Political leaders and leadership Books

2972 products


  • MO - University of Illinois Press The Shadows Rise

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisUnraveling the fabled romance between Abraham Lincoln and Ann RutledgeTrade ReviewWinner of the ARSC Award for Excellence in Recorded Jazz, Blues or Gospel, 1994. Post-Corbett Award finalist, 1993. "Intelligent detective work that, at last, convincingly untangles the story of the young Lincoln's romance with Ann Rutledge."--Christian Science Monitor"Atmospheric, briskly paced, compellingly written."--Illinois Historical Journal"A provocative book . . . . The Shadows Rise belongs in any collection of books on Lincoln."--Civil War"With exacting care and minute attention to detail, Walsh sifts the evidence . . . . Neither diminishing the importance of the event nor making it the central pivot of his life, Walsh places Lincoln's lost love in its appropriate context."--Georgia Historical Quarterly"The most detailed study of the Abraham Lincoln-Ann Rutledge relationship yet written. Carefully researched and convincingly argued, it should set to rest once and for all the widespread misconception that Lincoln's first love affair was a myth or that the sudden death of Ann Rutledge was an incident of little importance in his early life."--Douglas L. Wilson, co-editor of Herdon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • Heroes Hacks and Fools

    University of Washington Press Heroes Hacks and Fools

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe memoirs of a senior advisor to presidential candidatesTrade Review"Well worth the attention of political junkies, students of American history, or anyone else who wants to know how politics really worked in the glory days of the Democratic Party. . . . Too often our histories of politics are colored by political biases and attempts to shade the truth. To invoke an old cliché, Van Dyk tells it like it is. His memoir is a great read, a wonderful primer for those who might seek to enter politics themselves, and a terrific walk down memory lane. His idealism and honesty are reminders of what once made the Democratic Party great—- and could again." * Boston Phoenix *"Van Dyk's book is a helpful primer on what goes on behind the scenes and a reminder that it's important to pick presidents with character as well as competence." * Bellingham Herald *"Ted Van Dyk is telling us exactly what happened and what he honestly thought about it. It's as pure a political memoir as we're ever likely to see. . . . [with] the kind of filthy detail that most political memoirs are too polite, and too deadly boring, to share." * The Stranger *"Heroes, Hacks, and Fools is about Democrats. It is a well-written and detailed autobiography..His story, particularly of the Humphrey-McGovern years, is one of the best accounts of that era in a long time." * Seattle Times *"It is precisely [Van Dyk's] willingness to stick his neck out, to study and opine and participate, that makes his arguments so compelling." * Bookmonger: Kitsap Sun *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. Depression Kids 2. Caught Up in the Cold War 3. A New Generation Takes Over 4. Helping HHH 5. The Great Society 6. Vietnam and Little Else 7. 1968 8. A Near Miss 9. In Transition 10. Crusade and Catastrophe 11. Strange Presidents, Nixon and Carter 12. The Counterrevolution Proceeds 13. Storm Cleanup and a New Storm 14. A New Jacksonian Era, Part One 15. A New Jacksonian Era, Part Two 16. Escape from the Capital 17. A New Century 18. Not the Same Country 19. Who Will Lead? 20. The Democratic Message Epilogue Index

    5 in stock

    £28.46

  • Campaign of the Century  Kennedy Nixon and the

    Yale University Press Campaign of the Century Kennedy Nixon and the

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisBased on massive new research, a compelling and surprising account of the twentieth century’s closest electionTrade Review“[Gellman] offers as detailed an exploration of the 1960 presidential race as can be found.”—Robert W. Merry, Wall Street Journal“Six decades after the 1960 presidential election, Irwin Gellman is the first historian to peel back the powerful myths shrouding that contest. The engaging and carefully documented story that emerges is startling and fresh. . . . An impressively balanced portrait of the strengths and weaknesses of Kennedy, Nixon and their teams.”—Will Swift, author of The Kennedys Amidst the Gathering Storm and Pat and Dick: The Nixons, An Intimate Portrait of a Marriage“As usual, the indefatigable Irwin Gellman explores heretofore overlooked archival resources in his successful quest to shed new light on the pivotal 1960 election. It will be difficult for any presidential scholar to ignore this important contribution to the history of our controversial 37th president.”—Melvin Small, author of The Presidency of Richard Nixon“At last, a scholar has gotten the incessantly romanticized 1960 election campaign right. Irv Gellman provides a thoroughly researched, provocative account of an election that may indeed have been ‘stolen.’”—David A. Nichols, author of Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower’s Secret Campaign against Joseph McCarthy“Theodore White’s Making of the President 1960 cast a powerful spell. Generations of journalists and historians have made the image of gallant Jack and sweaty Dick into conventional wisdom. Now comes Nixon scholar Irwin Gellman to present a more balanced and fact-based view. Digging deep into archives neglected by most historians of the 1960 race, Gellman has written a surprising, illuminating, and fascinating account.”—Evan Thomas, author of Robert Kennedy and Being Nixon“Irwin Gellman’s stunning, overdue rewrite of the 1960 election puts paid to Theodore White’s celebratory presidential fable. Readers may now decide whether the republic was better served by outcomes written by winners or by truths recovered by a conscientious historian.”—David Levering Lewis, Pulitzer Prize winner for biography and author of The Improbable Wendell Willkie

    2 in stock

    £18.99

  • The Audacity of Hope Thoughts on Reclaiming the

    Three Rivers Press The Audacity of Hope Thoughts on Reclaiming the

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Barack Obama’s lucid vision of America’s place in the world and call for a new kind of politics that builds upon our shared understandings as Americans, based on his years in the Senate   “In our lowdown, dispiriting era, Obama’s talent for proposing humane, sensible solutions with uplifting, elegant prose does fill one with hope.”—Michael Kazin, The Washington Post   In July 2004, four years before his presidency, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Obama called “the audacity of hope.&rdq

    10 in stock

    £15.30

  • Woodrow Wilson

    Random House USA Inc Woodrow Wilson

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £18.04

  • A Journey

    Random House USA Inc A Journey

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £17.10

  • Los sueños de mi padre Una historia de raza y

    Vintage Espanol Los sueños de mi padre Una historia de raza y

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £17.00

  • The Man Who Saved the Union

    Random House USA Inc The Man Who Saved the Union

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisFrom the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War—a masterful biography of the Civil War general and two-term president who saved the Union twice, on the battlefield and in the White House. • “[A] splendidly written biography ... Brands does justice to one of America’s most underrated presidents.” —Dallas Morning News Ulysses Grant emerges in this masterful biography as a genius in battle and a driven president to a divided country, who remained fearlessly on the side of right. He was a beloved commander in the field who made the sacrifices necessary to win the war, even in the face of criticism. He worked valiantly to protect the rights of freed men in the South. He allowed the American Indians to shape their own fate even as the realities of Manifest Destiny meant the end of their way of life. In this sweeping and majestic narrative, bestselling aut

    10 in stock

    £16.14

  • Decision Points

    Random House USA Inc Decision Points

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £29.60

  • Lincoln in the World

    Crown Lincoln in the World

    10 in stock

    10 in stock

    £13.50

  • Michelle Obama

    Random House USA Inc Michelle Obama

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis is the inspiring story of a modern American icon, the first comprehensive account of the life and times of Michelle Obama. With disciplined reporting and a storyteller’s eye for revealing detail, Peter Slevin follows Michelle to the White House from her working-class childhood on Chicago’s largely segregated South Side. He illuminates her tribulations at Princeton University and Harvard Law School during the racially charged 1980s and the dilemmas she faced in Chicago while building a high-powered career, raising a family, and helping a young community organizer named Barack Obama become president of the United States. From the lessons she learned in Chicago to the messages she shares as one of the most recognizable women in the world, the story of this First Lady is the story of America. Michelle Obama: A Life is a fresh and compelling view of a woman of unique achievement and purpose.   

    10 in stock

    £12.44

  • The Obamas

    Little, Brown & Company The Obamas

    Out of stock

    Book Synopsis

    Out of stock

    £16.99

  • Dark Side of Camelot the

    Little, Brown & Company Dark Side of Camelot the

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    2 in stock

    £18.99

  • Oath and Honor

    Little Brown and Company Oath and Honor

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £26.00

  • Ghost Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent

    Random House Publishing Group Ghost Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn this hard-hitting memoir, Fred Burton, a key figure in international counterterrorism and domestic spycraft, emerges from the shadows to reveal who he is, what he has accomplished, and the threats that lurk unseen except by an experienced, worldly-wise few. Plunging readers into the murky world of violent religious extremism that spans the streets of Middle Eastern cities and the informant-filled alleys of American slums, Burton takes us behind the scenes to reveal how the United States tracked Libya-linked master terrorist Abu Nidal; captured Ramzi Yusef, architect of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; and pursued the assassins of major figures including Yitzhak Rabin, Meir Kahane, and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the president of Pakistan-classic cases that have sobering new meaning in the treacherous years since 9/11. Here, too, is Burton’s advice on personal safety for today’s most powerful CEOs, gleaned from his experience at Stratfor, the private firm Barron̵

    10 in stock

    £14.24

  • The Washington War Fdrs Inner Circle and the

    Random House USA Inc The Washington War Fdrs Inner Circle and the

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisA Team of Rivals for World War II—the inside story of how FDR and the towering personalities around him waged war in the corridors of Washington, D.C., to secure ultimate victory on the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific.   The Washington War is the story of how the Second World War was fought and won in the capital’s halls of power—and how the United States, which in December 1941 had a nominal army and a decimated naval fleet, was able in only thirty months to fling huge forces onto the European continent and shortly thereafter shatter Imperial Japan’s Pacific strongholds.   Three quarters of a century after the overwhelming defeat of the totalitarian Axis forces, the terrifying, razor-thin calculus on which so many critical decisions turned has been forgotten—but had any of these debates gone the other way, the outcome of the war could have been far different: The army in August 1941, about

    Out of stock

    £18.00

  • The New Tsar The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin

    Random House USA Inc The New Tsar The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisAs the world struggles to confront a bolder Russia, the importance of understanding the formidable and ambitious Vladimir Putin has never been greater. This gripping narrative of Putin's rise to power recounts Putin's origins—from his childhood of abject poverty in Leningrad to his ascent through the ranks of the KGB, and his eventual consolidation of rule in the Kremlin. On the one hand, Putin's many domestic reforms—from tax cuts to an expansion of property rights—have helped reshape the potential of millions of Russians whose only experience of democracy had been crime, poverty, and instability after the fall of the Soviet Union. On the other, Putin has ushered in a new authoritarianism—unyielding in its brutal repression of dissent and newly assertive politically and militarily in regions like Crimea and the Middle East. The New Tsar is a staggering achievement, a deeply researched and essential biography of one of the m

    10 in stock

    £19.80

  • His Final Battle

    Random House USA Inc His Final Battle

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisA New York Times Notable Book • A prizewinning author and journalist untangles the narrative threads of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s final months, showing how he juggled the strategic, political, and personal choices he faced as the war, his presidency, and his life raced in tandem to their climax.A gripping, deeply human account... Moving, elegiac. —The New York Times Book Review The story has been told piecemeal but never like this, with a close focus on Roosevelt himself and his hopes for a stable international order after the war, and how these led him into a prolonged courtship of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator, involving secret, arduous journeys to Tehran and the Crimea. In between, as the war entered its final phase, came the thunderbolt of a dire medical diagnosis, raising urgent questions about the ability of the longest-serving president to stand for a fourth term at a time when he had little choice. Neither his family nor top figures in his administration were informed of his diagnosis, let alone the public or his closest ally, Winston Churchill. With D-Day looming, Roosevelt took a month off on a plantation in the south where he was examined daily by a navy cardiologist, then waited two more months before finally announcing, on the eve of his party’s convention, that he’d be a candidate. A political grand master still, he manipulated the selection of a new running mate, with an eye to a possible succession, displaying some of his old vigor and wit in a winning campaign. With precision and compassion, Joseph Lelyveld examines the choices Roosevelt faced, shining new light on his state of mind, preoccupations, and motives, both as leader of the wartime alliance and in his personal life. Confronting his own mortality, Roosevelt operated in the belief that he had a duty to see the war through to the end, telling himself he could always resign if he found he couldn’t carry on. Lelyveld delivers an incisive portrait of this deliberately inscrutable man, a consummate leader to the very last. 

    10 in stock

    £16.20

  • War and Peace

    Mariner Books War and Peace

    Out of stock

    Book Synopsis

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • Looking for Lincoln

    Alfred A. Knopf Looking for Lincoln

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn extensively researched, lavishly illustrated consideration of the myths, memories, and questions that gathered around our most beloved—and most enigmatic—president in the years between his assassination and the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922.   Availing themselves of a vast collection of both published and never-before-seen materials, the authors—the fourth and fifth generations of a family of Lincoln scholars—bring into focus the posthumous portrait of Lincoln that took hold in the American imagination. Told through the voices of those who knew the man—Northerners and Southerners, blacks and whites, neighbors and family members, adversaries and colleagues—Looking for Lincoln charts the dramatic epilogue to Lincoln’s extraordinary life.   During these years, as Americans struggled to understand their loss and rebuild their country, Lincoln’s legacy was still hotly debated. The authors take

    10 in stock

    £24.70

  • The First American

    Anchor Books The First American

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisPULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the pivotal figure in colonial and revolutionary America, comes vividly to life in this “thorough biography of ... America’s first Renaissance man” (The Washington Post) by the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War.The authoritative Franklin biography for our time.” —Joseph J. Ellis, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Founding BrothersWit, diplomat, scientist, philosopher, businessman, inventor, and bon vivant, Benjamin Franklin's life is one every American should know well, and it has not been told better than by Mr. Brands (The Dallas Morning News). From penniless runaway to highly successful printer, from ardently loyal subject of Britain to architect of an alliance with France that ensured America’s independence, Franklin went from obscurity to become one of the world’s most admired figures, whose circle included the likes of Voltaire, Hume, Burke, and Kant.Drawing on previously unpublished letters and a host of other sources, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands has written a thoroughly engaging biography of the eighteenth-century genius. A much needed reminder of Franklin’s greatness and humanity, The First American is a work of meticulous scholarship that provides a magnificent tour of a legendary historical figure, a vital era in American life, and the countless arenas in which the protean Franklin left his legacy.Look for H.W. Brands's other biographies: ANDREW JACKSON, THE MAN WHO SAVED THE UNION (Ulysses S. Grant), TRAITOR TO HIS CLASS (Franklin Roosevelt) and REAGAN.

    10 in stock

    £18.00

  • Days of Fire Bush and Cheney in the White House

    Random House USA Inc Days of Fire Bush and Cheney in the White House

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisA New York Times Top 10 Best Book of the YearA Washington Post Notable BookTheirs was the most captivating American political partnership since Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger: a bold and untested president and his seasoned, relentless vice president. Confronted by one crisis after another, they struggled to protect the country, remake the world, and define their own relationship along the way.The real story of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney is far more fascinating than the familiar suspicion that Cheney was the power behind the throne. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with key players, and thousands of pages of private notes, memos, and other internal documents, Baker paints a riveting portrait of a partnership that evolved dramatically over time, during an era marked by devastating terror attacks, the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, and financial collapse. Peter Baker has produced a monumental and definitive work that ranks with the be

    4 in stock

    £20.96

  • Khrushchevs Cold war  The Inside Story of an

    WW Norton & Co Khrushchevs Cold war The Inside Story of an

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisContains unsettling insights into some of the most dangerous geopolitical crises of the time.The EconomistTrade Review"Magisterial... a fascinating tour of foreign policy." Moscow Times "Deeply researched... indispensable for anyone hoping to understand the Cold War's most dangerous phase, and how the world managed to survive it." The New York Times Book Review "[Contains] unsettling insights into some of the most dangerous geopolitical crises of the time." The Economist "...enthralling... I find this book instructive and very dispiriting." Jonathan Mirsky, The Spectator"

    10 in stock

    £15.99

  • Ronald Reagan Fate Freedom and the Making of

    WW Norton & Co Ronald Reagan Fate Freedom and the Making of

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn important reassessment of the fortieth president, placing him in the pantheon with Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt.

    10 in stock

    £15.13

  • Gorbachev

    WW Norton & Co Gorbachev

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisA National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist The definitive biography of the transformational world leader by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Khrushchev.Trade Review"Masterly....[This] richly layered portrait....will surely stand as the definitive English-language chronicle of this most intriguing figure for many years to come." -- Peter Baker - New York Times Book Review"A meticulously researched, clear-eyed volume that will undoubtedly stand for years as the definitive account of the Soviet Union's last ruler." -- Max Boot - Wall Street Journal"Essential reading for the 21st century." -- Radhika Jones - New York Times"Superb....enlightening....with great skill [Taubman] lays bare the evolution that was so important to [Gorbachev’s] later actions." -- David E. Hoffman - The Washington Post"Magisterial....William Taubman has written a fascinating, perceptive, and compelling account of the life of a brilliant, driven, but flawed leader." -- Nick Burns - Boston Globe"A superbly researched story of a politician of such decency as to seem, in our more pessimistic, darker moment, almost beyond imagining." -- The New Yorker"William Taubman's extraordinary new biography, Gorbachev: His Life and Times, is fly-on-the-wall history….A riveting page-turner….his book is anything but a solemn academic tome. It's gripping." -- Mark Katkov - NPR"Sympathetic in his judgments yet clear-eyed in his criticisms, Taubman has rendered Gorbachev in a vast and complex portrait that will be the standard for years to come." -- Michael O'Donnell - Washington Monthly"[Taubman] applies a Tolstoyan lens to Russia’s recent history and displays particular sensitivity in his assessment of a life that would prove richer than politics." -- The Economist"This will be one of the two or three best books of the year, compulsively readable, fun, and informative all at once." -- Tyler Cowan"[A] deeply penetrating history and engrossing psychological study....Taubman draws on a wide range of sources and interviews...to render every major development of the former Soviet leader’s six-year tenure with depth and completeness." -- Robert Legvold - Foreign Affairs"Nobody before Taubman has achieved an in-depth psychological portrait…this monumental biography will become the standard personal portrait. Taubman has charmed more out of [Gorbachev] than any of his subordinates ever managed to." -- Robert Service - Literary Review"William Taubman has now done for Gorbachev what he had previously done for Khrushchev, giving us the full life deeply grounded in the Soviet and Russian archives, here with the added benefit of Gorbachev’s complete cooperation. Perhaps a hundred years from now, when our perspective on Russia’s role in the world has further clarified, another biography will be needed. For now, however, Gorbachev is the closest thing to the final word that history allows." -- Joseph Ellis, author of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation"This is a meticulously researched, carefully nuanced, and immensely readable biography of a remarkable, but insufficiently understood, twentieth-century political leader. Taubman’s book is destined to remain the fullest and most authoritative life of Gorbachev for years to come." -- Archie Brown, author of The Myth of the Strong Leader and The Rise and Fall of Communism"Comprehensive, judicious, utterly absorbing, William Taubman’s Gorbachev: His Life and Times gives us rare insight into the man who changed his country and world politics. A model of careful research and compelling narrative skill, this biography is destined to become a modern classic." -- Jack F. Matlock, Jr., author of Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended"I have had the privilege of knowing many of the great men and women who brought momentous change to the last part of the twentieth century. My friend Mikhail Gorbachev was outstanding among them. So this biography, especially with its attention to his early formative years, is a great addition to our understanding of a key historical period." -- George P. Shultz"William Taubman has written a remarkable book. He has, at once, captured the complexity of the man, while making Gorbachev’s times—both frightening and hopeful—come alive. The history of the USSR and the world would have been far different if Mikhail Gorbachev had not come to power." -- Susan Eisenhower"A rich and revealing portrait and a thoroughly engrossing read, Taubman’s penetrating examination of Gorbachev’s rise and fall undermines the argument that Russia can be ruled only by dictators and autocrats--while also exposing how steeply the odds are stacked against any efforts at real reform." -- John Beyrle, Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, 2008-2011"Remarkably, the two most memorable leaders of the Soviet Union in the last half of its existence now have the same superb biographer. William Taubman's Gorbachev, like his Khrushchev, is an extraordinary achievement, full of new information, filled with shrewd judgments, a two-in-a-row triumph in the writing of great lives." -- John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of George F. Kennan: An American Life"William Taubman’s biography of Mikhail Gorbachev is a much needed, uniquely sourced account of the life, work, and times of the man who critically shaped a peaceful end to the Cold War and great Soviet experiment. Based on a unique blend of archival sources, personal memoirs, and a not-to-be-repeated set of interviews with key actors, Taubman’s superbly written portrait will become the essential and standard work on his subject and a primary source for any future historians of this period." -- James F. Collins, Former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow, 1997-2001

    10 in stock

    £30.39

  • Master of the Senate

    Random House USA Inc Master of the Senate

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £48.00

  • Take A Stand Lessons From Rebels

    Penguin Putnam Inc Take A Stand Lessons From Rebels

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisEmmy Award-winning journalist and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos looks back on groundbreaking interviews with rebels such as President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Spike Lee, Barbara Walters, Fidel Castro, and more.After 30 fascinating years uncovering the hard truth, journalist Jorge Ramos opens up for the first time about life-altering lessons by sharing captivating never-before-told stories. Widely recognized for his unapologetic, no-holds-barred approach to interviewing global leaders, business titans, democratic policy makers, and dictators, Ramos unearths their one common trait—they were all rebels at one point in their lives. Rebels are different. They decided to challenge the prevailing status quo. Sometimes they rebelled to change a regime, other times to prevent abuse or discrimination, but in most cases they strived to correct an injustice.Candid and at times controversial, Ramos draws invaluable awareness of issue

    10 in stock

    £14.40

  • Penguin Books Ltd Brought Forth on This Continent

    Out of stock

    Book Synopsis

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The Outlier

    Crown Publishing Group (NY) The Outlier

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis“Important . . . [a] landmark presidential biography . . . Bird is able to build a persuasive case that the Carter presidency deserves this new look.”—The New York Times Book ReviewAn essential re-evaluation of the complex triumphs and tragedies of Jimmy Carter’s presidential legacy—from the expert biographer and Pulitzer Prize–winning co-author of American PrometheusFour decades after Ronald Reagan’s landslide win in 1980, Jimmy Carter’s one-term presidency is often labeled a failure; indeed, many Americans view Carter as the only ex-president to have used the White House as a stepping-stone to greater achievements. But in retrospect the Carter political odyssey is a rich and human story, marked by both formidable accomplishments and painful political adversity. In this deeply researched, brilliantly written account, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Kai Bird deftly unfolds the Carter saga as a tragic tipping point in American history.As president, Carter was not merely an outsider; he was an outlier. He was the only president in a century to grow up in the heart of the Deep South, and his born-again Christianity made him the most openly religious president in memory. This outlier brought to the White House a rare mix of humility, candor, and unnerving self-confidence that neither Washington nor America was ready to embrace. Decades before today’s public reckoning with the vast gulf between America’s ethos and its actions, Carter looked out on a nation torn by race and demoralized by Watergate and Vietnam and prescribed a radical self-examination from which voters recoiled. The cost of his unshakable belief in doing the right thing would be losing his re-election bid—and witnessing the ascendance of Reagan.In these remarkable pages, Bird traces the arc of Carter’s administration, from his aggressive domestic agenda to his controversial foreign policy record, taking readers inside the Oval Office and through Carter’s battles with both a political establishment and a Washington press corps that proved as adversarial as any foreign power. Bird shows how issues still hotly debated today—from national health care to growing inequality and racism to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—burned at the heart of Carter’s America, and consumed a president who found a moral duty in solving them.Drawing on interviews with Carter and members of his administration and recently declassified documents, Bird delivers a profound, clear-eyed evaluation of a leader whose legacy has been deeply misunderstood. The Outlier is the definitive account of an enigmatic presidency—both as it really happened and as it is remembered in the American consciousness.

    10 in stock

    £28.80

  • The Myth of the Strong Leader Political

    The Perseus Books Group The Myth of the Strong Leader Political

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £32.52

  • A Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams

    John Wiley and Sons Ltd A Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisA Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams presents a collection of original historiographic essays contributed by leading historians that cover diverse aspects of the lives and politics of John and John Quincy Adams and their spouses, Abigail and Louisa Catherine.Trade Review“This is a fine collection of essays on the Adamses and an excellent introduction to one of the most admired, despised, honored, and disrespected families in American history.” (Presidential Studies Quarterly, 1 June 2015) “This is an excellent resource for any academic reference collection or special library with specialization in Colonial America, politics, or regional history.” (Reference Reviews, 1 January 2014) “David Waldstreicher has compiled a glittering collection of essays surveying the lives and times of the second and sixth presidents of the United States. The public and private lives of John, John Quincy and the inimitable Abigail Adams continue to fascinate both academe and the reading public.” (Expofairs.com, 6 May 2013)Table of ContentsList of Figures x About the Contributors xi Introduction: The Adams paradox 1 David Waldstreicher Part I The First Generation 3 1 John Adams: The Life and the Biographers 5 R. B. Bernstein 2 John Adams and Enlightenment 36 Darren Staloff 3 The Revolutionary Politics of John Adams, 1760–1775 60 Colin Nicolson 4 John Adams in the Continental Congress 78 Karen N. Barzilay 5 John Adams’s Political Thought 102 David J. Siemers 6 John Adams, Diplomat 125 Wendy H. Wong 7 John Adams and the Elections of 1796 and 1800 142 David W. Houpt 8 The Presidency of John Adams 166 Douglas Bradburn 9 John Adams and Religion 184 John Fea 10 Abigail Adams and Feminism 199 Elaine Forman Crane 11 Abigail Adams: The Life and the Biographers 218 Margaret A. Hogan Part II The Second Generation 239 12 John Quincy Adams: The Life, the Diary, and the Biographers 241 David Waldstreicher 13 John Quincy Adams and National Republicanism 263 Andrew Shankman 14 John Quincy Adams, Diplomacy, and American Empire 281 John M. Belohlavek 15 John Quincy Adams and the Elections of 1824 and 1828 305 David P. Callahan 16 The Presidency of John Quincy Adams 328 Padraig Riley 17 John Quincy Adams, Internal Improvements, and the Nation State 348 Sean Patrick Adams 18 John Quincy Adams: Apostle of Union 367 David F. Ericson 19 John Quincy Adams, Cosmopolitan 383 Bethel Saler 20 John Quincy Adams and the Tangled Politics of Slavery 402 Matthew Mason 21 John Quincy Adams’s Higher Learnings: Rhetoric, Science, and Intellectual History 422 Marlana Portolano 22 A Monarch in a Republic: Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams and Court Culture in Early Washington City 445 Catherine Allgor and Margery M. Heffron Part III Images and Legacies 469 23 Thomas Jefferson and the John Adams Family 471 Herbert E. Sloan 24 The Adamses on Screen 487 Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein 25 An American Dynasty 510 Edith B. Gelles References 542 Index 568

    10 in stock

    £176.65

  • LUP - University of Michigan Press The Influence of Campaign Contributions in State

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisCampaign contributions are widely viewed as a corrupting influence but most scholarly research concludes that they have marginal impact on legislative behaviour. Lynda W. Powell shows that contributions have considerable influence in some state legislatures but very little in others.Trade ReviewLynda Powell has set out to understand how campaign contributions affect the legislative process. Perhaps surprisingly, scholars have not been able to show this effect of money on politics. Powell provides a strong and clear answer. She does so by first developing a theory of campaigning and legislating. She then tests resulting hypotheses to show: that financing matters; the more money, the more the influence; and that influence is of the 'pay to play' sort. The result is a very fine piece of serious scientific research that speaks to an important set of issues of direct concern to the public." — John Aldrich, Duke University"Lynda Powell combines theoretical clarity with unique empirical data to offer the most rigorous case yet for the widespread but difficult-to-document idea that campaign money influences public policy. This book represents a major step forward in the study of campaign finance effects and deserves a wide readership." — Gary Jacobson, University of California, San Diego"By moving beyond analyses of roll call votes to instead ask lawmakers themselves how money affects the full range of legislative behaviors—from authoring bills to killing them quietly—Powell makes a methodological contribution that can help change the normative debate. Anyone who cares about state politics or national campaign finance reform needs to read this book's potent new findings." — Thad Kousser, University of California, San Diego"[T]his is excellent research and an important contribution to the literatures on campaign finance and state legislatures." — Political Science Quarterly

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The University of Michigan Press The Presidential Expectations Gap

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisFor decades, public expectations of US presidents have become increasingly excessive and unreasonable. Despite much anecdotal evidence, few scholars have attempted to test the expectations gap thesis empirically. This is the first systematic study to prove the existence of the expectations gap and to identify the factors that contribute to the public’s disappointment in a given president.

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The University of Michigan Press Leadership Organizations in the House of

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review“This book fills an important void in our understanding of how the party leadership structure in the U.S. House has steadily changed since the 1970s and is a must-read for anyone interested in how House leadership organizations have assisted the parties in fulfilling their electoral and political goals.” —Jamie Carson, University of Georgia “Meinke has collected a ton of data. But what he has done with that data is even more impressive. His thorough examination of members’ lives through the lens of House leadership organizations says a lot about them and the institution in which they work. His impressive study gives us a more nuanced view not only of how the House has worked in the past, but more importantly, how it is likely to work in the future as the role of parties strengthens.”—Sean M. Theriault, University of Texas at Austin

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The University of Michigan Press The Regional Roots of Russias Political Regime

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisExamines Russian politics at the subnational level in order to discover why democracy failed to take root and how Putin's authoritarian regime materialized. By analysing successive federal elections, Reisinger and Moraski show that regions that led the way in delivering votes in Putin's favour were those that had been both more independent and more authoritarian during the Yeltsin era.Trade ReviewThe authors set for themselves an ambitious goal of tracing the evolution of the timing, institutions, and competitiveness of subnational elections, as well as of national-regional electoral links, political, and institutional change from the late Soviet period to the present. They achieve this goal admirably in this highly original and novel account."" - Tomila Lankina, London School of Economics ""I have no doubt that the book will fill a glaring gap in the academic book market."" - Grigorii V. Golosov, European University at St. Petersburg

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The Problem of Democracy

    Penguin Putnam Inc The Problem of Democracy

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £17.00

  • The Book of Joe The Life Wit and Sometimes

    Random House USA Inc The Book of Joe The Life Wit and Sometimes

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe ultimate guide to President Joe Biden, filled with all the fun, all the inspiration, and none of the malarkey.The aviators. The Amtrak. The bromance with Barack Obama. Few politicians are as iconic, or as beloved, as Joe Biden. Now, in The Book of Joe, Biden fans and political junkies alike have the ultimate look at America’s 46th president. Covering the key chapters in Biden’s life and career—and filled with classic Biden-isms, including “That’s a bunch of malarkey” and “I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid”—this entertaining blend of biography, advice, and muscle cars explores the moments that forged Joe Biden, and what they can teach us today. But along with this “Wisdom of Joe,” the book also reveals the inspirational story of a man whose life has been shaped by his father’s advice: Get back up. Time after time, Biden has bounced ba

    10 in stock

    £15.29

  • Alfred A. Knopf Winnie and Nelson

    Out of stock

    Book Synopsis

    Out of stock

    £28.00

  • War and Peace 3 Fdrs Final Odyssey DDay to Yalta

    Mariner Books War and Peace 3 Fdrs Final Odyssey DDay to Yalta

    Out of stock

    Book Synopsis

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • Commander in Chief 2 Fdrs Battle with Churchill

    Mariner Books Commander in Chief 2 Fdrs Battle with Churchill

    Out of stock

    Book Synopsis

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND OTHER WRITINGS BY FRANKLIN

    Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND OTHER WRITINGS BY FRANKLIN

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis authoritative Bantam Classic edition presents readers with a wide-ranging selection of Benjamin Franklin’s most important writings, illuminating the complex and appealing character of this quintessential American who rose to fame as a publisher, inventor, educator, bon vivant, and statesman.Here are selections from Franklin’s newspaper articles, from the sage wisdom of Poor Richard’s Almanac, from his entertaining letters, from his scientific essays, from his political and revolutionary writings, plus a generous sampling of his famous aphorisms, poems, and humor. And, most important, here is a newly edited text of one of the most vital and important works of American literature, the Autobiography. As fascinating and as relevant as ever, this timeless collection of writings reveals an extraordinary man whose mind was always curious, always questioning, and who forever remained dedicated to the principles of truth and liberty.

    10 in stock

    £6.90

  • Washingtons Spies The Story of Americas First Spy

    Random House USA Inc Washingtons Spies The Story of Americas First Spy

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £18.00

  • Founding Martyr

    Random House USA Inc Founding Martyr

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £15.29

  • 41 A Portrait of My Father

    Random House USA Inc 41 A Portrait of My Father

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, has authored a personal biography of his father, George H. W. Bush, the 41st President.   Forty-three men have served as President of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a President told the story of his father, another President, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career, including his service in the Pacific during World War II, his pioneering work in the Texas oil business, and his political rise as a Congressman, U.S. Representative to China and the United Nations, CIA Director, Vice President, and President.  The book shines new light on both the accomplished statesman and the warm, decent man known best by his family. In addition, George W. Bu

    10 in stock

    £22.40

  • It Was All a Lie

    Random House USA Inc It Was All a Lie

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £13.29

  • The Fixers

    Random House USA Inc The Fixers

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £23.19

  • The Splendid and the Vile

    Diversified Publishing The Splendid and the Vile

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe best-selling author of Dead Wake draws on personal diaries, archival documents and declassified intelligence in a portrait of Winston Churchill that explores his day-to-day experiences during the Blitz and his role in uniting England. (military history). Simultaneous. Maps.

    2 in stock

    £32.30

  • Diversified Publishing Our First Civil War Patriots and Loyalists in the

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisA fast-paced, often riveting account of the military and political events leading up to the Declaration of Independence and those that followed during the war ... Brands does his readers a service by reminding them that division, as much as unity, is central to the founding of our nation.—The Washington PostFrom best-selling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands comes a gripping, page-turning narrative of the American Revolution that shows it to be more than a fight against the British: it was also a violent battle among neighbors forced to choose sides, Loyalist or Patriot. What causes people to forsake their country and take arms against it? What prompts their neighbors, hardly distinguishable in station or success, to defend that country against the rebels?  That is the question H. W. Brands answers in his powerful new history of the American Revolution. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were the unlikeliest of rebels. Washington in the 1770s stood at the apex of Virginia society. Franklin was more successful still, having risen from humble origins to world fame. John Adams might have seemed a more obvious candidate for rebellion, being of cantankerous temperament. Even so, he revered the law. Yet all three men became rebels against the British Empire that fostered their success. Others in the same circle of family and friends chose differently. William Franklin might have been expected to join his father, Benjamin, in rebellion but remained loyal to the British. So did Thomas Hutchinson, a royal governor and friend of the Franklins, and Joseph Galloway, an early challenger to the Crown. They soon heard themselves denounced as traitors--for not having betrayed the country where they grew up. Native Americans and the enslaved were also forced to choose sides as civil war broke out around them. After the Revolution, the Patriots were cast as heroes and founding fathers while the Loyalists were relegated to bit parts best forgotten. Our First Civil War reminds us that before America could win its revolution against Britain, the Patriots had to win a bitter civil war against family, neighbors, and friends.

    Out of stock

    £28.00

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