The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library


Louise S. Robbins - 1999
    Brown, librarian at the Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Public Library, was summarily dismissed from her job after thirty years of exemplary service, ostensibly because she had circulated subversive materials. In truth, however, Brown was fired because she had become active in promoting racial equality and had helped form a group affiliated with the Congress of Racial Equality.Louise S. Robbins tells the story of the political, social, economic, and cultural threads that became interwoven in a particular time and place, creating a strong web of opposition. This combination of forces ensnared Ruth Brown and her colleagues-for the most part women and African Americans-who championed the cause of racial equality.This episode in a small Oklahoma town almost a half-century ago is more than a disturbing local event. It exemplifies the McCarthy era, foregrounding those who labored for racial justice, sometimes at great cost, before the civil rights movement. In addition, it reveals a masking of concerns that led even Brown’s allies to obscure the cause of racial integration for which she fought. Relevant today, Ruth Brown’s story helps us understand the matrix of personal, community, state, and national forces that can lead to censorship, intolerance, and the suppression of individual rights.

Minnesota Mayhem: A History of Calamitous Events, Horrific Accidents, Dastardly Crime & Dreadful Behavior in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes


Ben Welter - 2012
    These stories and photos, culled from the Star Tribune's microfilm archive by author Ben Welter, range from the catastrophic to the merely curious. From a fire that destroyed the State Capitol in 1881, to a wordless fistfight that broke out on a Minneapolis street in 1898, a flu outbreak that killed more than 10,000 Minnesotans in 1918 and the arrest of Frank Lloyd Wright at a Lake Minnetonka cottage in 1926.

Disunited Kingdom: How Westminster Won a Referendum but Lost Scotland


Iain Macwhirter - 2014
    On the 18th September Scotland voted to stay in the Union. In this provocative new book, Iain Macwhirter argues that the UK will never be the same again. Disunited Kingdom explores Scotland's political and cultural landscape in the immediate build up to, and aftermath of, the referendum. Combining expert and personal insight, Macwhirter examines the future of Scotland, the UK, and the enduring passion for independence.Praise for Iain Macwhirter: "A truly important book, particularly at this moment." ~ Andrew Marr. "A terrific book [...] full of shrewd insights. I'd recommend it highly." ~ The Guardian

America, but Better: The Canada Party Manifesto


Chris Cannon - 2012
    citizens are looking for a new leader. That leader is Canada, and they want your vote for president of the United States.Since launching their video campaign in January, the Canada Party has gone viral, with almost a million hits on YouTube and coverage ranging from CNN and the BBC to the Huffington Post and German State Television. Their new book, America, but Better: the Canada Party Manifesto, balances the doctrine of American exceptionalism with a dose of Canadian humility and common sense in an effort to secure Canada as the new leader of the free world, by proxy.Their promises: One gay couple will be allowed to marry for every straight couple that gets divorced. The phrase "job creators" will be changed to "job creationists," and they will be given seven days to actually create some. Corporations will still be people, but if they can't provide a birth certificate they will be legally obligated to care for your lawn. Corners will be installed in the Oval Office, and timeouts given to congressmen who can't play nice.Devoted to restoring America to its former glory, the Canada Party will soon have the whole world chanting, "Yes We Canada."

The End of Russia’s War in Ukraine (The Russian Agents Book 4)


Ted Halstead - 2020
    

A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union


Huw Richards - 2006
    Until now. A Game for Hooligans brings the game's colourful story up to date to include the 2007 World Cup. It covers all of the great matches, teams and players but also explores the social, political and economic changes that have affected the course of rugby's development. It is an international history, covering not only Britain and France but also the great rugby powers of the southern hemisphere and other successful rugby nations, including Argentina, Fiji and Japan. Contained within are the answers to many intriguing questions concerning the game, such as why 1895 is the most important date in both rugby-union and rugby-league history and how New Zealand became so good and have remained so good for so long. There is also a wealth of anecdotes, including allegations of devil-worship at a Welsh rugby club and an account of the game's contribution to the Cuban Revolution. This is a must-read for any fan of the oval ball.

Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe


Kathy Peiss - 2020
    Galvanized by the events of war into acquiring and preserving the written word, as well as providing critical information for intelligence purposes, these American civilians set off on missions to gather foreign publications and information across Europe. They journeyed to neutral cities in search of enemy texts, followed a step behind advancing armies to capture records, and seized Nazi works from bookstores and schools. When the war ended, they found looted collections hidden in cellars and caves. Their mission was to document, exploit, preserve, and restitute these works, and even, in the case of Nazi literature, to destroy them.In this fascinating account, cultural historian Kathy Peiss reveals how book and document collecting became part of the new apparatus of intelligence and national security, military planning, and postwar reconstruction. Focusing on the ordinary Americans who carried out these missions, she shows how they made decisions on the ground to acquire sources that would be useful in the war zone as well as on the home front.These collecting missions also boosted the postwar ambitions of American research libraries, offering a chance for them to become great international repositories of scientific reports, literature, and historical sources. Not only did their wartime work have lasting implications for academic institutions, foreign-policy making, and national security, it also led to the development of today's essential information science tools.Illuminating the growing global power of the United States in the realms of intelligence and cultural heritage, Peiss tells the story of the men and women who went to Europe to collect and protect books and information and in doing so enriches the debates over the use of data in times of both war and peace.

Alexander Hamilton: Founding Father-: The Real Story of his life, his loves, and his death


Mark Steinberg - 2016
    The book is a detailed account of this very important but controversial figure in American history. The story is a “classic rags to riches” one and begins with his childhood in the British West Indies. Though his life is filled with tragedy and he is very poor, Hamilton manages to distinguish himself through his writing and his business skills. Eventually, he leaves the West Indies and immigrates to North America where he receives a first rate education. Later, he becomes a hero in the Revolutionary War and is appointed to be General George Washington’s right hand man. Because of his service to Washington, Hamilton becomes the Secretary of the Treasury when Washington is elected President. As a member of the new government, Hamilton makes significant contributions including setting up a banking system and a currency system which are still used today. He also plays a major role in the ratification of the United States Constitution. While Alexander Hamilton: Founding Father primarily focuses on Hamilton’s great contributions, it also presents his dark side. Though Hamilton married a wealthy woman and became a member of the aristocracy, he was also involved in a scandalous affair and ultimately died in a duel defending his honor.

Bad Boy: The Life And Politics Of Lee Atwater


John Joseph Brady - 1996
    He helped to create a solid Republican south. And he became notorious for turning national politics back into a blood sport, not only using nasty attacks but reveling in his image as the bad boy of Washington. Then, at the age of 39, Atwater was struck by a brain tumor. In thirteen months, cancer ended the most controversial career in modern politics—the charismatic, colorful, and contradictory life of Lee Atwater.Even today Atwater is a fallen leader Republicans love and a rival Democrats love to hate. He was the first political handler as mediagenic as his candidates—certainly the first chairman of the Republican National Committee to record a blues album. His campaigns represent the high-water mark of the GOPs postwar dominance of the presidency, and his techniques set the tone for races across the country. Watching Washington since his death, politicians and pundits still wonder, What if Lee Atwater had lived? Bad Boy reveals how Lee Atwater began his career controlling crowds as jittery class clown, traumatized by the agonizing death of his little brother. In college he discovered the subtle intercourse of policy and public opinion and grew from party animal to party man. Bad Boy details Atwater's political strategies from the grass roots to the national level. Even more ruthless were the behind-the-scenes power games as he crossed paths, and occasionally crossed swords, with nearly every major Republican of the 1980s: Reagan, Bush, Baker, Ailes, Rollins, and many more.In Bad Boy, we also see the faces Atwater tried to spin away. He was a compulsive womanizer, climbing through windows to avoid reporters. He played radical politics but promoted ”big tent” Republicanism. Even his last public moment is controversial. Did Atwater's deathbed words really repudiate entire campaigns, or were they twisted by political enemies and second-hand reporting? Was his repentance sincere or simply one last gasp of press manipulation? Was he responsible for the infamous Willie Horton ads, or was he unfairly blamed by 1988s losers, trying for a moral victory? Is Lee Atwater, a master of spin, now being spun in his grave?In its sudden end, Atwater's remarkable life resembled the rise and fall of a fine political novel. With the probing insights of an expert interviewer and a rare stylistic verve, John Brady tells that whole frantic, fascinating story—the life of the baddest boy in D.C.

The Navy’s Air War (Annotated): A Mission Completed


Albert R. Buchanan - 2019
    Author and historian Albert Buchanan recreates the engagements of the Pacific and Atlantic combat theaters with near clinical detail, from the Pearl Harbor Attack to the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri. Interwoven within these aerial combat narratives is background information on technological innovations, production methods, training programs, and the important players involved. This new edition of The Navy's Air War: A Mission Completed includes annotations and photographs from World War 2. *Annotations. *Images.

U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima


Raymond Henri - 2020
    Marines of this tiny yet strategically important volcanic island. The book is based on each author's own observations while on the island, plus the experiences of dozens of men involved in various aspects of the intense fighting. Presented in chronological order, the battle unfolds from the initial D-Day air force bombings and naval barrage, to the amphibious assault, to the slow gains made each day as the Marines inched forward under heavy fire. Despite its small size, Iwo Jima was considered the most heavily fortified island in the world, supporting thousands of nearly bomb-proof shelters and caves, hundreds of reinforced machine-gun, mortar, tank, and artillery positions, and more than 20,000 fanatical Japanese defenders. Included is a roster of Marines killed or missing in the battle, plus 12 maps and 32 pages of photographs.

Hamilton's Choice


Jack Casey - 2020
    His heir is dead; his daughter has gone insane with grief. His dear wife, Eliza, now shudders at his touch.As Hamilton struggles to save his marriage and his family, his political opponent, Aaron Burr, threatens to topple the nation. The nation which Hamilton had risked everything to forge.Burr, impoverished and embittered by a humiliating loss, blames Hamilton. Burr will stop at nothing to regain his lost power and restore his fortunes. If he can destroy and defame Hamilton in the process, he will have his ultimate triumph.It is a time of honor, duels, political intrigues, and political violence.Torn between his duty to his wife and family, and his allegiance to the country, Hamilton must make his choice.You know his name, but this is the story that you haven't heard before! If you loved the score of Hamilton, the biographies of Chernow, and the novels of Stephanie Dray - you would love Hamilton's Choice!Read it Today! "Fans of American history will love this fictionalization of Alexander Hamilton’s political and family life in the years leading to his death. Great for fans of Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton, Joanne Freeman’s Affairs of Honor, Gore Vidal’s Burr"– Booklife Review

Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City


Michael A. Lerner - 2007
    In this evocative history, Lerner reveals Prohibition to be the defining issue of the era, the first major 'culture war' of the 20th century, and a harbinger of the social and moral debates that divide America even today.

Killing Korea: The Fight for Control of Korea


Victor Maere - 2018
     You surely have heard something about the Korean War. Or the Forgotten War as some call it. But do you really know all that happened? Have you heard the personal stories from the people who actually saw or did the fighting? If you haven't, you are in for a treat. While the war was among the shortest in history, it left an invisible mark - a divided Korea. And there's a lot that led to that. It wasn't just about the UN and South Korea fighting against North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union. You will: * Learn what UN soldiers did with Chinese corpses when it got cold. * Understand Japan's role in facilitating the war. * Know the real reason China got into the war despite being very scared of America. * Know why America got stung by underequipped and underskilled Chinese fighters * Learn why Truman was saved from impeachment for firing MacAurthor. * Know why America backed an undemocratic South Korean president There is a lot more you will learn in this book. Just click the download button to start reading.

Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11


Mitchell Zuckoff - 2019
    Masterfully weaving together multiple strands of the events in New York; at the Pentagon; and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Fall and Rise is a mesmerizing, minute-by-minute account of that terrible day.In the days and months after 9/11, Mitchell Zuckoff, then a reporter for the Boston Globe, wrote about the attacks, the victims, and their families. After additional years of meticulous reporting, Zuckoff has filled Fall and Rise with voices of the lost and the saved. The result is an utterly gripping book filled with intimate stories of people most affected by the events of that sunny Tuesday in September: an out-of-work actor stuck in an elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Center; the heroes aboard Flight 93 deciding to take action; a veteran trapped in the inferno in the Pentagon; the fire chief among the first on the scene in sleepy Shanksville; a team of firefighters racing to save an injured woman and themselves; and the men, women, and children flying across the country who suddenly faced terrorists bent on murder.Fall and Rise will open new avenues of understanding for everyone who thinks they know the story of 9/11, bringing to life—and in some cases, bringing back to life—the extraordinary ordinary people who experienced the worst day in modern American history.