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Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome
Par Anthony Barrett. 2008
The author of Rome Is Burning separates fact from fiction as he examines the life of an ancient Roman figure…
made famous in the TV miniseries I Claudius.Livia—wife of the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, and mother of the second, Tiberius—wielded extraordinary power at the center of Roman politics. In this biography of Livia, the first in English, Anthony Barrett sets aside the portrait of a cunning and sinister schemer to reveal Livia as a complex figure whose enduring political influence helped shape Roman government long after her death.&“An excellent biography of Livia—as appealing to the general reader as it is satisfying to the scholar.&” —Colin M. Wells, Trinity University, San Antonio&“In reading Anthony Barrett&’s biography of Livia, I not only learned about this remarkable woman, but also gained a meaningful appreciation of life and society in her time.&” —Howard Alper, President, The Royal Society of Canada &“First-rate.&” —Mary Beard, Times Literary SupplementChurchill: Visionary. Statesman. Historian.
Par John Lukacs. 2002
&“Lukacs convincingly portrays a leader of an empire in irreversible decline and a towering, if flawed, hero of our time.&”—Publishers…
Weekly In previous works, John Lukacs told the story of Winston Churchill&’s titanic struggle with Adolf Hitler in the early days of World War II. Now, he turns his attention to the man himself, the workings of his historical imagination, and his successes and failures as a visionary statesman. Chapter by chapter, Lukacs assesses Churchill&’s vital relationships with Stalin, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower; his complex, farsighted political vision concerning the coming of WWII and the Cold War; his abilities as a historian looking backward into the origins of the conflicts of which he was so much a part; and the often contradictory ways in which he has been perceived by critics and admirers alike. In addition, Lukacs describes his three days spent in London attending Churchill&’s funeral in 1965. &“Superb…[a] tour de force.&”—Foreign Affairs &“Lukacs&’ ability to meld the scholarly with the popular is much in evidence here.&”—BooklistThe Winchester: The Gun That Built an American Dynasty
Par Laura Trevelyan. 2016
&“Details the extraordinary life of Oliver Winchester, the company, and its rapid rise and slow fall as told by a…
distant family descendant.&”—American Gunsmith Arguably the world&’s most famous firearm, the Winchester Repeating Rifle was sought after by a cast of characters ranging from the settlers of the American West to the Ottoman Empire&’s Army. Laura Trevelyan, a descendant of the Winchester family, offers an engrossing personal history of the colorful New England clan responsible for the creation and manufacture of the &“Gun that Won the West.&” Trevelyan chronicles the rise and fortunes of a great American arms dynasty, from Oliver Winchester&’s involvement with the Volcanic Arms Company in 1855 through the turbulent decades of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She explores the evolution of an iconic, paradigm-changing weapon that has become a part of American culture; a longtime favorite of collectors and gun enthusiasts that has been celebrated in fiction, glorified in Hollywood, and applauded in endorsements from the likes of Annie Oakley, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, and Native American tribesmen who called it &“the spirit gun.&” &“[A] detailed but accessible look at the life, times and commerce of Oliver Winchester—Trevelyan&’s great great great grandfather—and his many descendants of both the human and firearms varieties . . . Whether you&’re a fan of firearms or simply of American history, there is much to enjoy and learn in this easy-to-read and well-footnoted volume.&”—American Shooting Journal &“The book is beautifully illustrated, with fascinating photos of the Winchester family, and with well-known historical figures—including the Native American leader Geronimo and President Theodore Roosevelt—clutching their repeating rifles.&”—Times Literary SupplementMussolini and Hitler: The Forging of the Fascist Alliance
Par Christian Goeschel. 2018
This fresh treatment of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany reveals how the close relationship between Mussolini and Hitler influenced both…
men.From 1934 until 1944 Mussolini met Hitler numerous times, and the two developed a relationship that deeply affected both countries. While Germany is generally regarded as the senior power, Christian Goeschel demonstrates just how much history has underrepresented Mussolini’s influence on his German ally.A scholar of twentieth-century Germany and Italy, Goeschel revisits all of Mussolini and Hitler’s key meetings to examine how they constructed a powerful image of a strong Fascist-Nazi relationship that still resonates with the general public. His portrait of Mussolini draws on sources ranging beyond political history to reveal a leader who, at times, shaped Hitler’s decisions and was not the gullible buffoon he’s often portrayed as. The first comprehensive study of the Mussolini-Hitler relationship, this book is a must-read for scholars and anyone interested in the history of European fascism, World War II, or political leadership.An “enthralling” chronicle of the nearly two decades the statesman, scientist, inventor, and Founding Father spent in the British imperial…
capital (BBC Radio 4, Book of the Week).For more than a fifth of his life, Benjamin Franklin lived in London. He dined with prime ministers, members of parliament, even kings, as well as with Britain’s most esteemed intellectuals—including David Hume, Joseph Priestley, and Erasmus Darwin—and with more notorious individuals, such as Francis Dashwood and James Boswell. Having spent eighteen formative months in England as a young man, Franklin returned in 1757 as a colonial representative during the Seven Years’ War, and left abruptly just prior to the outbreak of America’s War of Independence, barely escaping his impending arrest.In this fascinating history, George Goodwin gives a colorful account of Franklin’s British years. The author offers a rich and revealing portrait of one of the most remarkable figures in U.S. history, effectively disputing the commonly held perception of Franklin as an outsider in British politics. It is an absorbing study of an American patriot who was a fiercely loyal British citizen for most of his life—until forces he had sought and failed to control finally made him a reluctant revolutionary at the age of sixty-nine.“[An] interesting, lively account of Franklin’s British life.” —The Wall Street JournalLies in the Dust: A Tale of Remorse from the Salem Witch Trials
Par Jakob Crane. 2014
In Salem’s dark days of 1692 and 1693, young girls pointed fingers and accused others of witchcraft, sentencing them to…
torture or even death. When the cloud lifted, and accusations were shown to be false, the girls faced little, if any, penalty. Were they sorry? No one knows. Only one girl, Ann Putnam, Jr., felt moved to show remorse publicly. Fourteen years after the trials, Ann wrote a letter of apology. This is her story.Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Wigan (Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths)
Par Mike Fletcher. 2007
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in and Around Wigan is a detailed guide to the town's darker side, exploring, often…
in gory detail, Wigan's more sinister heritage, by examining accounts of murder and suspicious deaths from the middle ages through to the twentieth century. Victorian Wigan was a town seemingly overflowing with criminals, and some of the most gruesome cases, recounted from the reports taken from the Wigan Observer and Wigan Examiner, occurred in the second half of the nineteenth century. Many of the cases are without motice or provocation. Domestic crime features highly, often involving Wigan's colliers savagely beating their wives to death, and some of the cases remains unsolved. Each of the cases are covered in detail, documenting the crime, the investigation and inquest, and culminates with the eventual court case and punishment.King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father
Par Brooke Barbier. 2023
A rollicking portrait of the paradoxical patriot, whose measured pragmatism helped make American independence a reality.Americans are surprisingly more familiar…
with his famous signature than with the man himself. In this spirited account of John Hancock’s life, Brooke Barbier depicts a patriot of fascinating contradictions—a child of enormous privilege who would nevertheless become a voice of the common folk; a pillar of society uncomfortable with radicalism who yet was crucial to independence. About two-fifths of the American population held neutral or ambivalent views about the Revolution, and Hancock spoke for them and to them, bringing them along.Orphaned young, Hancock was raised by his merchant uncle, whose business and vast wealth he inherited—including household slaves, whom Hancock later freed. By his early thirties, he was one of New England’s most prominent politicians, earning a place on Britain’s most-wanted list and the derisive nickname King Hancock. While he eventually joined the revolution against England, his ever moderate—and moderating—disposition would prove an asset after 1776. Barbier shows Hancock appealing to southerners and northerners, Federalists and Anti-Federalists. He was a famously steadying force as president of the fractious Second Continental Congress. He parlayed with French military officials, strengthening a key alliance with his hospitable diplomacy. As governor of Massachusetts, Hancock convinced its delegates to vote for the federal Constitution and calmed the fallout from the shocking Shays’s Rebellion.An insightful study of leadership in the revolutionary era, King Hancock traces a moment when passion was on the side of compromise and accommodation proved the basis of profound social and political change.A Regular American Guy
Par Bob Bell. 2023
A Regular American Guy is the story of one American guy. It begins with recounting his family's eight generations of…
American citizenship. Then his relatively normal childhood and transition into adulthood. He manages to get through high school and works his way through college. He was thrust into the Vietnam War in 1968. All he accomplished until then, and all he would achieve later, was put at risk. A battle where you are almost killed can be a profound experience. Reflecting on that traumatic event convinced him of two things. First, war is a terrible thing, and we need to find a way to stop it in the future. Second, thinking about that dramatic and frighting battle instilled in him a determination to make his life count regarding his fellow citizens and his family. So, he built an engineering and surveying firm from scratch employing hundreds of people. He served in elective offices and on community boards and commissions. He and Candace raised a family of five kids, who were well cared for materially and emotionally, and all grew up to be happy and productive adults. He made his life count. That fight in Vietnam was not so much a major event in his life as it was a tipping point. It refocused his life plan. So marriage, the birth of children, business success, and public service were the major event, just like so many American men and women.Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House
Par Tom LoBianco. 2019
MIKE PENCE: THE ULTIMATE POLITICAL SHAPE-SHIFTER“I’m a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican . . . in that order.” —Mike…
PenceAs the impeachment of President Donald Trump remains a constant topic of discussion in political circles, the questions around our current vice president also continue to swirl, and in some ways, the puzzlement over his true nature has never truly been clear. Tom LoBianco, a longtime Pence reporter, cuts to the core of the nation’s most enigmatic politician in this intimate yet expansive account of the vice president’s journey to the White House. In Piety & Power, LoBianco follows Pence from his evangelical conversion in college to his failed career as a young lawyer, to his thwarted attempts at politics until he hitched his wagon to far-right extremism, becoming the Congressional poster boy for faith-based policy and Tea Party rhetoric. Giving readers a minute-by-minute account of the selection process that made him Donald Trump’s unlikely running mate in 2016, Piety & Power traces Pence’s personal and political life, painting a picture of a man driven by faith and conviction, yes, but also a hunger for power. LoBianco crafts a revealing portrait of the real Mike Pence—a politician whose understated style masks a drive for power, but also a surprising political acumen—by drawing on years of research, over one hundred exclusive interviews with those closest to the vice president, and deep ties both within the Beltway and Indiana state politics. Highlighting Pence’s strained, at times obsequious, relationship with Trump; his marriage to Karen; his deeply repressed personality; his presidential aspirations and plans for America’s future; and his deep-rooted faith in his country, in God, and ultimately himself; Piety & Power provides insights and answers as it sheds light on this ambitious Midwestern politician, his past, and his possible future.Back Then: Two Literary Lives in 1950s New York
Par Anne Bernays, Justin Kaplan. 2002
Novelist Anne Bernays and biographer Justin Kaplan -- both native New Yorkers -- came of age in the 1950s, when…
the pent-up energies of the Depression years and World War II were at flood tide. Written in two separate voices, Back Then is thecandid, anecdotal account of these two children of privilege -- one from New York's East Side, the other from the West Side -- pursuing careers in publishing and eventually leaving to write their own books.Infused with intelligence and charm, Back Then is an elegant reflection on the transformative years in the lives of two young people and New York City. Marked by their youthful passions, this double memoir marries the authors' distinct literary styles with a riveting narrative that captures the density and texture of private, social, and working life in the 1950s.Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World
Par Paul Martin. 2012
Secret Heroes is a remarkable compendium by Paul Martin, former Executive Editor of National Geographic Traveler, that illuminates the lives…
of thirty forgotten American heroes. Gathering together remarkable stories about unknown champions, explorers, inventors, and innovators who never made the pages of American history textbooks—not George Washington, but the tailor who saved his life…twice; the first African-American combat pilot; the 62-year-old female muckraking journalist who refused to turn her back on injustice—Secret Heroes is just the sort of fascinating and fun popular history that readers love, not unlike Kenneth C. Davis’s bestselling Don’t Know Much About® series and Rick Beyer’s The Greatest Stories Never Told.Flory: Survival in the Valley of Death
Par Flory Beek. 2008
In 1939, as the Nazi occupation grew from threat to reality, the Jewish population throughout Europe faced heart-wrenching decisions—to flee…
and lose their homes or to go into hiding, hoping against all odds to avoid the fate of being discovered. Holocaust survivor Flory A. Van Beek faced this terrible choice, and in this poignant testament of hope she takes us on her personal journey into one of history's darkest hours.Only a teenage girl when the Nazis invaded her neutral homeland of Holland, Flory watched the only life she had ever known disappear. Tearfully leaving her family, Flory tried to escape on the infamous SS Simon Bolivar passenger ship with Felix, the young Jewish man from Germany who would later become her husband. Their voyage brought not safety but more peril as their ship was blown up by Nazi planted mines, one of the first passenger ships destroyed by the Germans during World War II, sending nearly all of its passengers to a watery end. Miraculously, both Flory and Felix survived.After recovering from their injuries in England, they returned to their homeland, overjoyed to be reunited with their families yet shocked to discover their beloved Holland a much-changed place. As the Nazi grip tightened, they were forced into hiding. Sheltered by compassionate strangers in confined quarters, cut off from the outside world and their relatives, they faced hunger and the stress of daily life shadowed by the ever-present threat of certain death. Yet they also discovered, with the remarkable and brave families who sacrificed their own safety to help keep Flory and Felix alive, a set of friends that remain as close as family to this day.A tribute to family, faith, and the power of good in the face of disparate evil, this gripping account captures the terror of the Holocaust, the courage of those who risked their lives to protect their fellow compatriots, and the faith of those who, against all odds, managed to survive.Catullus' Bedspread: The Life of Rome's Most Erotic Poet
Par Daisy Dunn. 2016
A vivid narrative that recreates the life of Gaius Valerius Catullus, Rome’s first modern” poet, and follows a young man’s…
journey through a world filled with all the indulgences and sexual excesses of the time, from doomed love affairs to shrewd political maneuvering and backstabbing—an accessible, appealing look at one of history’s greatest poets.Born to one of Verona’s leading families, Catullus spent most of his young adulthood in Rome, mingling with the likes of Caesar and Cicero and chronicling his life through his poetry. Famed for his lyrical and subversive voice, his poems about his friends were jocular, often obscenely funny, while those who crossed him found themselves skewered in raunchy verse, sudden objects of hilarity and ridicule. These bawdy poems were disseminated widely throughout Rome. Many of his poems recall his secret longstanding affair with the seductive older Clodia.While Catullus and Clodia made love in the shadows, the whole of Italy was quaking as Caesar, Pompey and Crassus forged a doomed alliance for power. During these tumultuous years, Catullus increasingly turned to darker subject matter, and he finally composed his greatest work of all—a poem about the decoration on a bedspread—which forms the heart of this biography, a work of beauty that will achieve immortality and make Catullus a legend.Catullus’ Bedspread includes an 8-page color insert.Crimes Against Women: Three Tragedies and the Call for Reform in India
Par The The. 2013
As 2012 came to a close, news of the gang rape of a young woman in India’s capital generated headlines…
around the world. Her assault on a moving bus with a metal rod, and her death two weeks later from her injuries, focused attention on the dark side of the world’s largest democracy: the struggle that faces many Indian women in a country where chauvinistic and misogynistic attitudes prevail.The Wall Street Journal’s India bureau explored this horrendous crime and others that explore the experience of Indian women in the 21st century. The reporting in all the stories stands out for its gripping detail and its emotional pull. In many cases, central figures involved in these everyday dramas were speaking for the first time.The book begins with the story of a Catholic nun murdered in rural India as she tried to preserve ancient tribal ways in the face of mining expansion, while also coming to the aid of a woman who had allegedly been raped.Next is a riveting account of a young woman from rural Bihar who was duped into moving to Delhi, where she was forced to marry or go into prostitution -- and the disaster for her and her family that ensued. The woman broke her long-held silence to speak to the WSJ about what happened.The book ends with the WSJ’s world-beating coverage of the New Delhi rape case, including intimate portraits of the victim and her friend who tried to save her but couldn’t. He granted the WSJ intimate and exclusive access to tell his side of the story.In this e-book, we are bringing together these stories -- in many cases updated with fresh details of the individuals’ lives -- to show the hopes and the catastrophes, the bravery and the abuse that are the daily lot of millions of India’s women.Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography
Par Adam Clymer. 2009
Edward M. Kennedy is one of the most influential senators in Congress. For the last 35 years, he′s played a…
major role in events ranging from the Vietnam War to Supreme Court confirmations. He′s also been closely associated with issues such as health care, civil rights and campaign finance reform. More than the foremost lawmaker and best orator in the Senate, he′s enthralled (and disappointed) a generation who saw him as the keeper of his famous brothers′ flame. He′s seen America -- and her politics -- change in drastic ways. In this definitive biography, New York Times Washington Editor Adam Clymer draws an in-depth portrait of this complex man. Through interviews with Kennedy, and the people close to him, he places Kennedy′s career in a historical perspective, and observes how Kennedy′s personal life has affected his political performance. The Senator has dealt with his infamous legacy, struggled to overcome the Chappaquiddick incident, and handled spectacular failures as well as many truimphs. He′s one of the few old-fashioned liberals who has held the Democratic Party to its principles, and is a hero to many. This is a unique, enormously readable chronicle of one of the most fascinating political figures of our time.It Takes Two: Our Story
Par Jonathan Scott, Drew Scott. 2017
A New York Times bestseller! Jonathan and Drew Scott, known for their wildly popular HGTV shows including Property Brothers and Brother…
vs Brother, follow up their New York Times bestseller, Dream Home, with a highly anticipated memoir. It Takes Two: Our Story shares never-before-revealed tales of the brothers&’ childhood and rise to fame—from starting their first business at 7 years old, their years modeling and acting, to their first house purchase at the impressive young age of eighteen. They soon found their true passion in life, combining their natural gifts for entertaining with the skills they learned from buying, renovating, and selling homes.Complete with hilarious behind-the-scenes stories from set, Jonathan and Drew discuss how their family and upbringing have led to their success in life. Throughout, the brothers keep fans laughing with the clever—and sometimes zany—sibling banter for which they&’re known best.The Psychic Life of Abraham Lincoln
Par Susan Martinez. 2007
Throughout his life, Lincoln consulted oracles; at age 22, he was told by a seer that he would become president…
of the United States. In his dreams, he foresaw his own sudden death. Trauma and heartbreak opened the psychic door for this president, whose precognitive dreams, evil omens, and trance-like states are carefully documented in this bold and poignant chronicle of tragic beginnings, White House séances, and paranormal eruptions of the Civil War era. Aided by the deathbed memoir of his favorite medium, Lincoln's remarkable psychic experiences comes to life with communications from beyond, ESP, true and false prophecies, and thumbnail sketches of the most influential spiritualists in his orbit. Surveying clairvoyant incidents in Lincoln's life from cradle to grave, the book also examines the Emancipation Proclamation and the unseen powers that moved pen to hand for its historic signing.Menin Gate North: In Memory and In Mourning (In Memory and in Mourning)
Par Paul Chapman. 2015
This is a comprehensive and highly emotive volume, borne of years of intensive research and many trips to the battlefields…
of the Great War. It seeks to humanize the Menin Gate Memorial (North), to offer the reader a chance to engage with the personal stories of the soldiers whose names have been chiseled there in stone. Poignant stories of camaraderie, tragic twists of fate and noble sacrifice have been collated in an attempt to bring home the reality of war and the true extent of its tragic cost. It is hoped that visitors to the battlefields, whether their relatives are listed within or not, will find their experience enriched by having access to this treasure trove of stories.The Rare and the Beautiful: How the Garman Sisters Captured the Heart of Bohemian London
Par Cressida Connolly. 2004
Like the better-known Mitfords, the Garman sisters took center stage in Bohemian London during the first half of the twentieth…
century. Beautiful, flamboyant, and headstrong, they broke away from middle-class conventions, seducing and inspiring a generation of artists. Kathleen, an enigmatic artist's model and aspiring pianist, was the lover and, later, wife of controversial American-born sculptor Jacob Epstein. Mary married the maverick poet Roy Campbell, whose verse attack on the Bloomsbury group following Mary's affair with Vita Sackville-West was the literary scandal of the epoch. Lorna, the youngest and most beautiful of the sisters, was the lover of both the painter Lucian Freud and the poet Laurie Lee.The Rare and the Beautiful offers the first portrait of a beguiling band of eccentric siblings who possessed an uncanny ability to turn heads, break hearts, and spark creative genius. Set against the exciting backdrop of London's decadent subculture, it evokes their extraordinary milieu of high culture, drama, and scandal.