Book picks similar to
The Electrification of Russia, 1880-1926 by Jonathan Coopersmith
history
politics-ideology
history-É-u-a
russia
The National Trust Book of Scones: 50 Delicious Recipes and Some Curious Crumbs of History
Sarah Clelland - 2017
Eccentric owners, strange treasures, obscure facts—it's all here. Whip up a Triple Chocolate Scone while you read about the mechanical elephants at Waddeston Manor, savor an Apple & Cinnamon Scone while you absorb the dramatic love life of Henry Cecil of Hanbury Hall, or marvel at a Ightham Mote's Grade 1 listed dog kennel while you savor a Cheese, Spring Onion and Bacon Scone. 50 of the best scones in history and 50 of the best places to read about—you’ll never need to leave the kitchen again. Includes dual measures.
Jet Age Man: SAC B-47 and B-52 Operations in the Early Cold War
Earl J. McGill - 2011
To some, nuclear deterrence appeared as utter madness, and was in fact commonly referred to as M.A.D. The concept of Mutually Assured Destruction provoked protests and marches, and the architect of M.A.D, General Curtis LeMay, became a symbol of madness himself.
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II
Liza Mundy - 2017
Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.
The Sure Thing: The Greatest Coup in Horse Racing History
Nick Townsend - 2013
But one man has been proving them wrong for four decades. In the summer of 1975 Barney Curley, a fearless and renowned gambler, masterminded one of the most spectacular gambles of all time with a racehorse called Yellow Sam. It cost the bookmakers millions of pounds. They said that it could never happen again. But in May 2010, thirty-five years after his first coup, Curley staged the ultimate multimillion pound-winning sequel.The Sure Thing tells the complete story of how he managed to organise the biggest gamble in racing history – and how he then followed up with yet another audacious scheme in January 2014.
Darwin's Odyssey: The Voyage of the Beagle (Kindle Single)
Kevin Jackson - 2013
For five years in his mid-twenties, he sailed on the BEAGLE around the world, exploring jungles, climbing mountains, trekking across deserts. With every new landfall, he had new adventures: he rode through bandit country, was thrown into jail by revolutionaries, took part in an armed raid with marines, survived two earthquakes, hunted and fished. He suffered the terrible cold and rain of Tierra del Fuego, the merciless heat of the Australian outback and the inner pangs of heartbreak. He also made the discoveries that finally led him to formulate his theory of Natural Selection as the driving force of evolution. The five-year voyage of the BEAGLE was the basis for all Darwin's later work; but it also turned him from a friendly idler into the greatest scientist of his century. Kevin Jackson is a writer, broadcaster and film-maker. His most recent book is Constellation of Genius: 1922 and All That Jazz (Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2013). He lives in Cambridge, England.
Unabomber: How the FBI Broke Its Own Rules to Capture the Terrorist Ted Kaczynski
Jim Freeman - 2014
When a new team of hand- picked, investigators, devised a different strategy to crack the genetic code that protected the Unabomber’s anonymity, the first task was to begin blasting away the layers of bureaucratic constraints that had plagued the earlier efforts to retrace the trail of crimes. As the rules broke and the bureaucratic restraints crumbled, the puzzle pieces of earlier bombings that the terrorist left behind were found and the puzzle collapsed around the Unabomber like a deck of cards. This is the story, told in the narrative, by the three FBI Agents who led the chase, of how, they broke the Bureau’s own rules and finally captured the notorious Unabomber who had led the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the longest chase in its century- old history.
Belknap's Waterproof Grand Canyon River Guide
Buzz Belknap - 1969
Belknap's Waterproof Grand Canyon River Guide (All New Color Edition)
The Dust Bowl: An Illustrated History
Ken Burns - 2012
Terrifying photographs of mile-high dust storms, along with firsthand accounts by more than two dozen eyewitnesses, bring to life this heart-wrenching catastrophe, when a combination of drought, wind, and poor farming practices turned millions of acres of the Great Plains into a wasteland, killing crops and livestock, threatening the lives of small children, burying homesteaders' hopes under huge dunes of dirt. Burns and Duncan collected more than 300 mesmerizing photographs, some never before published, scoured private letters, government reports, and newspaper articles, and conducted in-depth interviews to produce a document that may likely be the last recorded testimony of the generation who lived through this defining decade.
A Dream of Daring
Gen LaGreca - 2013
He foresees a new age of mechanized farming that will empty the fields of men and supplant the South’s slavery system. But the planters of his town don’t like his big ideas about changing their world or the intensity with which he’s pursuing them.As Tom hears the call of the new age, he also feels the pull of two women. Rachel, a senator’s daughter, loves him, but will she break with her family to stand by his side when the town rebukes him? Solo is the unbridled grassland filly, the feisty mulatto slave who despises Tom, along with every other man from the race that binds her. Rachel is free, but is her spirit chained? Solo is chained, but is her spirit free?Tensions between Tom and the planters peak, and the tractor is stolen. “Then a shocking murder sets into motion inextricably linked events and revelations that will change life as they know it for Tom, Rachel, and Solo” (BOOKLIST).Set at a crossroads of United States history, with an old epoch tumbling and the modern age gaining ground, this novel portrays the power struggles and clashing visions for the future of the people caught in the tumult.This is a haunting tale of the Old South, with its sweeping fields of white-gold cotton, its majestic plantations, its elegant gentry, and its embattled slaves. Capturing the turbulent lead-up to the Civil War, this gripping work of historical fiction is a tribute to the timeless call of freedom that sounds in every person's heart. A ringing maverick spirit gives the novel widespread appeal beyond its historical genre.As it delves into the souls of those who want to harness nature and those who want to harness other men, the novel poses questions for our own age: Which camp is on the rise today? Will it save us or destroy us?A DREAM OF DARING STRONGLY APPEALS TO READERS OF:Mystery, romance, and historical romantic suspense novels,Multicultural and interracial romance,United States and Civil War historical fiction,Libertarian and thought-provoking fiction, and books with inspirational and important themes.A DREAM OF DARING: inspiring the spirit through the enchantment of fiction.SEE THE REVIEWS! Scroll down to see the enthusiastic Editorial Reviews for this exciting novel.DON'T FORGET TO LOOK INSIDE! Go to Amazon and click on the LOOK INSIDE feature by the book cover to read the absorbing first pages.EDITORIAL REVIEWS FOR A DREAM OF DARING:“Throughout the narrative, LaGreca masterfully creates metaphors to explore her key themes. . . . A DREAM OF DARING is suspenseful. The crime at the center of the narrative will keep the reader guessing until the final revelation. . . . LaGreca’s exploration of how people respond to, and sometimes reject, change and progress is relevant for all generations.”—ForeWord Reviews"Old ways do not fade into the night quietly. A DREAM OF DARING is a novel set on the dawn of the industrial revolution. Tom Edmunton builds a proto-tractor, and tries to bring a world of change about Louisiana with his invention. But the whiplash is hard, as a loved one is killed, and his invention is stolen. (As Tom is) faced with a crossroads and the charms of multiple women, A DREAM OF DARING is an enticing blend of mystery and romance, much recommended reading."—Midwest Book Review"In 1859, Louisiana posed various challenges to its citizens, no matter their color, in LaGreca's thought-provoking second novel (after Noble Vision, 2005), a murder mystery set during a tumultuous period in American history. . . . (This tale) should attract readers interested in historical fiction set in the antebellum South." —Booklist“Grab your seat for a tumbling ride back to the high-stakes, hoop-flying, tumultuous time when cotton was king. Gen LaGreca takes you for a jaunt in her carriage through fields of fragrant words, luscious descriptions, and panoramic views. Hang on as the road gets bumpy, with zesty characters stirring up the dirt and sudden plot twists swerving you onto uncharted paths. Wait, the hooves have left the ground and you’re airborne till the end. You’ll come back excited, enchanted, and enlightened.”—Barry Farber, host of The Barry Farber Show and author of Cocktails with Molotov“I thoroughly enjoyed the plot twists and turns, the passionate inter-racial romance, the delicious rebellion against convention, and the challenge to subjugation of all kinds.”—Marsha Familaro Enright, President, Reason, Individualism and Freedom Institute“This is a heroic and inspiring novel that’s also packed with rich insights, lessons—and warnings—for today." —John Blundell, author of Ladies for Liberty: Women Who Made a Difference in American HistoryAWARDS FOR THE AUTHOR'S FIRST NOVEL, NOBLE VISION:ForeWord Magazine, Book of the YearFinalist in General FictionWriter’s Digest 13th Annual International Book AwardsHonorable Mention in Mainstream FictionMidwest Book AwardsFinalist in General FictionIllinois Women’s Press AssociationSecond Place in Fiction ContestA DREAM OF DARING is published by Winged Victory Press, Chicago, www.wingedvictorypress.com, inspiring the spirit through the enchantment of fiction.Genevieve (Gen) LaGreca is a Chicago novelist who writes stories with imaginative plots, strong romance, and individualist themes. Her first novel is the award-winning medical thriller Noble Vision. Aside from fiction, Gen also writes social commentary. Her articles have appeared in Forbes, The Orange County Register, The Daily Caller, Real Clear Markets, Mises Daily, and other publications.Gen has a third novel finished and in editing, which she plans to publish by early 2014, and she has completed the screenplay adaptation of Noble Vision. For more information, see www.wingedvictorypress.com.Contact Gen at genlagreca@hotmail.com Follow her on:www.facebook.com/genlagreca www.twitter.com/genlagreca
Rough Strife
Lynne Sharon Schwartz - 1980
Though things start slowly, Ivan wins her over after a strong pursuit, and the two marry, agreeing never to inflict any “irreparable wounds.” But though Ivan proves to be a fine father, he is a distant husband, and Caroline finds herself daydreaming of other men. So as the years pass, the couple finds ways to bend but not break their cardinal rule. Rough Strife, the first novel from Lynne Sharon Schwartz, was nominated for the National Book Foundation Award. In this sensational debut, Schwartz depicts a marriage that grows painfully into the modern era, despite the changes—both political and personal—that challenge it.
Year of the Flu: A World War I Medical Thriller
Millys Altman - 2017
He was eager to begin his first practice, but it turned out to be more than he bargained for. In just two years, in September, 1918, the entire village was sickened in rapid succession in the flu pandemic that killed quickly and indiscriminately throughout the world. It was wartime, and Nixon was unable to find help., This story is an up close and personal account of what it was like to be sick with the HINI type virus in 1918. It is a tale of a dedicated doctor whose selflessness, compassion and courage helped the villagers survive in the pandemic that killed more people in a year than the Black Death killed in a century...
Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President - What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know
Kathleen Hall Jamieson - 2018
In particular, was his victory the result of Russian meddling in our political system? Up until now, the answer to that has been equivocal at best given how difficult it is to prove. Trump has vociferously denied it, as has Vladimir Putin himself. Even the famous intelligence reports establishing that the Russians interfered hold back from saying whether the interference tipped the scales in the outcome.In Cyberwar, however, the eminent scholar Kathleen Hall Jamieson, who sifted through a vast amount of polling and voting data, is able to conclude with a reasonable degree of certainty that Russian help was crucial in elevating Trump to the Oval Office. Put simply, by changing the behavior of key players and altering the focus and content of mainstream news, Russian hackers reshaped the 2016 electoral dynamic. At the same time, Russian trolls used social media to target voting groups indispensable to a Trump victory or Clinton defeat. There are of course many arguments on offer that push against the idea that the Russians handed Trump his victory. Russia's goal was fomenting division, not electing Trump. Most of the Russian ads reportedly did not reference either the election or a candidate. Nor did they differ much from U.S.-based messaging that was already in play. Russian intervention did not surgically target Trump in key states. Finally, if WikiLeaks' releases of stolen email had truly affected the vote, Clinton's perceived honesty would have dropped in October. Jamieson, drawing from her four decades of research on the role of media in American elections, dispenses with these arguments through a forensic tracing of both Russian hackers' impact on media coverage as well as the ebbs and flows of Trump's polling support over the course of the campaign. To be sure, it is impossible to prove with absolute certainty that the Russians handed the election to Trump because there is too much that we don't know. That said, the lessons of a half century of research on the role of media framing in elections strongly suggests that many voters' opinions were altered by Russia's wide-ranging and coordinated campaign-including at least seventy eight thousand votes in three key states. Combining scholarly rigor with a bracing argument, Cyberwar shows that we can now be reasonably confident that Russian efforts helped put Trump in the White House.
Edison
Edmund Morris - 2019
His invention of the first practical incandescent lamp 140 years ago so dazzled the world--already reeling from his invention of the phonograph and dozens of other revolutionary devices--that it cast a shadow over his later achievements. In all, this near-deaf genius ("I haven't heard a bird sing since I was twelve years old") patented 1,093 inventions, not including others, such as the X-ray fluoroscope, that he left unlicensed for the benefit of medicine.One of the achievements of this staggering new biography, the first major life of Edison in more than twenty years, is that it portrays the unknown Edison--the philosopher, the futurist, the chemist, the botanist, the wartime defense adviser, the founder of nearly 250 companies--as fully as it deconstructs the Edison of mythological memory. Edmund Morris, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, brings to the task all the interpretive acuity and literary elegance that distinguished his previous biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Ludwig van Beethoven. A trained musician, Morris is especially well equipped to recount Edison's fifty-year obsession with recording technology and his pioneering advances in the synchronization of movies and sound. Morris sweeps aside conspiratorial theories positing an enmity between Edison and Nikola Tesla and presents proof of their mutually admiring, if wary, relationship.Enlightened by seven years of research among the five million pages of original documents preserved in Edison's huge laboratory at West Orange, New Jersey, and privileged access to family papers still held in trust, Morris is also able to bring his subject to life on the page--the adored yet autocratic and often neglectful husband of two wives and father of six children. If the great man who emerges from it is less a sentimental hero than an overwhelming force of nature, driven onward by compulsive creativity, then Edison is at last getting his biographical due.
The Faceless Villain: A Collection of the Eeriest Unsolved Murders of the 20th Century: Volume One
Jenny Ashford - 2017
This volume is comprised of the years 1900 through 1959, and includes all of the best known cases of the period, as well as many more lesser-known murders, all presented in a compelling chronological narrative that takes the reader on a grisly journey through the blood-soaked avenues of early twentieth century crime. Featuring: The Peasenhall Murder. The Seal Chart Murder. The Atlanta Ripper. The Villisca Axe Murders. The Axeman of New Orleans. The Green Bicycle Case. Little Lord Fauntleroy. Hinterkaifeck Farm. The St. Aubin Street Massacre. The Wallace Case. The Atlas Vampire. The Brighton Trunk Crime. The Cleveland Torso Murderer. The Horror in Room 1046. Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? The Pitchfork Murder. The Sodder Children. The Phantom Killer. The Black Dahlia. Somerton Man. The Grimes Sisters. The Boy in the Box. And Much More!
The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet
Henry Fountain - 2017
On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m., the biggest earthquake ever recorded in North America—and the second biggest ever in the world, measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale—struck Alaska, devastating coastal towns and villages and killing more than 130 people in what was then a relatively sparsely populated region. In a riveting tale about the almost unimaginable brute force of nature, New York Times science journalist Henry Fountain, in his first trade book, re-creates the lives of the villagers and townspeople living in Chenega, Anchorage, and Valdez; describes the sheer beauty of the geology of the region, with its towering peaks and 20-mile-long glaciers; and reveals the impact of the quake on the towns, the buildings, and the lives of the inhabitants. George Plafker, a geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey with years of experience scouring the Alaskan wilderness, is asked to investigate the Prince William Sound region in the aftermath of the quake, to better understand its origins. His work confirmed the then controversial theory of plate tectonics that explained how and why such deadly quakes occur, and how we can plan for the next one.