USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP.

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.

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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.

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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.

UXED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

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.

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By Joseph .J . Ellis

FROM THE PREFACE: “Any aspiring biographer of Jefferson, recognizing the ink already spilled and the libraries already filled, might do well to recall the young Virginian's famous words of 1776. Which is to say that no one should undertake yet another book on Thomas Jefferson for "light and transient causes." In fact "prudence dictates" and "a decent respect of the opinions of mankind requires" that the publication of all new books about that man from Monticello be accompanied by a formal declaration of the causes that have impelled the author to undertake the effort.”

NY. Vintage. 1998. 482p.

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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.

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By Tracy Borman

FROM THE COVER FLAP: “A source of endless fascination and speculation, the subject of countless biographies, novels, and films, Elizabeth I is now considered from a thrilling new angle by the brilliant young historian Tracy Borman. So often viewed in her relationships with men, the Virgin Queen is portrayed here as the product of women--the mother she lost so tragically, the female subjects who worshipped her, and the peers and intimates who loved, raised, challenged, and sometimes opposed her.”

NY. Bantam. 2009. 505p.

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by Frances Donaldson

FROM THE COVER FLAP: “ He was the Prince of Wales, the king of England, and the Duke of Windsor, yet greatness eluded him all his life. With his wistful good looks and boyish charm he captivated millions, yet privately he could be singularly boorish and insensitive to the feelings of others. Much has been written about this enigmatic man, but until now there has never been a fully researched biography of the entire life of Edward VIII, whose abdication for, in his own words, "the woman I love" has always been the focus of published accounts of him. Why did the handsome, affectionate English boy, the most popular Prince of Wales in history, turn into the embittered, sad-faced man living between Paris and New York-the Duke of Windsor? With unparalleled access to the written and spoken memoirs and letters of those who knew him and his circle intimately, com bined with the sensitivity of the skillful biographer, Lady Donaldson answers that and other difficult questions with objectivity, clarity, humor, and a certain legitimate skepticism.”

NY. J. B. Lippincott Company. 1975.496p.

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By Giles Tremlett

FROM THE COVER: “The youngest child of the legendary monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel of Spain, Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) was born to marry for dynastic gain. Endowed with English royal blood on her mother's side, she was betrothed ini infancy to Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of Henry VIl of England, an alliance that greatly benefited both sides. Yet Arthur died weeks after their marriage in 1501, and Catherine found herself remarried to his younger brother, soon to become Henry VIII. The history of England- and indeed of Europe--would be forever altered by their union.

Drawing on his deep knowledge of both Spain and England- -as well as previously untapped Spanish sources- Giles Tremlett has produced the first full biography in more than four decades of the tenacious woman whose marriage to Henry VII lasted twice as long (twenty-four years) as his five other marriages combined. Her refusal to divorce him put her at the center of one of history's greatest power struggles- -Henry's break with the Catholic Church as, wanting a son, he attempted to annul his marriage to Catherine and wed Anne Boleyn. After Catherine's death, her daughter, Mary, would controversially inherit England's throne; briefly and bloodily, she returned the country to the Catholicism of her mother's native Spain, foreshadowing the Spanish Armada some three decades later.”

NY. Walker Publishing. 2010. 445p.

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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

By Moshe Lewin

FROM THE PREFACE:” The manuscript of this book was completed in February 1987. Naturally, events in the Soviet Union have continued to unfold, and phenomena barely visible in early 1987 are by now routinely covered in the world press. But historians are not in the business of chasing after each day's events, a domain rightly reserved for journalists and commentators. Nonetheless, current events need not be off-limits to scholars. There is a genre, attempted in this book, that can be called "the history of the present." What distinguishes such an account from a mere inventory of episodes and incidents--what makes it history-is that the events are observed as belonging to a process, a continuity that has some direction, passes through stages, and crosses some thresholds….”

Berkeley. University Of California Press. 1988. 186p. USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

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

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

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.

By Robin Bunce and Paul Field

 Darcus Howe: a Political Biography examines the struggle for racial justice in Britain, through the lens of one of Britain’s most prominent and controversial black journalists and campaigners. Born in Trinidad during the dying days of British colonialism, Howe became an uncompromising champion of racial justice. The book examines how Howe’s unique political outlook was inspired by the example of his friend and mentor C.L.R. James, and forged in the heat of the American civil rights movement, as well as Trinidad’s Black Power Revolution. The book sheds new light on Howe’s leading role in the defining struggles in Britain against institutional racism in the police, the courts and the media. It focuses on his part as a defendant in the trial of the Mangrove Nine, the high point of Black Power in Britain; his role in conceiving and organizing the Black People’s Day of Action, the largest ever demonstration by the black community in Britain; and his later work as one of a prominent journalist and political commentator.

London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. 305p.

By Harry King . As told to and edited by Bill Chambliss

FROM THE INTRODUCTION: “From approximately 1910 until 1960 Harry King lived a life of crime. For the better part ofthose years he was a professional thief specializing in safe-cracking. This is his story. Through it we are provided a glimpse into a life style, a philosophy and a pattern of living that is ordinarily obscured from our vision. By coming to grips with Harry's life we learn a great deal more about America, Law, Order and Being.”

NY. Harper & Row. 1972. 186p. USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By John Bowlby

From the Preface: I first became interested in Charles Darwin as a personality, and as a scientist and invalid, thirty years ago when I read the new and complete version of his Autohiography, edited by hisgranddaughter, Nora Barlow. In it, amongst much else, he makes brief reference to the chronic ill-health from which he suffered over many years and the nature of which, I knew, hadfor long been a subject of controversy, the major issue being whether his symptoms were caused by an organic illness or were of emotional origin. At the time, I was working on the psychological il-effects that are apt to follow a childhood bereavement and so, when I learned that Darwin's mother had died when he was eight years old, I began to wonder whether that might have played some part in the genesis ofhis troubles. Alittle later, when the medical controversy erupted again, I made a brief contribution raising the issue. Having many other commitments at the time,I was unable to pursue the idea further, though Thoped it might one day be possible…”

NY. W. W. Norton. 1990. 511p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Ilse Ollendorff Reich

"Wilhelm Reich: A Personal Biography" was actually written by Ilse Ollendorff Reich, the wife of Wilhelm Reich. The book was published posthumously in 1969, a year after Wilhelm Reich's death.

The biography provides a personal and intimate perspective on Reich's life, as it was written by someone who knew him intimately. Ilse Ollendorff Reich was herself a psychoanalyst and a close collaborator of her husband, and her biography provides insights into Reich's theories and ideas as well as his personal life.

The book covers Reich's childhood, his education and training in medicine and psychology, his work with Sigmund Freud and his eventual break with the psychoanalytic community, his research on orgone energy and his later years in the United States, where he faced opposition from government authorities and eventually died in prison.

Ilse Ollendorff Reich's biography is notable for its compassionate and empathetic portrayal of her husband, as well as its frank and honest evaluation of his ideas and theories. She also provides valuable insights into the social and political context in which Reich developed his theories, and the challenges that he faced in trying to pursue his research.

NY. Avon Books. 1989. 219p.

By Alexander Masters

"Stuart: A Life Backwards" is a biographical book written by Alexander Masters and published in 2005. The book tells the true story of Stuart Clive Shorter, a homeless and mentally ill man living on the streets of Cambridge, England.

The book is unique in its structure, as it is written in reverse chronological order, beginning with the end of Stuart's life and moving backwards through time. Through this unconventional approach, the reader gains insight into Stuart's troubled past and the events that led to his current situation.

Masters became friends with Stuart while working for a homeless charity in Cambridge, and the book is based on his extensive interviews and interactions with Stuart over the course of several years. The book also includes excerpts from Stuart's own writing and letters, providing a personal and intimate perspective on his life and struggles.

London. Fourth Estate. 2005. 332p.

By Erik H. Erikson

From the cover: Many of the methods of civil disobedience so widely and so sporadically used today have their origin in Mahatma Gandhi’s militant nonviolence. In order to eluci­date the nature of what Gandhi called his Truth in Action, Erikson sets out to retell in great detail a relatively little-known event in Gandhi’s middle years, namely, his assumption of leadership in a strike of textile workers in the city of Ahmedabad in 1918. Erikson explains Gandhi’s method of concentrating on local grievances of high symbolic value as a way of mobi­lizing the Indian masses both spiritually and politically — a method that distin­guished Gandhi from the charismatic fig­ures (Lenin, Wilson) of the post-World War I period…..Erikson counterpoints Freud’s insights into the nature of sexuality (and Gandhi’s disavowal of it) and Gandhi’s insights into the nature of armed violence (and Freud’s fatalism regarding it) and con­cludes that only a combination of these insights might give man some measure of mastery over his fatal alternation of re­pression and excess.

NY. W. W. Norton. 1969. 465p.