History of the Americas Books

Book SynopsisFour guns. Four presidential assassinations. Four potential conspiracies. Four alternate histories. What are the four weapons that changed the course of American history?

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Book SynopsisFrom the 1850s, as the United States pushed west, Chinese migrants met ordinary Americans for the first time. Alienation and xenophobia lost the US this chance for cultural and economic enrichment—but America gave the Chinese new perspectives and connections. They developed a dream of their own. As teenagers, Hugo Wong’s great-grandfathers fled poverty in China for California. A decade later, they were excluded from the States. They helped establish a Chinese settlement across the border in Mexico, led by a world-famous dissident-in-exile with visions of a New China overseas. They would be among the Americas’ first Chinese magnates, meeting with presidents, generals and missionaries, living through astonishing victories and humiliating defeats. The bitterest of all would be the colony’s tragic demise amid a violent Mexican revolution, leading to the largest massacre and deportation of Chinese in American history. This epic 100-year drama follows the lives of the author’s ancestors, via untouched personal papers. Though no Chinese group had ever gained such influence over a Western population and territory, their home in Mexico would long be forgotten. Today, this family story is reborn: one of nationhood, state racism and a turbulent century; of exile, grit and new ways of belonging.Trade Review'When you thought there was nothing more to be written about the story of Chinese immigration to America, along comes Hugo Wong with an absorbing account of his families’ history in Mexico … Both in human terms as well as historical ones, Wong’s tale is worth reading … 'America’s Lost Chinese' tells a tale that we should know, but up to this point, probably did not.' -- Asian Review of Books'An incredible and beautiful family story still relevant to today's world. I recommend this to anyone who wants to understand China and its diaspora, and to explore Chinese history and culture with a human narrative.' -- Karoline Kan, journalist and author of 'Under Red Skies''A fascinating social history of early Chinese migrants who gave the prime of their lives to building industries and wealth of America, and struggled to find their place within and beyond its margins. A brilliant and informative book.' -- Hsiao-Hung Pai, journalist and author of 'Scattered Sand: The Story of China's Rural Migrants''A vivid telling of global politics, and a social and critical understanding of the changing landscape of the Americas, whilst also keeping an intimate family story at its heart. A gripping and touching read.' -- Anna Sulan Masing, author of 'Chinese and Other Asian''Spanning the trans-Pacific from China to America to Mexico, Wong’s family memoir is at once riveting and passionate in capturing the diasporic spirit of patriarchs Leung Hing and Wong Foon Chuck, and sober and dispassionate in carefully situating them in the turbulent histories of three countries.' -- Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Professor of History, American Studies and Ethnic Studies, Brown University'The aspirational Chinese Dream espoused by Xi Jinping speaks of the rejuvenation of a proud nation after a painful century of humiliation. In America's Lost Chinese, Hugo Wong brings that dream to life through a remarkable saga of his family's diaspora. An important perspective that deepens our understanding of the West's conflicts with China.' -- Stephen Roach, author of 'Accidental Conflict: America, China and the Clash of False Narratives''The intertwined stories of two migrant families follow key figures in the rise and fall of the forgotten Chinese community of Mexico and its complex ties with diaspora networks in both the United States and China. A riveting and moving story of resilience, identity and cosmopolitanism.' -- David Palmer, Professor of Sociology, University of Hong Kong'A well-researched account of Wong's ancestors who experienced pivotal changes in both the US and Mexico, most notably the Mexican Revolution. Inspired by the documents and artefacts found in a family trunk, we are lucky to have such an intimate portrait written with insight and depth.' -- Jason Oliver Chang, author of 'Chino: Anti-Chinese Racism in Mexico, 1880–1940'Hugo Wong grew up between Paris and Mexico City. Since 1995, he has lived intermittently in Beijing, where he has helped to found Sino–foreign joint ventures, including China’s first investment bank. He built his career in emerging markets investment at major Hong Kong, London and New York financial institutions.

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Book SynopsisMore than 27 million Americans today can trace their lineage to the Scots, whose bloodline was stained by centuries of continuous warfare along the border between England and Scotland, and later in the bitter settlements of England's Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland. When hundreds of thousands of Scots-Irish migrated to America in the eighteenth century, they brought with them not only long experience as rebels and outcasts but also unparalleled skills as frontiersmen and guerrilla fighters. Their cultural identity reflected acute individualism, dislike of aristocracy and a military tradition; and, over time, the Scots-Irish defined the attitudes and values of the military, of working-class America and even of the peculiarly populist form of American democracy itself. Born Fighting is the first book to chronicle the epic journey of this remarkable ethnic group and the profound but unrecognised role it has played in shaping the social, political and cultural landscape of America from its beginnings through to the present day.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary and ambitious book, written with power and perfect clarity * Scotland Magazine *Powerful stuff . . . an absorbing book * BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine *An entertaining and thought-provoking read * Scottish Field *A comprehensive account of the effect the Scots-Irish had on the American people of today . . . a scholarly work * Scottish Home and Country *Certainly provides some illuminating historical perspectives . . . definitely worth a read * Morning Star *

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Book Synopsis‘The greatest biography of our era … Essential reading for those who want to comprehend power and politics’ The TimesRobert A. Caro’s legendary, multi-award-winning biography of US President Lyndon Johnson is a uniquely riveting and revelatory account of power, political genius and the shaping of twentieth-century America. In this second instalment we witness a momentous turning point in American politics: the tragic last stand of the old politics versus the new. Following Johnson through his service in the Second World War, it describes the foundation and the myths of his long-concealed fortune. The explosive heart of the book is Caro’s revelation of the shocking true story of the fiercely contested 1948 senatorial election, which Johnson won with the the ‘87 votes that changed history’.Trade ReviewThe greatest biography of our era … Essential reading for those who want to comprehend power and politics * The Times *Monumental … sets a standard by which future political biographies must be judged * Telegraph *Thrilling … never has it been told so dramatically, with breathtaking detail piled on incredible development * New York Times *A white-knuckle hair-raising tale … riveting and explosive * Time *Uputdownable … as compulsive as any Hollywood thriller * Evening Standard *A wonderfully detailed, magnificently readable study that gives us not only Johnson’s character but also a vivid picture of America in the 1940s * Literary Review *His depiction of Texas is as brilliant as his account of Lyndon Johnson’s driven soul … a richly rewarding book * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisFrom an acclaimed British author, a sharply focused, riveting account — told from inside the White House — of the crucial days, hours, and moments when the Watergate conspiracy consumed, and ultimately toppled, a president. In January 1973, Richard Nixon was inaugurated after winning re-election in a historic landslide. But by April his presidency had fallen apart as the Watergate scandal metastasised into what White House counsel John Dean called ‘a full-blown cancer’. King Richard is the intimate, utterly absorbing narrative of the tension-packed hundred days when the Watergate burglars and their handlers in the administration turned on one another, revealing their direct connection to the White House. Drawing on thousands of hours of newly released taped recordings, Michael Dobbs takes us into the very heart of the conspiracy, recreating these dramatic events in unprecedentedly vivid detail. He captures the growing paranoia of the principal players, and their desperate attempts to deflect blame, as the noose tightened around them and the daily pressures became increasingly unbearable. At the centre of this spellbinding drama is Nixon himself, a man whose strengths — particularly his determination to win at all costs — were also his fatal flaws. Structured like a classical tragedy with a uniquely American twist, this is an epic and deeply human story of ambition, power, and betrayal.Trade Review‘The book is excellent at painting the scene … I’ve often been asked to recommend a good, brisk and readable single-volume account of Watergate. I think in future I will recommend this one.' -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times *‘Donald Trump had tweets but Nixon had tapes: 3,700 hours of them … They have proved a goldmine for Michael Dobbs … whose elegantly written book, King Richard — Nixon and Watergate: an American tragedy, zooms in on the hundred days that followed Nixon’s second inauguration and led to his downfall.’ -- David Smith * The Guardian *‘Rich and kaleidoscopic … In [Dobbs'] wry and absorbing narrative I sensed an ironic dimension … A portrait of a petulant, insecure man who fancied himself king, or something like it … King Richard distinguishes itself in part by limiting its narrative mostly to the first hundred days after Nixon’s second inauguration … This circumscribed frame allows Dobbs to deploy his observational gifts to full effect … Out of this raw material, Dobbs has carved out something intimate and extraordinary, skilfully chiseling out the details to bring the story to lurid life.’ -- Jennifer Szalai * The New York Times *‘Michael Dobbs is a master at narrative history. By focusing on the most critical 100 days of Watergate, and by sticking closely to the written and spoken record, Dobbs is able to bring to life the tragedy of Richard Nixon in a way no one else has. A truly gripping read and a moving portrait.’ -- Evan Thomas, author of Being Nixon‘The potent research and narrative skills of Michael Dobbs reach new heights in King Richard, his Shakespearean study of the endlessly compelling self-inflicted fall of Richard Nixon. Here again, as he did in his study of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Dobbs applies his signature technique of revealing character through the dramatic compression of time. It makes for illuminating and addictively readable history.’ -- David Maraniss, author of Barack Obama: the story‘Highly readable … If All the President’s Men was the first rough draft of Watergate history, this is the polished rewrite. Older readers will enjoy its deft mix of personality, history, and politics — and younger ones can spare themselves from ploughing through the dustier volumes on the Watergate shelf.’ -- Colin Freeman * The Telegraph *‘The tale of the two-bit break-in at Washington’s Watergate building and its monumental consequences is complex and labyrinthine, but Dobbs manages to tell it with sparkling clarity … he tells the story amazingly well.’ -- Craig Brown * The Mail on Sunday *‘This beautifully written and stunningly detailed portrait of one hundred essential days at the beginning of Nixon’s second term brings the Watergate scandal, its colourful cast of characters and Nixon himself to life in a way we’ve never before seen. Dobbs’s deep dive into the conversations that Nixon obsessively recorded … gives the book amazing authenticity. … King Richard’s vivid characterisations, novelistic detail and universal human themes make this a work of our time and for all time.’ -- Greg Garrett * The Spectator *‘The unraveling of Richard Nixon’s presidency plays out in intimate detail in this vivid recreation of a key period in the Watergate scandal … An indelible study of a political antihero.’ * Publishers Weekly, starred review *‘Spellbinding … Masterful … The author delivers an intimate, engrossing picture of Nixon as a visionary man “obsessed with privacy and solitude,” an affectionate husband and father, and a gut-fighting outsider mystified by power and all its trappings, styling himself as a kind of blend of Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Disraeli, and Charles de Gaulle. A riveting portrait of ambition, hubris, betrayal, and the downfall of an American president.’ * Kirkus Reviews, starred review *‘This is a compelling, moment-by-moment narrative, psychological as much as political, offering a sense of intimacy with the beleaguered Nixon without mawkishness.’ * Booklist, starred review *‘The strength of the work stems from Dobbs’s bringing lesser-known events into clear focus … Spanning biography and history, this is a gripping narrative and a fine account of events in the presidency. Recommended for readers unfamiliar with Watergate or in need of a refresher.’ * Library Journal *‘A balanced but frank account of a critical period in Richard Nixon’s downfall and a valuable addition to the literature of this dramatic era in American political history … Engrossing.’ * BookPage *A fascinating and informative read. -- Jeff Popple * Canberra Times *‘Dobbs’ book does a remarkable job of following the chronology briskly while making tight diversions to fill in the back story and relate biographies of the main characters.’ -- Nick Mattiske * Insights *‘Does the world need another history of the Watergate scandal? If it’s this good, yes.’ -- Tim Stanley * Literary Review *‘This fast-paced opus would be a rollicking fun read, a beach book even, if it weren’t so doggone real – and if it wasn’t so reminiscent of recent machinations in our nation’s capital. But fun or not, this is an important book at this moment in our tortured political history.’ * USA Today, starred review *‘Engrossing … a gripping psychological portrait.’ -- Andrew Lynch * The Sunday Business Post *‘Richard Nixon, who’s own naughty mouth, blind spots and pathetic unraveling gets a renewed intimacy in Michael Dobbs’ surprisingly riveting King Richard: Nixon and Watergate. Like a great curse word, you have heard it endlessly, but told through a fresh voice, it’s as fun as it is lurid.’ -- Christopher Borelli * Chicago Tribune *‘Smart and highly readable … Dobbs has a talent for you-are-there description … Vivid and fun.’ -- David Greenberg * New York Times Book Review *‘Dobbs … has a keen sense of drama. And, by focusing on the 100 days after Nixon’s triumphant second inauguration, he provides a clever lens for viewing most all of the president’s disastrous decisions, with an intimacy — due to Dobbs’s subtle choice of extracts from the tapes — that is stunning … The story Dobbs tells is, by turns, hilarious, pathetic and infuriating.’ -- Joe Klein * Washington Post *‘Brings the semi-tragic Nixon story to life in a form which has the same breathless pace and thrill-ride drama of a 1995 Oliver Stone blockbuster biopic. But it’s even more rewarding for fans of American political history, with additional depth and analysis, more richly drawn characters, and the kind of authenticity only access to real documentary evidence can bring.’ * Big Issue *‘Vivid … King Richard [has] a better shot than most histories have at reaching younger readers. At the same time, it gives a (much) older generation of Watergate junkies a way to rediscover the dark intrigues of Nixon and his entourage — with notes of relief that we all survived, and perhaps a touch of nostalgia as well … Dobbs achieves something of a cinematic effect … Whether you lived through the Watergate years, or have studied them since, Dobbs’ book hearkens back to an era when even a president elected in a landslide could be held to account by the system itself.’ -- Ron Elving * NPR *‘Fresh … Ingenious … It is Dobbs’s ability to use the techniques of fiction — getting inside the characters’ heads and reconstructing their interactions scene by scene — that gives this book its page-turning power.’ -- Charlotte Allen * Washington Examiner *‘A rollicking narrative history of the first 100 days of Nixon’s second term — the break-in, the cover-up, the investigation — that manages to be searing, humane, and addictive.’ -- Alessandra Stanley * Air Mail *‘With access to thousands of hours of released tapes, as well as other primary sources, Dobbs offers cogent detail and individual anecdotes about Nixon and his co-conspirators … With cohesion of purpose, command of subject, wealth of specificity and precision of prose, Dobbs fashions an absorbing narrative. A capital work of history rendered with Dobbs’ ability to convey immediacy, King Richard adds welcome clarity and nuance to the Watergate story.’ * The Free Lance-Star *Praise for Six Months in 1945: ‘[S]uperbly evocative … So vivid is the writing that you can practically feel the shuddering vibration and turbulence in what was then the state-of-the-art aircraft carrying Roosevelt on the first visit by an American president to the Soviet Union.’ * San Francisco Chronicle *Praise for Six Months in 1945: ‘Elegant and convincing … Dobbs's description of the fledgling relationship between the two superpowers is unerringly fascinating.’ * The Washington Post *Praise for Six Months in 1945: ‘Elegantly written … Dobbs delivers engaging portraits of the national leaders … A confident and rewarding survey of a hinge point in 20th century history.’ * Kirkus Reviews *Praise for One Minute to Midnight: ‘A book with sobering new information about the world's only superpower nuclear confrontation — as well as contemporary relevance … Filled with insights that will change the views of experts and help inform a new generation.’ -- Richard Holbrooke * The New York Times Book Review *Praise for One Minute to Midnight: ‘Did we need another book on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962? Anyone reading One Minute to Midnight will quickly realise that we did need another — and that this is it. This is unquestionably the most complete and accurate account of the crisis that we have, and will no doubt long remain so. Michael Dobbs has managed to combine the careful and thorough research of a scholar into the ability of an able journalist to bring his findings to life in a dramatic story that illuminates the historical events it examines with lively characterisation of the people who made up the cast of the drama. It is first rate great history and a great read!’ -- Ambassador Raymond Garthoff, former intelligence analyst and author of Reflections on the Cuban Missile CrisisPraise for One Minute to Midnight: ‘At a time of danger for a nation it is important for political leaders first to think, then to think more and try avoid shooting. This book gives a day by day perspective on how two world leaders, John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, showed their ability to manage a crisis. Thanks to them, humanity survived and we are able to read this book.’ -- Sergei KhrushchevPraise for Winston's War: ‘An author who can bring historical happenings so vitally back to life and made all the more impressive by being historically accurate in every respect.’ * Times of London *Praise for Winston's War: ‘Dobbs takes us so far inside the mind of Winston Churchill that we feel as though we actually are him.’ * Booklist *Praise for Winston's War: ‘Dobbs infuses dramatic tension, inventive plots, and heady pacing in the narration of a British icon's noblest hours.’ * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisFive decades after one of America's greatest tragedies, this compelling book pierces the veil of secrecy to document the small, tightly held conspiracy that killed President John F. Kennedy. It explains why he was murdered, and how it was done in a way that forced many records to remain secret for decades.

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Book SynopsisThe History of the United States from 1492 to 1910, Vol. 1 authored by Julian Hawthorne offers a comprehensive overview of the nation's development from its early exploration to the dawn of the 20th century. Hawthorne skillfully navigates through the important events which shaped the rise of the US into a dominant global power in this enlightening study. Beginning with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the book delves into colonization, the struggle for independence, and the founding of the American Republic. Hawthorne examines significant events like the American Revolution, the framing of the Constitution, westward expansion, and the Civil War in depth, highlighting the individuals and societal forces which shaped these revolutionary periods. Hawthorne presents a vivid picture of the nation's growth through expertly interweaving social, economic, and political threads, touching on the complexities of its cultural melting pot, religious influences, and economic vitality.

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Book SynopsisThis volume, From Independence to the Civil War, covers important themes and historiographical debates:

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe idea of the American spirit has always been rooted in expansion and abundanceat great cost to the environment. Americans now find themselves at the edge of consequence: entering an age of scarcity, less ready to thrive than ever before, and in need of a new relationship with the natural world. Wilderness and the American Spirit retells the story of the American West putting our national mythology in context with our current environmental crisis. Ruby McConnell is a geologist who uses the Applegate Trailthe lesser known southern alternative to the Oregon Trailas a vehicle to tell stories in the same way that Rachel Carson used birds and Edward Abbey used Arches. The trail begins in the deserts of Nevada, home of today's Burning Man Festival. She follows the route westward through time and place exploring map-making, land use policies, the establishment of utopian communities (both faith-based and not), and the creation of resource based economies, connecting the dots and showing h

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Book Synopsis"This book explores settler colonial genocides in a global perspective and over the long durée. It does so systematically and compellingly, as it investigates how settler colonial expansion at times created conditions for genocidal violence, and the ways in which genocide was at times perpetrated on settler colonial frontiers. This volume will prove invaluable to teachers and students of imperialism, colonialism, and human rights."—Lorenzo Veracini, Swinburne University of Technology, and author of The World Turned Inside Out: Settler Colonialism as a Political IdeaTrade Review"A succinct, insightful, and highly readable text discussing an issue that deserves to be integral to any world history course. Using four finely crafted, yet widely dispersed, case studies Adhikari strikingly shows how vulnerability and resistance occur as the waves of global capitalism hit indigenous societies."—Robert Gordon, University of Vermont“Illuminating and compelling. This is a volume about genocide, a recurrent phenomenon in world history that, disturbingly, has created our modernity. Mohamed Adhikari equips the reader with a sound conceptual introduction, then provides four detailed yet clear accounts of genocide in the Canary Islands, Queensland, California, and German Southwest Africa. He has expertly provided the big picture as well as the specifics true to each history. Primary sources from each episode invite the reader’s participation in analysis. A book with which to think and to teach others.”—Lora Wildenthal, Rice University

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Book SynopsisWinner, AIGA 50 Books 50 Covers and Alcuin Society Book Design Awards Second Prize (Prose Illustrated) A National Bestseller The legacies of theaters, hotels, fire stations, flour mills, and more — torn down, burned down, and otherwise lost — are uncovered in this bittersweet collection. Using archival photographs, blueprints, and written reports, Raymond Biesinger has rendered a selection of Canada’s most iconic lost buildings in his signature minimalist style. Accompanying Biesinger’s illustrations are Alex Bozikovic’s descriptions which capture each building’s historical, cultural, and architectural significance. Bozikovic draws on local histories, archived building permits and his own extensive knowledge of the Canadian urban architectural landscape and its history — from the letters passed through Kelowna’s unlikely art deco post office to the destruction of a home in Halifax’s Africville — to offer fascinating, sometimes forgotten stories about each building and its significance. An impossible architectural walking tour, 305 Lost Buildings of Canada spans the country, its cities and countryside, and its history. Cities change, buildings come and go, but in this fact-filed compendium, you’ll find the lost wonders of Canada’s architecture.Trade Review“305 Lost Buildings of Canada reads like a nostalgic road trip. Showing you buildings and places that you might remember, spots you've never seen, and spaces that you wish you could have seen. Sometimes sad, sometimes shocking, this volume is a beautiful blend of story, architecture, and history.” -- Falen Johnson, co-host of The Secret Life of Canada“It might be hard to feel sentimental about what we cannot see; certainly, we cannot be sentimental about what we do not know. These vignettes, stories of a time and place that hinge on a building that was often a reflection of something bigger, are an invaluable contribution to the history of settlement in Canada, the continual process of creation and recreation that shapes urbanization, and our built heritage. Biesinger and Bozikovic's artistry is in hooking a bigger story to that of a single building, and they evoke both wonder and a sense of loss in doing so. I am glad to have read 305 Lost Buildings of Canada, and I hope to become a better city builder for it.” -- Jennifer Keesmaat, former Toronto Chief City Planner

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Book SynopsisA “raw and honest” (Los Angeles Review of Books) memoir from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States.Trade Review"A saga about the survival of spirituality and creativity in the face of generations of racism, dispossession, and familial dysfunction…Fantastic, terrible and beautiful." -- Rebecca Steinitz - Boston Globe"Stirring…In her harrowing and ultimately hopeful story, Harjo allows the reader to know her intimately, and we are enriched by her honesty." -- Ms."A must-read for her fans and a fascinating door into her world for those new to her work." -- Elizabeth Wilkinson - Minneapolis Star Tribune"Gritty and mystical…Reads like a sacred prayer." -- San Francisco Chronicle"Exquisite…A must-read for anyone who appreciates the healing power of literature." -- Southwest"Blunt, moving…[Affirms and acclaims] the artistic impulse." -- Smithsonian"Dances into hard truth. [Harjo’s] fine crafting of words and deft braiding of mythic visions throughout the text almost—almost—draw you past the truth of her personal story. That story is harsh and scary, mystical and loving, and, ultimately, triumphant and healing." -- Indian Country"Joy Harjo has always been able to see with more than her eyes. Her writing is a testament to this gift. Her memoir honors her own journey as well as those who fell along the wayside. Her hero’s journey is a gift for all those struggling to make their way." -- Sandra Cisneros"Joy Harjo is a giant-hearted, gorgeous, and glorious gift to the world. Her belief in art, in spirit, is so powerful, it can’t help but spill over to us—lucky readers. Wildly passionate and honest as a hound, Crazy Brave invites us into a whole new way of seeing—deeper, less cluttered, and vastly more courageous than our own. It’s a book for people who want to re-fall in love with the world." -- Pam Houston

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Book SynopsisOne man goes in search of the lost cities of the Amazon in the Inca heartland.Trade Review`It is a measure of Hugh Thomson's skill as a writer, historian and explorer that The White Rock is such a pleasure...' -- Justin Marozzi * THE SPECTATOR *`In The White Rock, the whole continent becomes a plot with suspense and a cast of outrageous characters...This is Bruce Chatwin with cojones.' -- Andy Martin * THE INDEPENDENT *`The White Rock is the long-awaited definitive travel book on Peru.' -- John Hemming, author of The Conquest of the Incas`A riveting account of South American exploration and Peruvian culture, full of unforgettable stories and amazing facts.' * THE BOOKSELLER *`A record of one man's obsession with the Incas over a period of 20 years...an obsession that led him to search out (and in one case discover) Inca ruins in the most inaccessible places, far beyond the reach of tourists.' -- Anthony Daniels * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Engrossing... the sort of book that fires the armchair traveller with a desire to follow in its author's footsteps. -- Geoffrey Moorhouse * NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW *`One of the strongest debuts I have read for a while.' -- Anthony Sattin * SUNDAY TIMES *`It is the mixture of historian, traveller and film-maker that makes The White Rock come alive as few other books about South America have done.' -- Ulick O'Connor * SUNDAY INDEPENDENT *Time and again he brings the Incas to life as real people. -- Matthew Parris * RADIO 4 *Thomson's account of his travels through the Inca heartlands weaves geographical, spiritual, personal and historical strands to an effect as rich and vivid as a Peruvian shawl. -- Juliet Clough * DAILY TELEGRAPH *`It is Thomson's generosity of spirit which stands out and makes this a great book...a work that is both accessible and academically rigorous.' -- Isabel Cockayne * EASTERN DAILY PRESS *Thomson's wit, eye for detail and reverence for humanity set him apart¿he is as good a companion as a traveller could hope for. * PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY *The White Rock is a gem of a book, an intelligent, balanced and indeed original look at the empire of the Incas * LOS ANGELES TIMES *'I'll look forward to all his future stories if they're even half as well told, as vivid and funny and human, as this one.' -- Alan Peter Ryan * WASHINGTON POST *

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Book SynopsisA wry, instructive, and hugely entertaining account of “one of the most sensational trials in American history” (New York Times Book Review).On the night of July 3, 1870, Elizabeth Tilton confessed to her husband that she’d had an affair with their pastor, Henry Ward Beecher. This secret would soon transfix America, for Beecher was the most famous preacher of the day, founder of the most fashionable church in Brooklyn Heights, a presidential hopeful, an influential supporter of Abolition, and a leader of the campaign for women’s suffrage. When Beecher tried to silence the Tiltons, it was a whisper network of suffragists, notably Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who spread news of the affair, and it was the radical Victoria Woodhull—an outspoken proponent of “free love”—who seized on it, as political dynamite, to blow up the myth of monogamy among the political elite. Her public accusations led to even mor

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Book SynopsisAn engaging investigation of contemporary Brazilian artist Lygia Pape’s early body of woodblock prints, which profoundly influenced the trajectory of her oeuvre

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Pulitzer Prize Winner of the National Book Award New York Times Bestseller #1 on Esquire's List of the 50 Best Biographies of All Time "[A] commanding and important book." —Jill Lepore, The New YorkerTrade Review"A sweeping, prodigiously researched biography." -- Motoko Rich - New York Times"A monumental and original book." -- Fergus Bordewich - Washington Post"A brilliant book…It marks the author as one of the most astute, insightful, and forthright historians of this generation." -- Edmund S. Morgan and Marie Morgan - New York Review of Books"[A] very important and powerfully argued history of the Hemings family…[Gordon-Reed] has the imagination and talent of an expert historian." -- Gordon S. Wood - The New Republic"This comprehensive biography of Hemings’s family before, during, and after their lives at Monticello belongs on the biography genre’s Mount Rushmore thanks to Gordon-Reed’s revelatory investigation and her stellar narration of history from a previously hidden perspective." -- Adam Morgan - Esquire"A riveting and compassionate family portrait that deserves to endure as a model of historical inquiry…stands dramatically apart for its searching intelligence and breadth of humane vision…We owe Annette Gordon-Reed tremendous thanks." -- Kirk Davis Swinehart - Chicago Tribune"The Hemingses of Monticello makes a powerful argument for the historical significance of the Hemings family not only for its engagement with a principal architect of the early Republic, but also for the ways the family embodies the complexities and contradictions of slavery in the United States. " -- James Smethurst - The Boston Globe"The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed, a historian and law professor, is a doorstop corrective to early American history, painting a composite portrait of a family that stood at the wellspring of the Jefferson, slave Sally Hemings, their children and kin fascinate and surprise. " -- Cleveland Plain Dealer"Because of Gordon-Reed, Hemings and her ancestors and descendants achieve full personhood. For that, the author deserves praise and lots of readers. " -- Minneapolis Star-Tribune"An epic saga of the Hemings family, whose bloodline has been mixed with that of Thomas Jefferson since our third president took slave Sally Hemings as a mistress. " -- Dallas Morning News"Gordon-Reed has pulled off an astonishing feat of historical re-creation, involving equal measures of painstaking archival detective work, creative historical imagination, and balanced judgment." -- François Furstenberg - Slate"As the title suggests, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family brings an entire family out of the historic shadows that have been cast across Jefferson’s famous Virginia home. The book succeeds on this score by showing how generations of Hemingses labored at Monticello. It offers a stunning illustration of the tragedy that slavery could wreak. " -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution"Hemings and her extended family receive a worthy biography. " -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch"The Hemingses of Monticello explores a thorny but important chapter in American history with distinction and clarity, offering a poignant, if also often ugly, chronicle of slavery, secrecy and family tension. " -- Ron Wynn - Bookpage

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Book SynopsisLGBT activism is often imagined as a self-contained struggle, inspired by but set apart from other social movements. This book recounts a far different story: a history of queer radicals who understood their sexual liberation as intertwined with solidarity against imperialism, war, and racism.Trade Review"Hobson succeeds in painting a rich portrait of a vibrant gay and lesbian left that flourished in the Bay Area in the 1970s and 1980s and saw itself as connected to the international left... the book has certainly made me rethink the way I write and teach LGBT history and has added some very necessary complications to that standard narrative." Daily Kos "Hobson analyzes these tensions and recovers varying forms of political critique, strategy, and community. Through drawing on oral histories and archival documents, including striking photographs, flyers, and political artwork, Lavender and Red lifts up a strain of gay and lesbian activism that had been all but lost to memory for most activists and scholars of today." New Books NetworkTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. Beyond the Gay Ghetto: Founding Debates in Gay Liberation 2. A More Powerful Weapon: Lesbian Feminism and Collective Defense 3. Limp Wrists and Clenched Fists: Defining a Politics and Hitting the Streets 4. 24th and Mission: Building Lesbian and Gay Solidarity with Nicaragua 5. Talk About Loving in the War Years: Nicaragua, Transnational Feminism, and AIDS 6. Money for AIDS, Not War: Anti-militarism, Direct Action against the Epidemic, and Movement History Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisNow with a new foreword, this timely reissuefeatures aremarkable collection of oral histories that trace three decades of turbulent race relations and social change in the United States for a new generation of activists. One evening in 1955, Howard Spence, a Mississippi field representative for the NAACP investigating the Emmett Till murder, was confronted by Klansmen who burned an eight-foot cross on his front lawn. I felt my life wasn't worth a penny with a hole in it. Twenty-four years later, Spence had become a respected pillar of that same Mississippi town, serving as its first Black alderman. The story of Howard Spence is just one of the remarkable personal dramas recounted inBlack Lives, White Lives. Beginning in 1968, Bob Blauner and a team of interviewers recorded the words of those caught up in the crucible of rapid racial, social, and political change. Unlike most retrospective oral histories, these interviews capture the intense racial tension of 1968 in real time, as peopTrade Review"A compelling window into American race relations in the second half of the 20th century. But more than that, thanks to Blauner’s vision and the skill of his team of researchers, the book has the feel of a sociological classic." * Society for US Intellectual History *Table of ContentsContents Foreword by Gerald Early Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE 1968 Surviving the Sixties Integration or Black Power? The Great Debate 1. The Politics of Manhood and the Southern Black Experience Florence Grier “My father was from Alabama” Len Davis “Promised Land is just like the old plantation” Howard Spence “I wouldn’t want to treat anybody like I’ve been treated in Mississippi” 2. Whites on the Front Lines of Racial Conflict Joe Rypins “Stokely Carmichael ain’t no better than me” Gladys Hunt “You break your neck to do something, and they give you a hard time” Joan Keres “Sometimes you wish you were black” Virginia Lawrence “I was the wrong color in my black man’s eyes” 3. Four Black Women and the Consciousness of the Sixties Florence Grier “I’m tired of being scared” Millie Harding “This is no dream world, baby” Vera Brooke “Those that came from a different social experience I feared” Elena Albert “Something happened in my childhood I’ve never forgotten” 4. White Backlash: The Fear of a Black Majority and Other Nightmares Maude Wiley “They’re afraid the colored people are gonna move in and take over” George Hendrickson “We’ve got the lowest, poorest type” William Singer “We didn’t have a great sense of racial awareness” Bill Harcliff “It’s just a strong apartheid on the street” Diane Harcliff “The whole racial thing makes me burst with sadness” 5. Black Youth and the Ghetto Streets Richard Simmons “White boys, they’re always innocent” Larry Dillard “I would like to kill a white man, just to put it on the books” Sarah Williams “The marching and demonstrations is stupid” Harold Sampson “Denying you the right to be a man” 6. The Paradox of Working-Class Racism Lawrence Adams “They’ve got the right to have every human dignity that I have” Jim Corey “If I can help a colored man without hurting myself, I haven’t got anything to lose” Dick Cunningham “My oldest daughter married a black man” 7. Black Workers: New Options and Old Problems Richard Holmes “The Negro don’t want to work” Len Davis “The postal system has become a Negro-type job” Mark Anthony Holder “Being a man is being part of the world” Jim Pettit “These people had been treating me bad all my life, and I didn’t know it” Frank Casey “They call me an instigator” Carleta Reeves “I’d come home bitching and yelling” Henry Smith “This was my means of retaliating” PART TWO 1978–1987 Growing Older in the Seventies and Eighties The Ambiguities of Racial Change 8. “Still in the Struggle”: Black Activists Ten Years Later Howard Spence “I’m going to protect this land” Millie Harding “Dealing with the human issues” Florence Grier “I haven’t changed that much” 9. White Lives and the Limits of Integration George Hendrickson “The man is a damn fool who won’t change his mind” Maude Wiley “That was such a strong time of change” Virginia Lawrence “The world changed exactly the way I was going” William Singer “We’ve turned life itself into a quota business” Bill Harcliff “What I really do is live in a white neighborhood” 10. Black Youth: The Worsening Crisis Richard Simmons “The American black man is a dying species” Larry Dillard “Without [the Black Panthers], my generation would be a different generation” Sarah Williams “I had him and everything just changed” Jim Pettit “Two counts against me: I’m black and I’m gay” 11. Blue-Collar Men in a Tight Economy Jim Corey “He’s just a boy, Daddy” Dick Cunningham “Even Walnut Creek, it’s integrating” Lawrence Adams “The federal government and AT&T screwed up” Joe Rypins “Smelling like a rose” Mark Anthony Holder “Peoples of forty, they’re no longer thinking about a race thing” 12. Men, Women, and Opportunity Harold Sampson “I have not been able to achieve selfhood through the civil rights movement” Frank Casey “If they had gave me the green light” Carleta Reeves “To grow and develop with the times” Henry Smith “If I were a white guy . . .” 13. Keeping the Spirit of the Sixties Alive Vera Brooke “The caring factor” Joan Keres “The way that you view humanity and the earth, those are the main things” Len Davis “My whole damn culture’s gone” Elena Albert “I as an individual will continue to resist” Conclusion Appendix: Methodology Notes Bibliographic Essay

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Book SynopsisA persuasive account of the philosophy and power of nonviolence organizing, and a resource for building and sustaining effective social movements. Despite the rich history of nonviolent philosophy, many people today are unfamiliar with the basic principles and practices of nonviolenceeven as these concepts have guided so many direct-action movements to overturn forms of racial apartheid, military and police violence, and dictatorships around the world.Revolutionary Nonviolence is a crucial resource on the long history of nonviolent philosophy through the teachings of Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., one of the great practitioners of revolution through deliberate and sustained nonviolence. His ongoing work demonstrates how we can overcome violence and oppression through organized direct action, presenting a powerful roadmap for a new generation of activists. Rev. Lawson's work as a theologian, pastor, and social-change activist has inspired hope and liberation for more than sixty years.Trade Review"A ‘how to’ guide for the next generation." * Christian Science Monitor *"This book is both easy to read and deeply inspiring. It is among the best introductions to the philosophy of the nonviolent movement. . . . Highly recommended." * CHOICE *"Rev. Lawson wants us to think big. . . .What he offers...is a huge helping of wisdom. Lawson also offers a method, derived from Gandhi, King, and his own experience in movements for freedom, peace and economic justice." * Fellowship Magazine *Table of ContentsForeword by Angela Davis Preface Introduction to James M. Lawson's Talks, Dialogues, and Interviews Michael K. Honey 1 The Power of Nonviolence in the Fight for Racial Justice 2 Understanding Violence and Nonviolence 3 Steps of a Nonviolent Protest or Movement 4 Examples of Social Change through Nonviolence 5 Where Do We Go from Here? 6 You Have to Do the Truth Part First: A Dialogue between Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. and Bryan Stevenson 7 A Brief Biography of James M. Lawson Jr. Kent Wong Notes Contributing Authors

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Book SynopsisHella Town reveals the profound impact of transportation improvements, systemic racism, and regional competition on Oakland's built environment. Often overshadowed by San Francisco, its larger and more glamorous twin, Oakland has a fascinating history of its own. From serving as a major transportation hub to forging a dynamic manufacturing sector, by the mid-twentieth century Oakland had become the urban center of the East Bay. Hella Town focuses on how political deals, economic schemes, and technological innovations fueled this emergence but also seeded the city's postwar struggles. Toward the turn of the millennium, as immigration from Latin America and East Asia increased, Oakland became one of the most diverse cities in the country. The city still grapples with the consequences of uneven class- and race-based development-amid-disruption. How do past decisions about where to locate highways or public transit, urban renewal districts or civic venues, parks or shopping centersTrade Review“Schwarzer’s biography of Oakland is a big book, an important book, a powerful book and an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to reform the city by any means necessary.” * CounterPunch *"Noteworthy for several reasons, but one is its timeliness. Though Hella Town tells a familiar story — Oakland’s rise as an industrial hub, its fall to the failings of racism, its still-troubled resurgence — the lens through which it makes sense of that story provides insights about how cities come to be (and why they fail) that prove eerily relevant to those writing Oakland’s next act right now. . . . All who want Oakland’s story to read, ultimately, as something other than tragic — more a celebration of all that makes this place uniquely great — should be aware of what building big things (or not building them) can do. Among other things, Hella Town is an excellent education to that end." * San Francisco Chronicle *"A sparkling new history filled with lessons for our present." * SF Weekly *"A model history of urban development, laying out the stages of ‘Oakland’s built environment' from its take-off in the last decade of the nineteenth century to the early years of the current century." * Geography Realm *"From malls to shipyards to housing in the hills, Mitchell Schwarzer’s book is a sweeping history of development and power." 
 * Oaklandside *"The book will likely stir interest among faculty, students, and practitioners in urban planning and design, architecture, and urban history. Readers longing for a heavily descriptive account of Oakland’s urbanization will admire the extent to which the narrative offers a factual extravaganza of the components of the city’s built environment." * Journal of Urban Affairs *"Maintains a delicate balance between analyzing how Oakland’s history represents attributes common to many US cities while preserving distinctive characteristics. . . . Hella Town is an urban history well worth the attention of scholars concerned with the 20th-century American city and of a wider audience interested in the San Francisco Bay Area." * CHOICE *"Thoroughly documenting Oakland’s struggles over the past 130 years, the book frames each issue or struggle within its political context. The writing is clear, accessible, and rich, and the maps and photos, some of them by the author, are outstanding." * California History *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I 1. Streetcar Stratification 2. Industrial Powerhouse Part II 3. Space for Automobiles 4. The Politics of Parks 5. Major League Venue Part III 6. The Promise and the Reality of Freeways and BART 7. In the Wake of Deindustrialization 8. Housing Injustice 9. Downtown Renewal and Ruin 10. Shopping Centers and Storefront Streets Coda Acknowledgments Notes Select Bibliography of Books about Oakland Index

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Book SynopsisA superbly crafted studyof Hunter S. Thompson's literary formation, achievement, and continuing relevance. Savage Journeyis a supremely crafted study of Hunter S. Thompson's literary formation and achievement. Focusing on Thompson's influences, development, and unique model of authorship,Savage Journeyargues that his literary formation was largely a San Francisco story. During the 1960s, Thompson rode with the Hell's Angels, explored the San Francisco counterculture, and met talented editors who shared his dissatisfaction with mainstream journalism. Peter Richardson traces Thompson's transition during this time from New Journalist to cofounder of Gonzo journalism. He also endorses Thompson's later claim that he was one of the best writers using the English language as both a musical instrument and a political weapon. Although Thompson's political commentary was often hyperbolic, Richardson shows that much of it was also prophetic. Fifty years after the publication ofFear and LoathiTrade Review"Richardson has a superb grasp of 1960s Bay Area culture. . . . This valuable study suggests that San Francisco, where Thompson took an assignment to write about a motorcycle gang, would prove his greatest touchstone." * Wall Street Journal *"A lively, loping study of Hunter S. Thompson as litterateur." * Kirkus Reviews *"Richardson successfully captures Thompson’s lasting impact, positing him as the intellectual face of Rolling Stone and a thinker who anticipated Donald Trump’s politics. Literature lovers will find much to consider, as will readers interested in an artist’s struggle to develop a voice." * Publishers Weekly *"Richardson presents a thoughtful examination of Thompson’s best work, his impact on journalism, and the price that he paid for those years when he burned the candle at both ends and in the middle." * Houston Press *"Well documented and smoothly written, the book is a pleasure. . . . Highly recommended." * CHOICE *“Richardson makes an unassailable case for Thompson as one of the great media critics of his time.” * Alta: Journal of California *“Richardson’s decision to look at Thompson through a literary lens not only works, it truly succeeds in adding a new level of comprehension and context to Thompson’s writing.” * CounterPunch *"Some call Thompson the founder of 'gonzo,' a subset of New Journalism that shed objectivity and thrust the writer to the center of the story. As Richardson explains, the truth is more complex." * Washington Independent Review of Books *"Artfully crafted and dutifully researched. . . . It is a solid bridge between the writings of Hunter S. Thompson and the persona that was created to embody the spirit of Gonzo journalism." * S-USIH: Society for U.S. Intellectual History *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Brooding 2. The Storm of Life 3. Roughing It 4. Observer 5. New Journalist 6. Hashbury 7. Totally Gonzo 8. Rolling Stone 9. Las Vegas 10. Campaign Trail 11. After Nixon 12. Legacy Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"In License to Travel, Bixby explores the passport’s linguistic journey and much else. . . . An impressive survey." * Wall Street Journal *"A comprehensive, insightful history. . . . Bixby offers up a formidable survey of this everyday artifact and how it defines individuals and affords varying degrees of privilege and freedom, depending on one’s place of birth." * New York Times *"Neatly lays out the mighty power of the passport and the pains of passport inequality. . . . With License to Travel, Bixby also makes the argument that applying and carrying a passport is not just an administrative hoop that travelers must jump through: Having a passport gives us the freedom to travel—and the freedom to thrive." * AFAR Magazine *"Read this book and you’ll never again treat your passport so casually." * Geography Realm *"Bixby offers a new cultural history of the passport, exploring its pre-history, emergence and its current status today. This beautifully written and accessible book will be a great introduction for people wanting to learn more about passports and their politics of inclusion and exclusion." * LSE Review of Books *"This readable narrative history will interest all who travel abroad as well as those denied the opportunity." * CHOICE *"Charmingly written. . . . An appealing, accessible, and enlightening choice of reading on this subject." * International Migration Review *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: "The Most Precious Book I Possess" Part One: A Prehistory of the Passport as We Know It 1 • Ancient Bodies, Ancient Citizens 2 • Great Sovereigns, Grand Tourists 3 • Modern Bodies, Modern Citizens Part Two: The Advent of the Passport as We Know It 4 • Modernists and Militants Part Three: The Passport as We Know It 5 • Expelled and Stateless 6 • Migrants and Marxists 7 • Alien and Indigenous Epilogue: Good Passports Bad Passports Notes Index

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Book SynopsisToday John Hancock is known for his signature, but during the revolutionary era, he was famed for his pragmatic statesmanship. Brooke Barbier explores Hancock’s position as a revolutionary who nonetheless understood the value of compromise. By shunning political extremes, Hancock became hugely influential in the infant United States.Trade ReviewA concise and highly readable biography…[Hancock’s] legacy is very much worth our remembering. -- William Anthony Hay * Wall Street Journal *[An] approachable biography…American history buffs will enjoy the immersive portrait of Boston’s Revolutionary era. * Publishers Weekly *King Hancock is a vastly enjoyable work of popular history that wears its impressive scholarship lightly. It deftly explains the wider forces that unraveled the colonists’ close bonds with the mother country… The book also features an almost tactile account of what it was like to live in Boston in the eighteenth century. -- Marc M. Arkin * New Criterion *A terrific book. Barbier’s meticulous research sheds light on how one of the wealthiest men of his time made himself into a man of the people—a politician whose genuine capacity for sensing the popular mood commanded fierce loyalty, even as he clashed with both Loyalists and radical Patriots. John Hancock was an important figure, and this biography helps restore him to his proper place. -- Robert J. Allison, author of The American Revolution: A Very Short IntroductionBarbier has written a fine biography, carefully guiding readers through Hancock’s life, his political career, and the world around him. In our politically polarized times, this founding father’s legacy of political moderation is sure to resonate. -- Benjamin L. Carp, author of The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American RevolutionIn this lively and insightful biography, Barbier illuminates John Hancock’s mastery of popular politics in an age of revolution. Drawing on a rich and profound knowledge of eighteenth-century Boston, she recovers the social world of a leader whose skills extended far beyond his celebrated penmanship. -- Alan Taylor, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750–1804An exuberant biography, well told and spirited. As we follow John Hancock through the turmoil that led to the Revolution, we see a man guided more by a desire to charm, entertain, and curry favor with both elites and ordinary people than by a rigid commitment to a specific politics or ideology. In Barbier’s hands Hancock’s life unfolds as dramatic theater. -- Sharon V. Salinger, author of Taverns and Drinking in Early AmericaHancock’s success might seem inevitable given his resources, his canny political sensibility, and just plain good fortune. Yet, as Ms. Barbier suggests, biography and history are contingent. What looks inescapable did not seem so to those who struggled to create a new country. -- Carl Rollyson * New York Sun *

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Book SynopsisUpending the conventional wisdom that Bretton Woods was the product of an amiable Anglo-American collaboration, this book shows that it was in reality part of a much more ambitious geopolitical agenda hatched within President Franklin D Roosevelt's Treasury and aimed at eliminating Britain as an economic and political rival.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2013 Spear's Book Award in Financial History Co-Winner of the 2014 Bronze Medal in Economics, Axiom Business Book Awards One of The Motley Fool's (John Reeves) 10 Great Books on American Economic History One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best History Books of 2013 One of Bloomberg News' Top Business Books of 2013 One of Kirkus Reviews' Best Nonfiction Books of the Year for 2013 in Business and Economics One of Bloomberg/Businessweek Best Books of 2013, as selected individually by Fredrik Erixon, Scott Minerd, Olli Rehn and Alan Greenspan Featured in The Sunday Times 2013 Holiday Roundup Shortlisted for the 2013 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards in Finance & Economics Honorable Mention for the 2014 Arthur Ross Book Award, Council on Foreign Relations Shortlisted for the 2014 Lionel Gelber Prize, Lionel Gelber Foundation "The Battle of Bretton Woods should become the gold standard on its topic. The details are addictive."--Fred Andrews, New York Times "Steil, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, understands the economic issues at stake and has done meticulous research on the history. Every good story that has ever been told about the major actors involved and the happening itself is in his book, and a few more besides. For those who come fresh to the subject, and even for those who know most of it, it is an excellent and revealing account."--Robert Skidelsky, New York Review of Books "A superb history. Mr. Steil ... is a talented storyteller."--James Grant, Wall Street Journal "[A] masterful (and readable) account of American realpolitik and British delusion."--Andrew Hilton, Financial World "Steil's book, engaging and entertaining, perceptive and instructive, is a triumph of economic and diplomatic history. Everything is here: political chicanery, bureaucratic skulduggery, espionage, hard economic detail and the acid humour of men making history under pressure."--Tony Barber, Financial Times "This is a fantastic book. Gold and money, two of my favorite topics. It's also brilliantly insightful history, and a gripping spy thriller to boot."--Larry Kudlow, CNBC "[T]he author masterfully translates the arcana of competing theories of monetary policy, and a final chapter explains how, while some of the institutions created by Bretton Woods endure--the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund--many of the conference's assumptions were swiftly overtaken by the Marshall Plan. Throughout Steil's sharp discussion runs the intriguing subplot of White's career-long, secret relationship with Soviet intelligence. A vivid, highly informed portrayal of the personalities, politics and policies dominating 'the most important international gathering since the Paris Peace Conference of 1919.'"--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "In his masterful account, The Battle of Bretton Woods, Steil situates the conference firmly in the tense, heightened atmosphere of the final months of World War II... Steil's book comes alive in his description of [Keynes' and White's] contrasting experiences at the conference."--Sam Knight, Bloomberg News "[H]ypnotically readable."--Peter Passell, Milken Institute Review "[T]hought provoking and well written."--Kathleen Burk, Literary Review "This is an excellent book... [It] also contains some explosive revelations about White's work as a Soviet spy, very well documented I might add."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "If you think economics and finance are dry subjects at best, Steil's book offers a refreshing surprise. It's a political thriller in which the protagonists, one whom you think you know and one whom you probably don't, are much more intriguing (in both senses of the word) than they first appear."--Daniel Altman, Big Think "[I]n a new book explaining what really happened at Bretton Woods, Benn Steil shows that what happened in the mountains of New Hampshire that summer is not quite the story we have been told."--Neil Irwin, WashingtonPost.com "[Benn Steil's] new book The Battle of Bretton Woods is perhaps the most accessible study yet of a key moment in world economic history that nonetheless is poorly understood."--Kevin Carmichael, Globe & Mail "The clash between Keynes and White forms a central theme in Benn Steil's absorbing book, which should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the not-so-special relationship between the US and Britain."--Geoffrey Owen, Standpoint Magazine "[F]ascinating... Steil ... spins the tale of how U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, a close friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, allowed White, a little-known economist who wasn't even on the U.S. Treasury's regular payroll, to dominate the department's monetary and trade policies beginning in the 1930s."--John M. Barry, USA Today "[A] well-written, fascinating history of the Bretton Woods conference on the international monetary system in July 1941. The book is deep, well researched, and hard to put down. Benn Steil ... has produced a book that will help us to understand history, but also one we can use to contrast with the current international economic situation... This is a very good book."--John M. Mason, Seeking Alpha "I do hope the title of this riveting read does not put off readers who mistake Benn Steil's latest work for an arcane discussion of exchange rates, the gold standard and the stuff of debates in commons rooms. This book is more than that, much more. It is a tale of a battle of titans and of a war between nations, each intent on establishing the economic architecture that would ensure its postwar economic domination of world finance."--Irwin Stelzer, Sunday Times "[V]ivid personality portraits and a lively writing style."--Mike Foster, Financial News "[F]ascinating... [R]iveting... The Battle of Bretton Woods is chock-full of provocative and timely observations."--Glenn C. Altschuler, Tulsa World "President Obama would be wise to take it to Martha's Vineyard this summer."--John Tamny, Forbes.com "Benn Steil has just completed a fascinating book that looks at what really happened in the small New Hampshire town of Bretton Woods in 1944. Perhaps most surprising is that the real story that emerges isn't a tale of how 44 countries came together to rebuild the world. And the real story has different lessons for the 21st century than ambitious idealists might expect."--Andrew Sawers, Economia "[A] splendid book... If you want to understand the gold standard, the always-doomed dollar standard, why the IMF is in Washington, how the US deliberately humiliated Britain over debt before, during and after WWII as part of a very real currency war (but also out of genuine anti-colonial sentiment that the British never understood), this is the book for you... Every year publishers come out with a couple of purportedly serious books on FX, some by VIPs, and I read them all. This is the only one since Paul Volcker's Changing Fortunes in 1979 that is worth the price. It is non-partisan, well-written, thorough, and chock-full of the historical perspective that can so easily and so often get lost in the hurly-burly of the daily market."--Barbara Rockefeller, Harriman Intelligence blog "[A] provocative, lively and perceptive book that pulls together economics, politics, diplomacy and history and relates it to our current crisis."--Keith Simpson MP, Total Politics "This thorough, fascinating account of the international conference that culminated in the 1944 agreement to maintain stable exchange rates skillfully places it in its economic and geopolitical context... Steil not only recounts the intricacies of the deal making but also details the economic dimensions of Bretton Woods... With the help of 10 research assistants, Steil has tirelessly tracked down minute details of the Bretton Woods story and its epilogue... [Steil] offers excellent insight into the tribulations of the key players. He also tells the interesting tale of how, if not for the well-founded suspicions regarding Harry Dexter White's cooperation with Communist spies, the tradition of an American heading the World Bank and a European heading the IMF would have been reversed."--Financial Analysts Journal "Steil understands the economics at the heart of the tortuous negotiations, but he is also very good at explaining the politics, the power and the passions--the professional and personal rivalries--of the people at the negotiating table. He turns what could have been a dry account of economic accords into a thrilling story of ambition, drama, and intrigue."--Keith Richmond, Tribune Magazine, UK "[A] very well-written history, with lively personalities, [which] also serves as a great overview of the analytical issues in international monetary arrangements."--Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist blog "Absorbing ... as an account of history-making at the highest level, this entertaining, informative, gossipy and, for the lay reader, often challenging book provides an excellent read."--Richard Steyn, Financial Mail "[A]n amazing true story ... highly entertaining."--Ian McMaster, Business Spotlight "An object lesson in how to make economic history at once entertaining and instructive."--Financial Times, "Books of the Year So Far" Summer Reading Guide "A valuable addition to the economic history literature."--Choice "It's always nice when you can combine outside reading for fun with something that is educational... [A] good read that is also good for you."--Daniel Shaviro, Jotwell "The book provides a terrifically written, gossipy account of the origins of Bretton Woods... Since the world spent several decades under the clumsy (and, to the U.S., costly) Bretton Woods regime, and since you sometimes hear people harkening back to that time as a golden age (which it surely was not), ... it is an important read for our day."--Dan Littman, Senior Payments Research Consultant and Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland "Benn Steil [of the] Council on Foreign Relations has written a fascinating book on the two main architects behind the Bretton Woods system... Steil's book is an outstanding piece of political science research ... extremely well written and well documented... It is strongly recommended."--Morten Balling, SUERF Newsletter "Benn Steil's remarkable book ... is an account of how the IMF first came to be, back in the sleepy New Hampshire summer of 1944... The Battle of Bretton Woods is an essential volume in any understanding of John Maynard Keynes, who though now seven decades gone is as influential a mind as we may yet see in the twenty-first century."--Brian Domitrovic, Library of Law and Liberty blog "Steil's book ... shows how normally abstruse economic and diplomatic history can be made palatable and even alluring to the general reader."--Christopher Silvester, Spear's "[A] fascinating account of the developments leading up to the Bretton Woods conference and its immediate aftermath, from the point of view of the two main characters involved: John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White. The book is based on extensive archive work, so often the participants speak for themselves, which makes for interesting reading."--Isaac Alfon, Central Banking Journal "The Battle of Bretton Woods sets forth in smooth prose and concise detail an authoritative narrative of the who-what-when-why of the great monetary conference of some 70 years ago. It is jam-packed with heady discussions... If we're fortunate, Benn Steil will deliver a follow-up."--Kevin R. Kosar, Weekly Standard "Individual persons are at the center of the story, which also comes loaded with tales of international intrigue, spycraft, and famous personalities. It's not just for history buffs and economics geeks."--Douglas French, Freeman, publication of the Foundation for Economic Education "Seduced by Keynes's rhetorical repudiation both of the 'austerity' implied by [promptly paying off Britain's war debts] and the 'temptation' of accepting a loan, the British shipped Keynes to Washington ... to seek 'justice', to wit, the third option. In his recent history of the period, Benn Steil deftly paints what ensued."--Patrick Honohan, Irish Times "[T]his thought-provoking book is about much more than the 1944 conference that established the architecture of the postwar international monetary system, leading to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank."--Foreign Affairs "Benn Steil has crafted a fine history... Characterized by fine and entertaining writing, The Battle of Bretton Woods is economic and political history in engrossing detail."--Satyajit Das, Naked Capitalism "Benn Steil provides a well-researched and interesting account of the historic monetary conference... His efforts make for an enjoyable read... Steil is perhaps at his best when articulating how the Bretton Woods system differed from the classical gold standard--a difference that would ultimately lead to the failure of Bretton Woods... Steil's excellent book should serve as a gentle reminder of which monetary systems have worked well in the past--and which should not be repeated."--William J. Luther, SSRN's Economic History eJournal "An informed citizenry includes an understanding of our economy and how it is integrated into the global financial system. For this, it is important to start from the ... discussions that occurred among 44 nations in the idyllic and calm resort at Bretton Woods, N.H., in 1944. [Benn Steil's] new book details not only the meeting but the deep arguments between the British economist John Maynard Keynes and [American Treasury official] Harry Dexter White... This is a serious book of political economic history."--Cmdr. Youssef Aboul-Enein, DCMilitary "Benn Steil's book provides a fascinating account of the developments leading up to the Bretton Woods conference and its immediate aftermath, from the point of view of the two main characters involved: John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White. The book is based on extensive archive work, so often the participants speak for themselves, which makes for interesting reading."--Isaac Alfon, Central Banking Journal "This masterful account dismantles the idyllic picture of the 1944 Bretton Woods international economic conference, situating it firmly in the tense atmosphere of the final months of World War II."--Laurie Muchnick, Bloomberg Top Business Books of 2013 "Steil's book is an object lesson in how to make economic history entertaining and instructive."--Tony Barber, Financial Times "Benn Steil not only produces the finest account of the conference that established the Pax Americana economic system after World War II, he does it with the skill of a novelist."--Jon Talton, SeattleTimes.com "[A] well-documented, engaging account of the Bretton Woods Conference... The material on Harry Dexter White is fascinating ... an essential reference [with] much to teach economic historians."--Joshua Hausman, Journal of Economic History "The Battle of Bretton Woods is a thorough and fascinating account of a historic event, skillfully placed in its economic and geopolitical context. [H]e offers excellent insight into the tribulations of the key players. He also tells the interesting tale of how, if not for the well-founded suspicions regarding Harry Dexter White's cooperation with Communist spies, the tradition of an American heading the World Bank and a European heading the IMF would have been reversed."--Martin S. Fridson, Financial Analysts Journal "Steil's book is essential reading for students of multilateralism, diplomacy, and international economic relations... It is also an excellent overview of the behind-the-scenes machinations that caused Britain to agree to the final document that placed America, and the dollar, at the top of the global financial pyramid... [O]f primary interest to most readers ... it is a fascinating and nuanced glimpse into the psychology of Second World War era economic espionage."--Marc D. Froese, International Journal "This story is well told. It is also well known... Steil is targeting a broader audience than scholars, however, and in that sense, this book is a success at recasting a surprisingly exciting story."--Thomas W. Zeiler, Register of the Kentucky Historical Society "Steil breathes new life and controversy into a familiar story by emphasizing the intellectual and political clash between John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White."--James McAllister, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable "Steil rarely puts a foot wrong. His analysis of policies and personalities, however he has acquired his knowledge, reflects a sophisticated understanding of the inner workings of financial diplomacy."--Stephen Schuker, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable "[A]n ably crafted narrative."--Darel Paul, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable "[The book] is a welcome departure from less political, or more American-centric, accounts of Bretton Woods."--William Glenn Gray, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable "[T]his is a beautiful narrative of the making of Bretton Woods, based on serious archival research and with some nice old photos as illustrations."--Ivo Maes, History of Economic Ideas "The Battle of Bretton Woods is a remarkable work that embraces many disciplines: economic history, political economy and international relations. Benn Steil is able to merge the different perspectives from all these disciplines, taking the reader into both the political battle and the economic thinking."--Anna Missiaia, Financial History Review "A gripping account... John Le Carre meets international monetary history: this is clearly a different kind of page-turner."--Jayati Ghosh, Economic & Political Weekly "The Battle of Bretton Woods is a remarkable work that embraces many disciplines: history, economic history, political economy and international relations. Benn Steil is able to merge the different perspectives from all these disciplines, taking the reader into both the political battle and the economic thinking that took place at Bretton Woods."--Anna Missiaia, Financial History Review "Epic."--Ashok Rao, Vox "[E]ngaging and instructive ... Benn Steil has written a book full of historical insight and human color."--Robert L. Hetzel, Econ Focus "[A] good piece of historical investigation that will put an end to doubts as to whether White was in fact a Soviet agent."--Maria Cristina Marcuzzo, Economica "[A] thoughtful and well-researched addition to economic history."--Mark L. Wilson, Journal of Economic Issues "With extensive, original research, Benn Steil has rewritten the history of the conference. Steil reveals the illusions of its two central figures: John Maynard Keynes, the most famous economist of the twentieth century and a senior member of the British delegation, and Harry Dexter White, the little-known assistant secretary of the US Treasury, who almost singlehandedly ran the conference... A major contribution to economic, intellectual, and political history, which is accessible to a wide audience and presents an endlessly fascinating portrait of two complicated men."--Carl, Strikwerda, The Historian "Benn Steil's The Battle of Bretton Woods is a superb, carefully researched history that enables readers to view today and tomorrow from the vantage point of the past."--Robert B. Zoellick, International Economy "The Battle of Bretton Woods offers a tantalizing peek into another time of financial stress compounded by a world war... The chess match between White and Keynes is well worth the price of admission--the price of the book and the time it takes to read it."--Don R. Leet, American Economist "The Battle of Bretton Woods is a well-researched and excellently written book that is recommended for everyone interested in economic and diplomatic history."--Tobias Leeg, Political Studies ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: The World Comes to the White Mountains 9 Chapter 3: The Improbable Rise of Harry White 17 Chapter 4: Maynard Keynes and the Monetary Menace 61 Chapter 5: "The Most Unsordid Act" 99 Chapter 6: The Best-Laid Plans of White and Keynes 125 Chapter 7: Whitewash 155 Chapter 8: History Is Made 201 Chapter 9: Begging Like Fala 251 Chapter 10: Out with the Old Order, In with the New 293 Chapter 11: Epilogue 330 Appendix 1: Harry Dexter White Manuscript Photos 349 Appendix 2: Statement of Harry S. Truman on Harry Dexter White, 1953 351 Cast of Characters 355 Notes 371 References 407 Index 427

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Wall Street Journal Best Politics Book of the Year""A World Magazine Best Book of the Year""Very illuminating. Much recommended."---Jamelle Bouie, New York Times columnist"An astute discussion of the American founders’ suspicions that the republic they had created wouldn’t, in the end, make it. . . . Gracefully written and fair in its judgments. . . . Timely."---Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal"Written in simultaneously accessible and brilliant prose, Rasmussen crafts a flowing narrative built on the writings of the founders themselves. This narrative is further illuminated by his commentary and mastery of the secondary literature. This book can (and should) be enjoyed by nonspecialists, but this does not diminish the originality of the work."---Kenly Stewart, Los Angeles Review of Books"Fascinating."---Steve Donoghue, Christian Science Monitor"An illuminating account of how the founding fathers worried about the future of America. . . . This standout history provides useful context for understanding the roots of contemporary political turmoils and may comfort those who fear that American democracy is in dire peril." * Publishers Weekly, starred review *"Making the striking argument that all but one of the major founders of the U.S. died disillusioned with their creation, Rasmussen nevertheless offers hope for our current predicaments . . . an authoritative and convincing argument in disarmingly artful prose." * Kirkus Reviews *"Rasmussen has produced a well-researched study that is a salutary read. He writes accessibly, explaining what motivated and worried each of [the founders]. Concern for future generations and the fate of the republic is a recurring theme, and will also resonate with many readers today." * Library Journal *"Magisterial . . . creative and thought-provoking at every turn . . . a delightful book. . . . Rasmussen has superbly placed the story of the Founders’ growing ideological concerns about their creation in the context of their own often eccentric personalities."---John O. McGinnis, Law & Liberty"On my history book of the year short list."---Marvin Olasky, World"Drawing on reams of personal correspondence between the Founders, Rasmussen persuasively argues that the vast majority of America’s Founders—including the likes of Washington, Adams, Hamilton, and Jefferson—went to their death beds disillusioned with the political order they had created."---Thomas Koenig, The Dispatch"Very timely . . . a fascinating and completely new perspective on the Founders and their view of the country they helped create . . . highly engaging and thought-provoking, showing the very human side of politics in early America."---Jerry D. Lenaburg, New York Journal of Books"Compelling and compulsively readable. . . . In putting leading founders’ disillusionment with the Constitution at the center of his thoughtful scholarly analysis, Rasmussen vividly brings to light the fact that the founders themselves were often the Constitution’s most perceptive and powerful critics."---George Thomas, American Political Thought"Rasmussen’s book also offered me some new insights and interesting facts. . . . Fears of a Setting Sun helps in understanding some of the roots of our contemporary political struggle and the fear of the decay of American democracy."---Pia Herzan, H-Soz-Kult"Fears of a Setting Sun is an engaging, indeed fun, read, nicely written and deftly argued. More than that, it is a useful reminder at this political moment that while things ain’t what they used to be, they never were in the first place."---Steven Conn, Origins

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Book SynopsisJames K. Polk’s ascension to the White House was a pivotal moment in propelling the US towards civil war, and the 1844 election expanded the vigorous campaigning that had been growing since 1824. Mark Cheathem examines the transition from traditional political issues, such as banking and tariffs, to newer ones, like immigration and slavery.Trade Review"Who Is James K. Polk? is essential reading for every political junkie, for anyone interested in presidential campaigns, and for all who seek to understand antebellum America and the road to civil war."—Real Clear Books "Elections matter. And few have mattered more in US history than the 1844 election, which elevated to the White House a leader whose aggressive policies inadvertently helped set the nation on a path to civil war. In Who Is James Polk?, historian Mark Cheathem harnesses his unrivalled command of the politics of the 1830s and 1840s to give us the definitive account of this pivotal, if too often neglected, election. A must-read addition to this justly acclaimed series on America’s presidential elections."—Richard J. Ellis, author of Old Tip vs. the Sly Fox: The 1840 Election and the Making of a Partisan Nation"This will be the standard work on the election of 1844. It is also the model for how presidential elections should be studied and discussed. Cheathem gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of all the campaigns during the 1844 election. Any reader will feel like a political insider after reading this excellent work."—William K. Bolt, professor of history, Francis Marion University, and former assistant editor of the James K. Polk Project"Mark Cheathem’s account of the election of 1844 tells us who James K. Polk was, how he earned the Democratic nomination for president, how he won the White House, and why it matters. Deeply researched and engagingly written, the book places this often-overlooked election into the wide sweep of antebellum politics and explains that Polk’s election represented a ‘tipping point’ for the United States. Indeed, Cheathem makes clear that the sectional conflict over slavery that put the nation on the path to civil war cannot be fully analyzed without an understanding of this election. Historiographically significant, this book is a worthy contribution to the American Presidential Elections series."—Christopher J. Leahy, professor of history, Keuka College, and author of President without a Party: The Life of John TylerTable of Contents Editors’ Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. “A Political Saturnalia”: Jacksonian Party Politics, 1824–1840 2. “Oll for Klay”: The Whig National Convention 3. “An Entirely New Man”: The Democratic Convention 4. “:In the Hands of the Slave Power”: The Campaigns of Joseph Smith, John Tyler, and James G. Birney 5. “A National Festival”: The 1844 Campaign 6. “The Republic Is Safe”: Understanding Polk’s Victory Epilogue Appendix: James K. Polk’s Inaugural Address, March 4, 1845 Notes Bibliographic Essay Index

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Book SynopsisA central character in legends and histories of the Old West, Billy the Kid rivals such western icons as Jesse James and General George Armstrong Custer for the number of books and movies his brief, violent life inspired. This volume introduces readers to the most significant of these written and filmed works.

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Book SynopsisThe third in a series of annual anthologies produced by the American Examples workshop. In the latest volume from this innovative academic project, ten topically and methodologically diverse scholars vividly reimagine the meaning and applications of American religious history.Trade ReviewAmerican Examples seeks nothing less than to shake the founding assumptions of American religious history. What happens, these contributors ask, if we approach our archives not with the question of how they fit into a broader historical narrative but ask instead: what does this tell us about 'religion' or 'America'? What does the field look like if we foreground the religious studies focus of J. Z. Smith rather than the normative assumptions of narrative history? This volume offers a timely, provocative contribution to the field and will be sure to inspire debate!" - Anthony Petro, author of After the Wrath of God: AIDS, Sexuality, and American Religion

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Book SynopsisIn The Emancipation Circuit Thulani Davis provides a sweeping rethinking of Reconstruction by tracing how the four million people newly freed from bondage created political organizations and connections that mobilized communities across the South. Drawing on the practices of community they developed while enslaved, freedpeople built new settlements and created a network of circuits through which they imagined, enacted, and defended freedom. This interdisciplinary history shows that these circuits linked rural and urban organizations, labor struggles, and political culture with news, strategies, education, and mutual aid. Mapping the emancipation circuits, Davis shows the geography of ideas of freedom---circulating on shipping routes, via army maneuvers, and with itinerant activists---that became the basis for the first mass Black political movement for equal citizenship in the United States. In this work, she reconfigures understandings of the evolution of southern Black political agendas while outlining the origins of the enduring Black freedom struggle from the Jim Crow era to the present.Trade Review“In this spectacular book Thulani Davis presents a framework for not only rewriting the Civil War and Reconstruction, but for understanding the entire history of the Black freedom movement extending into the twentieth century. As groundbreaking as W. E. B. Du Bois’s Black Reconstruction, The Emancipation Circuit is a masterpiece.” -- Robin D. G. Kelley, author of * Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists during the Great Depression *"The Emancipation Circuit offers a powerful reimagining of the networks that helped to secure Black freedom during the Civil War and Reconstruction: It is a history about enslaved people’s efforts to free themselves and about their local struggles to give substance to their legal emancipation, as well as a mapping of the geography that enabled their achievements and the circuits that spread their political goals like pollen in the wind. . . . The Emancipation Circuit reminds today’s activists that any organizing for Black freedom must be multifaceted and must pursue local aims while traveling along preexisting networks to become a broader collective effort." -- Elias Rodriques * The Nation *"Thulani Davis’s The Emancipation Circuit is an important contribution to Black social and political thought that helps center Black women and Black resistance of United States history and social movements." -- Krystal Batelaan * Ethnic and Racial Studies *"The Emancipation Circuit provides a convincing analysis of the spatial history of emancipation ... a valuable reference for future research." -- Keith D. McCall * Journal of Southern History *Table of ContentsList of Maps xi List of Tables xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction: Black Political Thought as Shaped in the South 1 1. Flight: Movement Matters 19 2. The Emancipation Circuit: A Road Map 44 3. Virginia: Assembly 80 4. North Carolina: Custody 109 5. South Carolina: Majority 133 6. Georgia: Mobilization 165 7. Florida: Faction 196 8. Alabama: Redemption 217 9. Louisiana: Societies 243 10. Mississippi: Bulldoze 269 11. Arkansas: Minority 294 Conclusion: What Lives On Is Black Political Thought 321 Notes 345 Table Source Notes 393 Bibliography 397 Index 427

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Book SynopsisIn Rising Up, Living On, Catherine E. Walsh examines struggles for existence in societies deeply marked by the systemic violences and entwinements of coloniality, capitalism, Christianity, racism, gendering, heteropatriarchy, and the continual dispossession of bodies, land, knowledge, and life, while revealing practices that contest and live in the cracks of these matrices of power. Through stories, narrations, personal letters, conversations, lived accounts, and weaving together the thought of many—including ancestors, artists, students, activists, feminists, collectives, and Indigenous and Africana peoples—in the Americas, the Global South, and beyond, Walsh takes readers on a journey of decolonial praxis. Here, Walsh outlines individual and collective paths that cry out and crack, ask and walk, deschool, undo the nation-state, and break down boundaries of gender, race, and nature. Rising Up, Living On is a book that sows re-existences, nurtures relationalitTable of ContentsGratitudes ix Beginnings 1 1. Cries and Cracks 13 2. Asking and Walking 75 3. Traversing Binaries and Boundaries 123 4. Undoing Nation-State 180 5. Sowing Re-existences 230 Epilogue 248 Notes 253 Bibliography 297 Index 321

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Book SynopsisA product of twenty-five years of archival and primary research, this volume narrates the efforts of three generations of Japanese Americans to reach home' through musicking. Emphasizing the notion of national identity and belonging, the book provokes a discussion about the challenges of nation-building in a democratic society.Trade ReviewBringing together decades of interviews and original archival work, Sounding Our Way Home is the first book to provide a true overview of the full range of the Japanese American musical experience." - W. Anthony Sheppard, author of Extreme Exoticism: Japan in the American Musical Imagination "In Sounding Our Way Home, Susan Miyo Asai weaves together historical and musical analysis, spotlighting the achievements of individual musicians within a broader narrative of Japanese American musicking across generations. This book is an admirable and important contribution to Asian American studies and music history." - Grace Wang, associate professor of American studies at the University of California, Davis

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Book SynopsisConfederate newspapers were beset by troubles: paper shortages, high ink prices, printers striking for higher pay, faulty telegraphic news service, and subscription prices insufficient to support their operations. But they also had the potential to be politically powerful, and their reporting of information—accurate or biased—shaped perceptions of the Civil War and its trajectory. The Atlanta Daily Intelligencer Covers the Civil War investigates how Atlanta’s most important newspaper reported the Civil War in its news articles, editorial columns, and related items in its issues from April 1861 to April 1865. The authors show how The Intelligencer narrated the war’s important events based on the news it received, at what points the paper (and the Confederate press, generally) got the facts right or wrong based on the authors’ original research on the literature, and how the paper’s editorial columns reflected on those events from an unabashedly pro-Confederate point of view. While their book focuses on The Intelligencer, Stephen Davis and Bill Hendrick also contribute to the scholarship on Confederate newspapers, emphasizing the papers’ role as voices of Confederate patriotism, Southern nationalism, and contributors to wartime public morale. Their well-documented, detailed study adds to our understanding of the relationship between public opinion and misleading propaganda.Trade ReviewFrom an accomplished Civil War historian and seasoned Atlanta journalist comes this immersive voyage into a wartime South you’ve never seen before. The Atlanta Intelligencer was the live local news of its day: where Atlantans got their information in real time, from the latest battlefield reports (and rumors) to sensational murder stories. Davis and Hendrick do a magnificent job of letting the newspaper speak for itself, all the while reminding you of the factual distance between what we think now and what people thought then. Fascinating and groundbreaking!" —Gordon L. Jones, Ph.D., senior military historian, Atlanta History Center

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