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Educated for Freedom: The Incredible Story of Two Fugitive Schoolboys Who Grew Up to Change a Nation
Par Anna Mae Duane. 2020
This &“revealing dual biography . . . succeeds in lifting up two underappreciated figures of the antislavery movement" (Publishers Weekly).…
In the 1820s, few Americans could imagine a viable future for black children. In Educated for Freedom, Anna Mae Duane tells the story of James McCune Smith and Henry Highland Garnet, two black children who came of age and into freedom as their country struggled to grow from a slave nation into a free country. Smith and Garnet met as schoolboys at the Mulberry Street New York African Free School, an educational experiment created by founding fathers who believed in freedom&’s power to transform the country. Smith became the first African American to run a pharmacy and used his medical expertise to refute notions of black inferiority. Garnet became a minister whose oratory reputation surpassed even that of Frederick Douglass. The sons of enslaved mothers, these schoolboy friends would go on to travel the world, address Congress, and speak before cheering crowds of thousands. The lessons they took from their days at the New York African Free School #2 shed light on how antebellum Americans viewed black children as symbols of America&’s possible future. The story of their lives, their work, and their friendship testifies to the imagination and activism of the free black community that shaped the national journey toward freedom.The Age of Louis XIV: The Story Of Civilization, Volume Viii (The Story of Civilization #8)
Par Will Durant, Ariel Durant. 1963
The Story of Civilization, Volume VIII: A history of European civilization in the period of Pascal, Moliere, Cromwell, Milton, Peter…
the Great, Newton, and Spinoza: 1648-1715. This is the eighth volume of the Pulitzer Prize-winning series.American Hostage: A Memoir Of A Journalist Kidnapped In Iraq And The Remarkable Battle To Win His Release
Par Micah Garen, Marie-Hélène Carleton. 2005
A rare and powerful story of hope, love, survival,and the struggle to bring back alive a hostage in Iraq Micah…
Garen and Marie-Hélène Carleton were journalists and filmmakers working in Iraq on a documentary about the looting of the country's legendary archaeological sites, with their Iraqi translator Amir Doshi. In the late summer of 2004, they began to wrap up their work, and Marie-Hélène returned home while Micah remained for a final two weeks of filming. As Micah and Amir were filming in a Nasiriyah market, something went horribly wrong: Micah, who wore a bushy mustache and was dressed in Iraqi clothing, was unmasked as a foreigner and kidnapped by militants in southern Iraq. Home in New York, Marie-Hélène awoke to a gut-wrenching phone call from Micah's mother with word of his abduction. She promised Micah's mother the impossible--that together they would bring Micah back alive. American Hostage is the remarkable memoir of Micah Garen's harrowing abduction and survival in captivity, as well as the heroic and successful struggle of Marie-Hélène; Micah's sister, Eva; along with family and friends to win Micah's and Amir's release from their captors. The world watched and waited as Micah's drama unfolded, but the authors, now safely home and engaged to be married, detail the dramatic untold story. After learning of Micah's abduction, Marie-Hélène took a risky and unusual step: instead of relying on the authorities to rescue Micah, she used her recent experience in Iraq to construct a massive grassroots effort to reach out to Micah's captors and plead for his release. As fighting between Coalition forces and the Mahdi Army raged in Najaf, Micah and Amir became pawns in a terrible political game. The kidnappers released a video threatening to kill Micah unless the United States withdrew from Najaf within forty-eight hours. In response, Marie-Hélène's and Micah's families redoubled their efforts, eventually sending a representative to Nasiriyah to lobby for Micah. While Marie-Hélène worked on his release, Micah, imprisoned alongside Amir under armed guard deep in the marshes of southern Iraq, lived the nightmare of a hostagehaunted by the alternating impulses of hope and despair, his desire for survival and plans of escape. His experience reveals a great deal about the lives and minds of militants in southern Iraq. American Hostage is an engrossing and rare story of how hope, love, and communal effort can overcome war, distance, and cultural differences in Iraq.Matchbook: The Diary of a Modern-Day Matchmaker
Par Samantha Daniels. 2005
Fans of Sex and the City and Bridget Jones's Diary, and anyone who loves to date vicariously, will fall in…
love with Matchbook. In this irresistible read, America's hippest Matchmaker borrows from her real-life experiences to create an urban love story about searching for "The One." When people learn what Samantha Daniels does for a living, they have to know more: How did she become a Match-maker? How many matches have led to marriage? How does it work? Who's her craziest client? And most of all, how can a Matchmaker be single? Samantha Daniels is unlike any Matchmaker you've ever heard of. Young, ambitious, and, yes, single, she's the founder of Samantha's Table, an introduction service that caters to singles in New York and Los Angeles who are ready to invest seriously in the task of finding The One. After handpicking their matches, Daniels works with her clients as their cheerleader, part-time therapist, dating coach, voice of reason, and closest confidante as she helps them down the road to happily ever after. Readers learn how Daniels started her Matchmaking business (How much do you charge for finding the love of someone's life? How do you screen out the Undatables?) and get to know the colorful cast of characters whom she fondly refers to as her "Desperados." There's Mr. Cheapskate, Miss Manhunt, and Looks Good from Afar Guy. There's the 39-year-old female corporate exec who wants a husband yesterday; there's the guy who will only date women worthy of Brad Pitt; there's the gazillionaire who offers a $60,000 bonus if Samantha can find him a supermodel wife; there's the very well endowed woman who's having trouble finding men attracted to her mind; and a host of others. Will Samantha be able to make them a match? And more importantly, will this Matchmaker find herself a match? You would think that meeting hundreds of single men would make dating a snap, but not even a Matchmaker can avoid the pitfalls of single life. Readers are introduced to another lively cast of characters -- the men that Daniels herself dates. Readers meet the many Not for Me Guys and a few Maybe for Me Guys, to see that even a celebrated Matchmaker can be a Desperado herself. Throughout the book, Daniels also offers real dating advice (such as the most common first-date mistakes and tried-and-true conversation topics) and secrets of the trade (why September is the best month for Matchmaking). Like a real-life episode of The Bachelor, Matchbook is a wild ride through the flirty, unpredictable world of urban dating, with a wise and witty guide at the helm. For those who love romance and anyone looking for love, Matchbook is a perfect match.Vietnam: The Necessary War
Par Michael Lind. 1999
Michael Lind casts new light on one of the most contentious episodes in American history in this controversial bestseller.In this…
groundgreaking reinterpretation of America's most disatrous and controversial war, Michael Lind demolishes enduring myths and put the Vietnam War in its proper context—as part of the global conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. Lind reveals the deep cultural divisions within the United States that made the Cold War consensus so fragile and explains how and why American public support for the war in Indochina declined. Even more stunning is his provacative argument that the United States failed in Vietnam because the military establishment did not adapt to the demands of what before 1968 had been largely a guerrilla war.In an era when the United States so often finds itself embroiled in prolonged and difficult conflicts, Lind offers a sobering cautionary tale to Ameicans of all political viewpoints.Conspiracies Declassified: The Skeptoid Guide to the Truth Behind the Theories
Par Brian Dunning. 2018
A collection of the wildest conspiracies to ever exist, from mind control experiments to lizard people, this book explores, debunks—and…
sometimes proves—the secret stories that don&’t quite make it into the history books.What&’s fact and what&’s fiction? With conspiracy theories, sometimes it&’s hard to get to the truth!In Conspiracies Declassified, author and expert skeptic Brian Dunning explains fifty true stories of famous conspiracies throughout history. From the moon landing hoax, to chemtrails, to the mind control dangers of fluoride, Dunning is here to sort the truth from the lies to tell you what really happened.The Bomb in the Basement: How Israel Went Nuclear and What That Means for the World
Par Michael Karpin. 2007
THE BOMB IN THE BASEMENT tells the fascinating story of how Israel became the Middle East's only nuclear power and…
-- unlike Iraq and Iran -- succeeded in keeping its atomic program secret. Veteran Israeli journalist Michael Karpin explains how Israel, by far the smallest of the nuclear powers, succeeded in its ambitious effort. David Ben-Gurion saw the need for an atomic capability to offset the numerical superiority of Arab armies at war with Israel. The Israeli program relied heavily on French assistance in its early years, until President Charles de Gaulle reduced his country's cooperation. Once it was discovered, Israel's nuclear program cast a shadow over relations between Israel and the United States. The Kennedy administration opposed it, and President Lyndon Johnson approved it only tacitly. Significant change took place when President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger adopted a new strategy. An Israel that possessed nuclear capability was a more valuable asset to the West than an Israel without such an option. President Nixon ceased to press Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and dropped U.S. surveillance of the Israeli reactor at Dimona. In exchange, Israel committed itself to maintain official ambiguity about its nuclear program. That policy remains in place nearly forty years later. Without American approval and the financial assistance and lobbying of Jews in North America, Israel could not have achieved its nuclear capability. This is a fascinating story of scientists, politicians, spies, and major international personalities who all played a part in an extraordinary undertaking that continues to shape the politics of the world's most volatile region. Today it remains to be seen whether Israel will permit Iran to build a nuclear bomb and threaten Israel's security.The Clinton Tapes: Conversations with a President, 1993–2001
Par Taylor Branch. 2009
Taylor Branch’s groundbreaking book about the modern presidency, The Clinton Tapes, invites readers into private dialogue with a gifted, tormented,…
resilient president. Here is what President Clinton thought and felt but could not say in public.This book rests upon a secret project, initiated by Clinton, to preserve for future historians an unfiltered record of presidential experience. During his eight years in office, between 1993 and 2001, Clinton answered questions and told stories in the White House, usually late at night. His friend Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch recorded seventy-nine of these dialogues to compile a trove of raw information about a presidency as it happened. Clinton drew upon the diary transcripts for his memoir in 2004. Branch recorded his own detailed recollections immediately after each session, covering not only the subjects discussed but also the look and feel of each evening with the president. The text engages Clinton from many angles. Readers hear candid stories, feel buffeting pressures, and weigh vivid descriptions of the White House settings. Branch's firsthand narrative is confessional, unsparing, and personal. The author admits straying at times from his primary role -- to collect raw material for future historians -- because his discussions with Clinton were unpredictable and intense. What should an objective prompter say when the President of the United States seeks advice, argues facts, or lodges complaints against the press? The dynamic relationship that emerges from these interviews is both affectionate and charged, with flashes of anger and humor. President Clinton drives the history, but this story is also about friends. The Clinton Tapes highlights major events of Clinton's two terms, including wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, the failure of health care reform, peace initiatives on three continents, the anti-deficit crusade, and titanic political struggles from Whitewater to American history's second presidential impeachment trial. Along the way, Clinton delivers colorful portraits of countless political figures and world leaders from Nelson Mandela to Pope John Paul II. These unprecedented White House dialogues will become a staple of presidential scholarship. Branch's masterly account opens a new window on a controversial era and Bill Clinton's eventual place among our chief executives.Your Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life
Par Jane Pauley. 2014
Jane Pauley, &“America&’s baby boomer&” (Tom Brokaw) and the new anchor of CBS Sunday Morning, offers an inspirational guidebook &“chockablock…
with keen insights for career transitions&” (USA TODAY).In 2014, every baby boomer will have reached the milestone age of fifty. For most, it&’s not an end, but the beginning of something new. Research has shown that people in their fifties are more vital now than they were only ten years ago. They&’re saying, &“I&’m game, I&’m up for it, I want to do more.&” Jane Pauley, one of America&’s most beloved and trusted broadcast journalists, offers humor and insight about the journey forward. The New York Times bestseller Your Life Calling is a fresh look at ideas that have been simmering since boomers first entered midlife with a different perspective on the future than any generation before: that there was more to come—and perhaps the best of all.Jane is not an advice giver but a storyteller. Here she tells her own and introduces readers to the fascinating people she has featured on her award-winning Today show segment, &“Life Reimagined Today.&” You&’ll meet Betsy McCarthy, who traded in her executive briefcase for knitting needles; Gid Pool, who launched a career as a stand-up comic; Richard Rittmaster, who joined the National Guard Chaplain Corps; Trudy Lundgren, who took her home on the road in an RV; Paulie Gee, who opened a successful pizzeria in Brooklyn; and many more.&“Jane Pauley is a wonderful guide to all the different ways you can open new doors in life, many of which lead to unexpected places. She shows with humor and insight why the journey to reinvention can come from all kinds of places and produce all kinds of joys&” (Michael J. Fox). Your Life Calling is delightful, compelling, and motivating for anyone asking &“What am I going to do with my supersized life?&”Republic of Dreams: Greenwich Village: The American Bohemia, 1910–1960
Par Ross Wetzsteon. 2003
If the twentieth century was the American century, it can be argued that it was more specifically the New York…
century, and Greenwich Village was the incubator of every important writer, artist, and political movement of the period. From the century's first decade through the era of beatniks and modern art in the 1950s and '60s, Greenwich Village was the destination for rebellious men and women who flocked there from all over the country to fulfill their artistic, political, and personal dreams. It has been called the most significant square mile in American cultural history, for it holds the story of the rise and fall of American socialism, women's suffrage, and the commercialization of the avant-garde. One Villager went so far as to say that "everything started in the Village except Prohibition," and in the 1940s, the young actress Lucille Ball said, "The Village is the greatest place in the world." What other community could claim a spectrum ranging from Henry James to Marlon Brando, from Marcel Duchamp to Bob Dylan, from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney to Abbie Hoffman? The story of the Village is, in large part, the stories old Villagers have told new Villagers about former Villagers, and to tell its story is in large part to tell its legends. Republic of Dreams presents the remarkable, outrageous, often interrelated biographies of the giants of American journalism, poetry, drama, radical politics, and art who flocked to the Village for nearly half a century, among them Eugene O'Neill, whose plays were first produced by the Provincetown Players on Macdougal Street, for whom Edna St. Vincent Millay also wrote; Jackson Pollock, who moved to the Village from Wyoming in 1930 and was soon part of the group of 8th Street painters who would revolutionize Western painting; E. E. Cummings, who lived for years on Patchin Place, as did Djuna Barnes; Max Eastman, who edited the groundbreaking literary and political journal The Masses, which introduced Freud to the American public and also published Sherwood Anderson, Amy Lowell, Upton Sinclair, Maksim Gorky, and John Reed's reporting on the Russian Revolution. Republic of Dreams is beautifully researched, outspoken, wise, hip, exuberant, a monumental, definitive history that will endure for decades to come.Not a Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson
Par Kent Babb. 2015
Shortlisted for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing&“A searingly honest and intimate portrait of a captivating icon.&” —Baxter Holmes,…
ESPN NBA reporterThrough extensive research and interviews with those closest to Iverson, acclaimed Washington Post sportswriter Kent Babb gets behind the familiar, sanitized, and heroic version of the hard-changing, hard-partying athlete who played every game as if it were his last.Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson was once one of America&’s most famous athletes: a trendsetter who transcended race, celebrity, and pop culture, and emerged from a troubled past to become one of the most successful and highly compensated athletes in the world. Now, his life and career come vividly to light in this &“searingly honest&” (Baxter Holmes) biography.Babb brings to life a private, loyal, and often generous Allen Iverson who rarely made the headlines, revealing the back story behind some of Iverson&’s most memorable moments, such as his infamous &“Practice&” rant, delving even deeper to discover where Iverson&’s demons lurked. He drank too much, stayed out too late, spent more money than most people could spend in a dozen lifetimes—blowing more than $150 million of his NBA earnings alone.His then wife Tawanna, seen often as the mild-mannered woman who tamed the bad boy, tried to keep her husband and family on the rails. But, as so many others learned on basketball courts, she was no match for the force of nature that was Iverson. Jealousy, meanness, and relentless eventually wore down even his biggest fans, teammates, and, eventually, even his most formidable opponent.Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota (Chuck Klosterman On Rock Ser.)
Par Chuck Klosterman. 2001
Empirically proving that—no matter where you are—kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilrious memoir of growing up as a…
shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498).With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock—his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet—but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize.The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs, volume 38 number 1 (Spring 2024)
Par The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs. 2024
This is volume 38 issue 1 of The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs. The Social History of Alcohol and…
Drugs: An Interdisciplinary Journal (SHAD) is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to publishing high-quality original academic research, reflection essays, and reviews in the field of alcohol and drug history, broadly construed. SHAD appears twice annually as an official publication of the Alcohol and Drugs History Society, which promotes scholarship and discussions about the history of alcohol and drug use, abuse, production, trade, and regulation across time and space.General Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse
Par Joseph Glatthaar. 2009
"You would be surprised to see what men we have in the ranks," Virginia cavalryman Thomas Rowland informed his mother…
in May 1861, just after joining the Army of Northern Virginia. His army -- General Robert E. Lee's army -- was a surprise to almost everyone: With daring early victories and an invasion into the North, they nearly managed to convince the North to give up the fight. Even in 1865, facing certain defeat after the loss of 30,000 men, a Louisiana private fighting in Lee's army still had hope. "I must not despair," he scribbled in his diary. "Lee will bring order out of chaos, and with the help of our Heavenly Father, all will be well." Astonishingly, after 150 years of scholarship, there are still some major surprises about the Army of Northern Virginia. In General Lee's Army, renowned historian Joseph T. Glatthaar draws on an impressive range of sources assembled over two decades -- from letters and diaries, to official war records, to a new, definitive database of statistics -- to rewrite the history of the Civil War's most important army and, indeed, of the war itself. Glatthaar takes readers from the home front to the heart of the most famous battles of the war: Manassas, the Peninsula campaign, Antietam, Gettysburg, all the way to the final surrender at Appomattox. General Lee's Army penetrates headquarters tents and winter shanties, eliciting the officers' plans, wishes, and prayers; it portrays a world of life, death, healing, and hardship; it investigates the South's commitment to the war and its gradual erosion; and it depicts and analyzes Lee's men in triumph and defeat. The history of Lee's army is a powerful lens on the entire war. The fate of Lee's army explains why the South almost won -- and why it lost. The story of his men -- their reasons for fighting, their cohesion, mounting casualties, diseases, supply problems, and discipline problems -- tells it all. Glatthaar's definitive account settles many historical arguments. The Rebels were fighting above all to defend slavery. More than half of Lee's men were killed, wounded, or captured -- a staggering statistic. Their leader, Robert E. Lee, though far from perfect, held an exalted place in his men's eyes despite a number of mistakes and despite a range of problems among some of his key lieutenants. General Lee's Army is a masterpiece of scholarship and vivid storytelling, narrated as much as possible in the words of the enlisted men and their officers.The Price of Illusion: A Memoir
Par Joan Juliet Buck. 2017
From Joan Juliet Buck, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris and &“one of the most compelling personalities in the world of…
style&” (New York Times) comes her dazzling, compulsively readable memoir: a fabulous account of four decades spent in the creative heart of London, New York, Los Angeles, and Paris—&“If you loved The Devil Wears Prada, you&’ll adore The Price of Illusion&” (Elle).In a book as rich and dramatic as the life she&’s led, Joan Juliet Buck takes us into the splendid illusions of film, fashion, and fame to reveal, in stunning, sensual prose, the truth behind the artifice. The only child of a volatile movie producer betrayed by his dreams, she became a magazine journalist at nineteen to reflect and record the high life she&’d been brought up in, a choice that led her into a hall of mirrors where she was both magician and dupe. After a career writing for Vogue and Vanity Fair, she was named the first American woman to edit VogueParis. The vivid adventures of this thoughtful, incisive writer at the hub of dreams across two continents over fifty years are hilarious and heartbreaking. Including a spectacular cast of carefully observed legends, monsters, and stars (just look at the index!), this is the moving account of a remarkable woman&’s rocky passage through glamour and passion, filial duty and family madness, in search of her true self.The Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall Plan and How America Helped Rebuild Europe
Par Greg Behrman. 2008
In this landmark, character-driven history, Greg Behrman tells the story of the Marshall Plan, the unprecedented and audacious policy through…
which America helped rebuild World War II-ravaged Western Europe. With nuanced, vivid prose, Behrman recreates the story of a unique American enterprise that was at once strategic, altruistic and stunningly effective, and of a time when America stood as a beacon of generosity and moral leadership. When World War II ended in Europe, the continent lay in tatters. Tens of millions of people had been killed. Ancient cities had been demolished. The economic, financial and commercial foundations of Europe were in shambles. Western Europe's Communist parties -- feeding off people's want and despair -- were flourishing as, to the east, Stalin's Soviet Union emerged as the sole superpower on the continent. The Marshall Plan was a four-year, $13 billion (more than $100 billion in today's dollars) plan to provide assistance for Europe's economic recovery. More than an aid program, it sought to modernize Western Europe's economies and launch them on a path to prosperity and integration; to restore Western Europe's faith in democracy and capitalism; to enmesh the region firmly in a Western economic association and eventually a military alliance. It was the linchpin of America's strategy to meet the Soviet threat. It helped to trigger the Cold War and, eventually, to win it. Through detailed and exhaustive research, Behrman brings this vital and dramatic epoch to life and animates the personalities that shaped it. The narrative follows the six extraordinary American statesmen -- George Marshall, Will Clayton, Arthur Vandenberg, Richard Bissell, Paul Hoffman and W. Averell Harriman -- who devised and implemented the Plan, as well as some of the century's most important personalities -- Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Joseph McCarthy -- who are also central players in the drama told here. More than a humanitarian endeavor, the Marshall Plan was one of the most effective foreign policies in all of American history, in large part because, as Behrman writes, it was born and executed in a time when American "foreign policy was defined by its national interests and the very best of ideals."Almost Worthy: The Poor, Paupers, and the Science of Charity in America, 1877–1917
Par Brent Ruswick. 2012
A history and analysis of scientific charity organizations that arose in late nineteenth century America.In the 1880s, social reform leaders…
warned that the “unworthy” poor were taking charitable relief intended for the truly deserving. Armed with statistics and confused notions of evolution, these “scientific charity” reformers founded organizations intent on limiting access to relief by the most morally, biologically, and economically unfit. Brent Ruswick examines a prominent national organization for scientific social reform and poor relief in Indianapolis in order to understand how these new theories of poverty gave birth to new programs to assist the poor.“Ruswick’s well-researched monograph traces the history of the charity organization society in the US from its origins in the Gilded Age to its merging with social work in the Progressive Era. . . . Recommended.” —Choice“[This] study provides a welcome insight into the inner workings of charity organization societies and their drive to eliminate poverty.” —Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Volume43, Issue 4, 2014“Almost Worthy offers a lot of interesting detail pulled from COS case files, professional conference proceedings, journals of the field, and more; some possibly fruitful hypotheses about what to make of changes in COS approaches over time; thoughtful new propositions about the relationship between scientific charity and eugenics (including some charity reformers’ apparent remorse); and a fresh, new mini-biography of Oscar McCulloch interspersed throughout.” —H-SHGAPE“Brent Ruswick wants to put the science back into scientific charity. He argues that the essence of organized charity was not its class prejudices and censorious attitude toward the poor, but rather its belief that systematic evidence-gathering could serve to improve the quality of charity work and public policy.” —American Historical Review, Volume119, Issue 4, October 2014Thomas Jefferson: Author of America (Eminent Lives)
Par Christopher Hitchens. 2005
"A balanced, readable portrait. A refreshing perspective.” —New York Times Book ReviewWith intelligence, insight, eloquence, and wit, bestselling author Christopher…
Hitchens gives us an artful portrait of a complex, formative figure in American history and his turbulent era.In this unique biography of Thomas Jefferson, leading journalist and social critic Christopher Hitchens offers a startlingly new and provocative interpretation of our Founding Father—a man conflicted by power who wrote the Declaration of Independence and acted as ambassador to France yet yearned for a quieter career in the Virginia legislature. A masterly writer, Jefferson was an awkward public speaker. A professed proponent of emancipation, he elided the issue of slavery from the Declaration of Independence and continued to own human property. A reluctant candidate, he left an indelible presidential legacy.No Place to Hide
Par Robert O'Harrow Jr.. 2005
In No Place to Hide, award-winning Washington Post reporter Robert O'Harrow, Jr., lays out in unnerving detail the post-9/11 marriage…
of private data and technology companies and government anti-terror initiatives to create something entirely new: a security-industrial complex. Drawing on his years of investigation, O'Harrow shows how the government now depends on burgeoning private reservoirs of information about almost every aspect of our lives to promote homeland security and fight the war on terror. Consider the following: When you use your cell phone, the phone company knows where you are and when. If you use a discount card, your grocery and prescription purchases are recorded, profiled, and analyzed. Many new cars have built-in devices that enable companies to track from afar details about your movements. Software and information companies can even generate graphical link-analysis charts illustrating exactly how each person in a room is related to every other -- through jobs, roommates, family, and the like. Almost anyone can buy a dossier on you, including almost everything it takes to commit identity theft, for less than fifty dollars. It may sound like science fiction, but it's the routine activity of the nation's fast-growing information industry and, more and more, its new partner the U.S. government. With unrivaled access, O'Harrow tells the inside stories of key players in this new world, from software inventors to counterintelligence officials. He reveals how the government is creating a national intelligence infrastructure with the help of private companies. And he examines the impact of this new security system on our traditional notions of civil liberties, autonomy, and privacy, and the ways it threatens to undermine some of our society's most cherished values, even while offering us a sense of security. This eye-opening examination takes readers behind the walls of secrecy and shows how we are rushing toward a surveillance society with few rules to guide and protect us. In this new world of high-tech domestic intelligence, there is literally no place to hide.Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory
Par Deborah Lipstadt. 1980
The denial of the Holocaust has no more credibility than the assertion that the earth is flat. Yet there are…
those who insist that the death of six million Jews in Nazi concentration camps is nothing but a hoax perpetrated by a powerful Zionist conspiracy. Sixty years ago, such notions were the province of pseudohistorians who argued that Hitler never meant to kill the Jews, and that only a few hundred thousand died in the camps from disease; they also argued that the Allied bombings of Dresden and other cities were worse than any Nazi offense, and that the Germans were the “true victims” of World War II.For years, those who made such claims were dismissed as harmless cranks operating on the lunatic fringe. But as time goes on, they have begun to gain a hearing in respectable arenas, and now, in the first full-scale history of Holocaust denial, Deborah Lipstadt shows how—despite tens of thousands of living witnesses and vast amounts of documentary evidence—this irrational idea not only has continued to gain adherents but has become an international movement, with organized chapters, “independent” research centers, and official publications that promote a “revisionist” view of recent history.Lipstadt shows how Holocaust denial thrives in the current atmosphere of value-relativism, and argues that this chilling attack on the factual record not only threatens Jews but undermines the very tenets of objective scholarship that support our faith in historical knowledge. Thus the movement has an unsuspected power to dramatically alter the way that truth and meaning are transmitted from one generation to another.