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Pope John Paul II led the Catholic Church during a time of great
upheaval. During his pontificate (1978-2005), the Soviet Union and
the Berlin Wall collapsed, and great strides were made for freedom
worldwide. The first non-Italian pope in more than four centuries,
the Polish John Paul was also the very first Slavic pope ever. As a
young man, he experienced Nazi persecution and had to train for the
priesthood in a seminary conducted ""underground"" - because
Catholic religious training for vocations had been outlawed. At the
same time, he remained active in the Polish anti-Nazi insurgency
and helped Jews escape the Holocaust. Later, as pontiff, he forged
new relationships between the Roman Catholic Church and Jewish
denominations worldwide and played a pivotal role in the downfall
of the Soviet Union. This engaging and visually appealing biography
follows the arch of the pontiff's life in the context of world
politics.
"A spellbinding study in revolution from the top down."--New York
Times Book Review Most Americans know that John Brown's raid on
Harpers Ferry was one of the events that sparked the Civil War, but
very few know the story of how a circle of Northern aristocrats
covertly aided Brown in his quest to ignite a nationwide slave
revolt. These influential men, who called themselves the Secret
Six, included the editor of the Atlantic Monthly, a world-famous
physician, a Unitarian minister whose rhetoric helped shape
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, an educator and close friend of
Emerson and Thoreau, and two prominent philanthropists. Edward J.
Renehan, Jr., recounts how these pillars of Northern society came
to believe that armed conflict was necessary to purge the United
States of a government-sanctioned evil, how the messianic Brown
enlisted their support, and how they sought to cover up their
association with him--even perjuring themselves before a
congressional investigation--after his bloody debacle.
In The Lion's Pride, Edward J. Renehan, Jr. vividly portrays the grand idealism, heroic bravery, and reckless abandon that Theodore Roosevelt both embodied and bequeathed to his children and the tragic fulfillment of that legacy on the battlefields of World War I. Drawing upon a wealth of previously unavailable materials, including letters and unpublished memoirs, The Lion's Pride takes us inside what is surely the most extraordinary family ever to occupy the White House. Theodore Roosevelt believed deeply that those who had been blessed with wealth, influence, and education were duty bound to lead, even perhaps especially if it meant risking their lives to preserve the ideals of democratic civilization. Teddy put his principles, and his life, to the test in Spanish American war, and raised his children to believe they could do no less. When America finally entered the "European conflict" in 1917, all four of his sons eagerly enlisted and used their influence not to avoid the front lines but to get there as quickly as possible. Their heroism in France and the Middle East matched their father's at San Juan Hill. All performed with selfless some said heedless courage: Two of the boys, Archie and Ted, Jr., were seriously wounded, and Quentin, the youngest, was killed in a dogfight with seven German planes. Thus, the war that Teddy had lobbied for so furiously brought home a grief that broke his heart. He was buried a few months after his youngest child. Filled with the voices of the entire Roosevelt family, The Lion's Pride gives us the most intimate and moving portrait ever published of the fierce bond between Teddy Roosevelt and his remarkable children.
The Lion's Pride is the first book to tell the full story of Theodore Roosevelt and his family in World War I. It is both a poignant group biography and an insightful study of the Rooseveltian notion of noblesse oblige.
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