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BIOGRAPHIES

A DEI COLLECTION OF PEOPLE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE

Posts in war
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By Le Ly Hayslip with Jay Warts

FROM THE COVER: “-Le Ly Hayslip was just twelve years old when U.S. helicopters landed in her tiny village in central Vietnam. As the government and Viet Cong troops ravaged the area, both sides recruited children as spies and saboteurs. Le Ly was one of those chil- dren. Before the age of sixteen, she had suffered near starvation, imprisonment, and the deaths of beloved family members--but miraculously found the strength to keep going, ultimately fleeing to the United States. Almost twenty years after her escape, she returned to the devastated country and loved ones she'd left behind. Scenes of this joyous reunion are interwoven with the brutal war years, creating an extraordinary portrait of the nation, then and now--and of one courageous woman who held fast to her faith in humanity. First published in 1989, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places was hailed as an instant classic. Now, more than two decades later, this indispensable memoir continues to be one of our most important accounts of a conflict we must never forget.

NY. Anchor. 2017. (1989). 460p.

Lincoln: The Best American Essays

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Edited by Sean Wilentz

FROM THE INTRODUCTION: “No president of the United Stales-and probably no figure in all of American history-is as widely revered as Abraham Lincoln. For several decades, scholars and the general public alike have uniformly ranked Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt as the three greatest presidents, and Lincoln almost always heads the list. The number of biographies and commentaries written in the United States about Lincoln is exceeded only by those written about Jesus Christ. As emancipator, commander-in-chief, orator, and martyr, Lincoln-or the image of Lincoln- stands for the nation's highest values. Yet as historians know, this is not the whole story. Before he was murdered, Lincoln was the butt of ridicule and worse from all across the political spectrum-in the North as well as the South. Since then, scholars have continually disagreed, sometimes sharply, about whether Lincoln truly earned the accolades he has received--and, if he did, what has made him so deserving.

NY. Palgrave. 2009. 266p.

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

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By Joseph J. Ellis

FROM THE PREFACE: “No Event in American history which was so improbable at the time has seemed so inevitable in retrospect as the American Revolution. On the inevitability side, it is true there were voices back then urging prospective patriots to regard American independence as an early version of manifest destiny. Tom Paine, for example, claimed that it was simply a matter of common sense that an island couldnot rule a continent. And Thomas Jefferson's lyrical rendering of the reasons for the entire revolutionaryenterprise emphasized the self-evident character of the principles at stake. Several other prominent American revolutionaries also talked as if they were actors in a historical drama whose script had already been written by the gods. In his old age, John Adams recalled his youthful intimations of the providential forces at work….”

NY. Vintage. 2002. 307p.

His Excellency: George Washington

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By Joseph J. Ellis

FROM THE PREFACE: “My own relationship with George Washington began early. I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, and attended St. Mary's grade school, about eight miles down Mount Vernon Boulevard from the estate where the great man once walked the earth. Because my school was so prox- imate to Mount Vernon, my teachers-all nuns--forced us to make frequent pilgrimages to the historic site where the spirit of America's greatest secular saint resided. Back then the tour was less historically informed than it is now. I don't recall slavery being mentioned at all. I do recall being told that the story of Washington's wooden teeth was a myth--my first encounter with the notion that you could not always trust what you read in history books. I remember this clearly because the high point of the tour was Washington's dentures, which were encased in glass and looked to me like a really gross instrument of torture made of metal and bone. The only other thing I remember is the majestic view of the Potomac from the piazza on the east side of the mansion….”

NY. Vintage. 2005. 354p.

The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789

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By Joseph J. Ellis

FROM THE PREFACE: “ The idea for this book first came to me while listening to twenty-eight middle school boys recite the Gettysburg Address from memory in front of their classmates and proud parents. My son Scott was teaching science at the Greenwood School in Putney, Vermont, and had invited me to judge the annual oratorical contest. Idon't remember exactly when it happened, but at some point during the strenuous if repetitious effort to get Lincoln's words right, it dawned on me that the first clause in the first sentence of Lincoln's famous speech was historically incorrect. Lincoln began as follows: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this Continent a new Nation." No, not really. In 1776 thirteen American colonies declared themselves independent states that came together temporarily to win the war, then would go their separate ways…”

NY. Vintage. 2016. 305p.

Champlain's Dream

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By David Hackett Fischer.

From the jacket: “In this sweeping, enthralling biography, acclaimed historian David Hackett Fischer brings to life the remarkable Samuel de Champlain-soldier, spy, master mariner, explorer, cartographer, artist, and Father ofNew France. Born on France's Atlantic coast, Champlain grew to manhood in a country riven by religious warfare. The historical record is unclear on whether Champlain was baptized Protestant or Catholic, but he fought in France's religious wars for the man who would become Henri IV, one of France's greatest kings, and like Henri, he was religiously tolerant in an age of murderous sectarianism. Champlain was also a brilliant navigator. He went to sea as a boy and over time acquired the skills that allowed him to make twenty-seven Atlantic crossings without losing a ship. But we remember Champlain mainly as a great explorer. On foot and by ship and canoe, he traveled through what are now six Canadian provinces and five American states. …”

NY. Simon and Schuster. 2008. 857p.

Oliver Cromwell And The Rule Of The Puritans In England

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By Sir Charles Firth

FROM THE INTRODUCTION BY G. M. YOUNG: “…If Cromwell had been allowed by the army to take the crown, it is well within conjecture that the nobility and gentry would have accepted the accomplished fact, seeing in it the return after those years of travail to stability and security. But the army would not allow it. A Head of the Commonwealth, a Protector---yes. But the step from Highness to Majesty -no…”

London. Oxford University Press. 1956. 516p

Thomas Cromwell The Rise And Fall Of Henry Viii's Most Notorious Minister

By Robert Hutchinson

FROM THE PROLOGUE: “Early on the morning of Saturday, 10 June 1540, Thomas Howard, Third Duke of Norfolk, summoned Sir Anthony Wingfield, the Captain of the King's Guard, to the Parliament House at Westminster. He ordered him to arrest Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's all powerful Chief Minister, after dinner - then normally served around noon - later that day. The captain was astonished by the instruction, but Norfolk told him bluntly: 'You need not be surprised. The king orders it."

NY. St. Martn’s Press. 2007. 376p. USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III Father of the English Nation

By Ian Mortimer

FROM THE INTRODUCTION: “On 19 October 1330, at dusk, two dozen men gathered in the centre of Nottingham. They were mostly in their twenties, and all on horsback, ready to ride out of the town. But unlike merchants or pilgrims assem- bling to set out together, these men were silent and unsmiling. Beneath their riding cloaks they were all heavily armed. The reason for their gathering lay within the fortress which overlooked the town. Somewhere within those walls, high on the massive outcrop, was Roger Mortimer, the earl of March, who kept the young king, Edward III, within his power and ruled in his place.”

London. Published by Jonathan Cape. 2006. 571p. USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

The Life And Times Of Winston Churchilll

By Malcolm Thomson

From Winston Churchill's speech made in the House of Commons on June 4th, 1940: “Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen, or may fall, into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail, we shal go on ot the end, we shal fight in France, we shallfight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and strength in the air, we shall defend our island whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island, or a large part of it, were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle until in God's good time the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and liberation of the Old.”

London. Odhams Press. 1945. 324p. USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP.

Jesse James: the Making of a Legend

By Larry C. Bradley

"Jesse James: The Making of a Legend" is a non-fiction book written by Eric L. James, a descendant of the Jesse James family. The book was published in 2004 and offers a revisionist account of the life and legacy of Jesse James, an American outlaw and folk hero who operated in the mid to late 19th century.

The book challenges many of the popular myths and legends surrounding Jesse James, presenting a more nuanced and historically accurate portrayal of his life and activities. Eric James argues that Jesse James was not simply a violent criminal, but rather a product of his time and circumstances, who was shaped by the social and economic upheavals of the post-Civil War era.

The book explores Jesse James' early life and family background, his involvement in the Confederate cause during the Civil War, and his subsequent career as an outlaw and guerrilla fighter. It also examines the cultural and political forces that contributed to the mythologizing of Jesse James, including the role of the media, popular culture, and regional identity.

Nevada, Missouri. Larren Publishers. 1980.