History : Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies)

Offering an abbreviated, accessible, and lively narrative history of the United States, this erudite volume contains the essential facts about the discovery, settlement, growth, and development of the American nation and its institutions. Robert V. Remini explores the arrival and migration of Native Americans throughout the Western Hemisphere and their achievements; the discovery of the New World by Europeans and the establishment of colonies by the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch; the causes of the American Revolution; the founding of a republic under the Constitution; the formation of political parties; the War of 1812 and the resulting economic and cultural changes; the democratic impetus during the Jacksonian era; westward expansion and the Mexican War; the struggle over slavery, which led to the Civil War; Reconstruction and the rise of big business; the emergence of the United States as a world power; the descent into the Great Depression; the global conflicts of the twentieth century; the rise of conservatism; and the outbreak of terrorism here and abroad. In addition, Remini illustrates how former English subjects slowly transformed themselves into Americans, and shows how a collection of sovereign, independent colonies united to create a workable, constantly evolving republican government whose democratic principles reflect the changing mores and attitudes of the citizens it represents. He explains the reasons for the nation's unique and enduring strengths, its artistic and cultural accomplishments, its genius in developing new products to sell to the world, and its abiding commitment to individual freedoms. more...

Price: $19.95

A historian debunks four-dozen PC myths about our nation’s past. Over the last forty years, history textbooks have become more and more politically correct and distorted about our country’s past, argues professor Larry Schweikart. The result, he says, is that students graduate from high school and even college with twisted beliefs about economics, foreign policy, war, religion, race relations, and many other subjects. As he did in his popular A Patriot’s History of the United States, Professor Schweikart corrects liberal bias by rediscovering facts that were once widely known. He challenges distorted books by name and debunks forty-eight common myths. A sample:. • The founders wanted to create a “wall of separation” between church and state. • Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation only because he needed black soldiers. • Truman ordered the bombing of Hiroshima to intimidate the Soviets with “atomic diplomacy”. • Mikhail Gorbachev, not Ronald Reagan, was responsible for ending the Cold War. America’s past, though not perfect, is far more admirable than you were probably taught. more...

Price: $25.95

Matthew Currier Burden founded www.blackfive.net, one of the most popular military blogs on the Internet. His blog began as an homage to a friend killed on duty in Iraq and quickly became a source of information about what was really happening in Afghanistan and Iraq. In The Blog of War Burden presents selections from some of the best of the military blogs, the purest account of the many voices of this war. This is the first real-time history of a war, a history written even as the war continues. It offers a glimpse into the full range of military experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, from the decision to enlist right through to homecoming. There are powerful stories of soldiers in combat, touching reflections on helping local victims of terror and war, pulse-racing accounts of med-evac units and hospitals, and heartbreaking chronicles of spouses who must cope when a loved one has paid the ultimate price. The Blog of War provides an uncensored, intimate, and authentic version of life in the war zone. Dozens of voices come together in a wartime choir that conveys better than any second-hand account possibly can what it is like to serve on the front lines. more...

Price: $11.99

What do UFO believers, Christian millennialists, and right-wing conspiracy theorists have in common? According to Michael Barkun in this fascinating yet disturbing book, quite a lot. It is well known that some Americans are obsessed with conspiracies. more...

Price: $12.95

Upon its first publication, A Different Mirror was hailed by critics and academics everywhere as a dramatic new retelling of our nation's past. Beginning with the colonization of the New World, it recounted the history of America in the voice of the non-Anglo peoples of the United States--Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and others--groups who helped create this country's rich mosaic culture. Now, Ronald Takaki has revised his landmark work and made it even more relevant and important. Among the new additions to the book are:. --The role of black soldiers in preserving the Union. --The history of Chinese Americans from 1900-1941. --An investigation into the hot-button issue of "illegal" immigrants from Mexico. --A look at the sudden visibility of Muslim refugees from Afghanistan. This new edition of A Different Mirror is a remarkable achievement that grapples with the raw truth of American history and examines the ultimate question of what it means to be an American. more...

Price: $11.99