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Books > History > American history
Union Pacific Railroad Heritage covers the history of this amazing
railroad that was founded in 1862 and completed the United States
first transcontinental railroad in 1869. With the need to develop
more powerful steam locomotives to handle the railroad's steep
gradients, the Union Pacific Railroad designed the 4-12-2
locomotive, 4-6-6-4 Challenger which influenced development of the
4-8-8-4 Big Boy, followed by the 6,600-horsepower Centennial diesel
locomotive, and 8,500-horsepower gas turbine electric locomotive.
The Union Pacific Railroad operated well-maintained passenger
trains including City of San Francisco, City of Los Angeles, City
of Portland, and City of Denver until May 1, 1971, when AMTRAK took
over United States intercity passenger service.
Bounded on the north by the Little Satilla River from neighboring
Glynn County and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Camden County's
southern boundary at the St. Marys River separates Georgia from
Florida. Dating from a 1766 land grant, port of St. Marys and
Camden County have faced a challenging past, present, and future.
Camden's growth and development have been driven by businessmen,
adventurers and opportunists, determined "wild swamp Crackers," and
hardy, self-reliant, God-fearing men and women.
Accompanied by Jonathan Bryan, a planter with an insatiable
appetite for virgin tracts of land, Georgia's third and last Royal
Governor James Wright visited Buttermilk Bluff in June 1767 and
envisioned a city. St. Marys was born, and its street names reflect
the surnames of the 20 founding fathers. While the county seat was
removed from a quaint St. Marys on more than one occasion, today,
the garden spot of Woodbine serves as the seat of county
government. Formerly the rice plantation of J.K. Bedell, this small
city shares a symbiotic relationship with port of St. Marys and the
"City of Royal Treatment" at Kingsland. The history of the county,
with its three main towns as well as the outlying, rural areas,
unfolds in striking photographs from days gone by. Preserved within
the pages of this treasured volume, images reveal Camden and its
people in times of tragedy and triumph.
First published in 1853, 12 Years a Slave is the riveting true
story of a free black American who was sold into slavery, remaining
there for a dozen years until he finally escaped. This powerfully
written memoir details the horrors of slave markets, the inhumanity
practiced on southern plantations, and the nobility of a man who
persevered in some of the worst of conditions, a man who never
ceased to hope that he would find freedom and see his beloved
family again. This edition has been slightly edited--for spelling
and punctuation only--for easier reading by a modern audience. It
also includes two helpful appendixes not found in the original
book. Now a major motion picture
"Compact and insightful. "--New York Times Book Review "Jack Larkin has retrieved the irretrievable; the intimate facts of everyday life that defined what people were really like."--American Heritage
In this dazzling work of history, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author
follows Benjamin Franklin to France for the crowning achievement of
his career
In December of 1776 a small boat delivered an old man to France."
So begins an enthralling narrative account of how Benjamin
Franklin-seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and
possessed of the most rudimentary French-convinced France, an
absolute monarchy, to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
When Franklin stepped onto French soil, he well understood he was
embarking on the greatest gamble of his career. By virtue of fame,
charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies,
French informers, and hostile colleagues; engineered the
Franco-American alliance of l778; and helped to negotiate the peace
of l783. The eight-year French mission stands not only as
Franklin's most vital service to his country but as the most
revealing of the man.
In "A Great Improvisation," Stacy Schiff draws from new and
little-known sources to illuminate the least-explored part of
Franklin's life. Here is an unfamiliar, unforgettable chapter of
the Revolution, a rousing tale of American infighting, and the
treacherous backroom dealings at Versailles that would propel
George Washington from near decimation at Valley Forge to victory
at Yorktown. From these pages emerge a particularly human and yet
fiercely determined Founding Father, as well as a profound sense of
how fragile, improvisational, and international was our country's
bid for independence.
Again available in paperback is Eric Sevareid's widely
acclaimed Not So Wild a Dream. In this brilliant first-person
account of a young journalist's experience during World War II,
Sevareid records both the events of the war and the development of
journalistic strategies for covering international affairs. He also
recalls vividly his own youth in North Dakota, his decision to
study journalism, and his early involvement in radio reporting
during the beginnings of World War II.
Think you know your Civil War History? No matter how well-versed
you think you are in Civil War facts and trivia, this book will
enlighten and entertain you with little-known details of one of the
most important events in American history. Civil War Trivia and
Fact Book is your ultimate resource for mastering the minutia of
America's War Between the States. Compiled by Civil War expert Webb
Garrison, this book is packed with more than 2,000 fascinating
facts about the war, its prelude, and its aftermath. This treasure
trove of trivia and information includes: events that happened in
both the North and South between 1861 and 1865 the distinguished
military and political leaders of the day key issues that defined
the Union and the Confederacy famous first events of the war, and
more This wealth of information is presented in simple
question-and-answer format and is a perfect book for a history buff
or someone interested in learning more about this historical and
signature event in American history.
Winner of the Blogger's Book Prize, 2021 Shortlisted for the
People's Book Prize, 2021 Winner of Best Literary Fiction and Best
Multicultural Fiction at American Book Fest International Book
Awards, 2021 'An epic account of Viet Nam's painful 20th-century
history, both vast in scope and intimate in its telling... Moving
and riveting.' Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
The Sympathizer Selected as a Best Book of 2020 by NB Magazine *
BookBrowse * Buzz Magazine * NPR * Washington Independent Review of
Books * Real Simple * She Reads * A Hindu's View * Thoughts from a
Page One family, two generations of women and a war that will
change their lives forever Ha Noi, 1972. Huong and her grandmother,
Tran Dieu Lan, cling to one another in their improvised shelter as
American bombs fall around them. For Tran Dieu Lan, forced to flee
the family farm with her six children decades earlier as the
Communist government rose to power in the North, this experience is
horribly familiar. Seen through the eyes of these two unforgettable
women, The Mountains Sing captures their defiance and
determination, hope and unexpected joy. Vivid, gripping, and
steeped in the language and traditions of Viet Nam, celebrated
Vietnamese poet Nguyen's richly lyrical debut weaves between the
lives of a grandmother and granddaughter to paint a unique picture
of a country pushed to breaking point, and a family who refuse to
give up. 'Devastating... From the French and Japanese occupations
to the Indochina wars, The Great Hunger, land reform and the
Vietnam War, it's a story of resilience, determination, family and
hope in a country blighted by pain.' Refinery29
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A #1 ABA INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
BESTSELLER Few in history can match the revolutionary career of the
Marquis de Lafayette. Over fifty incredible years at the heart of
the Age of Revolution, he fought courageously on both sides of the
Atlantic. He was a soldier, statesman, idealist, philanthropist,
and abolitionist. As a teenager, Lafayette ran away from France to
join the American Revolution. Returning home a national hero, he
helped launch the French Revolution, eventually spending five years
locked in dungeon prisons. After his release, Lafayette sparred
with Napoleon, joined an underground conspiracy to overthrow King
Louis XVIII, and became an international symbol of liberty.
Finally, as a revered elder statesman, he was instrumental in the
overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty in the Revolution of 1830. From
enthusiastic youth to world-weary old age, from the pinnacle of
glory to the depths of despair, Lafayette never stopped fighting
for the rights of all mankind. His remarkable life is the story of
where we come from, and an inspiration to defend the ideals he held
dear.
"A rich study of the role of personal psychology in the shaping of
the new global order after World War I. So long as so much
political power is concentrated in one human mind, we are all at
the mercy of the next madman in the White House." -Gary J. Bass,
author of The Blood Telegram The notorious psychobiography of
Woodrow Wilson, rediscovered nearly a century after it was written
by Sigmund Freud and US diplomat William C. Bullitt, sheds new
light on how the mental health of a controversial American
president shaped world events. When the fate of millions rests on
the decisions of a mentally compromised leader, what can one person
do? Disillusioned by President Woodrow Wilson's destructive and
irrational handling of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, a US diplomat
named William C. Bullitt asked this very question. With the help of
his friend Sigmund Freud, Bullitt set out to write a psychological
analysis of the president. He gathered material from personal
archives and interviewed members of Wilson's inner circle. In The
Madman in the White House, Patrick Weil resurrects this forgotten
portrait of a troubled president. After two years of collaboration,
Bullitt and Freud signed off on a manuscript in April 1932. But the
book was not published until 1966, nearly thirty years after
Freud's death and only months before Bullitt's. The published
edition was heavily redacted, and by the time it was released, the
mystique of psychoanalysis had waned in popular culture and
Wilson's legacy was unassailable. The psychological study was
panned by critics, and Freud's descendants denied his involvement
in the project. For nearly a century, the mysterious, original
Bullitt and Freud manuscript remained hidden from the public. Then
in 2014, while browsing the archives of Yale University, Weil
happened upon the text. Based on his reading of the 1932
manuscript, Weil examines the significance of Bullitt and Freud's
findings and offers a major reassessment of the notorious
psychobiography. The result is a powerful warning about the
influence a single unbalanced personality can have on the course of
history.
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