Best of
American-History

1951

Mr. Lincoln's Army


Bruce Catton - 1951
    McClellan.

The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union


Bell Irvin Wiley - 1951
    Here, through excerpts from wartime letters and diaries and from other carefully documented research, Bell Irvin Wiley presents an absorbing account of the small and sometimes moving events that made up the daily life of the common Union soldier, a moral but fallible human who could laugh at lewd jokes, be stripped of his courage under fire, or save an entire company from certain death.

A Soldier's Story


Omar N. Bradley - 1951
    A Soldier's Story is the behind-the-scenes eyewitness account of the war that shaped our century: the tremendous manpower at work, the unprecedented stakes, the snafus that almost led to defeat, the larger-than-life personalities and brilliant generals (Patton, Eisenhower, Montgomery) who masterminded it all. One of the two books on which the movie Patton was based, A Soldier's Story is a compelling and vivid memoir from the greatest military tactician of our time.      The books in the Modern Library War series have been chosen by series editor Caleb Carr according to the significance of their subject matter, their contribution to the field of military history, and their literary merit.

Those Devils in Baggy Pants


Ross S. Carter - 1951
    Carter participated in every major campaign that the 504th was involved with from Sicily in 1943 to the end of the war in Germany in May of 1945.

Facts the Historians Leave Out


John S. Tilley - 1951
    Lee and Jefferson Davis, and much more.

American Diplomacy


George F. Kennan - 1951
    Kennan offers an informed, plain-spoken appraisal of United States foreign policy. His evaluations of diplomatic history and international relations cut to the heart of policy issues much debated today.This expanded edition retains the lectures and essays first published in 1951 as American Diplomacy, 1900-1950 and adds two lectures delivered in 1984 as well as a new preface by the author. In these additional pieces, Kennan explains how some of his ideas have changed over the years. He confronts the events and topics that have come to occupy American opinion in the last thirty years, including the development and significance of the Cold War, the escalation of the nuclear arms race, and the American involvement in Vietnam."A book about foreign policy by a man who really knows something about foreign policy."—James Reston,New York Times Book Review"These celebrated lectures, delivered at the University of Chicago in 1950, were for many years the most widely read account of American diplomacy in the first half of the twentieth century. . . . The second edition of the work contains two lectures from 1984 that reconsider the themes of American Diplomacy"—Foreign Affairs, Significant Books of the Last 75 Years.

Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg


Colonial Williamsburg Foundation - 1951
    Color-coded maps identify things to see and do and locate places to shop and dine. Building-by-building drawings help people tour easily. Short biographies about eighteenth-century inhabitants bring colonial society alive. Information about the museums and modern lodging and dining opportunities is included.

John Randolph of Roanoke: A Study in American Politics, With Selected Speeches and Letters


Russell Kirk - 1951
    Only twenty-six when first elected to Congress in 1799, he readily became the most forceful figure at the Capitol. An incomparable orator, he was also, in the observation of Dumas Malone, "a merciless castigator of iniquity." For most of his public career Randolph was a leader of the opposition—to both Jeffersonians and Federalists. He was, writes Russell Kirk, "devoted to state rights, the agricultural interest, economy in government, and freedom from foreign entanglements." Above all things Randolph cherished liberty, and he famously declared, "I love liberty; I hate equality. "This fourth edition incorporates the corrections and modest revisions provided by the author shortly before his death in 1994. Among the new material is a transcription of the first-hand account of Randolph's death that relates information long deemed apocryphal. The account is by Dr. Joseph Parrish, who was at Randolph's side when he died in 1833. Russell Kirk (1918–1994) was the author of some thirty books, including The Conservative Mind, and was one of the seminal political thinkers of the twentieth century.

The Diary of John Quincy Adams 1794-1845


John Quincy Adams - 1951
    

The Iron Mistress


Paul I. Wellman - 1951
    There was Judalon de Bornay, the proud, self-willed New Orleans beauty; Catherine Villars, the sensuous quadroon mistress of of pirate Jean Lafitte; and Ursula de Veramendi, the lovely and tragic daughter of the vice-governor of Mexican Texas.A legend in his own time, Bowie's career sprawled violently across the lawless Southwest. He fought incredible duels. He dealt in slave trading, gambled recklessly, and became involved in gigantic land speculations. He led the Texas irregulars in a spectacular Indian battle. And Bowie was one of the doomed defenders of the Alamo, a martyr in the selfless cause of patriotism.

George Washington, Leader of the People


Clara Ingram Judson - 1951