Two resolute women-the first female 'warco' and the trader
This special Leonaur two-in-one volume contains accounts by two resourceful and independent women who made their way through the often hostile bushlands of Southern Africa in the 19th Century. The youngest daughter of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and aunt to Winston Churchill, the future Prime Minister, Lady Sarah-Spencer Churchill became the first female war correspondent when she was recruited to cover the siege of Mafeking, during the Second Boer War, for the Daily Mail. Baden-Powell and his garrison including (Lady Sarah's husband), under constant attack by superior Boer forces, were awaiting relief from the British Army under Roberts. On Baden-Powell's insistence Lady Sarah had left Mafeking before it was surrounded, but had been captured by the Boers and returned to the town under a prisoner exchange scheme. Although untrained as a journalist, Lady Sarah's 'matter of fact' style proved to be a huge hit with the domestic reading audience for depicting the' carry on under any adversity' bulldog spirit that they felt typified their national character. From an earlier period of the Cape's troubled colonial history, the second work in this book, relating Mrs. Heckford's experiences, are of no less interest. Arriving in the Cape on the eve of the Zulu War in the late 1870s, this remarkable and resolute lady carved a life for herself in close proximity to the potentially dangerous Kaffir tribes and the Boers who were disaffected by British Imperial rule and by the annexation of the Transvaal in particular. The hostilities of the First Anglo-Boer War, notable for the British disaster at Majuba Hill in 1881, broke out in late 1880 and Mrs. Heckford found herself besieged in Pretoria in the midst of the uprising.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Every city and every state needs a Richard Ravitch. In sixty years on the job, whether working in business or government, he was the man willing to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing New York. Trained as a lawyer, he worked briefly for the House of Representatives, then began his career in his family's construction business. He built high-profile projects like the Whitney Museum and Citicorp Center but his primary energy was devoted to building over 40,000 units of affordable housing including the first racially integrated apartment complex in Washington, D.C. He dealt with architects, engineers, lawyers, bureaucrats, politicians, union leaders, construction workers, bankers, and tenants--virtually all of the people who make cities and states work.
It was no surprise that those endeavors ultimately led to a life of public service. In 1975, Ravitch was asked by then New York Governor Hugh Carey to arrange a rescue of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, a public entity that had issued bonds to finance over 30,000 affordable housing units but was on the verge of bankruptcy. That same year, Ravitch was at Carey's side when New York City's biggest banks said they would no longer underwrite its debt and he became instrumental to averting the city's bankruptcy.
Throughout his career, Ravitch divided his time between public service and private enterprise. He was chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from 1979 to 1983 and is generally credited with rebuilding the system. He turned around the Bowery Savings Bank, chaired a commission that rewrote the Charter of the City of New York, served on two Presidential Commissions, and became chief labor negotiator for Major League Baseball.
Then, in 2008, after Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal and New York State was in a post-financial-crisis meltdown, Spitzer's successor, David Paterson, appointed Ravitch Lieutenant Governor and asked him to make recommendations regarding the state's budgeting plan. What Ravitch found was the result of not just the economic downturn but years of fiscal denial. And the closer he looked, the clearer it became that the same thing was happening in most states. Budgetary pressures from Medicaid, pension promises to public employees, and deceptive budgeting and borrowing practices are crippling our states' ability to do what only they can do--invest in the physical and human infrastructure the country needs to thrive. Making this case is Ravitch's current public endeavor and it deserves immediate attention from both public officials and private citizens.

In "Call Signs," former naval aviator Rich Dinkel shares memories and personal stories of several of the brave men and women who shared the profession. These flyers must be able to execute their orders in any circumstance, time, or climate. They are sharply skilled professionals who train and retrain constantly. Each naval aviator has their own call sign-their personal pseudonym, to be used during their service and most likely for many years after their service has ended. Dinkel uses the call signs of his former colleagues as he tells their stories.

Tactical aviation is often described as a very risky business in the eyes of everyday people. Today's fighter and attack aircraft can take-off and land on a runway and shoot off the bow (front) of an aircraft carrier, and be recovered in the cross-deck pendants at the stern (rear) of the ship. In order to perform this sort of flying, a pilot must have steely eyes with perfect vision; quick, cat-like refl exes; and exceptional common sense-something that can occasionally be problematic. He or she must also have a deep and wide knowledge of every system in the aircraft, an equally in depth knowledge of the enemy, and the proper way to use his or her deadly weapons in combat.

"Call Signs" offers personal stories and a unique insider's view of tactical aviation and the challenges that each pilot must meet to succeed.

Meet the First Ladies of the United States-sometimes inspiring, sometimes tragic, always fascinating-women who, though often unsung, helped hold the nation together in its infancy and advance it as a world power. More than simply serving as America's "hostesses," many of the nation's First Ladies played vital roles in shaping their husband's presidency and serving as political activists in their own right. From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama, their inspiring stories come alive in this handsomely illustrated encyclopedia. Within its pages, the First Ladies are revealed as human beings who, one day, awoke to find the eyes of the world upon them. The book differs from others by showcasing America's First Ladies in their own words, as flesh-and-blood individuals. Readers will discover which First Lady held off Napoleon's army with a toy sword, why women had to be "pale, frail, and ailing," and which First Lady was called "Sunshine" and which was "Hellcat." Each entry includes a biographical essay that details the life of the woman and places her within the political, social, and cultural context of her time. Each also offers a related primary document that helps define the First Lady's legacy as well as a short bibliography for further information. Written in a lively, compelling style, this highly readable volume is perfect for junior high, high school, and college students as well as the general public. Overviews the social, political, and cultural significance of America's First Ladies in a convenient, chronological, reference format Includes letters, notes, and speeches that allow the First Ladies to speak for themselves Features engaging and informative sidebars that place the First Ladies in the cultural context of their times Shares the 2014 First Ladies Ranking from the Siena Research Institute Facilitates student research through an extensive reading guide and a list of online resources that will foster critical reading, thinking, and writing skills

A New York Times bestseller, A Slave in the White House received glowing reviewsthatpraised its narrative and original research. It is the story of Paul Jennings, who was born into slavery on the plantation of James and Dolley Madison in Virginia and moved with the Madison household staff to the White House. Jennings was a self-taught and self-made man who purchased his own freedom and penned the first ever White House memoir. Nearly two centuries later, Montpelier scholar Elizabeth Dowling Taylor uncovered the memoir. In this amazing narrative she reconstructs his lifeand hisunusual portraits of James and Dolley Madison andSenator Daniel Websterin early nineteenth century Washington, as well as the 1812 assault on British troops and Jennings' heroic saving of George Washington's portrait. Fascinating and original, this is an important contribution to American history.

The Principal of the Matter: the place, Yazoo City, Mississippi; one of the issues, the court-ordered desegregation of the public schools; the antagonists, the school officials. When the civil rights movement intensified in the South, circa 1954, white political leaders who believed in and practiced the ideology of "white supremacy" worked in concert to reverse the direction integration was heading in America. In 1970, some sixteen years out from the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision, we were still trying to get bigots to obey the law of the land. In a letter dated August 13, 1971, then U.S. Senator Walter F. Mondale (later Vice President Mondale) wrote: Dear Mr. Ward: I have received your recent letter describing the explosive situation in Yazoo City. I certainly share your concern that unless the discriminatory treatment of black students in the Yazoo City school system is eliminated, the opening of school in September may be a most serious occasion. I have referred your concern to the Justice Department and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare requesting their investigation and corrective action. In The Principal of the Matter, Eugene "Harry" Ward unfurls the calculated practices of de jure and de facto segregation, separation of the races that was supposedly equal under the "law" and "as a matter of fact."

This book is a translation of the Ruzhany Memorial (Yizkor) Book that was published in 1957 in Hebrew and Yiddish; it is based upon the memoirs of former Jewish residents of the town who had left before the war. Ruzhany, called Rozana in Polish and Ruzhnoy in Yiddish, is now a small town in Belarus. It was part of Russia at the time of World War I and Poland afterwards for a short period, and then the Soviet Union. In 1939, the Jewish population was at its peak 3,500, comprising 78% of the town's population. In November 1942, every Jewish resident was murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. Founded in the mid-1500s, Jews were welcomed by the private owner, the Grand Chancellor, Duke Leu Sapeiha. He valued Jewish settlers who would create a variety of businesses that would produce profits and generate collectable taxes. They opened schools, built many small synagogues, and the Great Synagogue in the main square. In addition they established many social institutions. The market town thrived. Starting in the early 1900s, many young Jews immigrated to the United States so that the young men could avoid prolonged conscription into the Czar's army.

Every time Mark W. Merritt puts on the uniform of a US Naval Officer, he is reminded of how thankful he is to be an American. He began compiling his memories in 2008 while serving in Iraq, just after celebrating his fiftieth birthday in a combat zone. In his memoir, he offers a collection of lessons learned from his years in intelligence-through twenty-nine countries, frost bite, two hip replacements, cancer, three wars, five combat zones, eight marathons, multiple parachute jumps, three college degrees, and two black belts. He has been an author, high school hall-of-famer and collegiate NCAA athlete, mountain climber and kayaker, husband, son, brother, warrior, scholar, and gentleman. As a special operations intelligence officer, Merritt has always pushed to do more, but now he can step back and take in what he has accomplished. He has failed many times, but he has succeeded often, as well. Happiness no longer seems like an unobtainable goal. They Rest Not at Night offers both Merritt's personal life history with all its variety and an exploration of his intelligence experience, sharing his own commentary on the wisdom he has gained the hard way.