14302 results for "History"

World of Our Fathers

Irving Howe
A new 30th Anniversary paperback edition of an award-winning classic. Winner of the National Book Award, 1976 World of Our Fathers traces the story of Eastern Europe's Jews to America over four decades. Beginning in the 1880s, it offers a rich portrayal of the East European Jewish experience in New York, and shows how the immigrant generation tried to maintain their Yiddish culture while becoming American. It is essential reading for those interested in understanding why these forebears to many of today's American Jews made the decision to leave their homelands, the challenges these new Jewish Americans faced, and how they experienced every aspect of immigrant life in the early part of the twentieth century. This invaluable contribution to Jewish literature and culture is now back in print in a new paperback edition, which includes a new foreword by noted author and literary critic Morris Dickstein.
Galahad Books 1994 714 pages

Flipped: how Georgia turned purple and broke the monopoly on Republican power

Bluestein, Greg
"Flipped provides an account of how the election of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff transformed Georgia from a Republican stronghold to a battleground state. Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein charts how progressive activists and organizers worked to help register hundreds of thousands of new voters and how Joe Biden's 2020 victory in Georgia may inform Democratic strategy for years to come. He also chronicles how Georgia's Republicans countered with a move to the right that culminated in key state leaders defying Donald Trump's demands to overturn his 2020 defeat"--
Viking 2022-03-22 342 pages

The messianic idea in Judaism and other essays on Jewish spirituality

Scholem, Gershom
An insightful collection of essays on the Kabbalah and Jewish spirituality—from the preeminent scholar of Jewish mysticism. Gershom Scholem was the master builder of historical studies of the Kabbalah. When he began to work on this neglected field, the few who studied these texts were either amateurs who were looking for occult wisdom, or old-style Kabbalists who were seeking guidance on their spiritual journeys. His work broke with the outlook of the scholars of the previous century in Judaica—die Wissenschaft des Judentums, the Science of Judaism—whose orientation he rejected, calling their “disregard for the most vital aspects of the Jewish people as a collective entity: a form of “censorship of the Jewish past.” The major founders of modern Jewish historical studies in the nineteenth century, Leopold Zunz and Abraham Geiger, had ignored the Kabbalah; it did not fit into their account of the Jewish religion as rational and worthy of respect by “enlightened” minds. The only exception was the historian Heinrich Graetz. He had paid substantial attention to its texts and to their most explosive exponent, the false Messiah Sabbatai Zevi, but Graetz had depicted the Kabbalah and all that flowed from it as an unworthy revolt from the underground of Jewish life against its reasonable, law-abiding, and learned mainstream. Scholem conducted a continuing polemic with Zunz, Geiger, and Graetz by bringing into view a Jewish past more varied, more vital, and more interesting than any idealized portrait could reveal. — from the Foreword by Arthur Hertzberg, 1995
Schocken Books 1995-05-10 376 pages

Vengeance

George Jonas
In 1972, 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics. This is the chilling account of how they were avenged. First published in 1984, George Jonas’s #1 bestseller Vengeance has become a real-life espionage classic. The story of five ordinary young Israelis whose mission it was to hunt down and kill the terrorists responsible for the massacre of eleven athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Vengeance plunges the reader into an explosive world of terrorism and political murder. This is an account of what happened when five idealistic volunteer agents were sent to track down and kill the central figures of the PLO's Munich operation, told from the point of view of "Avner," a member of the team chosen to avenge the monstrous crime, and the first Mossad agent to come out of "deep cover" to tell his story. His description of the mechanics, the horrors and the unrelenting suspense of this mission surpasses the wildest fabrications of today’s blockbuster movies and bestselling crime thrillers. As these men moved from country to country, changing identities and risking their lives, they soon became targets themselves—tracked, hunted and even killed. A profoundly human story, Vengeance explores firsthand the revulsion and doubt that came to torment the Israeli agents, inexorably changing their view of the mission and ultimately how they felt about themselves. It is also a stark examination of the timeless concerns that continue to plague our consciousness today: the nature of good and evil, and the difference between right and wrong.
HarperCollins 2005-11-28 408 pages

Denying the Holocaust: the growing assault on truth and memory

Lipstadt, Deborah E.
A detailed analysis of the phenomenon of Holocaust denial, which originated in the myth of the Jewish conspiracy and radical anti-Jewish propaganda. Examines the activities and writings of Holocaust deniers in France (P. Rassinier, R. Faurisson), in the USA (H.E. Barnes, D.L. Hoggan, A.J. App, A. Butz, W.A. Carto, F. Leuchter), and in Great Britain (R.E. Harwood, D. Irving). Focuses on the propagandistic use of Holocaust denial by radical right and neo-Nazi groups, the activities of the Institute for Historical Review (IHR), and the penetration of Holocaust denial propaganda in American campuses. Describes the trials of Ernst Zundel in Canada, and the Mermelstein suit against the IHR. Mentions relativization of the Holocaust in the "historians' debate" in Germany. An appendix (pp. 223-235) deals with Holocaust deniers' allegations regarding the use of Zyklon B in Auschwitz, and the authenticity of the diary of Anne Frank.
Free Press 1993-06-19 278 pages

Abraham

Bruce Feiler
In this timely, provocative, and uplifting journey, the bestselling author of Walking the Bible searches for the man at the heart of the world's three monotheistic religions -- and today's deadliest conflicts. At a moment when the world is asking, “Can the religions get along?” one figure stands out as the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. One man holds the key to our deepest fears -- and our possible reconciliation. Abraham. Bruce Feiler set out on a personal quest to better understand our common patriarch. Traveling in war zones, climbing through caves and ancient shrines, and sitting down with the world's leading religious minds, Feiler uncovers fascinating, little-known details of the man who defines faith for half the world. Both immediate and timeless, Abraham is a powerful, universal story, the first-ever interfaith portrait of the man God chose to be his partner. Thoughtful and inspiring, it offers a rare vision of hope that will redefine what we think about our neighbors, our future, and ourselves.
HarperCollins 2002-09-17 288 pages

The Candy Bombers The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour

Andrei Cherny
"What an exciting, inspiring, and wonderfully-written book this is....Each page has lessons for today, and it is also a thrilling narrative to read." --Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Steve Jobs The masterfully told story of the unlikely men who came together to make the Berlin Airlift one of the great military and humanitarian successes of American history. On the sixtieth anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, Andrei Cherny tells a remarkable story with profound implications for the world today. In the tradition of the best narrative storytellers, he brings together newly unclassified documents, unpublished letters and diaries, and fresh primary interviews to tell the story of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and second-stringers who not only saved millions of desperate people from a dire threat but changed how the world viewed the United States, and set in motion the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and to America's victory in the Cold War. On June 24, 1948, intent on furthering its domination of Europe, the Soviet Union cut off all access to West Berlin, prepared to starve the city into submission unless the Americans abandoned it. Soviet forces hugely outnumbered the Allies', and most of America's top officials considered the situation hopeless. But not all of them. Harry Truman, an accidental president, derided by his own party; Lucius Clay, a frustrated general, denied a combat command and relegated to the home front; Bill Tunner, a logistics expert downsized to a desk job in a corner of the Pentagon; James Forrestal, a secretary of defense beginning to mentally unravel; Hal Halvorsen, a lovesick pilot who had served far from the conflict, flying transport missions in the backwater of a global war--together these unlikely men improvised and stumbled their way into a uniquely American combination of military and moral force unprecedented in its time. This is the forgotten foundation tale of America in the modern world, the story of when Americans learned, for the first time, how to act at the summit of world power--a masterful and exciting work of historical narrative, and one with strong resonance for our time.
Penguin Publishing Group 2009-06 624 pages

The cruelty is the point: why Trump's America endures / Adam Serwer

Serwer, Adam
"To many, our most shocking political crises appear unprecedented--un-American, even. But they are not, writes The Atlantic's Adam Serwer in this prescient essay collection, which dissects the most devastating moments in recent memory to reveal deeply entrenched dynamics, patterns as old as the country itself. The January 6 insurrection, anti-immigrant sentiment, and American authoritarianism all have historic roots that explain their continued power with or without President Donald Trump--a fact borne out by what has happened since his departure from the White House. Serwer argues that Trump is not the cause, he is a symptom. Serwer's phrase "the cruelty is the point" became among the most-used descriptions of Trump's era, but as this book demonstrates, it resonates across centuries. The essays here combine revelatory reporting, searing analysis, and a clarity that's bracing. In this new, expanded version of his bestselling debut, Serwer elegantly dissects white supremacy's profound influence on our political system, looking at the persistence of the Lost Cause, the past and present of police unions, the mythology of migration, and the many faces of anti-Semitism. In so doing, he offers abundant proof that our past is present and demonstrates the devastating costs of continuing to pretend it's not. The Cruelty Is the Point dares us, the reader, to not look away."--
One World 2022-09-20 404 pages

American midnight: the Great War, a violent peace, and democracy's forgotten crisis

Hochschild, Adam
National Bestseller * One of the year's most acclaimed works of nonfiction A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, Kirkus, New York Post, Fast Company From legendary historian Adam Hochschild, a "masterly" (New York Times) reassessment of the overlooked but startlingly resonant period between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when the foundations of American democracy were threatened by war, pandemic, and violence fueled by battles over race, immigration, and the rights of labor The nation was on the brink. Mobs burned Black churches to the ground. Courts threw thousands of people into prison for opinions they voiced--in one notable case, only in private. Self-appointed vigilantes executed tens of thousands of citizens' arrests. Some seventy-five newspapers and magazines were banned from the mail and forced to close. When the government stepped in, it was often to fan the flames. This was America during and after the Great War: a brief but appalling era blighted by lynchings, censorship, and the sadistic, sometimes fatal abuse of conscientious objectors in military prisons--a time whose toxic currents of racism, nativism, red-baiting, and contempt for the rule of law then flowed directly through the intervening decades to poison our own. It was a tumultuous period defined by a diverse and colorful cast of characters, some of whom fueled the injustice while others fought against it: from the sphinxlike Woodrow Wilson, to the fiery antiwar advocates Kate Richards O'Hare and Emma Goldman, to labor champion Eugene Debs, to a little-known but ambitious bureaucrat named J. Edgar Hoover, and to an outspoken leftwing agitator--who was in fact Hoover's star undercover agent. It is a time that we have mostly forgotten about, until now. In American Midnight, award-winning historian Adam Hochschild brings alive the horrifying yet inspiring four years following the U.S. entry into the First World War, spotlighting forgotten repression while celebrating an unforgettable set of Americans who strove to fix their fractured country--and showing how their struggles still guide us today.
Mariner Books 2023-10-17 432 pages

Making history

Fry, Stephen
Those of us who have already discovered Stephen Fry know him as the brilliant British comedian behind TV series such as Jeeves & Wooster and Blackadder, and the author of two enormously funny novels, The Liar and The Hippopotamus. But his new film (in which he plays Oscar Wilde) and his new novel (this one) represent a somewhat alarming departure from his previous work: They're more serious. Though humor is still an essential ingredient of both, Fry's fans are finally getting to witness the emotional depth that this brilliant polymath usually keeps hidden. In Making History, Fry has bitten off a rather meaty chunk by tackling an at first deceptively simple premise: What if Hitler had never been born? An unquestionable improvement, one would reason--and so an earnest history grad student and an aging German physicist idealistically undertake to bring this about by preventing Adolf's conception. And with their success is launched a brave new world that is in some ways better than ours--but in most ways even worse. Fry's experiment in history makes for his most ambitious novel yet, and his most affecting. His first book to be set mostly in America, it is a thriller with a funny streak, a futuristic fantasy based on one of mankind's darkest realities. It is, in every sense, a story of our times. "From the Hardcover edition.
Arrow 1997 556 pages

The Presidents: A Reference History

Henry F. Graff
This monumental work offers a comprehensive narrative history of the American presidency from the institution of the office in 1789 through the end of Bill Clinton's first term, including 1996 election results. Each chapter is essentially a biography of an admin., not just the man who held the office. The authors, all noted experts on the presidency, analyze the social, political, economic, & foreign policy decisions of each administration & their effects on both domestic & international affairs. Each chapter features a portrait of the president as well as an up-to-date annotated bibliography. Also surveys the roles the First Ladies have played. Illustrated.
DIANE Publishing Company 1999-07-01 815 pages

A world at arms: a global history of World War II

Weinberg, Gerhard L.
This is the first general history of World War II to be based both on the existing literature and on extensive work in British, American and German archives. It covers all the theaters of war, the weaponry used, and developments on the home front. Taking a global perspective, the work deals with all belligerents and relates events in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific to each other. The role of diplomacy and strategy, of intelligence and espionage, and the impact of war upon society are all dealt with, often on the basis of hitherto unknown material. New light is shed on the actions of great and small powers and on topics ranging from the beginning of the war to the dropping of the atomic bombs; the titanic battles on the Eastern Front are fitted into the war as a whole; the killing of six million Jews and millions of others is placed into context; and the fighting at sea and in the air is included in a coherent view of the great conflict. --
Cambridge University Press 1994 1178 pages

Powers: the secret history of Deena Pilgrim

Bendis, Brian Michael,Kleid, Neil
Ever since she could walk, Homicide Detective Deena Pilgrim followed in her father's footsteps. A man with a badge, Waldo Pilgrim surrounded himself with what Deena believed to be the cream of the crop when it came to serving and protecting. These days, Deena won't discuss her father or the life she left behind in Atlanta years ago, a life before she partnered with Christian Walker to investigate homicide cases in a city where perps and victims boast incredible, dangerous powers. But when a cold case reopens a series of unsolved murders that point back to Deena's family tree, she is unavoidably reacquainted with a former boyfriend with ties to both sets of killings, along with her sordid past.
Titan Books 2016-03 320 pages