The Knew York Times

by Tad Stoermer

Revisit the Salem Witch Trials, the Underground Railroad, and other resistance movements of American history to get a bold new understanding of how resistance shaped our past—and how its principles can change our future. The United States was shaped by resistance—but not in the way we’ve been taught. The Revolution did not secure liberty; it opened the door to either liberty or oppression, where only white men enjoyed all of the benefits and protections of citizenship. In A Resistance History of the United States, public historian Tad Stoermer shows how from the very beginning, that tension—between the ideals of resistance and the realities of power—has defined America more than the Enlightenment ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Utililizing powerful storytelling to focus on key—and often lesser-known—moments in American history, this book reveals the truth of how resistance movements from Colonial times have opposed the powers that be. Stoermer covers an impressive roster of pivotal movements, with each chapter identifying a key resistance movement and principle meant to inspire contemporary readers, including: Bacon’s Rebellion/Metacomet’s War (1676) Salem Witch Trials (1692) The Black Loyalists (1783) The Underground Railroad (1850) Through these and many more examples, Stoermer dismantles the mythologies that pass for American history—exposing the curated nostalgia, moral evasions, and institutional silences that have long protected abusive power. What emerges is an essential look at how we can take lessons from the past to understand, and effectively respond to, the injustices we face today.

by Douglas E. Schoen

The Nixon Effect examines the 37th president’s political legacy in broad-ranging ways that make clear, for the first time, the breadth and duration of his influence on American political life. The book argues that Nixon is the key political figure in postwar American politics in multiple ways, some barely acknowledged until now. His legacy includes a generational shift in the ideological orientations of both the Republican and Democratic parties; the Nixon influence, both intentional and unintentional, was to push both parties further out to their ideological poles. So stark was Nixon’s influence on party identities that it shaped the hardened partisan polarization in Washington today and the evolution of what has come to be called Red and Blue America. Stemming in part from this, and also from Nixon’s scorched-earth political warfare and eventually his Watergate scandal, we have also seen the evolution of politics as war, where adversaries and ideological opponents are seen as evil or unpatriotic. Finally, Nixon’s pioneering tactics—from the identification of the Silent Majority to the Southern Strategy, from “triangulating” between both parties and claiming the political center to launching the culture war with attacks on “elites” in media, academia, and the courts—have shaped political communications and strategy ever since. Other books have argued for Nixon’s importance, but Douglas E. Schoen’s is the first to take into account the full range of this fascinating man’s inf

by Judith Butler

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

by C. S. Lewis

Hailed as "the final memorial to the work of a great scholar and teacher and a wise and noble mind," this work paints a lucid picture of the medieval world view, as historical and cultural background to the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

by Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault examines the archeology of madness in the West from 1500 to 1800 - from the late Middle Ages, when insanity was still considered part of everyday life and fools and lunatics walked the streets freely, to the time when such people began to be considered a threat, asylums were first built, and walls were erected between the "insane" and the rest of humanity.

by Helen Thomas

White House journalist for more than five decades chronicles her work covering all of the presidents since John F. Kennedy. Shares personal reminiscences of the U.S. leaders as well as of the first ladies. Bestseller.

by Philip Freeman

In the first authoritative biography of Alexander the Great written for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian Philip Freeman tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror. The celebrated Macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures in history. He was a general of such skill and renown that for two thousand years other great leaders studied his strategy and tactics, from Hannibal to Napoleon, with countless more in between. He flashed across the sky of history like a comet, glowing brightly and burning out quickly: crowned at age nineteen, dead by thirty-two. He established the greatest empire of the ancient world; Greek coins and statues are found as far east as Afghanistan. Our interest in him has never faded. Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after taking command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India. Alexander spent nearly all his adult life away from his homeland, and he and his men helped spread the Greek language throughout western Asia, where it would become the lingua franca of the ancient world. Within a short time after Alexander’s dea

by Neal Bascomb

With the intrigue of a detective story, "Hunting Eichmann" follows the Nazi as he escapes two American POW camps, hides in the mountains, and builds an anonymous life in Buenos Aires, before finally being captured and brought to trial.

by Ronald Herbert Sack

Images of Nebuchadnezzar attempts to probe the diversity of cultural attitudes reflected in the characterizations of this famous king through an examination of both the original cuneiform sources as well as the accounts of chronographers written in Greek, Roman, and medieval times. Included in this revised and expanded second edition are two new chapters that examine both Nebuchadnezzar's administrative policies and the impact that his death had on both contemporary and later cultures. Both the positive and negative images of the king are explored, with conclusions being developed as to what the authors of the various surviving accounts actually thought the king really was. In the process, the whole nature of historiography in the ancient world is analyzed, and a number of broad conclusions are developed. Anyone who has ever read Second Kings or the books of Daniel and Jeremiah of the Old Testament is familiar with the name of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon who conquered the kingdom of Judah and destroyed Solomon's temple. As the second member of the Chaldean dynasty of Mesopotamia (626-539 B.C.), he ruled for forty-three years (605-562 B.C.), during which time he also led military campaigns into Syria and Lebanon. He also organized a number of building projects that were to transform Babylon into one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Among his noteworthy achievements were the construction of massive fortification walls around Babylon, the refurbishing of Marduk

by Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley

The Mandaeans were a gnostic sect that arose in the Middle East around the same time as Christianity. This text examines the lives and religion of contemporary Mandaeans and provides an introduction to the religion, showing how its ancient texts inform the living religion, and vice versa.

by Helmut Glenk

German pioneers who developed settlements and businesses in Palestine - revolutionising agricultural production during late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their ventures contributed significantly to the modernisation of Palestine and ultimately Israel.

by Robert K. Massie

Biography of Catherine II (1729-1796), 'the Great', empress of Russia from 1762 till 1796.

by Booker T. Washington

Up From Slaveryis one of the most widely read African American autobiographies in the English language. It details how prominent African American leader Booker T. Washington rose from slavery to become one of the nation’s most prominent orators and educators at the turn of the 20th century. This reprint of the original 1901 edition is enhanced by 12 related documents and an essay by W. Fitzhugh Brundage that provides students with the necessary background and context to appreciate the role of Up From Slavery in American history. It addresses Washington’s life and career, criticisms of Washington from within the African American community, the social and political context in which the book was published, reactions to its publication, and the ways in which Washington carefully crafted his autobiography to further his cause among white audiences. Document headnotes, a chronology of Washington’s life, questions for consideration, and a selected bibliography provide further pedagogical support.

by Tan Koon San

Dynastic China: An Elementary History surveys four millennia of China’s history. It traced commentaries from the mythological period of Pangu, creator of the Chinese universe, and the Goddess Nuwa, creator of the Chinese people, through to the legendary periods of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties to subsequent succeeding dynasties from the Qin Dynasty (221 BC) to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1912 AD). It weaved through brutal political intrigues and conspiracies of China’s imperial existence. The persistent enthronement of child emperors for the benefits of power-hungry eunuchs, dowagers, members of the imperial clans, generals and warlords formed a large part of the narrative. Encrypted within are salient elements of Chinese philosophical precepts, civilisation values, and political ideals. The core concepts that mould the idea of tian xia 天 下 (all under heaven) and tian ming 天 命 (Mandate of Heaven), and how these guided Chinese perception of their world are painstakingly explained. The profound influence of Confucianism and the functional adoption of the Legalist framework in statecraft are imparted in the context of practicality and idealism. So too is the complementary notion of natural dualities, the Yin-Yang (阴 阳) harmony of contradictions. How these filtered through from philosophy to cultural values are deftly introduced. Imperial obsessions with frontier threats are also incisively presented. So are the diplomatic statecraft of matrimonial kinship, tributary exchang