he may yet prove to be the central figure in modern history. So stated noted historian Henry Steele Commager. And as the English novelist Samuel Butler once wrote, Though God cannot alter the past, historians can. His observation is especially applicable to our changing perceptions of great historical personalities, most of whom are relentlessly reinterpreted by each new generation of biographers. It is doubtful whether many of these renowned characters of yesteryear would even recognize themselves in some of the publications devoted to them today.There is no better example of this kind of metamorphosis than Thomas Jefferson, author of the American Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States. Since his death in 1826 he has been alternately vilified and deified in numerous forms by writers of varying motivations. In The Real Thomas Jefferson, by allowing Jefferson to explain his life and ideas in his own words, we have tried to ensure that his spirit, not ours, will breathe in these pages — so that all who read them will become acquainted with Jefferson himself, not another second-hand interpretation of him. His biography appears in Part I, and Part II brings together the most insightful passages from his writings, arranged by subject.

    He was one of seven children; his father, a railway worker. But the family was strong and unified, the youngsters energetic and ambitious. Ike made it to West Point, where he excelled in sports. He was a natural leader. But it was at Leavenworth years later, as a student at the war college, that his intellectual talent showed itself. He graduated first in his class. The author draws in a wealth of previously unpublished information to give us this beautiful portrait. As a result Eisenhower emerges as complex, one who as the author states, ". . .was a good and great man."

    

    This book has hardback covers.Ex-library,With usual stamps and markings,In good all round condition.Dust Jacket in good condition.

    Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) was a man of remarkable achievements and a succession of careers who spent over fifty years in public service. Yet, to this day, he is one of America's least known leaders, a man stigmatized because he served as president during the grim early years of the Great Depression.In this volume George Nash explores Hoover pre-public career, his "forgotten years." An orphaned son of Iowa pioneers, Hoover rose to become a mining engineer and businessman whose far-flung enterprises touched six continents before 1914. It is an account of his accomplishments in forbidding detail, of his struggles in the Boxer Rebellion, and of his rise to wealth and power as a consulting engineer and expert on mine finance. From 1908 to 1914, Hoover turned from engineering to a yearning for public service. The volume ends with Hoover in London at the outbreak of the First World War, ready to help 100,000 stranded American tourists return home⁠—an act that put him, as he said, "on the slippery road of public life."