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One of the country's most powerful families embroiled in sex, lies, bigamy, and blackmail... and every new, deliciously humiliating morsel splashed across every newspaper in America Now in paperback, the believe-it-or-not historical true crime behind one of the greatest scandals of the Gilded Age, and the story that gave rise to the sensational tabloid journalism still driving so much of the news cycle in the 21st century.An Alexander Hamilton heir, a beautiful female con artist, an abandoned baby, and the shocking courtroom drama that was splashed across front pages from coast to coast... It's a historical true crime story almost too tawdry to be true—a con woman met the descendant of a Founding Father in a brothel, duped him into marriage using an infant purchased from a baby farm, then went to prison for stabbing the couple's baby nurse—all while in a common-law marriage with another man. The scandal surrounding Evangeline and Robert Ray Hamilton was one of the sensations of the Gilded Age, a sordid, gripping tale involving bigamy, bribery, sex, and violence. Through personal correspondence, court records, and sensational newspaper accounts, The Scandalous Hamiltons explores not only the full, riveting saga of ill-fated Ray and Eva, but the rise of tabloid journalism—including an exclusive interview conducted by world-famous investigative reporter Nellie Bly—in a story that unfurls as a timeless tale of ambition, greed, and obsession.“Fans of Erik Larson–style histories and anyone who just loves a fun, gossipy read will love The Scandalous Hamiltons.” —Apple Books, Best of the Month Selection'Adultery? Check. Attempted murder? Check. Baby-trafficking? Check. These are just a few of the missteps of the woman who rained humiliation onto the House of Hamilton.'—Marlene Wagman-Geller, author of Women of Means: Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls

The first full account of a truly remarkable life. When Jan Morris passed away in 2020, she was considered one of Britain's best-loved writers. The author of Venice, Pax Britannica, Conundrum, and more than fifty other books, her work was known for its observational genius, lyricism, and humour, and had earned her a passionate readership around the world. Morris's life was no less fascinating than her oeuvre. Born in 1926, she spent her childhood amidst Oxford's Gothic beauty and later participated in military service in Italy and the Middle East, before embarking on a career as an internationally fêted foreign correspondent. From being the only journalist to join the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 to covering the trial of Adolf Eichmann, Morris's reportage spanned many of the twentieth century's defining moments. However, public success masked a private dilemma that was only resolved when she transitioned genders in the late 1960s, becoming renowned as a transgender pioneer. She went on to live happily with her wife Elizabeth in Wales for another five decades, and never stopped writing and publishing. Here, for the first time, the many strands of Morris's rich and at times paradoxical life are brought together. Based on a wealth of interviews, archival material, and hitherto unpublished documents, Jan Morris: life from both sides portrays a person of extraordinary talent, curiosity, and joie de vivre.

'Superb...his pages fizz with character and colour'Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times'Scholarly and very readable'Andrew Lycett, Spectator'Energetic and hugely entertaining'A.N.Wilson, TLSThe definitive biography of Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, the first and greatest press magnate in history and the genius who invented modern popular journalism. The turn of the century was a period when the world was opening up in new and exciting ways – radio, telegrams, the advent of flight. With literacy and the right to vote extending across an ever-expanding populace, politics and journalism were embarking on a power struggle that continues unabated to this day. Lord Northcliffe rose to the challenges of this new world by employing cutting-edge technology, upending the outdated mores of traditional journalism and radically reshaping the very concept of ‘news'. He was a tough and uncompromising businessman, frequently levelled with charges of megalomania, but in The Chief Andrew Roberts puts Northcliffe's ruthlessness in the context of a life of visionary business skill, journalistic brilliance, distinguished wartime public service and heartfelt patriotism. The man was, undoubtedly, a genius – albeit a flawed one. From a modest background, growing up on the outskirts of Dublin, by twenty-seven he presided over a magazine empire with the largest circulation in the world. By the time of his tragically early death in 1922, Northcliffe had founded the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, and had also owned The Times and the Observer. At one point he owned two thirds of all the titles on Fleet Street. Based on exclusive access to the Harmsworth family archive, The Chief charts Lord Northcliffe's rise to power and his highly controversial influence in a politically critical period. His influence still resonates today both through his remarkable business innovations and in the way we consume our news and politics.

American Or Irish, Republican or Democrat: many people are one or the other, but Larry Donnelly has been all of them. Born into an Irish-American political dynasty, Larry was destined for a successful career in politics from the start. Having completed law school, he entered the'family business'and involved himself in political life, experiencing everything from town hall meetings to the highest offices. Years later, his career brought him to Galway, his ancestral home county, and love kept him in Ireland. Now a highly respected commentator, Larry's unique insight into the influence of Ireland on American politics, his reflections on growing up in Boston, his views from both sides of the house, as well as his take on the current state of his homeland, make for a fascinating read. At a time when American politics has never been more divided, Donnelly offers a unique Irish-American perspective in his memoir of a life in a political family.

The vibrant, sprawling saga of Empress Maria Theresa—one of the most renowned women rulers in history—and three of her extraordinary daughters, including Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen of France.Out of the thrilling and tempestuous eighteenth century comes the sweeping family saga of beautiful Maria Theresa, a sovereign of uncommon strength and vision, the only woman ever to inherit and rule the vast Habsburg Empire in her own name, and three of her remarkable daughters: lovely, talented Maria Christina, governor-general of the Austrian Netherlands; spirited Maria Carolina, the resolute queen of Naples; and the youngest, Marie Antoinette, the glamorous, tragic queen of France, and perhaps the most famous princess in history. Unfolding against an irresistible backdrop of brilliant courts from Vienna to Versailles, embracing the exotic lure of Naples and Sicily, this epic history of Maria Theresa and her daughters is a tour de force of desire, adventure, ambition, treachery, sorrow, and glory. Each of these women's lives was packed with passion and heart-stopping suspense. Maria Theresa inherited her father's thrones at the age of twenty-three and was immediately attacked on all sides by foreign powers confident that a woman would to be too weak to defend herself. Maria Christina, a gifted artist who alone among her sisters succeeded in marrying for love, would face the same dangers that destroyed the monarchy in France. Resourceful Maria Carolina would usher in the golden age of Naples only to face the deadly whirlwind of Napoleon. And, finally, Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen whose stylish excesses and captivating notoriety have masked the truth about her husband and herself for two hundred and fifty years. Vividly written and deeply researched, In the Shadow of the Empress is the riveting story of four exceptional women who changed the course of history.

With exclusive access to the Haughey archives, Gary Murphy presents a reassessment of Charles Haughey's life and legacy. Saint or sinner? Charles Haughey was, depending on whom you ask, either the great villain of Irish political life or the benevolent and forward-thinking saviour of a benighted nation. He was undoubtedly the most talented and influential politician of his generation, yet the very roots of his success – his charisma, his intelligence, his ruthlessness, his secrecy – have rendered almost impossible any objective evaluation of his life and work. That is, until now. Based on unfettered access to Haughey's personal archives, as well as extensive interviews with more than eighty of his peers, rivals, confidants and relatives, Haughey is a rich and nuanced portrait of a man of prodigious gifts, who, for all his flaws and many contradictions, came to define modern Ireland.'A superbly balanced exploration of the life and politics of one of the most fascinating figures in 20th century Ireland.'Professor John Horgan'An indispensable read for anyone with an interest in modern Irish history.'David McCullagh'Offers much new detail – and not a few surprises – about the personality and career of a political titan who is still, in equal measure, revered and reviled in 21st century Ireland.'Conor Brady

A legend in his own lifetime, John Hance (1837–1919) was synonymous with early Grand Canyon tourism. Between the late 1880s and early 1900s, to say “John Hance” was to say “Grand Canyon.” Hance was well known to travelers and visiting dignitaries alike, men such as William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Theodore Roosevelt, the president who affectionately referred to him as “the greatest liar on earth.” It was said that Hance tried to jump the canyon on his horse Darby only to turn back when he was halfway over and realized he would never make it across. The truth behind Hance's life is remarkable even without embellishment. In this book, Shane Murphy chronicles Hance's childhood in Tennessee and Missouri, his service in the Confederacy during the Civil War, his time in Union prisons as a POW, and his later adventures with the Hickok brothers crossing the plains. Settling in Arizona's fruitful Verde Valley, Hance farmed and filled military contracts before taking up residence as Grand Canyon's first permanent Euro-American settler, trail builder, guide, and renowned storyteller. Hance left no correspondence, personal memoirs, or other writings. Only informal portraits from magazines and newspaper accounts remain. Murphy investigated assessors'rolls, rare mercantile ledgers, and mining claims to create a full and compelling narrative of a man who was once an icon of the American West and should be remembered as the founding father of Grand Canyon tourism.

Nearly 600 captivating stories of notable former residents of Manhattan's Upper West Side, some famous, some forgottenWhat do Humphrey Bogart and Patty Hill (co-author of “Happy Birthday,” the most popular song of all time) have in common? Both of them once lived in the neighborhood of Morningside Heights and Bloomingdale, a strip of land that runs from the 90s to 125th Street, between the Hudson River and Central Park. Spanning hundreds of years, Notable New Yorkers of Manhattan's Upper West Side is a compilation of stories of nearly 600 former residents who once called Manhattan's Upper West Side home.Profiling a rare selection of wildly diverse people who shaped the character of the area, author Jim Mackin introduces readers to its fascinating residents—some famous, such as George and Ira Gershwin and Thurgood Marshall, and some forgotten, such as Harriet Brooks, Augustus Meyers, and Elinor Smith. Brief biographies reveal intriguing facts about this group, which include scientists, explorers, historians, journalists, artists, entertainers, aviators, public officials, lawyers, judges, and some in a category too unique to label. This collection also promotes accomplished women who have been forgotten and spotlights The Old Community, a tight-knit African American enclave that included such talented and accomplished residents as Marcus Garvey, Billie Holiday, and Butterfly McQueen. The book is divided into five geographical sections: the West 90s, the West 100s, the West 110s, the West 120s, and Riverside Drive. Addresses are arranged in ascending order within each section, first by street number and then by street address number. While the focus is on people, the book includes an eclectic collection of interesting facts and colorful stories about the neighborhood itself, including the 9th Avenue El, Little Coney Island, and, notoriously, one of the most dangerous streets in the city, as well as songs and movies that were written and filmed in the neighborhood. Notable New Yorkers of Manhattan's Upper West Side provides a unique overview of the people who shaped the neighborhood through their presence and serves as a guide to those who deserve to be recognized and remembered.

An extensive, in-depth biography of Custer that covers his lesser-known personal history as well as his military career.The reader is introduced to a little-known side of Custer—a deeply personal side. George Custer grew up in an expanding young country, and his early influences mirrored the times. Two aspects of this era dominate most works about him: the Civil War, and the war with the Indians, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. When mentioned, if at all, his early life and years as a cadet at West Point are brief, and then only enough to set some background for discussion of the mystery of the Little Bighorn. This is the first Custer biography to focus on these lesser-known parts of his life in great detail.The approach uses all of Custer's known writings: letters; magazine articles; his book, My Life on the Plains; and his unfinished memoirs of the Civil War; along with materials and books by his wife, Elizabeth Custer; and reflections of others who knew him well.The five chapters are Early Life (growing up and as a West Point cadet), The Civil War, The Indian Fighter, The Little Bighorn, and Conclusion. The theme of the book is not so much new historical information but the depth of his character development and lesser-known influences of his life. Custer draws together these elements in a succinct and accessible read.The book also includes illustrations (primarily from Harper's Weekly) and photos, such as Matthew Brady's Civil War collection, to accompany the text.Praise for Custer“Ted Behncke and Gary Bloomfield remain faithful to the facts and enable the reader to better grasp the man as he was and the one he envisioned. Custer's personalities, beliefs and actions, or lack thereof, weave through each chapter, amid a lively and readable writing style that interlaces quotes and sources within the text.” —Roundup Magazine

This stylish and incisive narrative presents readers with a fresh perspective on one of the most fascinating kings in European history. Louis XIV's story has all the ingredients of a Dumas classic: legendary beginnings, beguiling women, court intrigue, a mysterious prisoner in an iron mask, lavish court entertainments, the scandal of a mistress who was immersed in the dark arts, and a central character who is handsome and romantic, but with a frighteningly dark side to his character.Louis believed himself to be semi-divine. His self-identification as the Sun King, which was reflected in iconography by the sun god, Apollo, influenced every aspect of Louis's life: his political philosophy, his wars, and his relationships with courtiers and subjects.As a military strategist, Louis's capacity was ambiguous, but he was an astute politician who led his country to the heights of sophistication and power—and then had the misfortune to live long enough to see it all crumble away. As the sun began to set upon this most glorious of reigns, it brought a gathering darkness filled with the anguish of dead heirs, threatened borders, and a populace that was dangerously dependent upon—but greatly distanced from—its king.

A dramatisation of Martin Monath's short life (1913-1944) would need little artistic embellishment; his identity shrouded in mystery, and executed by the Gestapo - twice - the historical record reads like a detective novel. Pieced together for the first time by Wladek Flakin, this biography tells the story of the Jewish socialist and editor of Arbeiter und Soldat ('Worker and Soldier'), and his efforts to turn German rank-and-file soldiers against their Nazi officers in occupied France. Born in Berlin in 1913, Martin Monath was a child of war and revolution. In the 1930s he became a leader of the socialist Zionist youth organisation Hashomer Hatzair in Germany. Fleeing from Berlin to Brussels in 1939, he joined the underground Trotskyist party led by Abraham Leon, and soon became a leading member of the Fourth International in Europe. His relocation to Paris in 1943 saw the birth of Arbeiter und Soldat and his work organising illegal cells of German soldiers for a revolutionary struggle against the Nazis. Drawing on extensive archival research, Flakin uses letters, testimonies and unpublished documents to bring Monath's story to life - weaving a tale rich with conviction and betrayal, ideology and espionage.

“Barkley's biography brings Hotham back to life and paints a picture of a complex and fascinating man.” —Richard Smith, acclaimed Living History interpreter of Henry David Thoreau Nearly seven years after Henry Thoreau died in 1862 of tuberculosis in Concord, Massachusetts, a young theological student from New York City arrived in Concord in November 1868. Edmond Hotham had never been there, but he immediately began preparations to pursue the “wild life.” He met transcendentalist poet (William) Ellery Channing, a former close friend of Thoreau's who had suggested to Thoreau that he build his cabin at Walden Pond. It was Channing who likely introduced Hotham to transcendentalist leader Ralph Waldo Emerson (the “Sage of Concord”), and Emerson who gave Hotham permission, like Thoreau before him, to build his “Earth-cabin” on the poet's property at Walden Pond. Hotham built his shanty on the pond's shore about 100 yards in front of Thoreau's, where he attempted to out-economize and out-simplify Thoreau. Hotham's sojourn as the second “hermit” at Walden Pond exemplified the growing adulation of Henry David Thoreau and his literary work. Author Terry Barkley has gleaned archival sources, vital records, period newspaper accounts, and census rolls for everything that is known about Edmond Hotham. The Other “Hermit” of Thoreau's Walden Pond is the first book-length treatise on Hotham, half of which is wholly new material. It far supersedes the late Kenneth Walter Cameron's 1962 article on Hotham, which until now was the most complete study of the man. Barkley's groundbreaking study book is an important addition to the Concord-Walden Pond story and a fascinating read. To quote Thoreau, “What is once well done is done forever.”

The bitter struggle of the Kurdistan Workers'Party, or PKK, against the Turkish state has delivered inspirational but often tragic stories. This memoir by Kurdish revolutionary Sakine Cansiz is one of them. Sakine, whose code name was'Sara', co-founded the PKK in 1974 and dedicated her life to its cause. On the 9 January 2013 she was assassinated in Paris in circumstances that remain officially unresolved. This is the first chapter of her iconic life, leading up to her arrest in 1979, penned as dramatic events unfolded against the backdrop of the Turkish revolutionary left. She writes about the excitement of entering the movement as a young woman, discovering she would have to challenge traditional gender roles as she rose amongst its ranks. She was one of the first to demand the recruitment and education of female revolutionaries, and demanded total gender equality within the PKK, which is now one of its central tenets. Today,'Sara'is an inspiration to women fighting for liberation across the world. This is her story in her own words, and is in turns shocking, violent and path-breaking. Translated by Janet Biehl.

This book is the first deconstruction of the Wright brothers myth. They were not -- as we have all come to believe--two halves of the same apple. Each had a distinctive role in creating the first'flying machine.'How could two misanthropic brothers who never left home, were high-school dropouts, and made a living as bicycle mechanics have figured out the secret of manned flight? This new history of the Wright brothers'monumental accomplishment focuses on their early years of trial and error at Kitty Hawk (1900-1903) and Orville Wright's epic fight with the Smithsonian Institute and Glenn Curtis. William Hazelgrove makes a convincing case that it was Wilbur Wright who designed the first successful airplane, not Orville. He shows that, while Orville's role was important, he generally followed his brother's lead and assisted with the mechanical details to make Wilbur's vision a reality. Combing through original archives and family letters, Hazelgrove reveals the differences in the brothers'personalities and abilities. He examines how the Wright brothers myth was born when Wilbur Wright died early and left his brother to write their history with personal friend John Kelly. The author notes the peculiar inwardness of their family life, business and family problems, bouts of depression, serious illnesses, and yet, rising above it all, was Wilbur's obsessive zeal to test out his flying ideas. When he found Kitty Hawk, this desolate location on North Carolina's Outer Banks became his laboratory. By carefully studying bird flight and the Rubik's Cube of control, Wilbur cracked the secret of aerodynamics and achieved liftoff on December 17, 1903. Hazelgrove's richly researched and well-told tale of the Wright brothers'landmark achievement, illustrated with rare historical photos, captures the excitement of the times at the start of the'American century.'

Cathal Brugha was a figure of central importance to the Irish Revolution. Active in the Gaelic League, GAA, IRB, and Irish Volunteers, he first rose to public prominence when he led an advanced column of Volunteers in the Howth gun-running of July 1914. He went on to hold important leadership positions during the 1916 Rising, in the Irish Volunteers and in Dail cabinets until his death in July 1922. Despite this, he is almost totally neglected in the history of this period. This is the first dedicated English-language biography to focus on this fascinating figure.Using new archival material from the Bureau of Military History, Fergus O'Farrell documents Brugha's career as a revolutionary. This closely-researched work examines Brugha's complex attitudes to violence as well as illuminating his commitment to political methods. Historians have previously stressed Brugha's commitment to militancy over politics and he has been portrayed as a strong advocate of violence and distrustful of politics. This simplistic outlook is here challenged, showing that Brugha sought to marry force with politics in the pursuit of Irish independence.

Before the robber barons there were Civil War barons--a remarkable yet largely unknown group of men whose contributions won the war and shaped America's future. The Civil War woke a sleeping giant in America, creating unprecedented industrial growth that not only supported the struggle but reshaped the nation. Energized by the country's dormant potential and wealth of natural resources, individuals of vision, organizational talent, and capital took advantage of the opportunity that war provided. Their innovations sustained Union troops, affected military strategy and tactics, and made the killing fields even deadlier. Their ranks included men such as:John Deere, whose plows helped feed large armiesGail Borden, whose condensed milk nourished the Union armyThe Studebaker Brothers, whose wagons moved war supplies from home front to war frontRobert Parrott, whose rifled cannon was deployed on countless battlefields. and many others. Individually, these men came to dominate industry and amass great wealth and power; collectively, they helped save the Union and refashion the economic fabric of a nation. Utilizing extensive research in manuscript collections, company records, and contemporary newspapers, historian Jeffry D. Wert casts a revealing light on the individuals most responsible for bringing the United States into the modern age.

The thrilling family saga of five unforgettable women who remade Europe. From the great courts, glittering palaces, and war-ravaged battlefields of the seventeenth century comes the story of four spirited sisters and their glamorous mother, Elizabeth Stuart, granddaughter of the martyred Mary, Queen of Scots. Upon her father's ascension to the illustrious throne of England, Elizabeth Stuart was suddenly thrust from the poverty of unruly Scotland into the fairytale existence of a princess of great wealth and splendor. When she was married at sixteen to a German count far below her rank, it was with the understanding that her father would help her husband achieve the kingship of Bohemia. The terrible betrayal of this commitment would ruin'the Winter Queen,'as Elizabeth would forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loved and launch a war that would last for thirty years. Forced into exile, the Winter Queen and her family found refuge in Holland, where the glorious art and culture of the Dutch Golden Age indelibly shaped her daughters'lives. Her eldest, Princess Elizabeth, became a scholar who earned the respect and friendship of the philosopher René Descartes. Louisa was a gifted painter whose engaging manner and appealing looks provoked heartache and scandal. Beautiful Henrietta Maria would be the only sister to marry into royalty, although at great cost. But it was the youngest, Sophia, a heroine in the tradition of a Jane Austen novel, whose ready wit and good-natured common sense masked immense strength of character, who fulfilled the promise of her great-grandmother Mary and reshaped the British monarchy, a legacy that endures to this day. Brilliantly researched and captivatingly written, filled with danger, treachery, and adventure but also love, courage, and humor, Daughters of the Winter Queen follows the lives of five remarkable women who, by refusing to surrender to adversity, changed the course of history.

Éamon de Valera was the single most consequential Irish figure of the twentieth century. He was a leader in the Easter Rising, the figurehead of the anti-Treaty rebels during the dark days of the Civil War and, later, as the founder of Fianna Fáil and president of Ireland, the pivotal figure in the birth of the Republic. In this, the first volume of a magisterial new biography, acclaimed historian and broadcaster David McCullagh charts De Valera's vertiginous rise from humble beginnings to electoral victory with Fianna Fáil in 1932. Riveting, nuanced, provocative and humorous, it draws on a wealth of new and neglected sources to present a truly ground-breaking portrait of de Valera the man, his times and his complex, ever-shifting legacy.'David McCullagh combines the investigative skills of an experienced journalist with the detachment of an accomplished historian. In this vividly readable and at times gripping biography he tackles head-on all of the perennial de Valera controversies, including his parentage, his role in the 1916 Rising, his relationship with Michael Collins, his responsibility for the Civil War and his subsequent rise to power, and does so with acuity and objectivity. McCullagh's range and command of the source material is masterly … a comprehensive, mature biography, both enlightening and entertaining.'MAURICE MANNING

This Civil War biography offers a lively account of the Confederate brigadier general whose defense of Fort Sumter was honored by the Union Army. General Stephen Elliott rose from captain of a militia artillery battery to command of an infantry brigade. His early war reputation as a daring raider and superb artilleryman grew to true hero status through his exemplary service at Fort Sumter. Handpicked to defend Sumter to the last extremity, Elliott performed so well that his Yankee foes saluted him by dipping the Union flag in recognition of his courage and steadfastness. Wounded on five separate occasions, Elliott exemplified courage and inspirational leadership that justified promotions advocated by Generals Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, and President Jefferson Davis. In the first in-depth study of Elliott, D. Michael Thomas presents the life of a renowned soldier with fresh, previously unpublished material.

From the New York Times bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the tragic story of Charles I, his warrior queen, Britain's civil wars and the trial for his life. Less than forty years after England's golden age under Elizabeth I, the country was at war with itself. Split between loyalty to the Crown or to Parliament, war raged on English soil. The English Civil War would set family against family, friend against friend, and its casualties were immense--a greater proportion of the population died than in World War I. At the head of the disintegrating kingdom was King Charles I. In this vivid portrait -- informed by previously unseen manuscripts, including royal correspondence between the king and his queen -- Leanda de Lisle depicts a man who was principled and brave, but fatally blinkered. Charles never understood his own subjects or court intrigue. At the heart of the drama were the Janus-faced cousins who befriended and betrayed him -- Henry Holland, his peacocking servant whose brother, the New England colonialist Robert Warwick, engineered the king's fall; and Lucy Carlisle, the magnetic'last Boleyn girl'and faithless favorite of Charles's maligned and fearless queen. The tragedy of Charles I was that he fell not as a consequence of vice or wickedness, but of his human flaws and misjudgments. The White King is a story for our times, of populist politicians and religious war, of manipulative media and the reshaping of nations. For Charles it ended on the scaffold, condemned as a traitor and murderer, yet lauded also as a martyr, his reign destined to sow the seeds of democracy in Britain and the New World.

On December 15, 1944, Maj. Alton Glenn Miller, commanding officer of the Army Air Force Band (Special), boarded a plane in England bound for France with Lt. Col. Norman Francis Baessell. Somewhere over the English Channel the plane vanished. No trace of the aircraft or its occupants has ever been found. To this day Miller, Baessell, and the pilot, John Robert Stuart Morgan, are classified as missing in action. Weaving together cultural and military history, Glenn Miller Declassified tells the story of the musical legend Miller and his military career as commanding officer of the Army Air Force Band during World War II. After a brief assignment to the Army Specialist Corps, Miller was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command and soon thereafter to Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, in the UK. Later that year Miller and his band were to be transferred to Paris to expand the Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme, but Miller never made it. Miller's disappearance resulted in numerous conspiracy theories, especially since much of the information surrounding his military service had been classified, restricted, or, in some cases, lost. Dennis M. Spragg has gained unprecedented access to the Miller family archives as well as military and government documents to lay such theories to rest and to demonstrate the lasting legacy and importance of Miller's life, career, and service to his country.

'In overthrowing me, you have done no more than cut down the trunk of the tree of liberty - it will spring back from the roots, for they are numerous and deep.'- Toussaint Louverture The leader of the only successful slave revolt in history, Toussaint Louverture is seen by many to be one of the greatest anti-imperialist fighters who ever lived. Born into slavery on a Caribbean plantation, he was able to break from his bondage to lead an army of freed African slaves to victory against the professional armies of France, Spain and Britain in the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804. In this biography, Louverture's fascinating life is explored through the prism of his radical politics. It champions this'black Robespierre'whose revolutionary legacy had inspired people and movements in the two centuries since his death. For anyone interested in the roots of modern-day resistance movements and black political radicalism, Louverture's extraordinary life provides the perfect starting point.

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) was the twentieth century's most influential economist. His ideas inspired Franklin D. Roosevelt to launch the New Deal and instructed Western nations on how to ward off revolutionary unrest, economic instability, high unemployment, and social dissolution. Keynes was nothing less than the Adam Smith of his time: his The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Moneybecame as important in the twentieth century as Smith's The Wealth of Nations was in the eighteenth. Now, in the long wake of the 2008 global economic collapse, Keynesian economics is once again shaping our world. In Universal Man, acclaimed historian Richard Davenport-Hines offers the first biography of Keynes that reveals the man in full. Like many Englishmen of his class and era, Keynes compartmentalized his life. Accordingly, Davenport-Hines treats Keynes in turn as a youthful prodigy, a powerful government official, an influential public man, a bisexual living in the shadow of Oscar Wilde's persecution, a devotee of the arts, and an international statesman of worldwide renown. Delving into Keynes's experiences and thought, Davenport-Hines shows us a man who was equally at ease socializing with the Bloomsbury Group as he was persuading heads of state to adopt his policies. Through Davenport-Hines'nuanced portrait, we come to understand not just the most enduringly influential economist of the modern era, but one of the most gifted and vital men of our times: a disciplined logician with a capacity for glee who persuaded people, seduced them, subverted old ideas, and installed new ones. Engaging, learned, and sparkling with wit and insight, Universal Man is the perfect match for its brilliant subject.

He has been called passionate and violent, cryptic and probing, hostile and eloquent. His works have been called brilliant and unbearable, poetic and documentary, classic and controversial. He is a major voice of the Civil Rights Movement. His words, which have compelled, agitated and hypnotized a nation, are now heard around the world.That is the public image of James Baldwin. But there is also an aspect of Baldwin that grew out of self-deprecation and a search for personal identity; a timorous side that his mother worried over in the presence of a step-father who would not acknowledge him, and that his teachers watched carefully because there was precocity beneath it, trying to force its way out. There was a child who thought he was ugly and useless, who was overly self-conscious about his appearance and couldn't find the love he needed to make his own existence bearable. There is a man who claims: “I've been scared to death since I was born and I'll be scared till I die. But if you're scared to death, walk toward it.” And there is an author whose tremendous impact on American literature—and American life—has, until now, not been fully measured.Fern Marja Eckman has based this vivid book on hours and hours of taped interviews with Baldwin and with the people who are significant in his story. She presents a detailed account of Baldwin's Harlem childhood, a portrait of the exile who returned to his country to shock it into reappraisal of its racial and sexual attitudes, and an inside view of his part in Robert Kennedy's civil-rights meeting in 1963. Speaking with James Baldwin and probing the complex mixture of extreme hate and intense love that characterize him, she presents a profile told largely in his own words—one which is essentially Baldwin on Baldwin.

King Alfred. Everybody knows that he is called “the Great,” but few remember why. Forgetfulness is strange, for few men have led lives so full of physical, mental, and spiritual adventure, or influenced in so many ways the lives of people in every part of the globe. The Golden Dragon is his fascinating and moving story, told afresh with the aid of recent archaeological evidence and research in four languages.Alfred's achievements have melted cynicism. Gibbon called him “the greatest of English kings”; Hume, “the greatest man in history.” Voltaire declared, “I know not whether there has ever been a man on earth worthier of posterity's respect.” When his kingdom was reduced to thirty acres, he fought back with such courage and genius that he expelled the Viking invaders and made possible the saving of Western civilization. His list of accomplishments is amazing: transcendent diplomat, Europe's greatest naval designer, notable architect, law giver, founder of the oldest literary tradition in the Occident, originator of a system of public education, and producer of translations that have endured a thousand years.The author's research led him to the conclusion that the ninth-century English kin was the superior of Charlemagne in almost every respect, and indeed was one of the greatest geniuses Western civilization has ever produced. Alfred's courage, faith, and temperance are enduring examples for modern men.

Biographer Steven J. Holmes once wrote that John Muir was'one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity.'In his lifetime, the engineer, author, biologist, and activist worked alongside powerful men such as President Theodore Roosevelt, railroad executive E. H. Harriman, and conservationist Gifford Pinchot. Muir was responsible for the creation of the Sierra Club and he played an important role in preserving the Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park.During his lifetime, Muir published six different volumes of nature and personal writing. After his death in 1914, four more volumes were discovered and released. In An Autobiography of John Muir, editor Stephen Brennan brings to light the many accomplishments of Muir's life through the naturalist's own nonfiction works, including The Story of My Boyhood and Youth and My First Summer in the Sierra.Through the essays featured in this book, readers will learn of Muir's childhood, which was split between Scotland and a farm in Wisconsin. They will travel the world with him, from the High Mountains to the Mono Trail, the Bloody Canyon, Yosemite, and everywhere in between.

Born in the shadows of a railroad yard, of a wandering mother who took her lovers where she found them and a father who was scarcely conscious of her arrival in the world, Bertha Thompson took to ‘the road'as soon as the restless impulses of adolescence stirred in her. She was more interested in wanders than those who settled down in homes, more interested in criminals than law-abiding citizens. She wanted to see how they lived, live as they did, know what they were like.As a result of her restlessness and curiosity, she became, in fifteen years of wandering, a hobo, treveling from one end of the country to the other in box-cars, “decking” passenger trains, and hitchhiking; member of a gang of shoplifters, traveling as the mistress of one of the men; a prostitute working in a Chicago brothel; the mother of a child of an unknown father; and a research worker for a New York social service bureau.Sister of the Road is Bertha's own story of those fifteen years and the record of her conclusions about them. Gifted with a naturally keen intelligence, fearless of consequences to herself, willing and eager to do and be everything which other members of her group did and were, her story is a mine of little-known information and a succession of moving human stories about that vast and growing army of homeless, jobless, wandering women who live by begging, stealing, cheating, prostituting themselves, and occasionally working at legitimate jobs.