History of the Americas Books

Book SynopsisThis rugged new translation--the first entirely new English translation in half a century and the only one based on the most recent critical edition of the Guatemalan MS--allows Diaz to recount, in his own battle-weary and often cynical voice, the achievements, stratagems, and frequent cruelty of Hernando Cortes and his men as they set out to overthrow Moctezuma's Aztec kingdom and establish a Spanish empire in the New World.The concise contextual introduction to this volume traces the origins, history, and methods of the Spanish enterprise in the Americas; it also discusses the nature of the conflict between the Spanish and the Aztecs in Mexico, and compares Diaz's version of events to those of other contemporary chroniclers. Editorial glosses summarize omitted portions, and substantial footnotes explain those terms, names, and cultural references in Diaz's text that may be unfamiliar to modern readers. A chronology of the Conquest is included, as are a guide to major figures, a select bibliography, and three maps.Trade ReviewBernal Diaz's True History of the Conquest of New Spain, the chronicle of an 'ordinary' soldier in Hernando Cortes's army, is the only complete account (other than Cortes's own) that we have of the Spanish conquest of ancient Mexico. Although it is neither so 'true' nor so unassumingly direct as its author would have us believe, it is unmistakably the voice of the often unruly, undisciplined body of untrained freebooters who, in less than three years, succeeded against all apparent odds, in bringing down the once mighty ‘Aztec Empire.’ It makes for consistently fascinating reading, and Ted Humphrey and Janet Burke have provided the best, and the most engaging, translation ever to have appeared in English. --Anthony Pagden, UCLAReaders interested in the early period of Spanish American history will welcome the publication of this new abridged edition of the classic account by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, True History of the Conquest of New Spain. An observer of and participant in the momentous conquest of central Mexico by the Spaniards and their indigenous allies, Bernal Diaz wrote his chronicle many decades later, at least partially in response to the claims and biases of other writers. This excellent and highly readable translation by Janet Burke and Ted Humphrey remains faithful to the straightforward and unadorned prose that Díaz uses to describe the events as well as his understanding of their significance. The useful introduction, notes and epilogue further enhance the volume's accessibility. This edition is highly recommended for both students and a more general audience. --Ida Altman, University of FloridaA reliable modern translation of one of the great historical narratives. While faithful to the original text, [Humphrey and Burke's] translation takes full advantage of the best scholarship of the last fifty years, providing useful context and interpretation for the non-specialist. The result is a highly readable, engaging book that will prove a valuable teaching tool in a variety of classroom settings. --Lyman Johnson, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

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Book Synopsis'Marvellously engaging' The Times'Brisk, informative and eye-opening' Daily TelegraphIn the 1600s, vast numbers of people left England for the Americas. Crossing the Atlantic was a major undertaking, the voyage long and treacherous. Why did they go?Emigrants casts vivid new light on the population shift which underpins the rise of modern America. Using contemporary sources including diaries, court hearings and letters, James Evans brings us the extraordinary personal stories of the men and women who made the journey of a lifetime.Trade ReviewJames Evans has written a marvellously engaging and comprehensive account of this ambitious undertaking and the men and women who accomplished it, often with the odds stacked against them. Here he tells the exciting, sometimes heartbreaking stories of the pioneers and explains what kind of world they dreamt of creating. It was one in which individual liberty and freedom was cherished: both became part of the modern American mindset -- Lawrence James * THE TIMES *Otto von Bismarck was once asked to identify the pre-eminent fact in modern world history. That America spoke English, he replied. In Emigrants, James Evans attempts to explain how and why that happened ... Evans' book is an eloquent testimony to the fact that the commodity America has always traded in, above all others, is hope -- Mathew Lyons * FINANCIAL TIMES *What led a person in 17th-century England to get on a ship bound for the Americas? James Evans attempts to answer that question by exploring both the push and pull factors involved ... His descriptions are vivid ... and he relates in a readable style the lives of people who chose to make the journey -- Katrina Gulliver * THE SPECTATOR *Engaging ... Evans is vivid on the risks of going to a land that, for a good portion of the century, had little to recommend it ... Brisk, informative and ... eye-opening ... A fascinating book that gives real insight into the age that birthed the modern West -- Tim Smith-Lang * DAILY TELEGRAPH *A vivid and thoughtful take on the ways that the hopes and concerns of many, often ordinary, English people contributed to their burgeoning empire -- Misha Ewen * HISTORY TODAY *With great vigour, Evans transports us back to this time of America's earliest immigrants. Many had already migrated across England, before landing in London and then heading off in search of a fresh start across the ocean. In this thought-provoking book, Evans uses contemporary sources, such as diaries, court records and letters, to cast vivid new light on a historic population shift, bringing to life the stories of English emigrants and their colonisation of the New World. All proving, perhaps, that mass migration is nothing new * FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE *Why this book is such a gripping and enjoyable read is that Evans does not focus on the great and the good of history, but on the ordinary men, women, and children who migrated, with their hopes, fears, and desperation. Through primary sources of diaries, court hearings, and letters, Evans tells their stories, which sometimes inspire you with their heroism, and sometimes make you weep over their tragedies ... In a lucid, well-written, and solidly researched analysis, he teases out the mixed and complicated reasons that so many people were compelled to make the risky sea voyage to a perilous wilderness -- The Ven. Dr Lyle Dennen * CHURCH TIMES *Emigrants is an intriguing idea for a book and one which James Evans has executed masterfully. His prose is highly readable, shedding light on just why so many people bravely sought to start a new life in a region which, as contemporaries admitted, was 'not yet perfectly discovered' -- Elizabeth Norton * WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE MAGAZINE *

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Book SynopsisJoan C. Tronto argues that we need to rethink American democracy, as well as our own fundamental values and commitments, from a caring perspective.Trade Review"The Institute chose to celebrate Joan C. Tronto's work because it forces people to rethink the obligations we have to one another in democratic societies. Modern rhetoric about democracy places due emphasis on personal freedom, but responsibilities can get overlooked. Tronto also stresses that caring for one another is less a burden than a fulfilling act, which reminds us all of how dependent we are on one another across the country and across the generations." -- John Gastil, Director, McCourtney Institute for DemocracyTable of ContentsIntroduction1. When We Understand Care, We'll Need to Redefine Democracy2. Care, Inc.3. Making the Caring-With Revolution HappenNotes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisOn June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 7th Cavalry rode towards the banks of the Little Bighorn where three thousand Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great war leaders would soon become forever linked: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. This masterly dual biography tells the epic story of the lives of these two men: both were fighters of legendary daring, both became honoured leaders in their societies when still astonishingly young, and both died when close to the supreme political heights. Yet they - like the nations they represented - were as different as day and night. Custer had won his spurs in the American Civil War; his watchword was ''To promotion - or death!'' and his restless ambition characterized a white nation in search of expansion and progress. Crazy Horse fought for a nomadic way of life fast yielding before the buffalo-hunters and the incursions of the white man. The Great Plains of North America pro

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Book SynopsisBest-selling, Oxford-educated investigative author Joseph P. Farrell takes on the Kennedy assassination and the involvement of Lyndon Baines Johnson and the Texas machine that he controlled. Farrell says that a coalescence of interests in the military industrial complex, the CIA, and Lyndon Baines Johnson''s powerful and corrupt political machine in Texas led to the event culminating in the assassination. Without the help of the Dallas police chief and others of the Texas underworld, including Jack Ruby, the Kennedy assassination could not have taken place. Farrell analyzes the data as only he can, and comes to some astonishing conclusions. Topics include: Oswald, the FBI, and the CIA: Hoover''s Concern of a Second Oswald; Oswald and the Anti-Castro Cubans; The Mafia; Hoover, Johnson, and the Mob; The FBI, the Secret Service, Hoover, and Johnson; The CIA and Murder Incorporated; Ruby''s Bizarre Behavior; The French Connection and Permindex; Big Oil; The Military; Disturbing Datasets, Doppelgängers, Duplicates and Discrepancies; Two Caskets, Two (or was that Three?) Ambulances, One Body: The Case of David S. Lifton; Two (or is that Three?) Faces of Oswald; Too Many (or Was That Too Few?) Bullets; Too Many Films, with Too Many, or Too Few, Frames; The Dead Witnesses: Jack Zangretti, Maurice Brooks Gatlin, John Garret Gary Underhill, Guy F. Bannister, Jr., Mary Pinchot Meyer, Rose Cheramie, Dorothy Mae Killgallen, Congressman Hale Boggs; The Alchemy of the Assassination: Ritual Magic and Murder, Masonic Symbolism, and the Darkest Players in the Death of JFK; LBJ and the Planning of the Texas Trip; LBJ: A Study in Character, Connections, and Cabals; LBJ and the Aftermath: Accessory After the Fact; The Requirements of Coups D''État; more.

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Book SynopsisDuring Guatemala’s decades-long civil war, tens of thousands of children, many of them Indigenous Maya, were coerced or kidnapped from their homes. They became commodities in a booming private adoption business, and most wound up in the United States. Rachel Nolan explores the human toll of a global industry that thrives on exploitation.Trade ReviewA deeply reported, sobering history. -- Cora Currier * New Republic *The author has provided an essential history and analysis of forced adoption in Guatemala over a 40-year period and the socio-political dynamics that enabled this poor country to play such an infamous role in a tragic global story of human-trafficking. …Until I Find You is a hard-hitting and disturbing insight into a dark corner of global capitalism, the profoundly racist attitudes of the Global North, and the most despicable of human vices. -- Gavin O'Toole * Latin American Review of Books *A staggeringly brilliant work of the heart and the head. One can’t read Nolan’s story of forced adoptions in Guatemala and not come away both shaken and intellectually challenged. I’ve read many books on Cold War political violence—but never one that pulls you in, that makes you feel as well as think, as much as this tour de force. -- Greg Grandin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of AmericaLike a dark historical fairy tale pulled from a bewitched archive, Until I Find You illuminates the Guatemalan international adoption trade’s cruel corruption and heartrending complexities in a boldly original way. Nolan’s meticulous research and her beautifully lucid, empathetic writing show how the seemingly benign event of the foreign adoption of an innocent child leaves behind an invisible trail of personal, economic, political, and essentially imperial horrors. -- Francisco Goldman, author of The Art of Political Murder and Monkey BoyImportant, compelling reading. Nolan has interviewed countless people, obtained access to adoption files, read the human rights reports, and sorted through the legal history. This will become a key, authoritative account of the deeply corrupt state of Guatemalan adoption from the 1970s to the 2000s. -- Laura Briggs, author of Taking Children: A History of American TerrorWith a historian’s eye and a journalist’s pen, Nolan delves into the dark heart of Guatemalan adoption, a powerful story of state genocide, brutal economic and racial inequality, and a privatized, unregulated adoption market. Revealing the fuzzy boundaries between coercion and consent, legality and illegality, markets and trafficking, facts and rumor, she shows how the extraordinary violence of war gave way to the everyday violence of peacetime—and how children, especially Indigenous children, have been victims of both. -- Nara Milanich, author of Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the FatherHugely ambitious. With painstaking research and deep sensitivity, Nolan addresses an important and little-studied topic, getting close to stories that are often shrouded in secrecy. -- Betsy Konefal, author of For Every Indio Who Falls: A History of Maya Activism in Guatemala, 1960–1990

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Book SynopsisA New York Times Bestseller Taking the story of white supremacy in America back to 1493, and examining contemporary communities in Mississippi, Minnesota, and Oklahoma for models of racial repair, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy is “full of urgency and insight” (The New York Times) as it helps chart a new course toward a genuinely pluralistic democracy.Beginning with contemporary efforts to reckon with the legacy of white supremacy in America, Jones returns to the fateful year when a little-known church doctrine emerged that shaped the way five centuries of European Christians would understand the “discovered” world and the people who populated it. Along the way, he shows us the connections between Emmett Till and the Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto in the Mississippi Delta, between the lynching of three Black circus workers in Duluth and the mass execution of thirty-eight Dakota men in Makato, and between the murder of 300 African Americans during the burning of Black Wall Street in Tulsa and the Trail of Tears. From this vantage point, Jones offers a “revelatory…searing, stirring outline” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) of how the enslavement of Africans was not America’s original sin but, rather, the continuation of acts of genocide and dispossession flowing from the first European contact with Native Americans. These deeds were justified by people who embraced the 15th-century Doctrine of Discovery: the belief that God had designated all territory not inhabited or controlled by Christians as their new promised land. This “blistering, bracing, and brave” (Michael Eric Dyson) reframing of American origins explains how the founders of the United States could build the philosophical framework for a democratic society on a foundation of mass racial violence—and why this paradox survives today in the form of white Christian nationalism. Through stories of people navigating these contradictions in three communities, Jones illuminates the possibility of a new American future in which we finally fulfill the promise of a pluralistic democracy.

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Book SynopsisAn innovative recasting of US legal and economic history through the power of clothing for those who lacked power and status in American society.What can dresses, bedlinens, waistcoats, pantaloons, shoes, and kerchiefs tell us about the legal status of the least powerful members of American society? In the hands of eminent historian Laura F. Edwards, these textiles tell a revealing story of ordinary people and how they made use of their material goods'' economic and legal value in the period between the Revolution and the Civil War.Only the Clothes on Her Back uncovers practices, commonly known then, but now long forgotten, which made textiles--clothing, cloth, bedding, and accessories, such as shoes and hats--a unique form of property that people without rights could own and exchange. The value of textiles depended on law, and it was law that turned these goods into a secure form of property for marginalized people, who not only used these textiles as currency, credit, and capital, bu

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Book SynopsisIn 1960, consensual sodomy was a crime in every state in America. Fifty-five years later, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had the fundamental right to marry. In the span of two generations, American law underwent a dramatic transformation. Though the fight for marriage equality has received a considerable amount of attention from scholars and the media, it was only a small part of the more than half-century struggle for queer family rights. Family Matters uncovers these decades of advocacy, which reshaped the place of same-sex sexuality in American law and society ? and ultimately made marriage equality possible. This book, however, is more than a history of queer rights. Marie-Amélie George reveals that national legal change resulted from shifts at the state and local levels, where the central figures were everyday people without legal training. Consequently, she offers a new way of understanding how minority groups were able to secure meaningful legal change.

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Book SynopsisIn The Case for Trump, award-winning historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson explains how a celebrity businessman with no political or military experience triumphed over sixteen well-qualified Republican rivals, a Democrat with a quarter-billion-dollar war chest, and a hostile media and Washington establishment to become an extremely successful president. Trump alone saw a political opportunity in defending the working people of America''s interior whom the coastal elite of both parties had come to scorn, Hanson argues. And Trump alone had the instincts and energy to pursue this opening to victory, dismantle a corrupt old order, and bring long-overdue policy changes at home and abroad. After decades of drift, America needed the outsider Trump to do what normal politicians would not and could not do. Now updated for the 2024 election with a comprehensive new introduction, this is the essential book on what Donald Trump means for America.

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Book SynopsisEugene McCarraher challenges the conventional view of capitalism as a force for disenchantment. From Puritan and evangelical valorizations of profit to the heavenly Fordist city, the mystically animated corporation, and the deification of the market, capitalism has hijacked our intrinsic longing for divinity, laying hold to our souls.Trade ReviewExtraordinary…Like MacIntyre, McCarraher both recognizes and detests capitalism’s spoliations of creation and disintegration of communities, and casts a fond, forlorn eye toward the possibility of restoring a rationality of genuine human life…A majestic achievement. It will enjoy a long posterity…It is a work of great moral and spiritual intelligence, and one that invites contemplation about things we can’t afford not to care about deeply. -- David Bentley Hart * Commonweal *[A] monumental labor of love…There have been marvelous studies of contemporary capitalism published in recent years…But this is an extraordinary work of intellectual history as well as a scholarly tour de force, a bracing polemic, and a work of Christian prophecy…It is beautifully written and a magnificent read…McCarraher challenges more than 200 years of post-Enlightenment assumptions about the way we live and work…This mammoth portrait of the religious longings at the heart of secular materialism carries a bleak message: 20th-century fantasies of the world as one global business have been realized…Refreshingly original and splendidly pulled off. * The Observer *McCarraher’s book is more brilliant, more capacious, and more entertaining, page by page, than his most ardent fans dared hope. The magnitude of his accomplishment—an account of American capitalism as a religion that begins in early modernity and extends to the present, an analysis that goes far beyond the loose versions of this argument we’ve seen before (Economists are like clergy! The Fed is like a church!) and rewrites American intellectual history as it does so—will stun even skeptical readers…It is a wonder, an enchantment on a world that has so forgotten itself as to think enchantments rare. -- Philip Christman * Christian Century *A monumental, scholarly but also readable survey of how the champions of capitalism, their acolytes and foot soldiers—over and over, and with conspicuous success—reframed traditional religious longings and beloved communities as goals that could be achieved through the pursuit of profit…As enthralling a work of intellectual history as you could hope to read. -- Michael Duggan * Catholic Herald *A beguiling 800-page tour de force…[A] sweeping history…The author claims, with considerable evidence, that capitalism, too, is a form of worship, that it is a religion of modernity…Scintillating. -- Donald Sassoon * Church Times *A genuine delight to read…[A] searing excoriation of economics as it is currently practiced…An extraordinary book…It is difficult to characterize this book as anything but a masterpiece for its synthesis of intellectual history, anticapitalist polemic, and Romantic imagination. There is a great deal to be gained from McCarraher’s arguments. -- Daniel Walden * Current Affairs *One of the most impressive books I’ve ever read…The depth and range of McCarraher’s scholarship are incredible…A must-read for anyone serious about the mesmerizing power of capitalism. -- Mark Dunbar * The Humanist *A vitally important book…It could have an impact similar to Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue…Certainly it is a book people concerned about the state of the world and moral theology should be aware of…McCarraher…explains how capitalism has become the religion of the modern world…This detailed account of the idolatries of our age deserves wide readership and detailed examination. -- Frank Litton * Irish Catholic *The Enchantments of Mammon is a beautiful, stirring achievement. In a bold new synthesis ranging from early modern Europe to the contemporary United States, McCarraher challenges the received wisdom regarding the meanings of modernity and rationality, allowing us to look at familiar concepts in fresh and fruitful ways. This is truly a game-changer—the history of capitalism will never look the same again. -- Jackson Lears, author of Rebirth of a NationWith this book McCarraher aspires to nothing less than a history of the soul under capitalism. Far from living in a secular, disenchanted world, he argues, ours is a world of ‘misenchantment,’ in which longings for communion are perverted into a religion of plunder and technological control. Capitalism emerges here not as a system of market exchange or class domination but as an affront to the divine creation of which we are a part. An astonishing work of history and criticism. -- Casey Nelson Blake, author of The Arts of DemocracyAn intellectually ambitious, analytically insightful, engagingly well written, and unfashionably radical yet timely study of the relationship among capitalism, religion, society, and culture in the United States. McCarraher argues that modern capitalism has not been a secularizing movement from enchantment to disenchantment, but rather an alternative, competing form of enchantment. He is sharply critical of the underlying assumptions and damaging consequences of modern capitalism with its emphasis on extractive efficiency and profit-making. A powerful, impressive work. -- Brad Gregory, author of The Unintended ReformationA tour de force. McCarraher argues that capitalism is a successor faith, rather than a successor to faith. The capitalist faith in this telling is a heretical, blaspheming Black Mass of perverse sacramentality that sanctions domination by pretending to the status of immutable, impersonal laws of nature. In the world of economic enchantment masquerading as hard-eyed realism, McCarraher urges us to keep open an imaginative window through which to glimpse alternatives. His magnificent intellectual history recovers many such opportunities and invites us to appraise them with fresh eyes. -- Bethany Moreton, author of To Serve God and Wal-MartSurveying the history of capitalism from seventeenth-century England to the mid-twentieth-century United States, McCarraher argues in this magisterial work that capitalism is a corruption of the sacramental nature of the world and our desire to flourish within it. The keenest insights and best hopes for a more humane world reside not within secular traditions but within the Romantic lineage of joy and participation. The Enchantments of Mammon is a towering achievement: an exquisitely crafted refusal of the metaphysics of the free market and reassurance that the conditions of human flourishing are well within our reach. -- Charles Marsh, author of Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer McCarraher savages the sacralized fantasy of perpetual economic growth—purportedly guided by the dictates of reason—promulgated on the Left (Neo-liberalism and Socialism) and the Right. Against this worship of accumulation are set the admirable but futile efforts of those who, over time, have agitated against the idolatry of lucre. Is it possible for us to turn our eyes away from this false God? -- Bill Marx * Arts Fuse *Excellent…Argues for a Romanticism-inflected socialism…monumental. -- John Ehrett * Between Two Kingdoms *A fascinating book…which asserts, among other things, that capitalism is the religion of modernity. -- Darrell Lackey * Divergence *A magnificent work of historical scholarship, a thorough account of the rise of capitalism in the modern age. And yet it is not an economics tome, or even really a history, but rather a treatise on religion and the values that pervade society. It is also full of moral insights, with stinging critiques of a worldview that reduces human experience to opportunities for exchange…Highly readable. * The Interim *A thoughtful, beautifully written book, tracing the ways in which the values of capitalism—greed, productivity, competition, selfishness—became confounded with notions of divinity, and of God’s plan for and involvement in the lives of the divinity’s alleged favorite creation…Helps explain the hegemony of capitalist ideas in societies where religion is important even when the material interests of the working class ought clearly to expose the depravity and, for the religiously-minded, the ungodliness, of capitalism as actually practiced. -- Alvin Finkel * Labour *Much needed and much welcomed…The time into which McCarraher’s work speaks is a time perhaps readied to hear something different. A world enchanted by McDonald’s and administered by McDonnell-Douglas has begun to lose its shine, especially when it culminates in carnival hucksters parading as political, business, and religious leaders. It is time for a new and yet old word, a Christian socialism that resists the lure of capitalist enchantment. -- D. Stephen Long and Tyler Womack * Modern Theology *[An] immense work of historical synthesis. -- Stuart Walton * Review 31 *A vigorous intellectual history that challenges conventional social-science assumptions about the modern world. -- Christopher Clark * Journal of Modern History *

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1872, The Underground Railroad is a fascinating collection of slaves'' own narratives of their escapes from bondage. Their accounts provide a horrifying window into the reality of the ''peculiar institution'' and the trials they had to endure to escape it. This abridged collection consists of a wide variety of slave narratives faithfully recorded by William Still, a conductor on the underground railroad. Along with the narratives are contemporary newspaper articles and personal correspondence between slaves and members of the underground railroad that place the reader back into the world of the abolitionist movement in America.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a wonderful collection which is perfect for any home library.

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Book Synopsis'A heart-piercingly brilliant book about a woman whose personal life put her in the cross-hairs of history' HADLEY FREEMAN'Totally riveting. I couldn't put it down' VICTORIA HISLOP'Ethel sings out for all women who have been misunderstood and wronged, and refuse to bow down' NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE'A shocking tale of betrayal, naivety, misogyny and judicial failure' SONIA PURNELL'A historic miscarriage of justice laid bare for our times' PHILIPPE SANDSEthel Rosenberg was a supportive wife, loving mother to two small children and courageous idealist who grew up during the Depression with aspirations to become an opera singer.On 19 June 1953 she became the first woman in the US to be executed for a crime other than murder. She was thirty-seven years old.Ethel's conviction for conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union followed what FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover called the 'trial of the century' in Cold War America and is still controversial. Now, Anne Sebba's masterly, meticulously researched and deeply moving biography finally tells Ethel's true story - a life barbarically cut short on the basis of tainted evidence for a crime she almost certainly did not commit.Trade ReviewA heart-piercingly brilliant book about a woman whose personal life put her in the cross-hairs of history -- HADLEY FREEMANSebba gets her readers under the skin of both Ethel and her era so effectively that this shameful saga had me alternately close to tears and boiling with rage * DAILY TELEGRAPH *An intelligent, sensitive and absorbing account of the short, tragic life of a woman made remarkable by circumstance. [Ethel] emerges as a stubbornly courageous figure, a woman who towers above the parade of morally grubby, self-seeking and misogynistic figures who conspired to destroy her -- Melissa Benn * GUARDIAN *Totally riveting. I couldn't put it down -- VICTORIA HISLOPPowerful . . . her narrative clings to the reader like ivy . . . a feat of empathy * OBSERVER *Masterful, original and painfully gripping, a historic miscarriage of justice laid bare for our times -- PHILIPPE SANDSAn engaging portrait of the woman at the centre of a shameful case in US history * Guardian *An almost unbearably terrible story. I was completely held, absorbed and involved with the story of Ethel's short life. Brilliant ... could not be bettered -- CLAIRE TOMALINAnne Sebba's riveting reappraisal not only includes previously unseen letters and testimony but also manages to extract Ethel from her marriage . . . this important and compelling book raises resonant issues around what happens when collective fear leads to hysteria and justice is wilfully ignored * SPECTATOR *Timely, superbly written and ultimately devastating, this is an American tragedy indeed. I don't think I've ever read a book that has moved me more -- ANTHONY HOROWITZAbsolutely gripping in so many ways; beautifully written and superbly researched, a brilliant and a fresh take on a famous case. This is simultaneously a Shakespearean tragedy of a woman and family betrayal, a history of American Communism and Soviet espionage in the USA, a very modern story with links to the 21st century and Trump, a web of conspiracies, politics and witch-hunts, and an investigation of treason and justice -- SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIOREA tragic and gripping tale, scrupulously documented, of political chicanery, family betrayal and legal perfidy, Anne's Sebba's book has unnerving echoes in the modern world -- CAROLINE MOOREHEADThis is a magnificent book, one with a hundred strands, woven together with such skill that the only thought one can have at the end of reading is: how did we never know the true story of this remarkable woman? -- CARMEN CALLILWas Ethel innocent? Anne Sebba, a masterful storyteller, peels away the layers of historical and sometimes deliberate misinformation to reveal the extraordinary truth. This book will haunt me for some time -- ANITA ANANDA riveting account of "the Dreyfus case of Cold-War America". Ethel Rosenberg's execution in 1953 united the Pope, Einstein and Picasso in condemning her conviction as both a crime against humanity and an assault on America's idea of itself. As Sebba shows to scathing effect, with a message that will strike contemporary nerves, Ethel placed truth above fake news, and being a good wife and mother above being a good Communist. She had wanted to be an opera singer, but here she sings out for all women who have been misunderstood and wronged, and refuse to bow down -- NICHOLAS SHAKESPEAREWhat a soaring story that challenges on so many levels! Anne Sebba has an uncanny knack of upending historical orthodoxies in compelling style. In this gripping account of Ethel Rosenberg's life and death, she does so again. It's a shocking tale of betrayal, naivety, misogyny and judicial failure. As a woman who maybe loved too well, Ethel remains hard to like, but she's even harder to condemn -- SONIA PURNELLAnne Sebba's Ethel Rosenberg is a tour de force, a tale of a woman betrayed and executed. Sebba's painstaking research creates a new picture of a woman caught up in accusations, an activist, a devoted mother sent to the electric chair, a tale of idealism and government's demand for a scapegoat, a moving, fascinating picture of the first woman to be executed in the US for espionage. 'Always remember we are innocent', she said as she died. For years, Ethel Rosenberg has been attacked and castigated. Now Sebba's new access to sources and research tells her real story - of a loyal wife, a woman of principle who became public enemy no 1 for a terrified political class and public - and asks us to make up our own minds -- KATE WILLIAMSIn Anne Sebba, Ethel Rosenberg has found the ideal biographer, sympathetic without being blind to her faults and a sure understanding of the period. Her portrayal is compelling . . . it is impossible to read her account of Ethel's last days without being moved * LITERARY REVIEW *Seventy years on Anne Sebba has given Ethel Rosenberg a towering memorial * THE CRITIC *Anne Sebba's brilliant, unforgettable biography is the story of a woman who fell victim to a fatal cocktail of prejudices - anti-Communism, antisemitism and misogyny * THE JEWISH CHRONICLE *A compelling story of love, betrayal, misplaced idealism, and brutal and legal political manoeuvring * ECONOMIST *Anne Sebba has written a powerful biography of a wife, mother and woman, caught by a system determined to make an example of her and betrayed by those she thought she could trust * THE OLDIE *An absorbing book * THE TABLET *Sebba's impassioned investigation into this shameful saga concludes that this remarkable woman became a "human sacrifice" to Red Scare hysteria and 1950s chauvinism * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Riveting . . . A concise yet thorough account of a 1953 miscarriage of justice with alarming relevance today * Kirkus *This shattering story of a courageous woman swept up in one of America's greatest miscarriages of justice is enthralling and deeply moving. With her usual brilliance, Anne Sebba has brought to light the real person buried under decades of propaganda and has finally succeeded in humanising Ethel Rosenberg. This book is hugely relevant today, it shows us the perils of allowing ideology and hysteria to take precedence over justice. This is a magnificent work, meticulously researched and skilfully crafted -- ARIANA NEUMANN, author of New York Times bestseller 'When Time Stopped'A gripping tale of betrayal, deceit and judicial incompetence * BBC History Magazine *Sebba's painstaking research pulls back the veil of historic projections * Financial Times *Sebba gets her readers under the skin of both Ethel and her era so effectively that this shameful saga had me alternately close to tears and boiling with rage * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisHampton Sides''s extraordinary book brings the history of the American conquest of the West to ringing life. It is a tale with many heroes and villains, but at the centre of it all stands the remarkable figure of Kit Carson - the legendary trapper, scout and soldier. Carson was an illiterate mountain man who twice married Indian women and understood the tribes better than any other American alive; yet he was also a cold-blooded killer and an unquestioning patriot who willingly followed orders tantamount to massacre. BLOOD AND THUNDER is a chronicle of one of a pivotal era in American history: grand in scope, immediate in detail, impeccably researched and historically revelatory.''Hampton Sides'' outstanding narrative history has all the virtues: stirring set pieces, deft character studies, colourful descriptions of battles and of nature . . . a riveting tale where, for once, the word epic is not hyperbole''Frank McLynn, Independent on SundayTrade ReviewAbsorbing and well written . . . Anyone who has read Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian or grew up on John Ford westerns will be enlightened. Those yet to read that novel or see the movies will find that this book adds deep resonances to their pleasure' Michael Moorcock Guardian (10/3/07) * ** ‘This history of Carson encapsulates themes of American mythology that seem otherworldly but remain endlessly fascinating.’ *SUNDAY BUSINESS POST * ‘Hampton Side s’ outstanding narrative history has all the virtues: stirring set pieces, deft character studies, colourful descriptions of battles and of nature... a riveting tale where, for once, the word “epic” is not hyperbole’ Frank McLynn, Independen *A familiar story [told] with compelling narrative zest' Robert McCrum, Observer * 'Sides eloquently paints the landscape and history of the 19th century Southwest, combinIng Larry McMurtry's lyricism with the historian's attachments to facts’ *PUBLISHERS WEEKLY * 'The type of sweeping history that was written by the likes of Bernard DeVoto and David Lavender . . . [but] he populates his story not just with white Americans but also with diverse Indian peoples and Mexicans. And he does so with balance and sensitivit *

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Book SynopsisThe International BestsellerThe inspiration for Impeachment: American Crime StoryThe definitive account of the Clinton-Lewinsky sex scandals, A Vast Conspiracy casts an insightful eye over the extraordinary ordeal that nearly brought down a president.First published a year after the infamous impeachment trial, Jeffrey Toobin's propulsive narrative captures the full arc of the Clinton sex scandals from their beginnings in a Little Rock hotel to their culmination on the floor of the United States Senate with only the second vote on presidential removal in American history.Rich in character and fuelled with the high octane of a sensational legal thriller, A Vast Conspiracy has indelibly shaped our understanding of this disastrous moment in American political history.Trade Review‘[An] admirably clear, vigorously written, plain-spoken and commonsensical book’ The New York Times Book Review ‘A superb work of factual and legal analysis … Few novels are as gripping’ The New York Review of Books ‘A good read … a brave book’ Economist ‘A story as taut and surprising as any thriller …. Unimpeachable page-turner’ People

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Book SynopsisI cannot help but see the bodies of my near ancestors in the current caravans of desperate souls fleeing from place to place, chased by famine, war and toxins. Ideas honed in slavery of the otherness, the boorishness, the inferiority of thy neighbour have continued to travel through American society.'The story of slavery in America is not over. It lives on in how we speak to one another, in how we treat one another, in how our societies are organised. In Giving a Damn, the legal scholar Patricia Williams finds that when you begin to unpick current debates around immigration, freedom of speech, the culture wars and wall-building, beneath them lies the unexamined history of enslavement in the West. Our ability to dehumanize one another can be traced all the way from the plantation to the US President's Twitter account.Williams begins in the American South with Gone With the Wind (still the second most popular book in the USA after the Bible), that nostalgic tale full of the myths of th

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“In these linked portraits of activists and radicals at a watershed moment in history, David and Margaret Talbot tell a profound story about idealism in action and the rousing, inspiring, often messy ways in which popular movements and charismatic individuals fight injustice and bring about revolutionary transformation. By turns sweeping and intimate, and built on fresh interviews and original reporting, By the Light of Burning Dreams feels like necessary reading in our own tumultuous moment: an urgent reminder that change can happen and a vivid illustration of how it does.” — Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing “An intelligent and sympathetic reappraisal of the political upheavals of the ’60s and’ 70s. . . . An abundance of fresh material gives this book an intergenerational appeal. . . . Through sharp reporting and good storytelling, the authors enliven a journalistic genre that in less skilled hands might have gone flat.” — Kirkus “If you’ve read either of the Talbot siblings, you know they don’t write anything dry. Simple saviors and canned profiles in courage are not for them. These essays bristle with energy and contention. . . . Whether covering the labor organizing of Cesar Chavez, the gay pride of Craig Rodwell or the celebrity activism of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Talbots are guided by dogged reporting and an instinct for finding and telling a story. Even if you know these revolutionaries, you’ll find details here to surprise you. They might even make you want to go out and make a difference yourself.” — San Francisco Chronicle “The timing is perfect for By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution, a fresh, deeply-reported examination of some of the most effective movement organizers to emerge in the 1960s….After a global pandemic dramatically increased already untenable inequity overlapped with the radical reassertion ― in the streets and online ― that America is built on fundamentally false pretenses when it comes to equality, the Talbots provide a memorable blueprint for how individuals can continue the work even when the TV crews move on.” — Scheer Post “[The Talbots] survey the seismic sociocultural changes that transpired in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s—what they call the Second American Revolution—by identifying seven discrete yet often intertwining movements or events of consequence…. The authors clearly admire the courage, political savvy, and sheer physical effort required to create and then sustain such critical movements, but they’re also unsparing in saying that mistakes were made…. As a result, the Talbots have created a coherent narrative of mid-century political activism, from which readers can see the through lines of modern-day success or failure, and proceed from there.” — Booklist, starred review “By the Light of Burning Dreams crackles with the radical energy of the 1960s and 70s. It’s a shot in the arm of bold idealism, an indispensable companion for today’s revolutionaries that reminds us what can happen if we dare to believe in – and fight for – a better world." — Jessica Bruder, author of Nomadland “Charismatic but flawed figures dominate this vibrant portrait of 1960s radical movements. . . . An exhilarating, inspiring outing.” — Publishers Weekly “Wide-ranging yet accessible…. A loving but critical portrait of a generation whose effects are still felt today.” — Library Journal "A moving chronology of the activism that burned bright in the decades of the ’60s and ’70s. Each movement is written about with a compassionate, yet practical view of their attributes and their shortcomings. The successes elicit joy, the setbacks provoking consternation, but the history provided in this treasure is illuminating and concludes with optimism. A+ History." — Seattle Book Review "Inspiring.... No hagiographers here; the Talbots point to the failures and imperfections in their characters, making their legacies human and real." — The National Book Review "David Talbot and Margaret Talbot take us back to that tumultuous time fifty years ago... [and] successively spotlight some of the most compelling personalities of the 1960s and 70s.... It’s a painful story to read because it highlights how sadly incomplete that revolution proved to be. And it brings to mind the ferocity of the Right-Wing reaction that followed later in the 1970s and beyond, setting the stage for the sad state of the American scene today." — Berkleyside "Did the actions of radicals transform the nation in any fundamental way? Or did they blaze too quickly across the landscape?. ... David Talbot and Margaret Talbot, siblings and veteran journalists, have crafted a book of personal narratives rich with the kinds of details that might help answer such queries.... The book brims with vivid descriptions of how all these characters looked, dressed, got along with one another (or didn’t), and how they came across in public. The Talbots sprinkle in factual nuggets that might surprise even former activists from those years or the historians who write about them (this reviewer belongs to both clusters)." — The New Republic

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Book SynopsisParaguay - the name conjures up everything most exotic and extreme in South America. It''s a place of hellish jungles, dictators, fraudsters and Nazis, utopian experiments, missionaries and lurid coups. It''s not a place for the timid tourist. It doesn''t even have its own guidebook. But Paraguay, as revealed in this outstanding new travel book, is among the most beautiful and captivating countries in the world. The beguiling Paraguayans, despised and feared by their neighbours, are unfathomable. They adore Diana, Princess of Wales, as if she were still alive and hundreds volunteered to fight for Britain in the Falklands War. Their politics are Byzantine but when the Vice-President is murdered, they call in Scotland Yard. Discover more about the unique traditions of South American culture through this fascinating piece of travel journalism.Trade ReviewA glorious travel book - Edward Marriot * The Sunday Times *[Gimlette's] account is so rich in anecdotes, so suffused in color and dialect that we are left with a sense of having somehow inhaled all this Paraguayan history and then experienced it through a nightmare or a dream. Gimlette has given us a cast of characters as vivid as any by Dickens or Waugh * New York Times *Full of surprises, this is a riveting read * Sunday Telegraph *Off the wall title, and a great off centre enjoyment, with a smashing, entertaining piece of writing... * Manchester Evening News *John Gimlette's extraordinary book, part history, part travelogue, is so vivid that nobody reading it is ever likely to forget the country. - Max Davidson * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisRough Crossings is the astonishing story of the struggle to freedom by thousands of African-American slaves who fled the plantations to fight behind British lines in the American War of Independence. With gripping, powerfully vivid story-telling, Simon Schama follows the escaped blacks into the fires of the war, and into freezing, inhospitable Nova Scotia where many who had served the Crown were betrayed in their promises to receive land at the war''s end. Their fate became entwined with British abolitionists: inspirational figures such as Granville Sharp, the flute-playing father-figure of slave freedom, and John Clarkson, the ''Moses'' of this great exodus, who accompanied the blacks on their final rough crossing to Africa, where they hoped that freedom would finally greet them.Trade ReviewThis brilliant book by the leading historian of our times about a subject of great significance will delight professional historians and entrance the reading public. Rough Crossings succeeds in all respects. It is a 'tour de force' and a landmark in historical scholarship * Times Higher Education Supplement *Schama's gift for plunging us into the very centre of the action, whether in Charleston, London or on the African coast, makes reading an exhilarating experience * Daily Telegraph *Brilliant and deeply moving * Observer *Schama has a remarkable ability to stare into the anonymous faces in the crowd and to pluck them from historical obscurity. Rough Crossings gives voice to people who have, until now, remained mere names on duty lists -- James WalvinOne only has to dip into Rough Crossings to appreciate the command of detail that lies behind his apparently effortless ability to come up with the right quotation or description * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisOne of the most influential political texts ever written on America, and an indispensable authority on the nature of democracy In 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat and civil servant, made a nine-month journey through eastern America. The result was Democracy in America, a monumental study of the strengths and weaknesses of the nation''s evolving politics. Tocqueville looked to the flourishing democratic system in America as a possible model for post-revolutionary France, believing its egalitarian ideals reflected the spirit of the age. This edition, the only one that contains all Tocqueville''s writings on America, includes the rarely translated ''Two Weeks in the Wilderness'', an evocative account of Tocqueville''s travels among the Iroquois and Chippeway, and ''Excursion to Lake Oneida''. Translated by Gerald Bevan with an Introduction and Notes by Isaac KramnickTrade Review“No better study of a nation’s institutions and culture than Tocqueville’s Democracy in America has ever been written by a foreign observer.” –The New York Times“The Bradley edition of Tocqueville’s classic is the best now available in English.” –Charles A. Beard“Professor Bradley’s edition should remain the standard one for our time.” –F. O. MatthiessenWith an Introduction by Alan RyanTable of ContentsChronology; further reading; translator's notes; democracy in America, notes; "Two Weeks in the Wilderness"; "Excursion to Lake Oneida".

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Book Synopsis''No two nations have ever existed on the face of the earth which could do each other so much good or so much harm''President Buchanan, State of the Nation Address, 1859A World on Fire tells, with extraordinary sweep, one of the least known great stories of British and American history. As America descended into Civil War, British loyalties were torn between support for the North, which was against slavery, and defending the South, which portrayed itself as bravely fighting for its independence. Rallying to their respective causes, thousands of Britons went to America as soldiers - fighting for both Union and Confederacy - racing ships through the Northern blockades, and as observers, nurses, adventurers, guerillas and spies. At the heart of this international conflict lay a complicated and at times tortuous relationship between four individuals: Lord Lyons, the painfully shy British Ambassador in Washington; William Seward, the blustering US Secretary of State; Charles Francis Adams, the dry but fiercely patriotic U.S. ambassador in London; and the restless and abrasive Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell. Despite their efforts, and sometimes as a result of them, America and Britain came within a whisker of declaring war on each other twice in four years. The diplomatic story is only one element in this gloriously multifaceted book. Using a wealth of previously unpublished letters and journals, Amanda Foreman gives fresh accounts of Civil War battles by seeing them through the eyes of British journalists and myriad soldiers on both sides, from flamboyant cavalry commanders to forcibly conscripted private soldiers. She also shows how the War took place in England, from the Confederacy''s secret ship-building programme in Liverpool to the desperate efforts of its propagandists and emissaries - male and female - to influence British public opinion. She even shows how one of the most famous set-piece naval encounters of the War was fought, remarkably, in the English Channel. Foreman tells this epic yet intimate story of enormous personalities, tense diplomacy and torn loyalties as history in the round, captivating her readers with the experience of total immersion in this titanic conflict.Trade ReviewAmanda Foreman's magnificent book provides a completely fresh perspective on the first great modern conflict. Weaving together a vast panoply of people and events, it dramatically brings alive this extraordinary period on British and American history -- Antony BeevorAmbitiously conceived, impressively researched and gracefully written, Amanda Foreman has crafted a narrative rich in detail, anecdote, insight and personalities. It puts a human face - many human faces - on a brutal conflict remorselessly descending into an inhuman total war -- Brian JenkinsA tour de force, a work of extreme virtuosity both in the research and the telling * Bloomberg News *

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Book Synopsis''A history of resilience ... sweeping, comprehensive ... it''s a story that has been waiting to be told'' Guardian''An account sorely needed ... a kaleidoscopic view of Native American history, refreshing and rollicking, and not unlike its fractured reality'' StandpointBlood and Land is a dazzling, panoramic account of the history and achievements of Native North Americans, and why they matter today. It is about why no understanding of the wider world is possible without comprehending the original inhabitants of the United States and Canada: Native Americans, First Nations and Arctic peoples.This highly personal book, based on years of travel and first-hand research in North America, introduces a deeply complex story, of myriad identities and determined ethnicities - from the desert Southwest to the high Arctic, from first contact between Europeans and Native Americans to the challenges of Native leadership today. Instead of Trade ReviewResisting the tendency toward generalisation that is the inherent danger of thematic survey, King emphasises singularity, contrast and diversification ... the early sections of the chapter on language and literature contain the most lucid and succinct discussion of the nature, origin and diversification of Native American languages - a subject central to the understanding of Native American history - that I have ever read ... [an] excellent panoramic survey -- Ciaran Brady * Irish Times *Blood and Land is an account - at least from my American perspective - sorely needed...general histories of Native America are difficult to write and King does a superlative job -- David Bahr * Standpoint *Blood and Land is to be commended for its ambition. The subjects covered are fascinating ... an eminently readable work -- Karen Jones * BBC History Magazine *A panoramic portrait ...a delight for the browsers and sifters among us who may be more engaged by the stories of early 20th century Kikapoo travelling snake-oil salesmen than by the minutiae of constitutional haggling and treaty-making -- Melanie McGrath * Evening Standard *King sees through clear and intelligent eyes, with a scholarship that is deep, wide, and liberated from cliché or stereotype, the vast complexities and nuances that motivate and shape not only the past but, even more important, the present and future of the first citizens of North America. -- W. Richard West, Jr. * Founding Director, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian *

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Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed author of John F. Kennedy: An Unfinished Life, the biography of one of America''s greatest presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt.''Meticulously researched and authoritative, heroically objective and wide-angled ... Roosevelt is with us again in Dallek''s outstanding cradle-to-grave study'' Douglas Brinkley, Washington Post''Assuredly the best single-volume Roosevelt biography'' Eric Rauchway, The Times Literary Supplement''Essential ... a master of the presidential biography captures Roosevelt''s compassion and sense of solidarity'' Greg Grandin, Guardian''An insightful, incisive and intelligent one-volume work - and a pointed primer on how things in Washington get done. In a period defined by division, Dallek crafts a pointillist portrait of the four-term president, who knew almost intuitively how to reach consensus'' Peter M. Gianotti, NewsdayTrade ReviewMeticulously researched and authoritative ... Roosevelt is with us again in Dallek's outstanding cradle-to-grave study -- Douglas Brinkley * Washington Post *A landmark work that deserves to be placed on the same shelf as those of Arthur Schlesinger Jr., James MacGregor Burns, and William E. Leuchtenburg -- Richard Moe

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Book Synopsis''History at its scintillating best ... hard-hitting, revelatory and superbly researched'' Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny ''A rare achievement ... sure to become an instant classic'' John Lewis Gaddis, Yale University This gripping book dramatizes the extraordinarily compressed and terrifying period between the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Hitler''s declaration of war on the United States. These five days transformed much of the world and have shaped our own experience ever since. Simms and Laderman''s aim in the book is to show how this agonizing period had no inevitability about it and that innumerable outcomes were possible. Key leaders around the world were taking decisions with often poor and confused information, under overwhelming pressure and knowing that they could be facing personal and national disaster. And yet, there were also long-standing assumptions that shaped these decisions, bTrade ReviewAbsorbing ... Simms and Laderman give us a visceral sense of these events as they unfolded, in real time, with historical actors not always quite sure what was happening - a dimension of history that is both crucial and fiendishly difficult to recover. * New York Times Book Review *This is history at its scintillating best. The fate of the world tilted on the decisions made in those few days - hours even - in December 1941, and Simms and Laderman brilliantly strip away the many myths surrounding them in this hard-hitting, revelatory and superbly researched work. -- Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with DestinyAn extraordinary reconstruction of the fateful week following Pearl Harbor. -- Adam Tooze * Guardian *A very important book ... Truly eye-opening, myth-busting history. * Aspects of History *In Hitler's American Gamble, Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman grippingly retell the story of five days that not only shook but also shaped the world... All students of both World War II and the Holocaust will learn, as I did, from their careful use of neglected documents and their attention to 'counterfactuals' that, for contemporaries, were at least as likely as what actually happened. -- Niall FergusonOffers fine, well-researched insights into the psyches of leaders who made decisions that changed the course of world history ... For readers seeking a deeper understanding of the realpolitik that drove Germany to war against America, Hitler's American Gamble offers an outstanding narrative. -- Jonathan W. Jordan * World War 2 Magazine *A rare achievement: a microhistory that's global in scope. Filled with fresh insights, excitingly written, and meticulously documented, Hitler's American Gamble is sure to become an instant classic. -- John Lewis GaddisBrendan Simms and Charlie Laderman show how Hitler's mad decision to declare war on the United States on December 11, 1941 proved suicidal for the Axis, ensured a global catastrophe, and would radically redefine how World War II would end. And yet was Hitler really as unhinged and reckless as it has seemed? ... Hitler's American Gamble is revisionist, but in the best sense of sound research, rare originality, singular analysis, and riveting prose. -- Victor Davis HansonThe authors effectively prove their thesis in a key volume for World War II history collections. -- Michael Farrell * Library Journal *

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Book Synopsis*Shortlisted for the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History*''An enthralling account of a pivotal moment in modern history. . . replete with startling revelations about the deception and mutual suspicion that brought the US and Soviet Union to the brink of Armageddon in October 1962'' Martin Chilton, IndependentThe definitive new history of the Cuban Missile Crisis from the author of Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy, winner of the Baillie Gifford PrizeFor more than four weeks in the autumn of 1962 the world teetered. The consequences of a misplaced step during the Cuban Missile Crisis could not have been more grave. Ash and cinder, famine and fallout; nuclear war between the two most-powerful nations on Earth.In Nuclear Folly, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy tells the riveting story of those weeks, tracing the tortuous decision-making and calculated brinkmanship of John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro, aTrade ReviewAn immense achievement, engrossing and terrifying, surely one of the most important books ever written about the Cuban Missile Crisis and 20th-century international relations * Wall Street Journal *The story is extraordinary and Plokhy is an accomplished narrator . . . it's as authoritative a version of the Soviet side as we are likely to ever get -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *An enthralling account of a pivotal moment in modern history. . . replete with startling revelations about the deception and mutual suspicion that brought the US and Soviet Union to the brink of Armageddon in October 1962 -- Martin Chilton * Independent *A definitive new account of the Cuban Missile Crisis . . . masterly * The Economist *With access to recently declassified KGB material, this is the most detailed and dependable account of the crisis. It will be gladly plundered by students and scholars and highlighted until its pages are damp with neon yellow -- Julie McDowell * The Times *A dramatic story, compellingly told * BBC History Revealed *A magisterial work based on a bevy of U.S. and Soviet archival sources, including previously classified KGB documents. The perspective Plokhy provides exposes the perverse incentives that fueled dangerous nuclear power plays during the Cold War and, he suggests, beyond -- Andre Pagliarini * New Republic *A gripping narrative about the most dangerous Cold War crisis . . . Plokhy brings this turning point to spine-chilling life - it reads like a thriller * Tablet *Nearly sixty years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Serhi Plokhy, the author of multiple groundbreaking books on Soviet history, once again uses newly released KGB archives to offer a new perspective. In gripping, granular detail, he shows us just how close the U.S. and the Soviet Union came to Armageddon -- Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of DemocracyA fresh examination of the historical milestone. . . . Plokhy keeps the pages turning, and he includes far more Soviet material than earlier scholars. . . . superbly researched and uncomfortably timely * Kirkus *This important, absorbing work shows that the full story of the Cuban Missile Crisis must be told from its global perspective * Library Journal *Plokhy dives deep. . . . History buffs will savor this balanced and richly detailed look at both sides of the crisis * Publishers Weekly *If you think the story of the Cuban missile crisis has been told so often that nothing remains to be learned, think again. Drawing on KGB documents preserved in Ukrainian archives and Soviet military memoirs, as well as American documents and Cuban materials, Serhii Plokhy's almost hour-by-hour account freshly illuminates mistakes by the Kremlin and the White House that triggered the crisis, and snafus at sea and in Cuba that almost sparked a nuclear war -- William Taubman, author of GorbachevAn excellent overview of the Cuban missile crisis from one of America's leading Cold War historians. Serhii Plokhy has mined previously untapped Soviet archives to shed new light on the thirteen days that brought the world closer than ever before to nuclear destruction, and the pivotal roles of John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev. A thrilling read that justifies his sobering conclusion: we may not be so lucky next time -- Michael Dobbs, author of One Minute to Midnight

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Book SynopsisThe life of Frederick Douglass is nothing less than the history of America in the 19th century from slavery to reconstruction. His influence was felt in the political sphere, major social movements, literary culture, and even international affairs. This is a collection of the seminal writings and speeches of a writer, and civil rights leader.Trade Review“indispensable (…) a timelessly rewarding read in its totality”—Maria Popova

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Book SynopsisVolume 3 in the Penguin History of the United States, edited by Eric Foner.

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Book SynopsisIn recent decades, culture--the values, attitudes, beliefs, and myths of a particular society and the objects through which they are organized--has earned prominent stature in the annals of American history. The United States often brings to mind Uncle Sam and the cowboys of the Old West, or the speeches of JFK and lyrics of Madonna. Words and images such as these have the power to represent, or contest, national, civic, and social identities. From the Boston Tea Party to the Dodgers, from the blues to Andy Warhol, dime novels to Disneyland, the history of American culture tells us how previous generations of Americans have imagined themselves, their nation, and their relationship to the world and its peoples.This Very Short Introduction lays out a chronological map of American culture, its thematic currents, and its creation by social groups ranging from the straight-laced Puritans of colonial New England to the techies of today''s Silicon Valley. In doing so, it emphasizes the role of culture in the shaping of national identity. Across the lines of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, generation, and geography, diverse Americans have helped to forge a national culture with an ultimately global reach, inventing stories to underscore the problems and possibilities of an American way of life.Table of ContentsList of illustrations Chapter 1: American culture in red, white and black Chapter 2: Mass culture and mass politics, 1800--1860 Chapter 3: The Age of the City, 1860--1900 Chapter 4: The rise of culture industry, 1900-1945 Chapter 5: The suburbanization of American culture Chapter 6: The world wide web of American culture References Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisIn his last years as president of the United States, an embattled George Washington yearned for a time when his nation would have the strength of a Giant and there will be none who can make us afraid. At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States seemed poised to achieve a position of world power beyond what even Washington could have imagined.In The American Century and Beyond: U.S. Foreign Relations, 1893-2014, the second volume of a new split paperback edition of the award-winning From Colony to Superpower, George C. Herring recounts the rise of the United States from the dawn of what came to be known as the American Century. This fast-paced narrative tells a story of stunning successes and tragic failures, illuminating the central importance of foreign relations to the existence and survival of the nation. Herring shows how policymakers defined American interests broadly to include territorial expansion, access to growing markets, and the spread of the American way of lifTrade ReviewThe strength of this book is the author's Herculean power of synthesis...Herring recaptures a quarter-millennium of American foreign policy with fluidity and felicity...we have long been waiting for a single-volume history like this one, and "From Colony to Superpower" deserves a place on the bookshelf. * New York Times Book Review *Its first achievement is its feat of inclusiveness, managed by making quick work of many interesting subplots of the United States' rich and complex relations with the world...The narrative power lies partly in identifying themes that gradually give a strong organizational cohesion to his story...It is revisionism of the best kind, quiet but insistent, reinforced by archival evidence and deftly drawn parallels. * Howard W. French, The New York Times *An impressive, up-to-date diplomatic history of the US that masterfully employs traditional, revisionnist, and in many instances synthetic interpretations in a story line from Colonial America to the second Bush administration.... This will be an award-winning book that becomes the standard text for US diplomatic history. A superb accomplishment. Essential. * C.W. Haury, CHOICE *The only volume in the series that spans the entirety of the American past, From Colony to Superpower could not be more timely, more colorful, or more compelling for Americans seeking to understand the causes and the consequences of the quagmires in Afghanistan and Iraq. Herring is well equipped to provide that analysis. * The Chronicle of Higher Education *In this splendidly detailed account, George Herring expertly guides us through the rich and fascinating story of America's foreign relations. This is history on a grand scale, clearly and elegantly rendered. Anyone who wants to understand how the United States has come to occupy its current place on the world stage should read this magisterial book. * Fredrik Logevall, co-author of A People and a Nation *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The War of 1898 and the Dawn of the American Century, 1893-190119. "Bursting with Good Intentions": The United States in World Affairs, 1901-1913 ; 2. "A New Age": Wilson, the Great War, and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1913-1921 ; 3. Involvement Without Commitment, 1921-1931 ; 4. The Great Transformation: Depression, Isolationism, and War, 1931-1941 ; 5. "Five Continents and Seven Seas": World War II and the Emergence of American Globalism, 1941-1945 ; 6. "A Noble Burden Far From Our Shores": Truman, the Cold War, and the Revolution in American Foreign Policy, 1945-1953 ; 7. Coexistence and Crises, 1953-1961 ; 8. Gulliver's Troubles: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Limits of Power, 1961-1969 ; 9. Nixon, Kissinger, and the End of the Postwar Era, 1969-1974 ; 10. Foreign Policy in an Age of Dissonance, 1974-1981 ; 11. "A Unique and Extraordinary Time in World History": Gorbachev, Reagan, Bush, and the End of the Cold War, 1981-1991 ; 12. The Strength of a Giant: America as Hyperpower, 1992-2001 ; 13. From 9/11 to the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 2001-2013 ; Epilogue ; Bibiliographic Essay

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Book SynopsisThe unforgettable saga of one enslaved woman''s fight for justice--and reparations Born into slavery, Henrietta Wood was taken to Cincinnati and legally freed in 1848. In 1853, a Kentucky deputy sheriff named Zebulon Ward colluded with Wood''s employer, abducted her, and sold her back into bondage. She remained enslaved throughout the Civil War, giving birth to a son in Mississippi and never forgetting who had put her in this position. By 1869, Wood had obtained her freedom for a second time and returned to Cincinnati, where she sued Ward for damages in 1870. Astonishingly, after eight years of litigation, Wood won her case: in 1878, a Federal jury awarded her $2,500. The decision stuck on appeal. More important than the amount, though the largest ever awarded by an American court in restitution for slavery, was the fact that any money was awarded at all. By the time the case was decided, Ward had become a wealthy businessman and a pioneer of convict leasing in the South. Wood''s son later became a prominent Chicago lawyer, and she went on to live until 1912. McDaniel''s book is an epic tale of a black woman who survived slavery twice and who achieved more than merely a moral victory over one of her oppressors. Above all,Sweet Taste of Libertyis a portrait of an extraordinary individual as well as a searing reminder of the lessons of her story, which establish beyond question the connections between slavery and the prison system that rose in its place.Trade ReviewDeeply researched and show[s] commendable detective work... Demonstrate[s] the riches awaiting us in narrating the hitherto untold and complex stories of slavery and emancipation in the United States. * Times Literary Supplement *The reader not only follows the fascinating narrative of a woman who lost her freedom, but also learns of the intricacies of slavery in a border state like Kentucky, the pain of separation from loved ones, and the ordeals of being sold "down the river," surviving on a large cotton plantation, and being an enslaved refugee in Texas during the Civil War... It is an enlightening account from the point of view of an enslaved woman about the arduous trip — and the subsequent years — that many enslaved people were forced to endure by their masters to avoid their being liberated by Union armies... [McDaniel] has turned these into a captivating account of this period, revealing how the legal and economic aspects of the institution of slavery interacted in very personal and human ways with those who were kept enslaved. * Angela Boswell, Professor of History at Henderson State University, Southwestern Historical Quarterly *As a whole, Sweet Taste of Liberty is the fruit of excellent scholarship and a timely and significant addition to the field of U.S. racial history. * Ken Chujo, J.F. Oberlin University, Tokyo, The Journal of Southern History *Table of ContentsPrologue Part I - The Worst Slave of Them All Chapter 1: The Crossing Chapter 2: Touseytown Chapter 3: Down River Chapter 4: Ward's Return Chapter 5: Cincinnati Chapter 6: The Plan Chapter 7: The Flight Part II - Forks of the Road Chapter 8: Raising a Muss Chapter 9: Wood versus Ward Chapter 10: The Keeper Chapter 11: Natchez Chapter 12: Brandon Hall Chapter 13: Versailles Chapter 14: Revolution Chapter 15: The March Part III - The Return of Henrietta Wood Chapter 16: Arthur Chapter 17: Robertson County Chapter 18: Dawn and Doom Chapter 19: Nashville Chapter 20: A Rather Interesting Case Chapter 21: Story of a Slave Chapter 22: The Verdict Epilogue Acknowledgements Appendix: An Essay on Sources Notes Index

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Book SynopsisAllen C. Guelzo's Reconstruction: A Concise History is a gracefully-written interpretation of Reconstruction as a spirited struggle to re-integrate the defeated Southern Confederacy into the American Union after the Civil War, to bring African Americans into the political mainstream of American life, and to recreate the Southern economy after a Northern, free-labor model.Trade ReviewAllen C. Guelzo's Reconstruction: A Concise History is a streamlined overview of the era by one of the major historians of the Civil War period. In this succinct but informative work, Mr. Guelzo traces the course of Reconstruction over time - its troublesome political and legal path - and helps us grasp both what it accomplished and why it failed. * Wall Street Journal *A well-balanced assessment of the achievements and lost opportunities of an era, Allen Guelzo's Reconstruction: A Concise History is a solid introduction to the topic. It's also a fitting gateway for those curious enough to want to investigate the more in-depth treatments of all kinds that populate the modern Reconstruction bookshelf. * Civil War Books and Authors *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: Vengeance, April-December 1865 Chapter Two: Alienation, December 1865-1867 Chapter Three: Arrogance, March 1867-May 1868 Chapter Four: Resistance, May 1868-March 1869 Chapter Five: Distraction, March 1869-May 1872 Chapter Six: Law, 1866-1876 Chapter Seven: Dissension, September 1872-April 1877 Epilogue Timeline Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe 2016 election of Donald J. Trump invoked a time for reflection about the state of American politics and its deep ideological, cultural, racial, regional, and economic divisions. But one aspect that the contemporary discussions often miss is that these fissures have been opening over several decades and are deeply rooted in the structure of American politics and society. Nolan McCarty''s Polarization: What Everyone Needs to Know is an accessible introduction to polarization in America. McCarty takes readers through what scholars know and don''t know about the origins, development, and implications of our rising political conflicts, delving into social, economic, and geographic determinants of polarization in the United States. While the current political climate makes it clear that extreme views are becoming more popular, McCarty also argues that, contrary to popular belief, the 2016 election was a natural outgrowth of 40 years of polarized politics, instead of a significant break wTable of ContentsPreface 1. Introduction 2. What is Political Polarization? 3. Are Partisan Elites Polarized? 4. Is the Public Polarized? 5. What Are The Causes of Polarization? 6. How Does Electoral Law Affect Legislative Polarization? 7. How Have Other Changes in American Society Affected? 8. What are the Consequences of Polarization for Public Policy and Governance? 9. Is the Trump Presidency a New Normal or More of the Same? Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA provocative and propulsive look at American history, and the myth that the Civil War's "new birth of freedom" ended oligarchy. It just moved westward.Trade ReviewIt should be required reading for this particular moment in American politics. * Thomas Zimmer, The Guardian *Richardson's clear prose makes this book incredibly lively and accessible. * Joseph Angelillo, ALPATA: A Journal of History *Heather Cox Richardson, a professor of history at Boston College, explains Goldwater's crusade and the trajectory of modern conservatism in her masterful How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America. A timely book, it sheds light on what was perhaps the most important political coalition of the 20th century. * The Washington Post *Good revisionist history jars you, forces you to look at the past in a new way, and thereby transforms your view of the present. Heather Cox Richardson is a master of the genre, to the benefit of us all. Even those who take issue with her will be forced by this powerful book to come to terms with aspects of our past that we often just sweep under the rug of memory. * E.J. Dionne, Jr., author of Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country *In a tour de force, Richardson exposes the philosophical connective tissue that runs from John C. Calhoun, to Barry Goldwater, to Donald Trump. It's not party, it's a complex ideology that has swaddled white supremacy and its political, legal, economic, and physical violence in the language of freedom and rugged individualism, and, in doing so, repeatedly slashed a series of self-inflicted wounds on American democracy. * Carol Anderson, Emory University, author of One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying our Democracy *The themes are broad and the implications mighty, but this isn't history from on high. Richardson uses a human lens to tell her tale, revealing the passions and power-plays that have sustained this battle for dominance. The end result is something rare and invaluable: a skilled work of history, deeply grounded in the past, that speaks loudly, clearly, and crucially to the present. * Joanne Freeman, Yale University, author of The Field Of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War *What the great books do is retell history in a way that creates a deepened and clarified connection between what was an what is. I love this book. For anyone seeking to understand how we got here, and where we're likely bound, this is a must-read. * Ron Suskind, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Price of Loyalty and A Hope in the Unseen *If you want to understand this moment in American politics, here's a suggestion for you: It's the must-read book of the year. * Bill Moyers, Moyers on Democracy *Heather Cox Richardson's skill with connecting events into a cohesive narrative is on full display in this brilliant study...This book speaks to the heart of life in the United States and should be in every private, public, and school library. * Deborah M. Liles, Southwestern Historical Quarterly *... Richardson suggested that her most recent book, How the South Won the Civil War, was her "smartest". There is no doubt that it is, at the very least, her most ambitious. * Catherine McNicol Stock, Connecticut College, The Annals of Iowa *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter One: The Triumph of Equality Chapter Two: The Significance of the West in American History Chapter Three: Reconstructing America Chapter Four: The Search for Electoral Votes Chapter Five: The West and the South Join Forces Chapter Six: The Post World War II West 1951-1980 Chapter Seven: The Rise of Movement Conservatism Conclusion: The Nature of America

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Book SynopsisA Question of Standing deals with recognizable events that have shaped the history of the first 75 years of the CIA. Unsparing in its accounts of dirty tricks and their consequences, it values the agency's intelligence and analysis work to offer balanced judgements that avoid both celebration and condemnation of the CIA.Trade ReviewA Question of Standing is an engaging, fluently narrated book. * Scott Lucas, Times Literary Supplement *This book joins a long list of histories of the CIA...A Question of Standing makes a compelling argument about the CIA's relationship with other US institutions and can serve as a good introduction to the history of the agency. * Choice *An engaging, fluently narrated book. * Times Literary Supplement *Jeffreys-Jones, who has been studying the trials and tribulations of the CIA for many years, provides a concise, informed, and thoughtful history of the agency. * Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs *The literature on the history of the CIA is vast and will only continue to grow as newer interpretations emerge. Jeffreys-Jones has produced an interesting book on the early origins, development and future of the CIA. Telling the history of an agency that has a global reach is always going to be a tall order, and this book offers an accessible introduction to the CIA. * Dan Lomas, Brunel University London, UK, International Affairs *This concise history of the Central Intelligence Agency manages to include nearly all of the agency's biggest hits and greatest catastrophes. He [Jeffreys-Jones] brings a depth of knowledge that provides innumerable fascinating anecdotes * The Guardian *An excellent primer on the history of the CIA. * Jamie Gaskarth, Engelsberg Ideas *[A] terrific new history ... This book is the best kind of constructively critical history, told with a refreshingly wry and dry sense of humour—qualities that are all too rare in extant accounts. * Timothy J. Lynch, Australian Book Review *A masterful but concise sweep of analysis; all done in just over 200 pages. ... [The] final chapters are a graceful illustration of why professional historians matter so very much. * Richard Lofthouse, QUAD *This is a deep dive into often dark and troubling history. No punches are pulled and if you're interested in foreign policy and the rise of American power, this is well worth a read. * All About History *well-researched...has salient points to make about President Obama's overuse of drone strikes, and how books were cooked to cover the "absurdly low" casualty figures of innocent people who were killed because of inaccurate strikes and false intelligence. * Martin Chilton, The Independent *an excellent history of the CIA - erudite but fluent and accessible. It engages with important issues of interpretation while at the same time driving forward a compelling narrative of events. It is concise yet wide-ranging, tracing the history of US intelligence from its beginnings to the Biden presidency. ... both balanced and compelling. * Mark White, BBC History Magazine *An insightful and disturbing history of an American institution. * Kirkus Reviews *A comprehensive and thoroughly researched history of the CIA ... engaging, fair and thoughtful. * Catherine Yardley, Frost Magazine *A pleasure to read...a simultaneously authoritative and accessible account. * Hugh Wilford, Journal of Military History *Who better to write about the CIA than a Welsh-born Scottish academic who began his career steeped in standard anti-Americanism of the European left? In a clutch of books over nearly a half century, Jeffreys-Jones has answered "no one." Here, his perspective is standing: how does the CIA stand with, above all, the President but also Congress, the American public and even, on occasion, people abroad. That perspective - plus his own standing as a foreigner both detached from and deeply immersed in things American - lets him provide fresh insights on episodes from the Bay of Pigs to the creation of the director of national intelligence, to the dissing of intelligence by Trump. This book is a pleasure. * Greg Treverton, former chair of the US National Intelligence Council under President Obama *Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones has written a thorough, engaging history of the CIA. In this wide-ranging, thoughtful narrative, he takes us from the pre-history of the agency up through the controversies of the twenty-first century. Anyone interested in intelligence history or the current role of the CIA in American politics should read this book. * Kathryn Olmsted, author of Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11 *A Question of Standing is an accessible and well-written book, which makes a persuasive case that covert actions loom large in perceptions of the CIA - perhaps to the detriment of intelligence work. * Rory Cormac, War in History 31 *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements 1: The Road to U-1 2: The OSS Model 3: The Founding of the CIA, 1947 4: Covert Action in the 1950s 5: Intelligence in the 1950s 6: Bay of Pigs, 1961 7: Vietnam: The Roles of the CIA 8: From Reformation to Counter Reformation in the 1970s 9: The Collapse of Soviet Communism in the 1980s 10: Iran and Iran-Contra 11: Existential Issues, 1990-97 12: Fateful Terror and 9/11 13: The Great Diminishing Reform Act of 2004 14: Estimating Anew and a Military Turn 15: Battling Al Qaeda with Assassination and Torture 16: Obama's CIA and the Death of bin Laden 17: Fake News Comes Home 18: Back to Work 19: Conclusion Appendix: CIA Directors 1947-2022 Abbreviations in Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe American Dream is one of the most familiar and resonant phrases in our national lexicon, so familiar that we seldom pause to ask its origin, its history, or what it actually means. In this fascinating short history, Jim Cullen explores the meaning of the American Dream, or rather the several American Dreams that have both reflected and shaped American identity from the Pilgrims to the present. Cullen begins by noting that the United States, unlike most other nations, defines itself not on the facts of blood, religion, language, geography, or shared history, but on a set of ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and consolidated in the Constitution. At the core of these ideals lies the ambiguous but galvanizing concept of the American Dream, a concept that for better and worse has proven to be amazingly elastic and durable for hundreds of years and across racial, class, and other demographic lines. Cullen then traces a series of overlapping American dreams: the quest for of religious freedom that brought the Pilgrims to the New World; the political freedom promised in the Declaration; the dream of upward mobility, embodied most fully in the figure of Abraham Lincoln; the dream of home ownership, from homestead to suburb; the intensely idealistic--and largely unrealized--dream of equality articulated most vividly by Martin Luther King, Jr. The version of the American Dream that dominates our own time--what Cullen calls the Dream of the Coast--is one of personal fulfillment, of fame and fortune all the more alluring if achieved without obvious effort, which finds its most insidious expression in the culture of Hollywood. For anyone seeking to understand a shifting but central idea in American history, The American Dream is an interpretive tour de force.Trade Review"One man's provocative, worthwhile, and stimulating summation."--Kirkus Reviews"This erudite popular history poses a provocative question: What is the American Dream?"--Herbert Mitgang, The Chicago Tribune"The American dream, as Jim Cullen shows in this useful, intelligent book, is more than a set of platitudes, and says something important about our national character."--The Boston Globe"Cullen combs the riches of American history to analyze the American dream idea.... From these rich slices of American history, Cullen weaves a historical quilt illustrating key components of the idea.... This work combines the author's personal reflections with a cogent interpretation of American social and intellectual history."--Library Journal"Its straightforward and engaging narrative style ought to appeal to general readers of American history, and its broader explorations of freedom, equality and shared ideals offers a nice dose of depth as well."--Publishers Weekly"Cullen is a master of the difficult art of distilling complex ideas without oversimplifying them. His grasp of American history is impressive, and his narrative is lucid, lively, and engaging. He has done an admirable job of summarizing, dramatizing, and giving a sense of personal urgency to successive versions of the American dream. I find the mixture of personal reflection and historical narrative quite effective and inviting. This is a refreshing, spirited book."--Andrew Delbanco, Columbia University"Jim Cullen's The American Dream is a tour de force through the whole of American history, from the Puritans to home ownership and California. Cullen daringly takes the notion of the American Dream as a touchstone for a huge swathe of American cultural history, and tracks its complexities, its shifts and conflicts--and unities. Gracefully written, elegantly unified, respectful toward disparate ideas, never indulgent of scholastic gobbledygook, the book has all the strength of its simplifications. A marvelous achievement." --Todd Gitlin, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisBest known for its World Heritage program committed to the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded in 1945 as an intergovernmental agency aimed at fostering peace, humanitarianism, and intercultural understanding. Its mission was inspired by leading European intellectuals such as Henri Bergson, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, H. G. Wells, and Aldous and Julian Huxley. Often critiqued for its inherent Eurocentrism, UNESCO and its World Heritage program today remain embedded within modernist principles of progress and development and subscribe to the liberal principles of diplomacy and mutual tolerance. However, its mission to prevent conflict, destruction, and intolerance, while noble and much needed, increasingly falls short, as recent battles over the World Heritage sites of Preah VTrade ReviewA timely and important work that combines anthropology, politics, and archaeology to consider the history and legacy of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).... The author's honest, thought-provoking treatment brings into question the abilities and benefits of UNESCO while highlighting some of the complex political and historical actions that have brought about the precarious role it now plays.... Highly recommended. * CHOICE *A trustworthy guide through the thicket of committees, conventions, and campaigns that have defined World Heritage at the international level... Meskell builds an exemplary work of international history of World Heritage by weaving together case studies from around the world * Sarah Griswold, Oklahoma State University, Journal of Contemporary History *Reading A Future in Ruins is a valuable experience that needs to be shared widely across archaeology, cultural heritage studies, and related disciplines. It is a process of revisiting the consequences of allowing the bureaucratic machine of 'world heritage production' to roll on unchallenged, a journey which is best undertaken without predetermined notions coming from a detailed review of its contents. * Emily Hanscam, European Journal of Archaeology *A Future in Ruins transcends the boundaries of history, archaeology, politics and anthropology... an enlightening and enjoyable book to read. * Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem, Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review *This is a highly original and timely reassessment of UNESCO's checkered global mission since the late 1940s. While Meskell's book is ostensibly about UNESCO, world heritage, and the changing practices of archaeology, it is also a powerful rereading of international history and the broader politics of preservation in today's world. For those interested in the history of internationalism, contemporary global politics, and heritage studies, this is a must read. * Paul Betts, University of Oxford *A Future in Ruins represents the first in-depth analysis of UNESCO from its heady beginnings in a postwar world to the very different political and cultural attitudes to heritage in the present. Meskell brings her considerable analytical skills to bear on the personalities and structures of the organization and the material remains on which they focused. This is a book for anyone concerned with the past and present of global heritage. * Chris Gosden, University of Oxford *This timely book's insight and subtlety will set the diplomatic world by its ears. Meskell shows how UNESCO's pious pose of cultural universalism masks nationalistic-and Eurocentric -- pursuits. Her argument steadily moves us toward the unexpected revelation that UNESCO's interventions, understood by the world's disenfranchised as redolent of Western arrogance, increase the threat to the cultural treasures they are supposed to protect. * Michael Herzfeld, Harvard University *Meskell has written a timely and important work that combines anthropology, politics, and archaeology to consider the history and legacy of UNESCO...The author's honest, thought-provoking treatment brings into question the abilities and benefits of UNESCO while highlighting some of the complex political and historical actions that have brought about the precarious role it now plays."- ChoiceMaking an argument for urgently needed reform, Meskell presents numerous case studies and an analysis of UNESCO'S legal framework, which is vulnerable to manipulation by corrupt actors."- The New Yorker, Briefly Noted SectionIn A Future in Ruins, archaeologist Lynn Meskell offers an institutional ethnography of UNESCO. The organization's broad remit ranges from publishing to promoting women in science, but Meskell focuses exclusively on its role in protecting world heritage and archaeology, particularly through the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Inevitably, this role has been highly political. UNESCO's mission was to end global conflict and help the world rebuild materially and morally, Meskell observes. Yet increasingly, she argues, its efforts are caught up in the proliferation and prolongation of local conflicts and tensions...Meskell offers a trenchant critique of how UNESCO's aim of preventing war sits oddly with projects commemorating sites associated with violence [while noting] notes that international recognition enshrines only one version of history."- NatureTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Chapter 1: Utopia Chapter 2: Internationalism Chapter 3: Technocracy Chapter 4: Conservation Chapter 5: Inscription Chapter 6: Conflict Chapter 7: Danger Chapter 8: Dystopia Bibliography

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWith this latest work, Holt envisions a more complete Civil Rights Movement, one that reveals exactly what was at stake for Black Americans at the micro and macro levels of the time in their quest for equality...This book holds up a mirror to a pivotal, progressive, and painful time in this nation's past, which is precisely what Americans need more of right now. * A. O. Yeboah, CHOICE *Despite their brevity, the six chapters offer a wealth of information and interpretive insight on the nature of the post-World War II African American freedom struggle. Holt's command of the secondary literature is sure-handed and reliable, and his conclusions about the complexities of racial discrimination and resistance bear the mark of a veteran scholar at the top of his game. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a more valuable or thought-provoking introduction to the history of a movement that changed all of our lives. * Raymond Arsenault, Journal of Southern History *A concise, lucid and well-balanced account by one of America's best historians of the topic. * Tony Barber, Financial Times *A succinct but nuanced overview of the origins, objectives and achievements of the civil rights movement ... Holt pays particular attention to the ordinary people and communities who took significant risks to make up the body of the movement. * Ellie Cawthorne, BBC History Magazine *[This] concise but comprehensive history of the US civil rights movement pulls off an ambitious balancing act, placing the African-American fight for equality within its wider political and social context - all without losing sight of the campaigners on the frontline ... a hugely humanistic overview. * BBC History Revealed *A bold and vivid story of the everyday human made heroic... Concise and riveting, The Movement is an excellent work for those seeking an examination of the US civil rights movement from a perspective somewhat rare in more mainstream histories. And for those seeking a deeper involvement, it is a good introduction. * Ron Jacobs, Morning Star *Thomas Holt's book on the history of the Civil Rights era, The Movement: The African American Struggle for Civil Rights is a valuable and incisive work that covers the broad era of civil rights in an accessible but also rigorous manner...The Movement is a valuable resource for thinking through the Civil Rights era and its impact on American history. * Robert Green, Clafin University, USA, Journal of Contemporary History *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Table of Contents List of Illustrations Introduction: Carrie's Rebellion Chapter 1: Before Montgomery Chapter 2: Communities Organizing for Change: New South Cities Chapter 3: Communities Organizing for Change along the New South-Old South Divide Chapter 4: Organizing in "the American Congo": Mississippi's Freedom Summer and Its Aftermath Chapter 5: Freedom Movements in the North and the Quest for Black Power Chapter 6: Legacies: "Freedom is a Constant Struggle" Notes and References Further Readings

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Book SynopsisAlmost 200,000 African Americans fought to save the Union, many believing that military service was the pathway to freedom. Yet, even after enlisting, their journeys for liberation continued amid the bloody civil war. They marched across taxing terrain, performed backbreaking labor, and endured corporeal punishment meted out by white officers. They also agonized over families still enslaved and suffered virulent diseases. Many grew disillusioned, disgruntled, or homesick. They fought on bravely, yet thousands also ran. Chafing against restraints and violence reminiscent of slavery, they briefly liberated themselves from onerous army discipline. The men examined in Freedom Soldiers took self-granted breaks--leaves of freedom--and, once caught, were tried by the US Army for the military crime of desertion. In the courts-martial, they justified their unauthorized departures by telling authorities that they left to temporarily help their families, regain their health, and evade violent officers. Army judges nevertheless convicted freedom seekers, sending most to military prisons. From prisons, the convicted deserters wrote petitions to President Abraham Lincoln and Union officials requesting release. These prisoners disputed rulings, offered their continued service to the Union, insisted on the injustice of incarceration, and explained the dire need of kin around the wartime South. Drawing upon transcripts of the nearly 80,000 Civil War courts-martial cases, as well as prisoners'' petitions, soldiers'' letters, and government reports, Jonathan Lande recovers this subset of soldiers who took leaves of freedom and defended their breaks within the military justice system. In doing so, he reveals how Black men fought for freedom not only against Confederates but also in US Army camps, courts, and prisons.

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Book SynopsisThe first history of the formidable campaign that transformed Los Angeles into one of the world''s greatest coastal metropolises, revealing how the city''s man-made shores became the site for the reinvention of seaside leisure and the triumph of modern bodies.The Los Angeles shoreline is one of the most iconic natural landscapes in the United States, if not the world. The vast shores of Santa Monica, Venice, and Malibu are familiar sights to film and television audiences, conveying images of pristine sand, carefree fun, and glamorous physiques. Yet, in the early twentieth century Angelenos routinely lamented the city''s crowded, polluted, and eroded sands, many of which were private and thus inaccessible to the public. Between the 1920s and the 1960s, LA''s engineers, city officials, urban planners, and business elite worked together to transform the relatively untouched beaches into modern playgrounds for the white middle class. They cleaned up and enlarged the beaches--up to three ti

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Book SynopsisAmerica's founding involved and required the melding of cultures and communities, a redefinition of "frontier" and boundaries in every possible sense. Using the accounts of Native leaders who visited cities in the Early Republic, Calloway's book reorients the story of that founding. Violent resistance was just one of many Native responses to colonialism. Peaceful interaction was far more the norm, and while less dramatic and therefore less covered, far more importantin its effects.Trade ReviewThe book's goal is to reveal what Native Americans observed and thought during their visits to provide a greater understanding of their varied roles and agency within the colonial world ... through newspaper accounts, memoirs, and other primary sources, he succeeds in weaving a valuable, interesting, and credible narrative about indigenous Americans' experiences with and roles in the colonial world. * T. K. Byron, CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Towns and Cities of Early America 2. Coming to Town 3. The Other Indians in Town 4. Taking Their Lives in Their Hands Picturing Chiefs in the City 5. Lodging, Dining, and Drinking 6. Out and About 7. Performers and Performances 8. Going Home Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA sprawling—and in many ways outstanding—biography...[that] uses the story of Althea Gibson—'the preeminent African American female athlete of the twentieth century'—to explore the history of integration in American sports....Honest, sympathetic and nuanced, a labor of love and respect that should go a long way to remedy the unpardonable disappearance of Althea Gibson from the American imagination. * Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal *Brown's narrative is at its best when it contextualizes the most consequential moments in Gibson's career within the backdrop of broader racial tensions....Serving Herself is a stark reminder of how, in some ways, little has changed in tennis since Gibson's trailblazing career began more than three-quarters of a century ago—and how hard it still is for a Black woman to succeed in the sport. * Kelsey Butler, Bloomberg *A monumental, comprehensive biography that blends Gibson's remarkable athletic accomplishments with the inspirational story of how she lived through the Jim Crow era and navigated segregation, racism, and gender discrimination, all the while fighting for the integration of sports. After triumphing at Wimbledon, Gibson pledged to 'wear the title with dignity and humility'; this fine tribute makes clear that she did just that. * Booklist (starred review) *Brown's absorbing exploration of Gibson's lengthy athletic career...introduces the elite 'high-toned and ultra-white' world of tennis and golf in an accessible and entertaining way....The book is not just for sports fans: it is set against the vivid backdrop of twentieth century social history, detailing the growth of women's athletics, integration, and the 1970s golf and tennis explosion, arcing upwards even as Gibson lost power and speed. Serving Herself traces a tennis player's iconoclastic journey to athletic greatness. * Foreword (starred review) *A highly recommended, inspirational title....With interviews, personal correspondence, newspaper articles, archives, records, and recordings, Brown gives readers a full portrait of Gibson. * Library Journal (starred review) *An in-depth look at how racism and homophobia challenged the life of a sports superstar. Brown...makes her book debut with a thoroughly researched, insightful biography of Althea Gibson....A palpable portrait of an aggressive, ambitious woman whose race made her an outsider in the White-dominated sports world and whose gender nonconformity—refusal to meet expectations about how a Black woman should look and behave—made her a social misfit....Brown sensitively examines Gibson's refusal to be seen as 'a representative' of her race, offering context for her views on social justice, women's rights, and African American causes. * Kirkus *Ashley Brown's riveting and truly stunning biography of Althea Gibson fills a gaping hole in the historical literature on the experiences and contributions of African American athletes. Brown's comprehensive and insightful account of Gibson's extraordinary odyssey-a life filled with both triumph and disappointment, ranging from the streets of Harlem to the hallowed tennis courts of Wimbledon and Forest Hills-offers an unblinking look at the challenges that racial and gender discrimination posed for even the most talented of African American women. * Raymond Arsenault, author of Arthur Ashe: A Life *Ashley Brown's critical feminist biography of Althea Gibson places her squarely-and queerly-at the center of mid-twentieth century American history. Thanks to a perfect match between subject and biographer, Althea Gibson will finally get the recognition and respect she craved and so often lacked during her lifetime. * Susan Ware, author of Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports *Tennis is a sport that imposes the rigid boundary of its rectangular court. The tennis champion Althea Gibson, however, devoted her life on and off the court to variously defying, finessing, transgressing, and transcending period norms of race, class, and gender. In this incisive, engaging biography, Ashley Brown both restores Gibson to her place in the athletic pantheon and unflinchingly illustrates the price she paid. * Samuel G. Freedman, author of Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights *What does it mean to be an individual when everyone else insists that you are foremost a representative of a category? Althea Gibson, one of the most important sports figures of the twentieth century, constantly juggled the challenges of breaking barriers in the elite worlds of tennis and golf and wanting to compete at the highest levels without the baggage that 'the first Black' and/or 'the first woman' routinely faced. Ashley Brown's comprehensive biography offers searing insight into the history of sports integration through the life of this scrutinized, underappreciated, and underpaid pioneer in Jim Crow America. It is crucial that we know and remember this not-so-distant history that paved the way for latter-day tennis stars like Serena Williams and Venus Williams. * Tera W. Hunter, author of Bound in Wedlock: Slave and Free Black Marriage in the Nineteenth Century *Brown (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison) has revised her 2017 dissertation on Althea Gibson into a highly readable book... This stellar biography stands as a tribute to the bravery and perseverance of a pioneer. * Choice *Brown has provided a microscopic account of the life and times of Althea Gibson. She not only provides detailed information on Gibson's tennis and sporting ups and downs, but also her personal life and her attitudes to major issues of her times. Brown carefully examines and provides valuable information on the internal dynamics and operation of the various orbits that Gibson interacted with, in both America and overseas. She also has an acute sense for the major shifts and changes that occurred in America and weaves together this broader information with the minutiae of Gibson's life. Brown writes with insight and understanding in what can only be described as a splendid and outstanding work of scholarship on Althea Gibson, this champion tennis player. * Braham Dabscheck, Sporting Traditions *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Coming Up the Hard Way Chapter 2 A Queer Cosmopolitan Chapter 3 The Making of a Strong Black (Woman) Contender in the South Chapter 4 From Florida A&M to Forest Hills Chapter 5 Dis/Integration Chapter 6 Resurfacing Chapter 7 Press(ing) Matters Chapter 8 Changeover Chapter 9 Finding Fault with a Winner Chapter 10 Game Over Chapter 11 New Frontiers Chapter 12 A Winner Who Hasnât Won Yet Chapter 13 The Harvest Chapter 14 Two Deaths Notes Bibliography Index

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