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U.S. Presidents & Leaders | - 29 items found in your search |
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Ackerman, Kenneth D. The Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield
0786711515 / 9780786711512 Carol & Graf 2003-06-01 First Edition Hardcover Used: Very Good Used: Very Good Hardcover Standard Hardcover
This hardcover book was published in 2003 by Carol & Graf with 568 pages. The text is unmarked. The binding is tight. There is normal shelf and edge wear. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn but has some light creasing along the edges. Three pages are creased with two tiny closed tears at the foredge. In post–Civil War America, politics was a brutal sport played with blunt rules. Yet James Garfield's 1881 "dark horse" campaign after the longest-ever Republican nominating process (36 convention ballots), his victory in the closest-ever popular vote for president (by only 7,018 votes out of over 9 million cast), his struggle against feuding factions once elected, and the public's response to its culmination in violence, sets a revealing comparison with America approaching a new campaign year in 2004. Author and Capitol Hill veteran Kenneth D. Ackerman re-creates an American political landscape where fierce battles for power unfolded against a chivalrous code of honor in a nation struggling under the shadow of a recent war to confront its modernity. The murder prompted leaders to recoil at their own excesses and changed the tone of politics for generations to come. Garfield's own struggle against powerful forces is a compelling human drama; the portrait of Americans coming together after his assassination exemplifies the dignity and grace that have long held the nation together in crisis.
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27.00 USD
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Beschloss, Michael R. Reaching for Glory Lyndon Johnsons Secret White House Tapes Michael Beschloss President Biography
074322714X / 9780743227148 Touchstone 2002-10-22 Paperback Used: Good Paperback
This paperback book was published in 2002 it is the first touchstone edition with 478 pages plus 16 pages of black and white photos. The text is unmarked. The binding is sound. The cover is moderately worn around the edges. There is a remainder mark on the bottom page edge. The page edges are toned. Transcribing, editing, and explaining the most powerful moments from hundreds of hours of newly released LBJ tapes, Michael Beschloss has added another lasting treasure to the American historical record. Reaching for Glory exposes the inner workings of the Johnson presidency from the summer of 1964 through the summer of 1965. From behind the scenes, you will hear Johnson pulling the strings of his presidential campaign against Barry Goldwater and pursuing his feud with the new senator Robert Kennedy. He agonizes over Martin Luther King, Jr., and the bloody march on Selma, Alabama, and twists arms on Capitol Hill to pass voting rights, Medicare, and more basic laws than any American president before or since. Above all, you will hear him sending young Americans off to Vietnam while privately insisting that the war can never be won. Winding Johnson's voice and exclusive excerpts from Lady Bird Johnson's private diaries into a gripping narrative, Michael Beschloss provides context and historical insights, showing how profoundly LBJ changed the presidency and the country. Reaching for Glory allows us to live at Lyndon Johnson's side, day by day, through the dramatic, triumphant, and catastrophic year of a turbulent presidency that continues to affect us all.
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8.00 USD
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Brands, H.W. Andrew Jackson His Life and Times HW Brands Presidential Biography VG HBwDJ 1st
0385507380 / 9780385507387 Doubleday 2005-10-04 First Edition Hardcover Used: Very Good Used: Very Good Hardcover Standard Hardcover
This FIRST EDITION hardcover book was published in 2005 by Doubleday with 645 pages. The text is unmarked. The binding is sound though the front hinge is weakening. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn but has some creasing along the edges. The rear top corner is lightly bumped. The extraordinary story of Andrew Jackson—the colorful, dynamic, and forceful president who ushered in the Age of Democracy and set a still young America on its path to greatness—told by the bestselling author of The First American.......The most famous American of his time, Andrew Jackson is a seminal figure in American history. The first “common man” to rise to the presidency, Jackson embodied the spirit and the vision of the emerging American nation; the term “Jacksonian democracy” is embedded in our national lexicon....... With the sweep, passion, and attention to detail that made The First American a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a national bestseller, historian H.W. Brands shapes a historical narrative that’s as fast-paced and compelling as the best fiction. He follows Andrew Jackson from his days as rebellious youth, risking execution to free the Carolinas of the British during the Revolutionary War, to his years as a young lawyer and congressman from the newly settled frontier state of Tennessee. As general of the Tennessee militia, he put down a massive Indian uprising in the South, securing the safety of American settlers, and his famous rout of the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 made him a national hero....... But it is Jackson’s contributions as president, however, that won him a place in the pantheon of America’s greatest leaders. A man of the people, without formal education or the family lineage of the Founding Fathers, he sought as president to make the country a genuine democracy, governed by and for the people. Jackson, although respectful of states’ rights, devoted himself to the preservation of the Union, whose future in that age was still very much in question. When South Carolina, his home state, threatened to secede over the issue of slavery, Jackson promised to march down with 100,000 federal soldiers should it dare...... In the bestselling tradition of Founding Brothers and His Excellency by Joseph Ellis and of John Adams by David McCullough, Andrew Jackson is the first single-volume, full-length biography of Jackson in decades. This magisterial portrait of one of our greatest leaders promises to reshape our understanding of both the man and his era and is sure to be greeted with enthusiasm and acclaim.
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15.00 USD
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Carter, Jimmy Living Faith Jimmy Carter Biography American President Politics & Religion
0812927362 / 9780812927368 Times Books 1996 Hardcover Used: Very Good Hardcover
This hardcover book was published in 1997 by Times Books with 267 pages. The text is unmarked. The binding is tight. There is normal shelf and edge wear. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn. For almost three decades, President Carter has regularly spent part of each Sunday reading from scripture and sharing his personal faith with neighbors, friends, and visitors at his Baptist church in Plains, Georgia. In Living Faith, he draws on this experience, exploring the values closest to his heart and the personal beliefs that have nurtured and sustained him.For President Carter, faith finds its deepest expression in a life of compassion, reconciliation, and service to others. Living Faith is filled with stories of people whose lives have touched his--some from the world stage, more from modest walks of life. We see how President Carter learned about other faiths from Prime Minister Menachim Begin and President Anwar Sadat; learned a lesson in forgiveness from a clash with commentator George Will; how he was inspired by the simple theology of preacher Ely Cruz, "Love God and the person in front of you"; and how the cheerful strength of family friend Annie Mae Rhodes taught him the meaning of "patient faith."Rooted in scripture and infused with a vision of how a dynamic faith can enrich our public and private lives, this is the most personal book yet by one of our most admired Americans--a warmly inspirational volume to give and to share.
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10.00 USD
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Colin Powell; Joseph E.; Persico My American Journey Colin Powell
0345466411 / 9780345466419 Ballantine Books 2003-02-18 Paperback Used: Good Paperback
This paperback book was published in 2003 by Ballantine Books with 727 pages. The text is unmarked. The binding is sound. The cover is moderately worn around the edges. The pages are toned. "A GREAT AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY . . . AN ENDEARING AND WELL-WRITTEN BOOK."--The New York Times Book ReviewColin Powell is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born in Harlem to immigrant parents from Jamaica. He knew the rough life of the streets. He overcame a barely average start at school. Then he joined the Army. The rest is history--Vietnam, the Pentagon, Panama, Desert Storm--but a history that until now has been known only on the surface. Here, for the first time, Colin Powell himself tells us how it happened, in a memoir distinguished by a heartfelt love of country and family, warm good humor, and a soldier's directness. MY AMERICAN JOURNEY is the powerful story of a life well lived and well told. It is also a view from the mountaintop of the political landscape of America. At a time when Americans feel disenchanted with their leaders, General Powell's passionate views on family, personal responsibility, and, in his own words, "the greatness of America and the opportunities it offers" inspire hope and present a blueprint for the future. An utterly absorbing account, it is history with a vision."The stirring, only-in-America story of one determined man's journey from the South Bronx to directing the mightiest of military forces . . . Fascinating."--The Washington Post Book World"Eloquent."--Los Angeles Times Book Review"PROFOUND AND MOVING . . . . Must reading for anyone who wants to reaffirm his faith in the promise of America."--Jack KempThe Wall Street Journal"A book that is much like its subject--articulate, confident, impressive, but unpretentious and witty. . . . Whether you are a political junkie, a military buff, or just interested in a good story, MY AMERICAN JOURNEY is a book well worth reading."--San Diego Union Tribune"Colin Powell's candid, introspective autobiography is a joy for all with an appetite for well-written political and social commentary."--The Detroit News
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9.00 USD
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Cunningham Jr., Noble E. In Pursuit of Reason Life of Thomas Jefferson Noble Cunningham American Biography Presidential Philosophical Political
0345353803 / 9780345353801 Ballantine Books 1988-05-12 Paperback Used: Good Paperback Trade Paperback
This paperback book was published in 1988 by Ballantine Books with 431 pages. The text is unmarked. The binding is sound. The cover is moderately worn around the edges. The cover is moderately rubbed with some surface scratching. The page edges are toned with scattered foxing. In Pursuit of Reason fills a longstanding need ofinterested readers, students, and scholars for an authoritative single-volume biography of Thomas Jefferson. Although there have been important works on Jefferson before, their very massiveness has proven daunting. Now Noble E. Cunningham, Jr., one of America's foremost Jefferson scholars, has produced an absolutely first-rate biography that is as concise as it is complete.Thomas Jefferson—American disciple of the Age of Reason, author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States, builder of Monticello, founder of the University of Virginia—is perhaps the most significant figure in American history. He was a complex arid compelling man: a fervent advocate of democracy who enjoyed many of the privileges of an aristocrat, a revolutionary who became president, an advocate of traditional agrarian values who more than doubled the boundaries and the potentialities of America with the vast Louisiana Purchase.Cunningham examines the interplay between Jefferson's career and philosophy, his action as leader, and his thought as expressed in some of the finest American prose. Here is the public figure so vital to the founding of our nation and the private man who presided from his beloved Monticello over a large family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Drawing on the recent explosion of scholarship on Jefferson and providing fresh new readings of original sources, In Pursuit of Reason is a superb, approachable monument to Jefferson that will endure for generations.
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10.00 USD
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Don E. Fehrenbacher Lincoln Speeches & Writings 2 Volume Box Set 1832 -1858 1859 - 1865
The Library of America 1984 Fourth Printing Hardcover Used: Very Good Used: Very Good Hardcover
This slipcased two volume set of hardcover books was published in 1984 by the Library of America with 1716 pages. Volume I: 1832-1858 and Volume II: 1858-1865. The texts are unmarked. The bindings are tight. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn but show some rubbing. This two volume set contains: the landmark Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832–1858 and Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859– 1865, which Alfred Kazin called it a momentous and thrilling addition to any private library,... Edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher, these two books include all Lincoln’s significant works, including both sides of the complete Lincoln-Douglas debates, dozens of speeches, hundreds of personal political letters, communications to the generals in the field, presidential messages and proclamations, poems, and private reflections on democracy, slavery, and the meaning of the Civil War’s immense suffering. About the AuthorDon E. Fehrenbacher (1920-1997), whom the historian George Fredrickson called the foremost Lincoln scholar of his generation, was professor of history at Stanford University and the author of several books, including Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850’s, the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics, and Lincoln in Text and Context. Shortly before his death, he was awarded the 1997 Lincoln Prize, the nation’s highest annual award for Civil War studies.
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33.00 USD
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Douglas L. Wilson Lincoln before Washington NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE ILLINOIS YEARS Wilson
0252066278 / 9780252066276 University of Illinois Press 1998-03-01 Paperback New Paperback
This brand new paperback book was published in 1998 by the University of Illinois Press with 207 pages. The provocative selections in this book address topics as disparate as William H. Herndon and his informants, Lincoln's favorite poem, his mysterious broken engagement, the text of his debates with Stephen A. Douglas, and a previously unknown assault on Peter Cartwright. They also provide a fresh look at some of the affinities between Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. Review"Wilson, using Herndon's research, not only examines the affinities between Lincoln and Jefferson but also Lincoln's relationships with Ann Rutledge and Mary Todd, his love of poetry, his belief in the tenets of the Declaration of Independence, and Herndon's legacy. With these essays, Wilson emphasizes the value of Herndon's informants and their insights into the young and maturing Lincoln... The challenge to know Lincoln continues, and this book is an important contribution." -- Patricia Ann Owens, Journal of Illinois History
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23.00 USD
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Editor-James Taranto; Editor-Leonard Leo; Foreword-William J. Bennett Presidential Leadership Rating the Best & Worst in the White House Walll St Journal
0743254333 / 9780743254335 Free Press 2004-06-01 Hardcover Used: Good Hardcover
This is the Hardcover edition with dust jacket. The text is unmarked. The binding is sound though the spine is slightly tilted. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn but does have some creasing along the edges. There is a publishers remainder mark on the bottom page edges. The top corner of the first free endpaper is clipped where the previous owners name was written. What makes a president great? Two of America's most prominent institutions, "The Wall Street Journal" and the "Federalist Society," with the help of a wide array of eminent scholars, journalists, and political leaders, tackle this question in "Presidential Leadership," the definitive ranking of our nation's chief executives.Based on a survey conducted by the Federalist Society and the "Journal, Presidential Leadership" examines presidential performance in this collection of provocative, enlightening essays written by a distinguished and diverse group of authors.The survey included seventy-eight liberal and conservative scholars, balancing the sample to reflect the political makeup of the U.S. population as a whole. It represents the first national survey in book form that provides a complete ranking of the presidents, along with an appendix that explains the methodology in detail and includes a wide range of valuable data. The result is an important, fresh, and engaging book, rating the presidents from Washington to Clinton and including an early assessment of George W. Bush's presidency by "Journal" editorial page editor Paul Gigot. Nearly fifty contributors provide their insights, with one essay on each president or on a broader issue of presidential leadership. Among them: - Forrest McDonald on Thomas Jefferson- Lynne Cheney on James Madison- Douglas Brinkley on James Polk- Christopher Buckley on James Buchanan- Jay Winik on Abraham Lincoln- John McCain on Theodore Roosevelt- Robert Dallek on Lyndon B. Johnson- Peggy Noonan on John F. Kennedy- Paul Johnson on Bill ClintonTheir compelling essays, packed with fascinating and often surprisinginsights, analyze the best and worst of our commanders in chief. "Presidential Leadership" is the lively result, at once a valuable reference and a tremendously readable collection.
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8.00 USD
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Flexner, James Thomas Washington The Indispensable Man James Flexner American Presdential Biography & History
0316286168 / 9780316286169 Back Bay Books 1994-02-22 Paperback Used: Good Paperback Trade Paperback
This paperback book was published in 1974 by Back Bay Books Press with 441 pages. The text contains 15 pages with underlining and notations in pen. The binding is sound. The cover is moderately worn around the edges with creasing to the corners. The page edges are toned. sixty pages are creased at the top and bottom corners. "The human being behind the monumental image.... This book deserves a place on every American's bookshelf."— New York Times Book ReviewAfter more than two decades, this dramatic and concise single-volume distillation of James Thomas Flexner's definitive four-volume biography George Washington, which received a Pulitzer Prize citation and a National Book Award for the fourth volume, has itself become an American classic. Now in a new trade paperback edition, this masterful work explores the Father of Our Country — sometimes an unpopular hero, a man of great contradictions, but always a towering historical figure, who remains, as Flexner writes in these pages, "a fallible human being made of flesh and blood and spirit — not a statue of marble and wood . . . a great and good man." The author unflinchingly paints a portrait of Washington: slave owner, brave leader, man of passion, reluctant politician, and fierce general. His complex character and career are neither glorified nor vilified here; rather, Flexner sets up a brilliant counterpoint between Washington's public and private lives and gives us a challenging look at the man who has become as much a national symbol as the American flag."Spirited . . . sweeping . . . the most readable of biographies."— Boston Globe
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10.00 USD
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11 |
Harper, Paul F. The Temple of Fame A Personal Biography of Lyman Undewood Humphrey Paul Harper Kansas History Governor Civil War
Mennonite Press 1995-01-01 First Edition Hardcover Used: Good Used: Good Hardcover Standard Hardcover
This FIRST EDITION hardcover book was published in 1995 by the Mennonite Press with 237 pages. Ex-library copy with call letters on the spine, check-in sheet, a barcode and several library stamps including one on the top page edges. The text is unmarked. The binding is sound. No dust jacket. The foredge has a few small soil spots. PREFACEDuring an American history class I was teaching in the fall semester of 1976 at Independence Community College, located in Independence, Kansas, I was made aware that James Humphrey Graves had possession of a small wooden box which contained the Civil War letters from his great-grandfather, Lyman U. Humphrey. I was asked if I would like to see the letters, and I answered in the affirmative.I looked at the letters and read parts of some of them. After obtaining permission, I made copies of all of the letters. Over a period of four years, I transcribed the letters, many of which were badly deteriorated and quite difficult to read. These letters were my first introduction to Lyman Underwood Humphrey.After reading the letters, I was impressed by his love and respect for his mother and by his keen descriptions of his participation in Civil War battles. I desired to know more about Humphrey and began research in early local newspapers in an attempt to enlarge my knowledge of the former Kansas governor.I affirmed my decision to write this biography when, during a discussion over the proposed destruction of the old Alf Landon home in Independence, the Independence Reporter of January 15, 1986, quoted a community leader who stated, "... To stop this proposal because it's Alf Landon's house is ridiculous. The Lyman Humphrey argument was really dumb — who ever knew who he was?"The historic Humphrey home, located at 403 West Myrtle, had previously been destroyed by the bulldozer in 1984 to make way for the construction of a fast-food place. Some local people who were interested in historic preservation had attempted to preserve the former governor's home. This home had not only been the home of Governor Humphrey but also that of former Governor Ben S. Paulen, who moved into the house in 1938. No other house in the state of Kansas could boast being the private home of two former governors.This account, a labor of love, is my effort to make you intimately acquainted with a loving son, a patriot, a good soldier, a faithful husband, a good father, a great leader, and an increasingly rare specimen, an honest politician who did not financially profit from his sixteen years in Kansas politics.All quotations in this account are verbatim, and no attempt has been made to correct spelling except in a few places where proper sense might otherwise not be made by the reader. In these few places, the correction is supplied within brackets [ ]. There are numerous places in the Civil War letters where the word or words cannot be ascertained; in those places I have supplied an underlined space. No footnotes have been included, but sources have been cited within the text of the manuscript.I wish to extend special thanks to James H. Graves for permission to copy and use Lyman Humphrey's Civil War letters. I also thank my friends and former co-workers, Professors Glenn Williams, Gary Mitchell, Janelle Knull and Ron Mclntosh for help in proofreading the manuscript, doing some sketch work, help with pictures and for making many helpful suggestions. I appreciate the kindness of Humphrey's granddaughter, Mary Lou Graves, who granted several interviews and loaned me pictures. This labor of love has also been made possible by the patience of Mary L Harper, my loving wife of forty-four years.
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20.00 USD
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12 |
Heller, Francis H. [Editor] Truman White House Administration of the Presidency 1945-53 HBED 1st Political Staff & Addresses
0700601937 / 9780700601936 Regents Press of Kansas 1980 First Edition Hardcover Used: Good Used: Good Hardcover Standard Hardcover
This FIRST EDITION hardcover book was published in 1980 by the Regents Press of Kansas with 271 pages. The text is unmarked except for 50 pages with notations in the margins in black pen. The binding is sound. The dust jacket is moderately worn around the edges with several closed tears, chips and creasing along the edges. One closed tear and chip to the dust jacket travels into the title section. This retrospective study brings together twenty-two key associates of President Truman's to consider the administrative operation of the presidency from 1945 to 1953. A record of the discussions that took place at the conference held in May 1977 sponsored by the Harry S. Truman Library Institute for National and International Affairs, it presents an assortment of views on Truman's administrative philosophies and practices.The contributors are persons who were close to Truman throughout his presidency: members of the cabinet, the White House staff, and senior officials in Executive Office agencies. Sharing personal reflections are, among others, Charles Brannan, W. Averell Harriman, Leon H. Keyserling, Charles S. Murphy, Richard E. Neustadt, John W. Snyder, Elmer B. Staats, and the late Tom C. Clark. Coordinating the interaction with incisive questions and comments on general administrative history are Edward H. Hobbs of Auburn University, Dorothy Buckton James of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Louis W. Koenig of New York University, and Chester A. Newland of the University of Southern California.A number of important administrative aspects of Truman's presidency are touched upon as the participants review the years of their White House experience. They talk about policy making in the areas of national security and foreign affairs, about budget and economic matters, relations with Congress, domestic problems such as civil rights, presidential appointments, and even press relations. They exchange anecdotes about the president's style and their working relationships with him in staff meetings, cabinet meetings, and private briefing sessions. They consider whether Truman had a chief of staff or the equivalent and debate the "liberal" versus the "conservative" stance of the Truman presidency. The creation of the Central Intelligence Agency and the establishment of the National Security Council, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the National Security Resources Board during Truman's administration clearly improved and strengthened the organization of and the institutional aids to the presidency. In answer to the question of what can be learned from the way Truman operated the presidency, however, the overriding theme of the exchanges recorded hereis that the style of the White House is—inescapably—the president's style.The picture that emerges in these pages of life and work in Truman's administration is one of informality, enthusiasm, and camaraderie. A family-like atmosphere pervaded the staff, and the president played the crucial role in setting the tone. Thus, the White House between 1945 and 1953 was orderly because Harry Truman was an orderly person; it was profoundly human because that was Truman's way. Truman is remembered by his key associates as a prodigious worker and a thorough professional.To those who wrote and spoke for this volume there is no question that the nation was well served by the way Harry Truman managed his affairs in the White House. Incorporating a broad spectrum of firsthand information on the administrative concepts and practices of the Truman era, this book will be of prime interest to all students of government and executive organization.
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20.00 USD
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James M. McPherson Abraham Lincoln & the Second American Revolution McPherson
019505542X / 9780195055429 Oxford University Press, USA 1991-02-05 Hardcover Used: Very Good Used: Very Good Hardcover
This hardcover book was published in 1991 by Oxford University Press. The text is unmarked. The binding is tight. There is normal shelf and edge wear. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn. James McPherson has emerged as one of America's finest historians. Battle Cry of Freedom, his Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the Civil War, was a national bestseller that Hugh Brogan, in The New York Times Book Review, called "history writing of the highest order." In that volume, McPherson gathered in the broad sweep of events, the political, social, and cultural forces at work during the Civil War era. Now, in Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution, he offers a series of thoughtful and engaging essays on aspects of Lincoln and the war that have rarely been discussed in depth.McPherson again displays his keen insight and sterling prose as he examines several critical themes in American history. He looks closely at the President's role as Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces, showing how Lincoln forged a national military strategy for victory. He explores the importance of Lincoln's great rhetorical skills, uncovering how--through parables and figurative language--he was uniquely able to communicate both the purpose of the war and a new meaning of liberty to the people of the North. In another section, McPherson examines the Civil War as a Second American Revolution, describing how the Republican Congress elected in 1860 passed an astonishing blitz of new laws (rivaling the first hundred days of the New Deal), and how the war not only destroyed the social structure of the old South, but radically altered the balance of power in America, ending 70 years of Southern power in the national government.The Civil War was the single most transforming and defining experience in American history, and Abraham Lincoln remains the most important figure in the pantheon of our mythology. These graceful essays, written by one of America's leading historians, offer fresh and unusual perspectives on both.
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9.00 USD
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14 |
Jane Mayer; Doyle McManus Landslide Unmaking of the President Reagan 1984-1988 Mayer
039545185X / 9780395451854 Houghton Mifflin (T) 1988-09 Hardcover Used: Good Hardcover
This hardcover book was published in 1988 by Houghton Mifflin with 488 pages. The text is unmarked. The binding is tight. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn but is moderately rubbed with a few impression marks. The page edges are toned. A charmed politician, a masterful president — for six years, Ronald Reagan seemed invincible. But behind the glowing image of success was an administration courting disaster. In this spellbinding book, two top Washington reporters tell the dramatic story of a hidden White House and a flawed presidency.At its heart, Landslide is a story about Reagan himself, a president of striking contradictions. The public considered him a natural leader, but behind closed doors he was frequently indecisive and disengaged. He was known as the Great Communicator, yet inside his own White House he was often strangely mute. A politician of tremendous popularity, in private he lived in near isolation.Reagan's second-term staff was riven by intrigue and petty rivalry, and this is also the story of a president ill served by his advisers. They are vividly portrayed: Donald Regan, the power-hungry chief of staff; Robert McFarlane, the tormented national security adviser; John Poindexter, his secrecy-obsessed replacement; Oliver North, the overzealous lieutenant colonel; George Bush, the loyal but ineffectual vice president; and Nancy Reagan, the shrewd and much-feared First Lady. Together they managed a White House that cared more for stagecraft than statecraft and preferred deception to open debate.As the authors trace the origins of the Iran-contra affair, they take us deep inside an administration that mistook a landslide reelection for an unlimited mandate. Here, for the first time, are the full stories of Reagan's emotional meetings with the hostage families . . . North's private empire of covert operations . . . Regan's back room maneuvering to close off access to the president . . . McFarlane's secret mission to Tehran . . . Bush's intimate awareness of the arms-for-hostages deals. These and dozens of other revelations demonstrate that this disaster was the logical consequence of a profound failure of presiden¬tial leadership.Both a gripping narrative and a care-fully documented investigation, Landslide provides the first authoritative account of Reagan's second term. Here is a startling illumination of power and personality, an explosive tale of a president's unmaking.
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10.00 USD
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15 |
Jim Lehrer Signed Tension City Inside the Presidential Debates Jim Lehrer Kennedy Obama ARC
1400069173 / 9781400069170 Random House 2011-09-13 Paperback Used: Very Good Paperback Trade Paperback Signed
Inscribed ADVANCED READERS EDITION. This paperback book is the ADVANCED READER'S EDITION that was published in 2001 by Random House with 223 pages. Inscribed by the author on the title page. The text is unmarked. The binding is tight. There is normal shelf and edge wear to the covers with some light surface scratching from rubbing. The bottom corner of about 30 pages are creased along the very bottom corner. “In his quiet but intense way, Jim Lehrer earns the trust of the major political players of our time,” notes Barbara Walters. “He explains and exposes their hopes and dreams, their strengths and failures as they try to put their best foot forward.”......From the man widely hailed as “the Dean of Moderators” comes a lively and revealing book that pulls back the curtain on more than forty years of televised political debate in America. A veteran newsman who has presided over eleven presidential and vice-presidential debates, Jim Lehrer gives readers a ringside seat for some of the epic political battles of our time, shedding light on all of the critical turning points and rhetorical faux pas that helped determine the outcome of America’s presidential elections—and with them the course of history. Drawing on his own experiences as “the man in the middle seat,” in-depth interviews with the candidates and his fellow moderators, and transcripts of key exchanges, Lehrer isolates and illuminates what he calls the “Major Moments” and “killer questions” that defined the debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain.......Oftentimes these moments involve the candidates themselves and are seared into our collective political memory. Michael Dukakis stumbles badly over a question about the death penalty. Dan Quayle compares himself to John F. Kennedy once too often. Barack Obama and John McCain barely make eye contact over the course of a ninety-minute discussion. At other times, the debate moderators themselves become part of the story—and Lehrer is there to give us a backstage look at the drama. Peter Jennings suggests surprising the candidates by suspending the carefully negotiated rules minutes before the 1988 presidential debate—to the consternation of his fellow panelists. Lehrer himself weathers a firestorm of criticism over his performance as moderator of the 2000 Bush-Gore debate. And then there are the excruciating moments when audio lines go dead and TelePrompTers stay dark just seconds before going on the air live in front of a worldwide television audience of millions......Asked to sum up his experience as a participant in high-level televised debates, President George H. W. Bush memorably likened them to an evening in “tension city.” In Jim Lehrer’s absorbing insider account, we find out that truer words were never spoken.
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30.00 USD
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16 |
Keith D. McFarland; David L. Roll Louis Johnson & the Arming of America The Roosevelt and Truman Years 1st Ed NEW
0253346266 / 9780253346261 Indiana University Press 2005-10-04 First Edition Hardcover New New Hardcover
This brand new first edition hardcover book was published in 2005 by the Indiana University Press with 480 pages. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn though the bottom rear edge shows some rubbing. "Without question this is an important new addition to World War II and Cold War historiography.... Highly recommended." -- Douglas Brinkley, author of Dean Acheson: The Cold War Years and The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey beyond the White House"A remarkably objective, yet sympathetic, study of Louis Johnson's life and career. Now only half-remembered,... Johnson was a major national figure. Colorful, aggressive, independent-minded, egotistical, his strong views and conflicts with Dean Acheson proved to be his undoing. All in all, a fascinating tale." -- James R. Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense"McFarland and Roll have performed a real service in rescuing from obscurity this Democratic mover and shaker. Their account of the rise and fall of Louis Johnson provides us with the fullest depiction yet of an important Washington figure employed for better or worse as a blunt instrument of policy change by both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman." -- Alonzo L. Hamby, author of Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman and For the Survival of Democracy: Franklin Roosevelt and the World Crisis of the 1930s"[Johnson's] career is a cautionary tale of how even the most ruthlessly effective men can become pawns in the Washington power game. McFarland and Roll bring Johnson to life in this thorough and well-told history." -- Evan Thomas, Newsweek, author of Robert Kennedy: His Life and The Very Best Men: The Early Years of the CIALouis Johnson was FDR's Assistant Secretary of War and the architect of the industrial mobilization plans that put the nation on a war footing prior to its entry into World War II. Later, as Truman's Secretary of Defense, Johnson was given the difficult job of unifying the armed forces and carrying out Truman's orders to dramatically reduce defense expenditures. In both administrations, he was asked to confront and carry out extremely unpopular initiatives -- massive undertakings that each president believed were vital to the nation's security and economic welfare. Johnson's conflicts with Henry Morganthau, Secretary of War Harry H. Woodring, Winston Churchill, Harry Hopkins, Dean Acheson, Averell Harriman, and Paul Nitze find contemporary parallels in the recent disagreements between the national defense establishment and the State Department.
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16.00 USD
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Lengel, Edward G. General George Washington: A Military Life Edward Lengel
1400060818 / 9781400060818 Random House 2005-06-07 Hardcover New Hardcover
This brand new hardcover book was published in 2005 by Random House with 511 pages including 16 pages of illustrations. Much has been written in the past two centuries about George Washington the statesman and “father of his country.” Less often discussed is Washington’s military career, including his exploits as a young officer and his performance as the Revolutionary War commander in chief. Now, in a revealing work of historical biography, Edward Lengel has written the definitive account of George Washington the soldier.Based largely on Washington’s personal papers, this engrossing book paints a vivid, factual portrait of a man to whom lore and legend so tenaciously cling. To Lengel, Washington was the imperfect commander. Washington possessed no great tactical ingenuity, and his acknowledged “brilliance in retreat” only demonstrates the role luck plays in the fortunes of all great men. He was not an enlisted man’s leader; he made a point of never mingling with his troops. He was not an especially creative military thinker; he fought largely by the book. He was not a professional, but a citizen soldier, who, at a time when warfare demanded that armies maneuver efficiently in precise formation, had little practical training handling men in combat. Yet despite his flaws, Washington was a remarkable figure, a true man of the moment, a leader who possessed a clear strategic, national, and continental vision, and who inspired complete loyalty from his fellow revolutionaries, officers, and enlisted men. America could never have won freedom without him.A trained surveyor, Washington mastered topography and used his superior knowledge of battlegrounds to maximum effect. He appreciated the importance of good allies in times of crisis, and understood well the benefits of coordination of ground and naval forces. Like the American nation itself, he was a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts–a remarkable everyman whose acts determined the course of history. Lengel argues that Washington’s excellence was in his completeness, in how he united the military, political, and personal skills necessary to lead a nation in war and peace. At once informative and engaging, and filled with some eye-opening revelations about Washington, the war for American independence, and the very nature of military command, General George Washington is a book that reintroduces readers to a figure many think they already know.
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15.00 USD
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Levy, David W.; Buhite, Russell D.; Buhite, Russell D. [Editor] FDR's Fireside Chats Buhite & Levy American President Franklin Roosevelt HBED WWII World War Two
0806123702 / 9780806123707 University of Oklahoma Press 1992-03-15 First Edition Hardcover Used: Very Good Used: Very Good Hardcover Standard Hardcover
This FIRST EDITION hardcover book was published in 1992 by the University of Oklahoma Press with 346 pages. The text is unmarked except for 50 pages with notations in the margins in black pen. The binding is tight. The dust jacket is unclipped and untorn but the front inside flap is creased. On thirty-one occasions during his presidency, Franklin Delano Roosevelt went on the radio to talk things over with the people of the United States. Those fireside chats, characterized by a disarming frankness and an informal and conversational tone, represent an unprecedented presidential attempt to achieve intimacy with the nation. The American people listened, gathered around their radios in living rooms and kitchens across the country, as President Roosevelt discussed virtually every major problem facing the United States at home and abroad—including both the gravest domestic struggle since the Civil War and perhaps the most serious foreign crisis in the nation’s history. In the fireside chats the president touched upon all of the issues surrounding the depression and the New Deal, and upon the events, fears, and hopes that were part of the American experience of World War II.Editors Russell D. Buhite and David W. Levy have gather the fireside chats tighter for the first time in a single volume and, by careful attention to recordings and stenographic reports, present the speeches exactly as Roosevelt spoke them. A general introduction discusses the importance of Roosevelt in American political history, the rise of the radio as a political tool, and the way Roosevelt, aided by speech writers and advisers, prepared and delivered the chat. Issues of the day are explored in two additional introductory essays—one describing the domestic situation Roosevelt confronted as he entered the White House in March 1933; the other surveying the international scene during the late 1930s, when Hitler, Mussolini, and Japanese militarists propelled the world toward a catastrophic war.To read the fireside chats a half century after they were delivered is to reenter a world of economic disaster, social reform, and international danger. It is also to hear, once again, the voice of one of the most skilled speakers and trusted leaders in American history.
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13.00 USD
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McPherson, James M. Abraham Lincoln & the Second American Revolution McPherson PBED United States History
019505542X / 9780195055429 Oxford University Press, USA 1991-02-05 Used: Good Trade Paperback
This paperback book was published in 1991 by the Oxford University Press with 199 pages. The text is unmarked. The binding is tight. There is normal shelf and edge wear except some creasing top the tips of the corners. The cover is moderately rubbed with some surface scratching. The spine has two reading creases. James McPherson has emerged as one of America's finest historians. Battle Cry of Freedom, his Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the Civil War, was a national bestseller that Hugh Brogan, in The New York Times Book Review, called "history writing of the highest order." In that volume, McPherson gathered in the broad sweep of events, the political, social, and cultural forces at work during the Civil War era. Now, in Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution, he offers a series of thoughtful and engaging essays on aspects of Lincoln and the war that have rarely been discussed in depth.McPherson again displays his keen insight and sterling prose as he examines several critical themes in American history. He looks closely at the President's role as Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces, showing how Lincoln forged a national military strategy for victory. He explores the importance of Lincoln's great rhetorical skills, uncovering how--through parables and figurative language--he was uniquely able to communicate both the purpose of the war and a new meaning of liberty to the people of the North. In another section, McPherson examines the Civil War as a Second American Revolution, describing how the Republican Congress elected in 1860 passed an astonishing blitz of new laws (rivaling the first hundred days of the New Deal), and how the war not only destroyed the social structure of the old South, but radically altered the balance of power in America, ending 70 years of Southern power in the national government.The Civil War was the single most transforming and defining experience in American history, and Abraham Lincoln remains the most important figure in the pantheon of our mythology. These graceful essays, written by one of America's leading historians, offer fresh and unusual perspectives on both.
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8.00 USD
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Meacham, Jon American Lion Andrew Jackson in the White House Jon Meacham American History President
0812973461 / 9780812973464 Random House Trade Paperbacks 2009-04-30 Used: Good Trade Paperback
This paperback book was published in 2009 by Random House with 539 pages including 32 pages of illustrative plates. The text is unmarked. The binding is sound. The cover is moderately worn around the edges. Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson’s presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House. Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he details the human drama–the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers–that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of storm and victory.One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will–or face his formidable wrath. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House–from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to FDR to Truman–have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision.Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe–no matter what it took. Jon Meacham in American Lion has delivered the definitive human portrait of a pivotal president who forever changed the American presidency–and America itself.
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11.00 USD
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