General Books - Page 3

A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World

Tony Horwitz

Amazon Price: $18.15 List Price: $27.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Henry Holt and Co. Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $13.44

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The bestselling author of Blue Latitudes takes us on a thrilling and eye-opening voyage to pre-Mayflower America

On a chance visit to Plymouth Rock, Tony Horwitz realizes he’s mislaid more than a century of American history, from Columbus’s sail in 1492 to Jamestown’s founding in 16-oh-something. Did nothing happen in between? Determined to find out, he embarks on a journey of rediscovery, following in the footsteps of the many Europeans who preceded the Pilgrims to America.

An irresistible blend of history, myth, and misadventure, A Voyage Long and Strange captures the wonder and drama of first contact. Vikings, conquistadors, French voyageurs—these and many others roamed an unknown continent in quest of grapes, gold, converts, even a cure for syphilis. Though most failed, their remarkable exploits left an enduring mark on the land and people encountered by late-arriving English settlers.

Tracing this legacy with his own epic trek—from Florida’s Fountain of Youth to Plymouth’s sacred Rock, from desert pueblos to subarctic sweat lodges—Tony Horwitz explores the revealing gap between what we enshrine and what we forget. Displaying his trademark talent for humor, narrative, and historical insight, A Voyage Long and Strange allows us to rediscover the New World for ourselves.

Manhunt

James L. Swanson

By: Piatkus, Judy Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 8 new & used starting at $11.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 230 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Suspenseful 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Even though we all know the story and how it turns out, this book was hard to put down. Great read

The facts of Lincoln's assassination that you never learned in school. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Without a doubt, one of the best books I've read in a very long time. This non-fiction book reads like a suspense novel. I read it in a day and a half. So incredibly well researched and written, this account of Booth's 12-day escape after Lincoln's assassination is almost an hour-by-hour account of his every move. Utterly compelling...a must read!!!

Harrowing "Manhunt" 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Most everyone knows that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. But few know the broader plan, how history could have changed, how history indeed did change, the minute by minute saga of the planning of the crime and its twelve day aftermath - the Manhunt for Booth. This chronicle of those days is so harrowing, so page turning, you will give up sleep to finish it. Knowing the history we all know, I still read this story hoping the assassination attempt fails and if not, Booth would be caught before he left the Ford's Theatre. Alas, neither of those hopes were realized but that's how riveting and real this story is. I cannot recall reading a book as exciting or as informative. Take the James Swanson time machine back to 1865 and live there for twelve days. It is unforgettable.

Just How Stupid Are We?: Facing the Truth About the American Voter

Rick Shenkman

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Basic Books Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $12.54

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> 21st Century
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Levees break in New Orleans. Iraq descends into chaos. The housing market teeters on the brink of collapse. Americans of all political stripes are heading into the 2008 election with the sense that something has gone terribly wrong with American politics. But what exactly? Democrats blame Republicans and Republicans blame Democrats. Greedy corporate executives, rogue journalists, faulty voting machines, irresponsible defense contractors-we blame them, too. The only thing everyone seems to agree on, in fact, is that the American people are entirely blameless. In Just How Stupid Are We?, best-selling historian and renowned myth-buster Rick Shenkman takes aim at our great national piety: the wisdom of the American people. The hard truth is that American democracy is more direct than ever-but voters are misusing, abusing, and abdicating their political power. Americans are paying less and less attention to politics at a time when they need to pay much more: Television has dumbed politics down to the basest possible level, while the real workings of politics have become vastly more complicated. Shenkman offers concrete proposals for reforming our institutions-the government, the media, civic organizations, political parties-to make them work better for the American people. But first, Shenkman argues, we must reform ourselves.

The Irish Americans: A History

Jay P. Dolan

Amazon Price: $19.80 List Price: $30.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Bloomsbury Press Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $13.88

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A history of the Irish in America from the eighteenth century to the present, by one of the nation's most eminent scholars of the immigrant experience.

Jay Dolan of the University of Notre Dame is one of America's most acclaimed scholars of immigration and ethnic history. In The Irish Americans, he caps his decades of writing and teaching with a magisterial history of the Irish experience in the United States—the first general-reader’s account to be published since the 1960s.

Dolan draws on his own original research and much other recent other scholarship to weave a fresh and vivid narrative. He follows the Irish from their first arrival in the American colonies through the bleak days of the potato famine that brought millions of poor immigrants; the years of ethnic prejudice and "No Irish Need Apply;" the rise of Irish political power and the heyday of Tammany politics; to the historic moment when John F. Kennedy was elected to the highest office in the land.

Dolan evokes the ghastly ships crowded with men and women fleeing the potato blight; the vibrant life of Catholic parishes in cities like New York and Chicago; and the world of machine politics, where ward bosses often held court in the local saloon. Rich in colorful detail, balanced in judgment, and the most comprehensive work of its kind yet published, The Irish Americans will become a must-have volume for any reader with an interest in the Irish-American heritage.

Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940: How Americans Lived Through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression

David E. Kyvig

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $12.79

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> 20th Century -> Depression
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not so much daily lives 3 out of 5 stars.
17 of 19 people found this review helpful.

My real interest in this book was to learn how ordinary people coped with life in a great depression. What interests me is in finding out how certain parts of society experienced it as I am sure the impact varies greatly.

This book - despite its title - clearly fails to answer this. Sure it tells me some of the reasons around the boom and bust, and some statistics on unemplyment, etc. But what I really wanted was the 'how they lived their lives' aspect that the title and blurb teased me with.

Despite my annoyance, I can't give this a 1 star (which is what it is worth to me) since it is a well written book and covers the topic well.

Editorial Review:

The twenties and thirties witnessed dramatic changes in American life: increasing urbanization, technological innovation, cultural upheaval, and economic disaster. In this fascinating book, the prize-winning historian David Kyvig describes everyday life in these decades, when automobiles and home electricity became commonplace, when radio and the movies became broadly popular.

Rethinking the Great Depression (American Ways Series)

Gene Smiley

List Price: $12.95 By: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $68.57

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Development & Growth
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Economic Conditions
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Economic History

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

new look at country's worst crisis 5 out of 5 stars.
35 of 38 people found this review helpful.

Based on new theories, Smiley has re-examined and re-assessed the forces that led to and prolonged the Great Depression. In clear non-technical prose, he shows what happened and why.

This short book (163 pages plus sources and index) is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 gives a brief overview of how the worldwide depression began and how it created a domino effect throughout Europe and the U.S. Nothing new here-- in fact, this is basic stuff any high schooler should know.

Chapter 2 is a more detailed examination of the economic crisis and the forces which led to it. Smiley explains the situation in basic terms that anyone can understand, allowing us to see the tragedy unfolding step by step.

Chapters 3 and 4 show how President Roosevelt (who had little knowledge or experience of economics) attempted to pull the country out of this deep economic slump. Though some programs were successful, some were not, and only serve to create a depression within a depression in the mid-30s.

Chapter 5 examines the legacy of the governmental response, and how economic policies initiated during this period has affected this country for decades afterward, and how certain government programs still exist long after their usefulness has passed. An examination of post-war analysis shows how Keynesian economic theory and government studies have misinterpreted the factors which brought this country back to recovery. He also examines the question of whether such an event can happen again, concluding that-- based on subsequent economic downturns-- it probably won't, though it can happen again should future leaders ignore the warning signs and lessons of the past.

A fascinating and rewarding book, even for those who have little or no knowledge of economics.

Editorial Review:

Drawing upon recent economic scholarship to present a clear and nontechnical analysis, Mr. Smiley offers new insights and some surprising conclusions about the causes of the Great Depression, the consequences of the New Deal, and the economic effects of World War II. An accessible survey...challenges the popular belief that the Great Depression demonstrates the instability of markets and the need for goevernment oversight and direction. --Journal of Economic Literature. A widely accessible and clearly written summary of the main causes of the Great Depression and its legacy for economic policy. --David C. Wheelock, EH.Net

Eyewitness to the Civil War

Steve Hyslop

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: National Geographic Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $14.64

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Historical -> United States -> Civil War -> Personal Narratives
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> Civil War -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

At once an informed overview for general-interest readers and a superb resource for serious buffs, this extraordinary, gloriously illustrated volume is sure to become one of the fundamental books in any Civil War library. Its features include a dramatic narrative packed with eyewitness accounts and hundreds of rare photographs, artifacts, and period illustrations. Evocative sidebars, detailed maps, and timelines add to the reference-ready quality of the text.

From John Brown's raid to Reconstruction, Eyewitness to the Civil War presents a clear, comprehensive discussion that addresses every military, political, and social aspect of this crucial period. In-depth descriptions of campaigns and battles in all theaters of war are accompanied by a thorough evaluation of the nonmilitary elements of the struggle between North and South. In their own words, commanders and common soldiers in both armies tell of life on the battlefield and behind the lines, while letters from wives, mothers, and sisters provide a portrait of the home front. More than 375 historical photographs, portraits, and artifacts—many never before published—evoke the era's flavor; and detailed maps of terrain and troop movements make it easy to follow the strategies and tactics of Union and Confederate generals as they fought through four harsh years of war. Photoessays on topics ranging from the everyday lives of soldiers to the dramatic escapades of the cavalry lend a breathtaking you-are-there feeling, and an inclusive appendix adds even more detail to what is already a magnificently meticulous history.

1421: The Year China Discovered America (P.S.)

Gavin Menzies

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Perennial Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $7.48

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Asia -> China -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 256 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Fact/Fiction who cares...... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

You have to admit the author has ALOT and I do mean ALOT of evidence to prove that something went on long before Columbus got here. I think most of the proof lies with the plants, crops, animals and of course the wreckages found along the coasts. The ships lost alone is proof enough that the Chinese were in fact out there and discovering the world long before others. The maps used by others alone is proof. This auther has given history a swift kick in the pants and those who record it need to get some pretty big erasers. Get the book. Worth the read and the education.

Editorial Review:

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China to "proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas." When the fleet returned home in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in the long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. And they colonized America before the Europeans, transplanting the principal economic crops that have since fed and clothed the world.

FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression

Jim Powell

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 2 to 3 weeks By: Three Rivers Press Amazon Marketplace: 9 new & used starting at $9.58

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> 20th Century -> Depression
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> 20th Century -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

“Admirers of FDR credit his New Deal with restoring the American economy after the disastrous contraction of 1929—33. Truth to tell–as Powell demonstrates without a shadow of a doubt–the New Deal hampered recovery from the contraction, prolonged and added to unemployment, and set the stage for ever more intrusive and costly government. Powell’s analysis is thoroughly documented, relying on an impressive variety of popular and academic literature both contemporary and historical.”
–Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate, Hoover Institution

“There is a critical and often forgotten difference between disaster and tragedy. Disasters happen to us all, no matter what we do. Tragedies are brought upon ourselves by hubris. The Depression of the 1930s would have been a brief disaster if it hadn’t been for the national tragedy of the New Deal. Jim Powell has proven this.”
–P.J. O’Rourke, author of Parliament of Whores and Eat the Rich

“The material laid out in this book desperately needs to be available to a much wider audience than the ranks of professional economists and economic historians, if policy confusion similar to the New Deal is to be avoided in the future.”
–James M. Buchanan, Nobel Laureate, George Mason University

“I found Jim Powell’s book fascinating. I think he has written an important story, one that definitely needs telling.”
–Thomas Fleming, author of The New Dealers’ War

“Jim Powell is one tough-minded historian, willing to let the chips fall where they may. That’s a rare quality these days, hence more valuable than ever. He lets the history do the talking.”
–David Landes, Professor of History Emeritus, Harvard University

“Jim Powell draws together voluminous economic research on the effects of all of Roosevelt’s major policies. Along the way, Powell gives fascinating thumbnail sketches of the major players. The result is a devastating indictment, compellingly told. Those who think that government intervention helped get the U.S. economy out of the depression should read this book.”
–David R. Henderson, editor of The Fortune Encyclopedia of Economics and author of The Joy of Freedom


The Great Depression and the New Deal. For generations, the collective American consciousness has believed that the former ruined the country and the latter saved it. Endless praise has been heaped upon President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for masterfully reining in the Depression’s destructive effects and propping up the
country on his New Deal platform. In fact, FDR has achieved mythical status in American history and is considered to be, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, one of the greatest presidents of all time. But would the Great Depression have been so catastrophic had the New Deal never been implemented?

In FDR’s Folly, historian Jim Powell argues that it was in fact the New Deal itself, with its shortsighted programs, that deepened the Great Depression, swelled the federal government, and prevented the country from turning around quickly. You’ll discover in alarming detail how FDR’s federal programs hurt America more than helped it, with effects we still feel today, including:

• How Social Security actually increased unemployment
• How higher taxes undermined good businesses
• How new labor laws threw people out of work
• And much more

This groundbreaking book pulls back the shroud of awe and the cloak of time enveloping FDR to prove convincingly how flawed his economic policies actually were, despite his good intentions and the astounding intellect of his circle of advisers. In today’s turbulent domestic and global environment, eerily similar to that of the 1930s, it’s more important than ever before to uncover and understand the truth of our history, lest we be doomed to repeat it.


From the Hardcover edition.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet A. Jacobs: A True Tale of Slavery, by John S. Jacobs

Amazon Price: $23.95 List Price: $23.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley-Blackwell Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $5.31

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> African-American & Black
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

These two slave narratives expand our knowledge of the differing ways males and females coped with enslavement and later ordeals in flight. This popularly-priced anthology contains the often taught Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs and the recently discovered A True Tale of Slavery by John S. Jacobs, her younger brother, now reprinted for the first time.

After Harriet's owner, a physician, repeatedly abused her, she escaped his sexual advances for a time by entering into a relationship with a local attorney. Her owner continued to harass her, and she sought refuge in a crawlspace where she lived in hiding. After her escape to the North, she published her narrative.

John S. Jacobs "walked away" as he put it, from his owner, a congressman. He sailed on a whaling ship and educated himself. He then became a paid agent of the Anti-Slavery Society, made a lecturing trip with Frederick Douglass, and finally settled in London, where he remained until it was safe for a fugitive to return to the North. He wrote his story for a London Sunday school journal where it was published in 1861.