmeshed in the ongoing War on Terror that was really just a fruitless display of American might. The myths of war, the stories of violence and masculinity and heroism, the legacy of his family—everything Alexander had planned his life around—was a mirage. Alternating scenes from childhood with skirmishes in the Iraqi desert, this original, searing, and propulsive memoir introduces a powerful new voice in the literature of war. Jerad W. Alexander—not some elite warrior, but a simple volunteer—delivers a passionate and timely reckoning with the troubled and cyclical truths of the American war machine.Trade Review“Riveting and morally complex, Volunteers is not only an insider’s account of war. It takes you inside the increasingly closed culture that creates our warriors. In the case of Jerad W. Alexander, that culture has also created a writer of remarkable talent.” —Elliot Ackerman, author of the National Book Award finalist Dark at the Crossing “A beautiful and powerfully affecting portrait of a boyhood in a military family, in which contrasting and ever more complex views of America, of war, and of what it means to be a soldier lead to the decision to join the military and serve in Iraq. In that way, it’s also a portrait of the stories we tell ourselves, and how those stories fare when our children grow up and try to live them.” —Phil Klay, author of Redeployment (winner of the National Book Award) and Missionaries “With this work, Jerad W. Alexander has staked his claim as one of the most necessary voices while contributing to a necessary and overdue examination of our military culture and what it means to be an American. An absolute triumph.” —Jared Yates Sexton, author of American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People “Alexander offers a well-attuned perspective of the military world and how its expansive influence not only motivates, but also arouses a justification for war itself . . . Alexander’s insights into the myth-building ethos of the military . . . are well articulated, and he ably explores ideals of masculinity, heroism, and camaraderie within the military establishment . . . Alexander vividly captures the foreboding atmosphere of a country under siege and recounts the disturbing incidents he witnessed during his seven-month deployment . . . An absorbing memoir reflecting the realities of serving in the modern-day military.” —Kirkus Reviews “What sets apart Volunteers from other literary treatments of modern conflict is that it understands war is not a destination but a state of being. 'The war is everywhere,' Jerad W. Alexander writes in this beautiful, dark chronicle of an American life and lineage shaped by empire. This testament to moral and physical courage deserves all the accolades about to come its way and more. Volunteers is exceptional.” —Matt Gallagher, author of Youngblood and Empire City “A reckoning of American identity, masculinity, and exceptionalism that dissects the U.S. military ethos, while capturing the popular culture that shaped a generation of service members. An eloquent and compelling memoir, written in the language of candor, humor, and grim realism.” —Dewaine Farria, author of Revolutions of All Colors “Volunteers is a compelling twofer. In it, Jerad Alexander recounts his coming of age in an environment that glamorized war and his own subsequent encounter with the singularly unglamorous reality of combat. Vivid, intimate, and moving, Volunteers belongs on the very top shelf of ‘forever war’ memoirs.” —Andrew Bacevich, author of After the Apocalypse: America's Role in a World Transformed

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Book SynopsisSex, corruption, and power: the rise and fall of the Red Widow of ParisParis, 1889:Margeurite Steinheil is a woman with ambition. But having been born into a middle-class family and trapped in a marriage to a failed artist twenty years her senior, she knows her options are limited. Determined to fashion herself into a new woman, Meg orchestrates a scandalous plan with her most powerful resource: her body. Amid the dazzling glamor, art, and romance of bourgeois Paris, she takes elite men as her lovers, charming her way into the good graces of the rich and powerful. Her ambitions, though, go far beyond becoming the most desirable woman in Paris; at her core, she is a woman determined to conquer French high society. But the game she plays is a perilous one: navigating misogynistic double-standards, public scrutiny, and political intrigue, she is soon vaulted into infamy in the most dangerous way possible.A real-life femme fatale, Meg influences government positions and resorts to blackmail-and maybe even poisoning-to get her way. Leaving a trail of death and disaster in her wake, she earns the name the "Red Widow" for mysteriously surviving a home invasion that leaves both her husband and mother dead. With the police baffled and the public enraged, Meg breaks every rule in the bourgeois handbook and becomes the most notorious woman in Paris.An unforgettable true account of sex, scandal, and murder, The Red Widow is the story of a woman determined to rise-at any cost.

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Book SynopsisA quick-paced and engaging biography of Canada''s favourite northern poet, Robert Service. Born in England in 1874 to Scottish parents, Robert William Service was raised to live the practical life of a banker. Although banking proved a useful skill to fall back on from time to time, Service was destined to pursue a life of poetry, travel, and adventure. After landing on the west coast of North America at the age of twenty-one, Service found his way to Yukon, the place that would capture his heart and imagination for years to come. Despite his many adventures in Europe and around the world, Yukon remained a strong influence on the poet until his death in 1958. His best-known works, including The Shooting of Dan McGrew and The Cremation of Sam McGee, were inspired by his time there. Focusing on his Yukon period, historian Elle Andra-Warner crafts a vivid story of the poet who defined the North for generations of Canadians.

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Book SynopsisConrad Kain is a titan amongst climbers in Canada and is well-known in mountaineering circles all over the world. His letters to Amelie Malek-a life-long friend-offer a candid view into the deepest thoughts of the Austrian mountain guide, and are a perfect complement to his autobiography, Where the Clouds Can Go. The 144 letters provide a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to Canada in the early part of the twentieth century. Kain's letters are ordered chronologically with annotations, keeping the sections in English untouched, while those in German have been carefully translated. Historians and mountain culture enthusiasts worldwide will appreciate Kain's genius for description, his passion for nature, his opinions, and his musings about his life. Foreword by Chic Scott. Epilogue by Don Bourdon.Trade Review"Zac Robinson’s edition of Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide, 1906–1933 is an important new work. It is imbued with a level of intimacy that was edited out of Kain’s classic biography, Where the Clouds Can Go. Robinson's erudite annotations and freshly discovered photos help shed new light on the life and times of one of our country's greatest mountain guides and raconteurs." -- Pat Morrow * Chairman of the Conrad Kain Centennial Society *“… A must have book for those interested in Conrad Kain, 1st generation Canadian mountaineering and Canadian mountain culture. Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide, 1906-1933 has a splendid assortment of maps and photographs, but the prize jewel of the book are the many letters (142) written by Conrad Kain.… The letters to Amelie are touching and tender, informative and insightful, historic and charming. .. [T]he Robinson and Bourdon contributions are like exquisite book ends within which the evocative letters make for the literary centrepiece.” [Full review at: http://www.conradkain.com/news/book-review-ron-dart] -- Ron Dart"Conrad Kain is a compelling title from University of Alberta Press. Kain is renowned among Canadian mountaineers as a pioneering guide so accomplished they named a British Columbia peak for him, Mount Conrad. He escaped grinding poverty as a miner’s son in rural Austria and travelled the world from Honolulu to Ulaanbaatar.... Conrad Kain: Letters From A Wandering Mountain Guide takes readers page by page through a man’s life and thoughts. It is a dark and absorbing narrative." [Full review at http://www.blacklocks.ca/book-review-the-unhappy-traveler] -- Holly Doan * Blacklock's Reporter *"In a culture that enjoys as many romantic figures as there are mountain peaks on the horizon as viewed from a lofty summit, Conrad Kain holds a special place in the historical landscape of western Canada's mountains. Robinson...makes no secret of his affection for Kain, and that's a good thing, because he handles the letters Kain wrote throughout his adult life while guiding in Canada and New Zealand to his dear friend in Austria, Amelie Malek, with the care and reverence they so richly deserve." -- Lynn Martel * Alpine Club of Canada Gazette *"Conrad Kain was arguably the pre-eminent mountain guide in Canada in the early years of the 20th century and left a legacy of first ascents and epic climbs in his native Austria, in his adopted home in North America (e.g., Mount Robson), and in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.... Robinson has ordered the letters chronologically and throughout the book has skillfully annotated them to fill in gaps or provide context.... From his letters, it’s obvious that Kain loved climbing mountains for the physical challenge, to meet interesting people, to make a living, and for opportunities to travel around the world, but most especially because of his all-consuming love of the natural world." Vol. 129, No. 1 (2015) [Full review at http://canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn] -- Cyndi M. Smith * The Canadian Field-Naturalist *"Simple, beautiful, and thoughtfully handled volume of letters. Though the content is historical in nature, the typography feels fresh and of this time--a nice complement to the old full-bleed photographs. The synopsis of events on the part openers provides a helpful overview of each section." -- Renate Gokl * Juror, AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal Show *"... in the letters we find a Kain who is disarmingly open and honest about his life, his successes and his failures and this unscripted or unedited look into the life of a remarkable man continues throughout the book. As editor, Robinson [includes]... extensive and informative footnotes that provide context and create a broader historical story that fits Kain’s life into the events that occur around him while filling in any gaps in the narrative....Kain is one of those rare gems whose personality and reputation match. He is a great climber and a great person." [Full article at http://ow.ly/SlZcF] -- Rob Alexander * Rocky Mountain Outlook *"[Kain's letters] are rich in detail not only about his travels and climbs in the European, Siberian, Canadian, and New Zealand mountain ranges that involved staggering heights, immense walls of rock, steep glacier fields, icy crests, as well as sudden storms, rockslides, and avalanches. The letters also reflect the inner experience and yearnings of this mountain guide.... The book is enriched by fifty archival photographs mainly of mountains and people as well as by three helpful maps (xvi–xix). The 143 letters are amply annotated.... Reading these letters puts a wonderfully human face on an Austrian mountain guide's achievements and reveals as well his craft's challenges, defeats, and glories." -- Leo Schelbert * Yearbook of German American Studies *"Conrad Kain (1883–1934) was an acclaimed climber of his day. Born in Austria, he immigrated to Canada in 1909 and became known for his pioneering climbs in British Columbia. In 1906, Kain wrote a letter to Amelia Malek (1871–1941), an early student whom he had instructed in the ways of climbing in the Alps. For the rest of his life, Kain wrote to her, first from Austria and then from Canada. The present volume presents all 144 of Kain's letters to Malek. It is a one-sided correspondence marked by class differences—he was a guide, she an affluent tourist—and deep affection. The letters cover a wide range of topics, from the immigrant experience in Canada to his life in the far north to the joy he discovered in the Canadian Rockies. If the writing is rough, the descriptions of the mountains and nature are glorious.” -- R. W. Roberts * Choice Magazine *"Austrian Conrad Kain....became a celebrated guide and mountaineer, claiming sixty-one ascents in the Rockies. Kain was what we have come to call an economic migrant, a poor man looking for better wages and a modicum of financial security.... Throughout Kain’s life abroad, the written word was as important as wages to his sustenance.... Spanning the time from just before he set off for Canada until just before his death, these letters reveal something of the immigrant experience, of the loneliness single men like Kain felt, the solace and sadness that news from home brought, and the desire to return, if only for a visit." [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/621168] -- Tina Loo and Meg Stanley * The Canadian Historical Review *"Kain is a major figure in the history of Canada’s Alpine West. His name endures alongside those of later adventurers in the Bugaboos.... His exploits are familiar to lovers of the Rockies: Mount Robson, Mount Louis, North Twin.... Robinson’s edition consists of newly unearthed letters from Kain to Amelie Malek.... Malek’s letters have not survived, but Kain’s correspondence is effervescent.... The letters register his remarkable zest and on occasion his prejudices. They evoke a bygone time of hemp ropes but also depict aspects of life in a new country.... Devotees of the high country will enjoy the letters’ adventure and charm; literary critics will delight in certain details." Canadian Literature 232 (Spring 2017) [Full review at http://canlit.ca/article/letters-from-iceland] -- Nicholas BradleyTable of ContentsCONTENTS Foreword Conrad Kain, Guide and Mountaineer Chic Scott Acknowledgements Maps Austria; the Canadian Rockies and Columbias; the Southern Alps of New Zealand Introduction Letters from the Archives Part One A Young Guide in Europe, 1906–1909 Part Two Your Friend in the Western Woods, 1909–1912 Part Three The Wanderer, 1912–1916 Part Four With Greetings, From Wilmer, 1920–1933 Epilogue The Kain-Malek Correspondence: Provenance, 1934–2005 Don Bourdon Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAs the South African War reached its grueling end in 1902, colonial interests at the highest levels of the British Empire hand-picked teachers from across the Commonwealth to teach the thousands of Boer children living in concentration camps. Highly educated, hard working, and often opinionated, E. Maud Graham joined the Canadian contingent of forty teachers. Her eyewitness account reveals the complexity of relations and tensions at a controversial period in the histories of both Britain and South Africa. Graham presents a lively historical travel memoir, and the editors have provided rich political and historical context to her narrative in the Introduction and generous annotations. This is a rare primary source for experts in Colonial Studies, Women’s Studies, and Canadian, South African, and British Imperial History. Readers with an interest in the South African War will be intrigued by Graham’s observations on South African society at the end of the Victorian era.Trade Review"Maud Graham’s 1905 book about her experiences in South Africa (1902–04) offers a fascinating perspective on the country.... Historians Michael Dawson, Catherine Gidney, and Susanne M. Klausen have made this primary document accessible by republishing it, adding footnotes to Graham’s text to help contemporary readers, and writing an extensive fifty-page introductory analysis of her account. They have included many of the wonderful photographs that appeared in Graham’s original publication and have added more from Graham’s private collection and relevant archives.... Graham’s account will help others understand how the British and English-speaking Canadians in South Africa perceived Boers and native southern Africans at the turn of the twentieth century, and her descriptions reveal details about everyday life in South Africa at an important moment of transition.... Graham’s book represents the perspective of a well-embedded outsider reporting to far-removed readers, rather than that of a female teacher involved in international or imperial education." -- Benjamin Bryce * Historical Studies in Education *This is a contemporary presentation of a historic document with graceful typographical details. The full bleed archival images and unexpected treatment of page numbers and running shoulders, though unusual for a travel memoir, add to its interest. The consistent use of the grid is satisfying. Daphne Geismar, Juror, Association of American University Presses: Book, Jacket, and Journal Show 2016"This book is recommended for those who wish to learn more about South African history and early race relations or tensions. Graham’s opinionated writing will amuse and interest those researching women’s studies." African Studies Quarterly, Volume 16 -- Amy L. Crofford * African Studies Quarterly *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction CHAPTER I | The Call to South Africa CHAPTER II | London CHAPTER III | Southampton to Cape Town CHAPTER Iv | On the Karoo CHAPTER v | Norval’s Pont Camp CHAPTER v I | Johannesburg and Pretoria CHAPTER v II | End of the Camp Life CHAPTER v III | Fauresmith CHAPTER Ix | Kroonstad CHAPTER x | The Kafirs and the Labor Question CHAPTER x I | Repatriation and Compensation CHAPTER x II | Paupers and Government Relief Works CHAPTER x III | Education and Church Schools CHAPTER xiv | The Farming Question CHAPTER xv | Homewards Bibliography Index

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