16 results for "History"

Countdown 1960 - The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever

Chris Wallace
Instant New York Times Bestseller The riveting new book on the momentous year, campaign, and election that shaped American history It’s January 2, 1960: the day that Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy declared his candidacy; and with this opening scene, Chris Wallace offers readers a front-row seat to history. From the challenge of primary battles in a nation that had never elected a Catholic president, to the intense machinations of the national conventions—where JFK chose Lyndon Johnson as his running mate over the impassioned objections of his brother Bobby—this is a nonfiction political thriller filled with intrigue, cinematic action, and fresh reporting. Like with many popular histories, readers may be familiar with the story, but few will know the behind-the-scenes details, told here with gripping effect. Featuring some of history’s most remarkable characters, page-turning action, and vivid details, Countdown 1960 follows a group of extraordinary politicians, civil rights leaders, Hollywood stars, labor bosses, and mobsters during a pivotal year in American history. The election of 1960 ushered in the modern era of presidential politics, with televised debates, private planes, and slick advertising. In fact, television played a massive role. More than 70 million Americans watched one or all four debates. The public turned to television to watch campaign rallies. And on the night of the election, the contest between Kennedy and Nixon was so close that Americans were glued to their televisions long after dawn to see who won. The election of 1960 holds stunning parallels to our current political climate. There were—potentially valid—claims of voter fraud and a stolen election. There was also a presidential candidate faced with the decision of whether to contest the result or honor the peaceful transfer of power.
Penguin Group 2026-05-19 448 pages

The Paranoid Style in American Politics

Richard Hofstadter
This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs. In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence — and derail — the larger agendas of a political party. He investigates the politics of the irrational, shedding light on how the behavior of individuals can seem out of proportion with actual political issues, and how such behavior impacts larger groups. With such other classic essays as “Free Silver and the Mind of 'Coin' Harvey” and “What Happened to the Antitrust Movement?”, The Paranoid Style in American Politics remains both a seminal text of political history and a vital analysis of the ways in which political groups function in the United States. "Recent months have witnessed an attack of unprecedented passion and ferocity against the national government. The Republican Party has apparently embarked on a crusade to destroy national standards, national projects, and national regulations and to transfer domestic governing authority from the national government to the states. A near majority of the Supreme Court even seems to want to replace the Constitution by the Articles of Confederation… "Unbridled rhetoric is having consequences far beyond anything that antigovernment politicians intend. The flow of angry words seems to have activated and in a sense legitimized what the historian Richard Hofstadter called the 'paranoid strain' in American politics." - Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Wall Street Journal, June 7, 1995
Cape 1966 348 pages

What this comedian said will shock you

Maher, Bill
The hilarious and controversial host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher has written his funniest, most opinionated, and most necessary book ever—a brilliantly astute and acerbically funny vivisection of American life, politics, and culture. Some of the smartest commentary about what’s happening in America is coming from a comedian—this comedian being Bill Maher. If you want to understand what’s wrong with this country, it turns out that one of the best informed and most thought-provoking analysts is this very funny pothead. The book was inspired by the “editorial” Bill delivers at the end of each episode of Real Time. These editorials are direct-to-camera sermons about culture, politics, and what’s happening in the world. To put this book together, Maher reviewed more than a decade of his editorials, rewriting, reimagining, and updating them, and adding new material to speak exactly to the moment we’re in. Free speech, cops, drugs, race, religion, the generations, cancel culture, the parties, the media, show biz, romance, health—Maher covers it all. The result is a hugely entertaining work of commentary about American culture in the tradition of Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and H. L. Mencken.
Simon & Schuster 2024-05-21 378 pages

Armed Madhouse

Palast, Greg
In his most provocative and caustically funny book yet, Greg Palast, author of the national bestseller The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, once again gives us the straight scoop on the stories that Big Media won?t report. Digging up reams of documents marked ?secret? and ?confidential,? Palast provides the latest lowdown on Bush?s secret plans to seize Iraq?s oil, the fix planned for the 2008 election, who drowned New Orleans, and the horror and the humor of the War on Terror. With diligent detective work, moral outrage, and a keen sense of the absurd, Palast takes on the ?armed and dangerous clowns that rule us? as only he can.
Dutton 2006 368 pages

Miami and the Siege of Chicago

Mailer, Norman
In this landmark work of journalism, Norman Mailer reports on the presidential conventions of 1968, the turbulent year from which today’s bitterly divided country arose. The Vietnam War was raging; Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy had just been assassinated. In August, the Republican Party met in Miami and picked Richard Nixon as its candidate, to little fanfare. But when the Democrats backed Lyndon Johnson’s ineffectual vice president, Hubert Humphrey, the city of Chicago erupted. Antiwar protesters filled the streets and the police ran amok, beating and arresting demonstrators and delegates alike, all broadcast on live television—and captured in these pages by one of America’s fiercest intellects. Praise for Miami and the Siege of Chicago “For historians who wish for the presence of a world-class literary witness at crucial moments in history, Mailer in Miami and Chicago was heaven-sent.”—Michael Beschloss, The Washington Post “Extraordinary . . . Mailer [predicted that] ‘we will be fighting for forty years.’ He got that right, among many other things.”—Christopher Hitchens, The Atlantic “Often reads like a good, old-fashioned novel in which suspense, character, plot revelations, and pungently describable action abound.”—The New York Review of Books “[A] masterful account . . . To understand 1968, you must read Mailer.”—Chicago Tribune From the Trade Paperback edition.
Berkley 1971-10-01 216 pages

#StayWoke Go Broke: Why South Africa Won't Survive America's Culture Wars (and what You Can Do about It)

Helen Zille
It's time to fight back. Each day, more South Africans are targeted, labelled, and hounded out of society for expressing their opinions - ordinary opinions that just a few years ago were accepted as rational common sense. Have you been "cancelled" by an online mob that won't stop harassing you until you're fired from your job? Helen Zille almost was - but she survived by fighting back. In #StayWoke: Go Broke , the bestselling author and defining South African political figure explains why the woke Left constitutes a greater threat to South Africa's future than the populist Right does. Now more than ever, liberals must strengthen their spines and fight for their values - or be eviscerated in the Culture Wars raging across the English-speaking world. If you're looking for an incisive, indispensable survival guide through this tumultuous period of South African history, then #StayWoke: Go Broke is for you. Buy it now.
Independently Published 2021-04-25 216 pages

See how they ran: the changing role of the presidential candidate

Troy, Gil
Many Americans feel that presidentials have become inordinately expensive, shallow, and vulgar. The seemingly endless contest even appears to discourage the most suitable candidates from seeking the highest office in the land. Frustrated, we long for the good old days of dignified campaigns and worthy candidates. As Troy's fascinating history demonstrates, however, they never existed. This definitive volume examines every presidential campaign from 1840 to the present to explore why candidates campaign as they do, and why Americans complain about it. Troy reveals what our presidential campaigns tell us about American democracy itself.
Harvard University Press 1996-03-01 372 pages

The battle for the Labour Party

Kogan, David
The Battle for the Labour Party was first published in 1981 and was referenced by Tony Benn in his 1980-1990 diaries as ‘a valuable guide to the developments within the Labour party at this time'.This 1982 updated edition is an essential resource for all who are interested in understanding the history of the Labour Party from 1973-1982.The continuing power struggle within the Labour Party had raged for decades and had drastic effects on its popularity and credibility. At the 1982 party conference, the division between the Left and Right sharpened. Tony Benn's attempts to get into the shadow cabinet, the defection of members to the SDP, the Militant inquiry and the Tatchell affair all added to this general disenchantment.This 1982 edition accurately describes how these events developed. There are two additional chapters which deal with the activities of New Left groups in London boroughs, and with the fightback of the Right between the two party conferences. Interviews with major figures, including Shirley Williams and Roy Grantham, shed light on the events of the time. There is also more detailed insight into the GLC and events within London.For everyone interested or involved in the history of British politics, The Battle for the Labour Party provides an insightful and thought-provoking account of a fascinating piece of history.
Kogan Page 1982-09-01 160 pages

Stalinism for all seasons: a political history of Romanian communism

Tismaneanu, Vladimir
Stalinism for All Seasons is the first comprehensive history of the Romanian Communist Party (RCP). It traces the origins of the once-tiny, clandestine revolutionary organization in the 1920s through the years of national power from 1944 to 1989 to the post-1989 metamorphoses of its members. Vladimir Tismaneanu uses documents that he discovered while working in the RCP archives in Bucharest in the mid-1990s and interviews with many of the party members from the Ceau_escu and Gheorghiu-Dej eras to tell the absorbing story of how RCP members came to power as exponents of Moscow and succeeded in turning themselves into champions of autonomy. Tismaneanu analyzes both the main events in Romanian communism and the role of significant personalities in the party’s history. Situating the rise and fall of Romanian communism within the world revolutionary movement, Stalinism for All Seasons shows that the history of communism in one country can illuminate the development of communism in the twentieth century. Tismaneanu discusses significant moments in the final six decades of world communism, including the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the Comintern, Stalin and the Bolshevization of the Eastern European communist parties, and de-Stalinization. He examines important events in international affairs during Nicolae Ceau_escu’s rule (1965-1989)―particularly Romania’s role in the Sino-Soviet conflict, the Middle East, European communism, and European security. Finally, Tismaneanu identifies the RCP’s descendants among Romania’s current political parties and personalities. Embracing a long and complex period, this book will interest readers of twentieth-century history and anyone curious about communism and postcommunism.
University of California Press 2003-10-15 379 pages

Oliver Tambo's dream: four lectures

Sachs, Albie
"If a paternity test were done on South Africa's widely admired Constitution, whose DNA would come up? Is the Constitution just a beautiful piece of paper? If Oliver Tambo were alive today, walking around South Africa, would he be pleased with what he saw? In this riveting, direct account of the genesis of South Africa's Constitution, former Justice Albie Sachs answers these crucial questions. In Oliver Tambo's Dream, Sachs writes about the years he spent working under Tambo's leadership in exile preparing for a post-apartheid constitutional order in South Africa and about the extreme crises that were overcome during the post-1990 constitution-making process to arrive at the document we have today. Tackling the burning issues that face our country today, he argues that the Constitution is a framework for struggle and decolonization that can be used to bring about land reform and true equality"--
African lives 2017 142 pages

Liberalism And The Challenge Of Fascism: Social Forces In England And France 1815-1870

Schapiro, J. Salwyn
""Liberalism And The Challenge Of Fascism: Social Forces In England And France 1815-1870"" is a historical analysis of the social and political forces that shaped liberalism and fascism in England and France during the period of 1815-1870. The book is written by J. Salwyn Schapiro, a renowned historian and political scientist who has extensively researched the subject matter.The book begins by examining the rise of liberalism in England and France and the challenges it faced from conservative and reactionary forces. Schapiro explores the tensions between the aristocracy and the rising middle class, the struggles for political representation and the emergence of new social movements. He then examines the emergence of fascism as a response to the perceived failures of liberalism and the challenges it posed to the established order.Schapiro's analysis is grounded in extensive research and draws on a wide range of primary and secondary sources. He provides a nuanced and detailed account of the social and political forces that shaped liberalism and fascism in England and France, and explores the complex relationships between these two ideologies.Overall, ""Liberalism And The Challenge Of Fascism: Social Forces In England And France 1815-1870"" is a comprehensive and insightful analysis of a critical period in European history. It will be of interest to scholars and students of history, political science, and sociology, as well as to anyone interested in the origins of modern political ideologies.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
Kessinger Publishing, LLC 2010-09-10 436 pages