Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Texas

The Birth of Liberty

"[Puts] the Magna Carta in its proper historical context... Dan Jones triumphantly answers the questions he poses in his Introduction, about how it came to be granted, what it meant at the time, and what it should mean to us today." --Andrew Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Storm of War and Napoleon From the New York Times bestselling author of The Plantagenets, a short, lively, action-packed history of how the Magna Carta came to be. The Magna Carta is revered around the world as the founding document of Western liberty. Its principles can be found in our Bill of Rights and in the Constitution. But what was this strange document that dwells on tax relief and greater fishing rights, and how did it gain legendary status? In this 800th anniversary year, Dan Jones takes us back to 1215, the turbulent time when the Magna Carta was just a peace treaty between England's King John and a group of self-interested, violent barons who were tired of his high taxes and endless foreign wars. The treaty would fail within two months of its confirmation. But this important document marked the first time a king was forced to obey his own laws. Jones's Magna Carta follows the story of the Magna Carta's creation, its failure, and the war that subsequently engulfed England and is a book that will appeal to fans of microhistories of pivotal years like 1066, 1491, and especially 1776--when American patriots, inspired by that long-ago defiance, dared to pick up arms against another English king.

Magna Carta

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The great American founding father speaks from the past in his own voice through 170 letters, speeches, essays, reports, and other documents.

Alexander Hamilton: Writings (LOA #129)

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NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The Washington Post • Entertainment Weekly • The Seattle Times • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Bloomberg Businessweek In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era. Philosophers think; politicians maneuver. Jefferson’s genius was that he was both and could do both, often simultaneously. Such is the art of power. Thomas Jefferson hated confrontation, and yet his understanding of power and of human nature enabled him to move men and to marshal ideas, to learn from his mistakes, and to prevail. Passionate about many things—women, his family, books, science, architecture, gardens, friends, Monticello, and Paris—Jefferson loved America most, and he strove over and over again, despite fierce opposition, to realize his vision: the creation, survival, and success of popular government in America. Jon Meacham lets us see Jefferson’s world as Jefferson himself saw it, and to appreciate how Jefferson found the means to endure and win in the face of rife partisan division, economic uncertainty, and external threat. Drawing on archives in the United States, England, and France, as well as unpublished Jefferson presidential papers, Meacham presents Jefferson as the most successful political leader of the early republic, and perhaps in all of American history. The father of the ideal of individual liberty, of the Louisiana Purchase, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and of the settling of the West, Jefferson recognized that the genius of humanity—and the genius of the new nation—lay in the possibility of progress, of discovering the undiscovered and seeking the unknown. From the writing of the Declaration of Independence to elegant dinners in Paris and in the President’s House; from political maneuverings in the boardinghouses and legislative halls of Philadelphia and New York to the infant capital on the Potomac; from his complicated life at Monticello, his breathtaking house and plantation in Virginia, to the creation of the University of Virginia, Jefferson was central to the age. Here too is the personal Jefferson, a man of appetite, sensuality, and passion. The Jefferson story resonates today not least because he led his nation through ferocious partisanship and cultural warfare amid economic change and external threats, and also because he embodies an eternal drama, the struggle of the leadership of a nation to achieve greatness in a difficult and confounding world. Praise for Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power “This is probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written.”—Gordon S. Wood “A big, grand, absorbing exploration of not just Jefferson and his role in history but also Jefferson the man, humanized as never before.”—Entertainment Weekly “[Meacham] captures who Jefferson was, not just as a statesman but as a man. . . . By the end of the book . . . the reader is likely to feel as if he is losing a dear friend. . . . [An] absorbing tale.”—The Christian Science Monitor “This terrific book allows us to see the political genius of Thomas Jefferson better than we have ever seen it before. In these endlessly fascinating pages, Jefferson emerges with such vitality that it seems as if he might still be alive today.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin

Thomas Jefferson: the Art of Power

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Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Alexander Hamilton

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Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Correspondence & Conversations 

Supreme Court # Constitution
#Justices

#Law #hardcover 

Supreme Court Policy-Making and Constitutional Law

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Bill of Rights 
US Congress
American History 
Virginia 
#hardcover #hardcover 

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Madison vs. Monroe 

Founding Rivals

#Presidents
#Atom Bomb
#Cold War 
#First Edition 

Harry S. Truman

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An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times

"An exemplary biography--exhaustively researched, fair-minded and easy to read. It can nestle on the same shelf as David McCullough's Truman, a high compliment indeed." --The Wall Street Journal

The definitive biography of Herbert Hoover, one of the most remarkable Americans of the twentieth century--a wholly original account that will forever change the way Americans understand the man, his presidency, his battle against the Great Depression, and their own history.

An impoverished orphan who built a fortune. A great humanitarian. A president elected in a landslide and then resoundingly defeated four years later. Arguably the father of both New Deal liberalism and modern conservatism, Herbert Hoover lived one of the most extraordinary American lives of the twentieth century. Yet however astonishing, his accomplishments are often eclipsed by the perception that Hoover was inept and heartless in the face of the Great Depression.

Now, Kenneth Whyte vividly recreates Hoover's rich and dramatic life in all its complex glory. He follows Hoover through his Iowa boyhood, his cutthroat business career, his brilliant rescue of millions of lives during World War I and the 1927 Mississippi floods, his misconstrued presidency, his defeat at the hands of a ruthless Franklin Roosevelt, his devastating years in the political wilderness, his return to grace as Truman's emissary to help European refugees after World War II, and his final vindication in the days of Kennedy's "New Frontier." Ultimately, Whyte brings to light Hoover's complexities and contradictions--his modesty and ambition, his ruthlessness and extreme generosity--as well as his profound political legacy.

Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times is the epic, poignant story of the deprived boy who, through force of will, made himself the most accomplished figure in the land, and who experienced a range of achievements and failures unmatched by any American of his, or perhaps any, era. Here, for the first time, is the definitive biography that fully captures the colossal scale of Hoover's momentous life and volatile times.

Hoover

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The first volume of a multi-volume study of President Eisenhower, this book focuses on Eisenhower's conduct of the war and provides an extensively documented analysis of the political ramifications of the course of the war and Eisenhower's decisions

Eisenhower at War, 1943-1945

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FDR and the Year That Changed History

It was not inevitable that World War II would end as it did, or that it would even end well. 1944 was a year that could have stymied the Allies and cemented Hitler's waning power. Instead, it saved those democracies-but with a fateful cost. 1944 witnessed a series of titanic events: FDR at the pinnacle of his wartime leadership as well as his re-election, the planning of Operation Overlord with Churchill and Stalin, the unprecedented D-Day invasion, the liberation of Paris and the horrific Battle of the Bulge, and the tumultuous conferences that finally shaped the coming peace. But on the way, millions of more lives were still at stake as President Roosevelt was exposed to mounting evidence of the most grotesque crime in history, the Final Solution. Just as the Allies were landing in Normandy, the Nazis were accelerating the killing of millions of European Jews. Winik shows how escalating pressures fell on an all but dying Roosevelt, whose rapidly deteriorating health was a closely guarded secret. Here then, as with D-Day, was a momentous decision for the president. Was winning the war the best way to rescue the Jews? Was a rescue even possible? Or would it get in the way of defeating Hitler? In a year when even the most audacious undertakings were within the world's reach, including the liberation of Europe, one challenge-saving Europe's Jews-seemed to remain beyond Roosevelt's grasp. Winik provides a stunningly fresh look at the twentieth century's most pivotal year. 1944: FDR and the Year that Changed Historyis the first book to tell these events with such moral clarity and unprecedented sweep, and a moving appreciation of the extraordinary struggles of the era's outsized figures.

1944

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Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

A Life

From the author of Alexander Hamilton, the New York Times bestselling biography that inspired the musical, comes a gripping portrait of the first president of the United States.

Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography

"Truly magnificent . . . [a] well-researched, well-written and absolutely definitive biography" --Andrew Roberts, The Wall Street Journal

"Until recently, I'd never believed that there could be such a thing as a truly gripping biography of George Washington . . . Well, I was wrong. I can't recommend it highly enough--as history, as epic, and, not least, as entertainment." --Hendrik Hertzberg, The New Yorker

Celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation and the first president of the United States. With a breadth and depth matched by no other one volume biography of George Washington, this crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his adventurous early years, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president. In this groundbreaking work, based on massive research, Chernow shatters forever the stereotype of George Washington as a stolid, unemotional figure and brings to vivid life a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash Broadway musical Hamilton has sparked new interest in the Revolutionary War and the Founding Fathers. In addition to Alexander Hamilton, the production also features George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Aaron Burr, Lafayette, and many more.

Washington

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#Presidents
# Generals
#Civil War
West Point



The #1 New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2017 “Eminently readable but thick with import . . . Grant hits like a Mack truck of knowledge.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow shows in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency. Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had ended dismally, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in war, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign, and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Along the way, Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. Grant’s military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff members. More important, he sought freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race.” After his presidency, he was again brought low by a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, only to resuscitate his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre. With lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as “nothing heroic... and yet the greatest hero.” Chernow’s probing portrait of Grant's lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America's greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of our finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant's life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary. Named one of the best books of the year by Goodreads • Amazon • The New York Times • Newsday • BookPage • Barnes and Noble • Wall Street Journal

Grant

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Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

A Document Collection

Ideal either as a textbook or anthology, this volume encompasses the entire chronology of the Revolution, while highlighting the political, cultural, and social diversity of the period.

The French Revolution

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This comprehensive study of China's Cold War experience reveals the crucial role Beijing played in shaping the orientation of the global Cold War and the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.



The success of China's Communist revolution in 1949 set the stage, Chen says. The Korean War, the Taiwan Strait crises, and the Vietnam War--all of which involved China as a central actor--represented the only major "hot" conflicts during the Cold War period, making East Asia the main battlefield of the Cold War, while creating conditions to prevent the two superpowers from engaging in a direct military showdown. Beijing's split with Moscow and rapprochement with Washington fundamentally transformed the international balance of power, argues Chen, eventually leading to the end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the decline of international communism.



Based on sources that include recently declassified Chinese documents, the book offers pathbreaking insights into the course and outcome of the Cold War.



Mao's China and the Cold War

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Year of Revolution

A "lively, panoramic" history of a revolutionary year (New York Times)

In 1848, a violent storm of revolutions ripped through Europe. The torrent all but swept away the conservative order that had kept peace on the continent since Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815 -- but which in many countries had also suppressed dreams of national freedom. Political events so dramatic had not been seen in Europe since the French Revolution, and they would not be witnessed again until 1989, with the revolutions in Eastern and Central Europe.

In 1848, historian Mike Rapport examines the roots of the ferment and then, with breathtaking pace, chronicles the explosive spread of violence across Europe. A vivid narrative of a complex chain of interconnected revolutions, 1848 tells the exhilarating story of Europe's violent "Spring of Nations" and traces its reverberations to the present day.

1848

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Unabridged text of Rights of Man, by Thomas Paine, offered here for chump change. Paine argues in this political pamphlet for a society ruled by the people, and adds extra weight to his opinions through his footnotes and tables.

Paine was outlawed in Britain and escaped execution in France, due to the power of his pen challenging authority in the plain language of the people.

A glimpse into early American life, read Paine's full text here in this slim volume, provided at an affordable price.

Table of Contents
PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION 3
RIGHTS OF MAN 4
Part The First; Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack On The French Revolution 4
Declaration Of The Rights Of Man And Of Citizens By The National Assembly Of France 39
OBSERVATIONS ON THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 40
MISCELLANEOUS CHAPTER 41
CONCLUSION 53
RIGHTS OF MAN 57
Part The Second; Combining Principle And Practice. 57
PREFACE 57
INTRODUCTION 60
I: OF SOCIETY AND CIVILIZATION 62
II: OF THE ORIGIN OF THE PRESENT OLD GOVERNMENTS 64
III: OF THE NEW AND OLD SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENTS 65
IV: OF CONSTITUTIONS 72
V: WAYS AND MEANS OF IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF EUROPE, INTERSPERSED WITH MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS 84
APPENDIX 115

Rights of Man (Chump Change Edition)

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Offering a panoramic view of history and a description of firsthand diplomatic encounters, the former Secretary of State describes his ideas about diplomacy and power balances, showing how national negotiating styles influence outcomes

Diplomacy

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A Double-Edged Sword

"American values are quite complex," writes Seymour Martin Lipset, "particularly because of paradoxes within our culture that permit pernicious and beneficial social phenomena to arise simultaneously from the same basic beliefs."



Born out of revolution, the United States has always considered itself an exceptional country of citizens unified by an allegiance to a common set of ideals, individualism, anti-statism, populism, and egalitarianism. This ideology, Professor Lipset observes, defines the limits of political debate in the United States and shapes our society.



American Exceptionalism explains why socialism has never taken hold in the United States, why Americans are resistant to absolute quotas as a way to integrate blacks and other minorities, and why American religion and foreign policy have a moralistic, crusading streak.

American Exceptionalism

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From the Middle Ages to the Present

The first general history of the evolution of European states and nations from medieval times to the present.

States, Nations and Nationalism

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Reaching from the Atlantic to Ukraine, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, the revolutions of 1848 brought millions of people across the European continent into political life. Nationalist aspirations, social issues and feminist demands coming to the fore in the mid-century revolutions would reverberate in continental Europe until 1914 and beyond. Yet the new regimes established then proved ephemeral, succumbing to counter-revolution. In this second edition, Jonathan Sperber has updated and expanded his study of the European Revolutions between 1848-1851. Emphasizing the socioeconomic background to the revolutions, and the diversity of political opinions and experiences of participants, the book offers an inclusive narrative of the revolutionary events and a structural analysis of the reasons for the revolutions' ultimate failure. A wide-reaching conclusion and a detailed bibliography make the book ideal both for classroom use and for a general reader wishing a better knowledge of this major historical event.

The European Revolutions, 1848-1851

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Austria In 1848-49 (V. 1) (1852)

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History

Edmund Burke was the dominant political thinker of the last quarter of the eighteenth century in England. His reputation depends less on his role as a practising politician than on his ability to set contemporary problems within a wider context of political theory. Above all, he commented on change. He tried to teach lessons about how change should be managed, what limits should not be transgressed, and what should be reverently preserved. Burke's generation was much in need of advice on these matters. The Industrial Revolution, the American Revolution, and catastrophically, the French Revolution presented challenges of terrible proportions. They could promise paradise or threaten anarchy. Burke was acutely aware of how high the stakes were. The Reflections on the Revolution in France was a dire warning of the consequences that would follow the mismanagement of change.

Reflections on the Revolution in France

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Programme, Myth, Reality

Nations and Nationalism since 1780 is Eric Hobsbawm's widely acclaimed and highly readable enquiry into the question of nationalism. Events in the late twentieth century in Eastern Europe and the Soviet republics have since reinforced the central importance of nationalism in the history of the political evolution and upheaval. This second edition has been updated in light of those events, with a final chapter addressing the impact of the dramatic changes that have taken place. Also included are additional maps to illustrate nationalities, languages and political divisions across Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Browse by categories

Dan Jones

Magna Carta

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton: Writings (LOA #129)

Jon Meacham

Thomas Jefferson: the Art of Power

Ron Chernow

Alexander Hamilton

Alexis de Tocqueville

Correspondence & Conversations

S. Sidney Ulmer

Supreme Court Policy-Making and Constitutional Law

Chris DeRose

Founding Rivals

Margaret Truman

Harry S. Truman

Kenneth Whyte

Hoover

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower at War, 1943-1945

Jay Winik

1944

Ron Chernow

Washington

Ron Chernow

Grant

Laura Mason; Tracey Rizzo

The French Revolution

Jian Chen

Mao's China and the Cold War

Mike Rapport

1848

Thomas Paine

Rights of Man (Chump Change Edition)

Henry Kissinger

Diplomacy

Seymour Martin Lipset

American Exceptionalism

Hagen Schulze

States, Nations and Nationalism

Jonathan Sperber; William Beik (Contribution by); T. C. W. Blanning (Contribution by); Brendan Simms (Contribution by)

The European Revolutions, 1848-1851

William H. Stiles

Austria In 1848-49 (V. 1) (1852)

Edmund Burke; L. G. Mitchell (Editor)

Reflections on the Revolution in France

E. J. Hobsbawm

Nations and Nationalism Since 1780

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