Robert Morgan

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Tennessee

Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion

From Thomas Jefferson's birth in 1743 to the California Gold Rush in 1849, America's westward expansion comes to life in the hands of a writer fascinated by the way individual lives link up, illuminate one another, and collectively impact history.

Jefferson, a naturalist and visionary, dreamed that the United States would stretch across the North American continent, from ocean to ocean. The account of how that dream became reality unfolds in the stories of Jefferson and nine other Americans whose adventurous spirits and lust for land pushed the westward boundaries: Andrew Jackson, John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman, David Crockett, Sam Houston, James K. Polk, Winfield Scott, Kit Carson, Nicholas Trist, and John Quincy Adams.

Their stories--and those of the nameless thousands who risked their lives to settle on the frontier, displacing thou- sands of Native Americans--form an extraordinary chapter in American history that led directly to the cataclysm of the Civil War. Filled with illustrations, portraits, maps, battle plans, notes, and time lines, Lions of the West is a richly authoritative biography of America--its ideals, its promise, its romance, and its destiny.

Lions of the West

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Steven E. Woodworth

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

America's Westward Expansion and the Road to the Civil War

Manifest Destinies

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Jane Hampton Cook

* The book features 365 devotionals, one for each day of the year. * Each devotional features a 400-450-word story, a relevant scripture, and an application-oriented sentence prayer. * Each week highlights five stories that chronicle the Revolutionary War, followed by two weekend features called Weekend Reflection and Sabbath Rest. Weekend Reflection takes a modern-day twist on a topic, such as contentment and life purpose, presented in the preceding stories. Sabbath Rest highlights a sermon from the Revolutionary era. These 52 meaty messages show how scripture is as alive today as it was during America's founding. These sermons also reveal the spiritual struggle facing the patriots as they decided to pursue independence, take up arms, and overthrow their government. * The devotionals come alive through the viewpoints of the Revolution's key players, such as George Washington, King George III, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, and Benjamin Franklin. Excerpts from their original manuscripts, letters, and speeches give the book authenticity and accuracy. Unlike many books with historical subjects, this devotional incorporates faith as an important element in the decisions and emotions of these heroes and heroines. It will also show the life purpose of the patriots. * The themes presented in the book transcend generations, making the book relevant to modern day readers who also struggle with topics such as loneliness, contentment, purpose, fear, safety, God's will, jealousy, rivalry, cooperation, and disappointment. * Because the stories chronicle America's Revolutionary War and cover more than two decades, the book does not correspond to seasons and holidays. As a result, readers may begin the book any time during the year. The stories may be so captivating for some readers that they may read the book from "cover to cover." * As readers consider the meaning of the American Revolution, they may also experience a revolution in their own hearts, one devotional at a time.

Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War

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Joseph J. Ellis

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

George Washington

This book chronicles the life of George Washington, discussing his childhood, military years, presidency, and his impact on American politics.

His Excellency

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Edward G. Lengel

George Washington's Revolutionary War Letters

George Washington wrote an astonishing number of letters, both personal and professional. The majority—about 140,000 documents—are from his years as commander in chief during the Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783. This Glorious Struggle presents a selection of Washington's most important and interesting letters from that time, including many that have never been published. Washington's lively and often surprisingly candid notes to his wife and family, friends, Congress, fellow soldiers—and even the enemy—chronicle his most critical tactical and strategic decisions, while offering a rare glimpse of the extremes of depression and exultation into which he was cast by the fortunes of war. The letters are arranged chronologically and give a dramatic sense of the major phases of the war, from Boston, Trenton, and Valley Forge, to Monmouth and Yorktown. The more personal missives show us a Washington who worried about his wife's well-being and who appreciated a good joke and a well-laid table, not to mention the company of the ladies. This Glorious Struggle brings Washington to vivid life, offering a fresh and intimate sense of this most towering American figure and the critical role he played in the creation of our country.

This Glorious Struggle

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William M., William M Fowler, Jr.

William M. Fowler

George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years after Yorktown, 1781-1783

Most people believe the American Revolution ended in October, 1781, after the battle of Yorktown; in fact the war continued for two more traumatic years. During that time, the Revolution came closer to being lost than at any time in the previous half dozen. The British still held New York, Savannah, Wilmington, and Charleston; the Royal Navy controlled the seas; the states--despite having signed the Articles of Confederation earlier that year--retained their individual sovereignty and, largely bankrupt themselves, refused to send any money in the new nation's interest; members of Congress were in constant disagreement; and the Continental army was on the verge of mutiny. William Fowler's An American Crisis chronicles these tumultuous and dramatic two years, from Yorktown until the British left New York in November 1783. At their heart was the remarkable speech Gen. George Washington gave to his troops evcamped north of New York in Newburgh, quelling a brewing rebellion that could have overturned the nascent government.

An American Crisis

8c69c992-2ef3-413a-9a8b-d28d19a4623e-1

David Hackett Fischer

Huge Paperback (6 to 8 lbs)

The gripping true story of Washington Crossing the Delaware - how George Washington saved the faltering American Revolution with daring attack at Christmas 1776.

Washington's Crossing

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Richard Brookhiser

FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE, FIRST IN LEADERSHIP. Richard Brookhiser's revolutionary biography, Founding Father , took George Washington off the dollar bill and made him live. Now, with his trademark wit and precision, Brookhiser expertly examines the details of Washington's life that fullscale biographies sweep over, to instruct us in true leadership. George Washington on Leadership is a textbook look at Washington's three spectacularly successful careers as an executive: general, president, and tycoon. Brookhiser explains how Washington maximized his strengths and overcame his flaws, and inspires us to do likewise. It shows how one man's struggles and successes 200 years ago can be a model for leaders today. Washington oversaw two startups-the army and the presidency. He chaired the most important meeting in American history-the Constitutional Convention. Washington rose from being a third son who was a major in the militia, to one of the most famous men in the world. At every stage in his career, he had to deal with changing circumstances, from tobacco prices to geopolitics, and with wildly different classes of men, from frontiersmen to aristocrats. Washington's example is so crucial because of the many firsts he is responsible for.

George Washington on Leadership

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Francois Furstenberg

Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation

Furstenberg offers a revelatory study of how Americans were bound together as a young nation by the words, the image, and the myth of George Washington, and how slavery shaped American nationalism.

In the Name of the Father

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David A. Clary

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship That Saved the Revolution

A critical analysis of the unique friendship between American general George Washington and the young French Marquis de Lafayette describes how their bond resulted in extraordinary success on the battlefield and in diplomatic circles, aided an American victory in the Revolutionary War, and paved the way for the French Revolution. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Adopted Son

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John E. Selby

Unsurpassed as a single-volume history, John E. Selby's masterpiece analyzes the political, administrative, and military history of Virginia during the American Revolution. Stressing the contributions, in both men and material, that the state made to the new nation's war effort, Shelby shows how Virginia's leaders responded to the need to expand the state's administration and mobilize its people for war while at the same time looking westward to the vast territory beyond the Appalachians. Now available for the first time in paperback and with a new foreword by the historian Don Higginbotham, this classic is a must-read for anyone interested in the origins of our nation.

The Revolution in Virginia 1775-1783

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William Hogeland

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Frontier Rebels Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty

A gripping and sensational tale of violence, alcohol, and taxes, The Whiskey Rebellion uncovers the radical eighteenth-century people's movement, long ignored by historians, that contributed decisively to the establishment of federal authority.

In 1791, on the frontier of western Pennsylvania, local gangs of insurgents with blackened faces began to attack federal officials, beating and torturing the tax collectors who attempted to collect the first federal tax ever laid on an American product--whiskey. To the hard-bitten people of the depressed and violent West, the whiskey tax paralyzed their rural economies, putting money in the coffers of already wealthy creditors and industrialists. To Alexander Hamilton, the tax was the key to industrial growth. To President Washington, it was the catalyst for the first-ever deployment of a federal army, a military action that would suppress an insurgency against the American government.

With an unsparing look at both Hamilton and Washington, journalist and historian William Hogeland offers a provocative, in-depth analysis of this forgotten revolution and suppression. Focusing on the battle between government and the early-American evangelical movement that advocated western secession, The Whiskey Rebellion is an intense and insightful examination of the roots of federal power and the most fundamental conflicts that ignited--and continue to smolder--in the United States.

The Whiskey Rebellion

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John P. Kaminski

Volume 20: 8 April-31 May 1779

Three remarkable Virginians stand out in their service to the new nation: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Kaminski presents a series of biographical portraits that brings these three men remarkably to life for the modern reader.

The Papers of George Washington: Revolutionary War Series

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Alex Storozynski

Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution

Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish-Lithuanian born in 1746, was one of the most important figures of the modern world. Fleeing his homeland after a death sentence was placed on his head (when he dared court a woman above his station), he came to America one month after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, literally showing up on Benjamin Franklin's doorstep in Philadelphia with little more than a revolutionary spirit and a genius for engineering. Entering the fray as a volunteer in the war effort, he quickly proved his capabilities and became the most talented engineer of the Continental Army. Kosciuszko went on to construct the fortifications for Philadelphia, devise battle plans that were integral to the American victory at the pivotal Battle of Saratoga, and designed the plans for Fortress West Point—the same plans that were stolen by Benedict Arnold. Then, seeking new challenges, Kosciuszko asked for a transfer to the Southern Army, where he oversaw a ring of African-American spies. A lifelong champion of the common man and woman, he was ahead of his time in advocating tolerance and standing up for the rights of slaves, Native Americans, women, serfs, and Jews. Following the end of the war, Kosciuszko returned to Poland and was a leading figure in that nation's Constitutional movement. He became Commander in Chief of the Polish Army and valiantly led a defense against a Russian invasion, and in 1794 he led what was dubbed the Kosciuszko Uprising—a revolt of Polish-Lithuanian forces against the Russian occupiers. Captured during the revolt, he was ultimately pardoned by Russia's Paul I and lived the remainder of his life as an international celebrity and a vocal proponent for human rights. Thomas Jefferson, with whom Kosciuszko had an ongoing correspondence on the immorality of slaveholding, called him "as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known." A lifelong bachelor with a knack for getting involved in doomed relationships, Kosciuszko navigated the tricky worlds of royal intrigue and romance while staying true to his ultimate passion—the pursuit of freedom for all. This definitive and exhaustively researched biography fills a long-standing gap in historical literature with its account of a dashing and inspiring revolutionary figure.

The Peasant Prince

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Joel Achenbach

George Washington's Potomac and the Race to the West

The Grand Idea follows George Washington in the critical period immediately after the War of Independence. The general had great hopes for his young nation, but also grave fears. He worried that the United States was so fragmented politically and culturally that it would fall apart, and that the "West," beyond the Appalachian mountains, would become a breakaway republic. So he came up with an ambitious scheme: He would transform the Potomac River into the nation's premier commercial artery, binding East and West, bolstering domestic trade, and staving off disunion. This was no armchair notion. Washington saddled up and rode west on a 680-mile trek to the raucous frontier of America. Achenbach captures a Washington rarely seen: rugged frontiersman, real estate speculator, shrewd businessman. Even after his death, Washington's grand ambition inspired heroic engineering feats, including an audacious attempt to build a canal across the mountains to the Ohio River. But the country needed more than commercial arteries to hold together, and in the Civil War, the general's beloved river became a battlefield between North and South. Like such classics as Undaunted Courage and Founding Brothers, Achenbach's riveting portrait of a great man and his grand plan captures the imagination of the new country, the passions of an ambitious people, and the seemingly endless beauty of the American landscape.

The Grand Idea

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David S. Heidler

Jeanne T. Heidler

The Creation of the President

History enthusiasts and admirers of Team of Rivals will rejoice in this magisterial account of the extraordinary Americans who served the nation’s first chief executive: Together, they created the presidency for a country disgusted by crowns and the people who would wear them. In 1789, as George Washington became the first president of the United States, the world was all but certain that the American experiment in liberty and representative government would founder. More than a few Americans feared that the world was right. In Washington’s Circle, we see how Washington and his trusted advisers, close friends, and devoted family defied the doomsayers to lay the foundation for an enduring constitutional republic. This is a fresh look at an aloof man whose service in the Revolutionary War had already earned him the acclaim of fellow citizens. Washington was easy to revere, if difficult to know. David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler reveal Washington’s character through his relationship with his inner circle, showing how this unlikely group created the office of the presidency. Here is a story of cooperation, confrontation, triumph, and disappointment, as the president, Congress, and the courts sorted out the limits of executive power, quarreled over funding the government, coped with domestic strife, and faced a world at war while trying to keep their country at peace. Even more, it is a story of remarkable people striving for extraordinary achievements. Many of these characters are familiar as historic icons, but in these pages they act and speak as living individuals: the often irked and frequently irksome John Adams, in the vice presidency; the mercurial Alexander Hamilton, leading the Treasury Department; the brilliant, deceptively cunning Thomas Jefferson, as secretary of state; James Madison, who was Washington’s advocate—and his eyes and ears—in Congress; and Washington’s old friend and former brother-in-arms Henry Knox, at the administration’s beleaguered War Department. Their stories mingle with those of Edmund Randolph, John Jay, Gouverneur Morris, and the others who stood with a self-educated Virginia farmer to forge the presidency into an institution protective of its privileges but respectful of congressional prerogatives. Written with energy, wit, and an eye for vivid detail, Washington’s Circle is the fascinating account of the people who met the most formidable challenges of the government’s earliest hours with pluck, ability, and enviable resourcefulness. When the world said they would fail, they rolled up their sleeves. This is their story. Praise for Washington’s Circle “A fine, readable history of the first presidency . . . [David and Jeanne Heidler] provide not only a lively history but a group portrait of Washington and the various figures vying to influence him.”—The Wall Street Journal “Washington’s Circle positively glows with narrative exuberance. This is a book that will make even the most jaded student of the American Revolution bark little laughs of pure delight while reading.”—Open Letters Monthly “Traditional accounts portray Washington as a solitary actor in the drama of American nationhood, as chilly and featureless as the marble shaft that dominates his namesake capitol. In fact, he was the intensely human lead in one of history’s most colorful, and contentious, ensembles. David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler bring the whole cast to unforgettable life in this character study–cum–group portrait–cum–old-fashioned page-turner.”—Richard Norton Smith, author of On His Own Terms

Washington's Circle

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James Nelson

James L. Nelson

How the American Revolution Went to Sea

In 1775 General George Washington secretly armed a handful of small ships and sent them to sea against the world’s mightiest navy From the author of the critically acclaimed Benedict Arnold’s Navy, here is the story of how America’s first commander-in-chief--whose previous military experience had been entirely on land--nursed the fledgling American Revolution through a season of stalemate by sending troops to sea. Mining previously overlooked sources, James L. Nelson’s swiftly moving narrative shows that George Washington deliberately withheld knowledge of his tiny navy from the Continental Congress for more than two critical months, and that he did so precisely because he knew Congress would not approve.

George Washington's Secret Navy

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Ron Chernow

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

A Life

A comprehensive account of the life of George Washington negates the stereotype of a stolid, unemotional man and instead reveals a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods who fiercely guarded his private life.

Washington

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Alexander Hamilton

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A Military Life

“The most comprehensive and authoritative study of Washington’s military career ever written.”
–Joseph J. Ellis, author of His Excellency: George Washington

Based largely on George Washington’s personal papers, this engrossing book paints a vivid, factual portrait of Washington the soldier. An expert in military history, Edward Lengel demonstrates that the “secret” to Washington’s excellence lay in his completeness, in how he united the military, political, and personal skills necessary to lead a nation in war and peace. Despite being an “imperfect commander”–and at times even a tactically suspect one–Washington nevertheless possessed the requisite combination of vision, integrity, talents, and good fortune to lead America to victory in its war for independence. At once informative and engaging, and filled with some eye-opening revelations about Washington, the American Revolution, and the very nature of military command, General George Washington is a book that reintroduces readers to a figure many think they already know.

“The book’s balanced assessment of Washington is satisfying and thought-provoking. Lengel gives us a believable Washington . . . the most admired man of his generation by far.”
–The Washington Post Book World

“A compelling picture of a man who was ‘the archetypal American soldier’ . . . The sum of his parts was the greatness of Washington.”
–The Boston Globe

“[An] excellent book . . . fresh insights . . . If you have room on your bookshelf for only one book on the Revolution, this may be it.”
–The Washington Times

General George Washington

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Harlow Giles Unger

Acclaim for Lafayette "I found Mr. Unger's book exceptionally well done. It's an admirable account of the marquis's two revolutions-one might even say his two lives-the French and the American. It also captures the private Lafayette and his remarkable wife, Adrienne, in often moving detail." -Thomas Fleming, author, Liberty!: The American Revolution "Harlow Unger's Lafayette is a remarkable and dramatic account of a life as fully lived as it is possible to imagine, that of Gilbert de Motier, marquis de Lafayette. To American readers Unger's biography will provide a stark reminder of just how near run a thing was our War of Independence and the degree to which our forefathers' victory hinged on the help of our French allies, marshalled for George Washington by his 'adopted' son, Lafayette. But even more absorbing and much less well known to the general reader will be Unger's account of Lafayette's idealistic but naive efforts to plant the fruits of the American democracy he so admired in the unreceptive soil of his homeland. His inspired oratory produced not the constitutional democracy he sought but the bloody Jacobin excesses of the French Revolution."-Larry Collins, coauthor, Is Paris Burning? and O Jerusalem! "A lively and entertaining portrait of one of the most important supporting actors in the two revolutions that transformed the modern world."-Susan Dunn, author, Sister Revolutions: French Lightning, American Light "Harlow Unger has cornered the market on muses to emerge as America's most readable historian. His new biography of the marquis de Lafayette combines a thoroughgoing account of the age of revolution, a probing psychological study of a complex man, and a literary style that goes down like cream. A worthy successor to his splendid biography of Noah Webster."-Florence King, Contributing Editor, National Review "Enlightening! The picture of Lafayette's life is a window to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history."-Michel Aubert La Fayette

Lafayette

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John Ferling

The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon

Bestselling historian Ferling draws on his unsurpassed knowledge of the Founding Fathers to provide a fresh and provocative new portrait of the greatest of them all, George Washington. b&w illustrations throughout.

The Ascent of George Washington

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His Early Military Adventures

“I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound.” So said the young George Washington, something no veteran soldier would say. He had not been the target of enemy fire. Instead, he was papering over the fact that his men and Indian allies had just massacred a diplomatic party, setting off the French and Indian War of 1754–63. He had violated international law, something else he would not admit. Washington could, after all, tell a lie. That is but one revelation that acclaimed military historian and Washington expert David A. Clary offers in George Washington’s First War.

Washington spent his adolescence in military service, starting as a colonel in command at the age of twenty-two. He came from a society without a military tradition, and had no training or battle-wise sergeants to keep him out of trouble. He was a young glory hound thrust into circumstances he was not prepared to handle by elders who should have known better. Leading reluctant amateur soldiers against French professionals, when he took command he was on his own. Accordingly, Washington survived a five-year ordeal unlike that endured by any other Founding Father. He emerged from it not yet the steady supreme commander of the Revolution, but he had started on the road that led him to become the great soldier and statesman of his age.

How he began his life’s journey is what George Washington’s First War is about. It is a dramatic story of frontier warfare played out against the anxieties and resentments of an ambitious adolescent. Here are accounts of harrowing ordeals in the wilderness, the decisive part played by the Indian nations whose continent this was, and the epic clash of empires. Others have looked at Washington’s activities during the French and Indian War without recognizing that he played his part in that history during his painful transition from boy to man. His repeated blunders and defeats arose from his youthful impetuosity and inexperience and weak support from his government. Clary has a sound understanding of eighteenth-century wilderness warfare, and his descriptions of battles are vivid, exciting, and laced with horrifying details. Brought to dramatic life are Washington’s harrowing wintertime journey into the wilderness to order the French to leave the territory, the Jumonville Massacre, his bloody defeat at Fort Necessity, his heroism at the Battle of the Monongahela (Braddock’s Defeat), his years of frustration commanding the Virginia Regiment, the Forbes Expedition of 1758, his insubordination to civil and military superiors, and his resignation from the army.

A revealing portrait of Washington during a crucial, formative period of his life, this is the indispensable backstory to the making of a great man.

George Washington's First War

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James T. Flexner

The Indispensable Man

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Jpauline

Browse by categories

Robert Morgan

Lions of the West

Steven E. Woodworth

Manifest Destinies

Jane Hampton Cook

Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War

Joseph J. Ellis

His Excellency

Edward G. Lengel

This Glorious Struggle

William M., William M Fowler, Jr.; William M. Fowler

An American Crisis

David Hackett Fischer

Washington's Crossing

Richard Brookhiser

George Washington on Leadership

Francois Furstenberg

In the Name of the Father

David A. Clary

Adopted Son

John E. Selby

The Revolution in Virginia 1775-1783

William Hogeland

The Whiskey Rebellion

John P. Kaminski

The Papers of George Washington: Revolutionary War Series

Alex Storozynski

The Peasant Prince

Joel Achenbach

The Grand Idea

David S. Heidler; Jeanne T. Heidler

Washington's Circle

James Nelson; James L. Nelson

George Washington's Secret Navy

Ron Chernow

Washington

Ron Chernow

Alexander Hamilton

Edward G. Lengel

General George Washington

Harlow Giles Unger

Lafayette

John Ferling

The Ascent of George Washington

David A. Clary

George Washington's First War

James T. Flexner

Washington

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