This is a definitive study of films that have been built around the themes of love, death, and the afterlife-films about lovers who meet again (and love again) in heaven, via reincarnation, or through other kinds of after-death encounters. Far more than books about mere ghosts in the movies or religion in movies, Love in the Afterlife presents a complex but highly distinctive and unique pattern-the love-death-afterlife pattern-as it was handed down by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks (in the Isis and Orpheus myths, for example), developed by Freud and his followers in the duality of "Eros and Thanatos," and then featured in popular movies from the 1920s to the recent past. Among its other qualities, Love in the Afterlife may encourage readers to look at movies differently and reflect upon the possibility that other patterns in cinema may have gone undetected for years. Furthermore, this book will show how the love-death-afterlife theme found its way into all sorts of different film types: melodramas, comedies, war films, horror films, film noir, and other genres. The book will be well illustrated and quotations from film reviews will enliven its pages. A long appendix gives production data on almost sixty individual films.

Providing a unique perspective on economic history and policy, this book shows how a daring method once recommended by top economists could be adapted to help America pay for the things it needs. Written in a crisp, fast-paced style, this groundbreaking work presents an in-depth account of monetary theory and practice as the basis for its suggestion of a new system of money creation. First, the economic history of the United States is explored, with special emphasis on the years from the Civil War to the Great Depression. The proposal that follows, based on a long-lost method of money creation, is related to that context, as well as to America's current situation, both economic and political. Readers will learn how banks have created most of America's money supply since the nation's founding, but also about experiments with an alternative system in which the government plays that role. The crux of the book is an examination of the way in which the two systems could be harmonized to pay for public necessities without increasing taxes or national debt. The proposed new system of money creation would incorporate two complementary money streams-the existing banking system run by the Federal Reserve and a new stream of money created by Congress. By integrating the "Greenback" method with the fiscal and monetary status quo, the author argues, the United States could spend its way back to greatness. Explains in vivid terms the way money has evolved in modern times, clarifying the rise and global triumph of "fractional reserve banking" Shows how a compromise between our existing method of money creation and the "Greenback" method could pay for hundreds of billions of dollars of national necessities without higher taxes, more deficit spending, or inflation Documents what money consists of, how it enters into circulation, and how the nature of money has changed over the centuries Reveals how significant numbers of economists, businessmen, and political leaders have advocated for the direct creation of money by government through the years Takes the lay reader through the history of previous attempts at direct money creation in a fascinating tour of American economic history

Dwight D. Eisenhower is one of America’s greatest and least appreciated presidents. Behind the demeanour that made Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower so popular was a cold-as-steel intelligence that kept his country prosperous and out of danger. Because his operating methods were so deeply hidden, it is only in the past few decades that historians have grasped the full extent of his achievements. Ike in Love and War shows the hidden sacrifices that made Eisenhower remarkable. It probes the mission that was driving him: the quest to reconcile his skill as a fighter with his mother’s pacifism, which led him to become the greatest peacekeeper of his age. More than other biographies, this one explores the man’s emotions. It puts the long-standing dispute about his romance with Kay Summersby in a new perspective: tragedy. Here is the story of a unique American, the passion and brilliance he kept concealed, the ambition that propelled him, the sacrifices that wore down his health, and the sheer self-mastery that made it all look easy. It never was. His achievements are timely as Americans face unprecedented dangers. This is the story of the world Ike made, the things he achieved, and the surprises that may still be in store for us as we strive to understand his life in full.

Lincoln is the single most compelling figure in our history, but also one of the most enigmatic. Was he the Great Emancipator, a man of deep convictions who ended slavery in the United States, or simply a reluctant politician compelled by the force of events to free the slaves? In Father Abraham, Richard Striner offers a fresh portrait of Lincoln, one that helps us make sense of his many contradictions. Striner shows first that, if you examine the speeches that Lincoln made in the 1850s, you will have no doubt of his passion to end slavery. These speeches illuminate the anger, vehemence, and sheer brilliance of candidate Lincoln, who worked up crowds with charismatic fervor as he gathered a national following. But if he felt so passionately about abolition, why did he wait so long to release the Emancipation Proclamation? As Striner points out, politics is the art of the possible, and Lincoln was a consummate politician, a shrewd manipulator who cloaked his visionary ethics in the more pragmatic garb of the coalition-builder. He was at bottom a Machiavellian prince for a democratic age. When secession began, Lincoln used the battle cry of saving the Union to build a power base, one that would eventually break the slave-holding states forever. Striner argues that Lincoln was a rare man indeed: a fervent idealist and a crafty politician with a remarkable gift for strategy. It was the harmonious blend of these two qualities, Striner concludes, that made Lincoln's role in ending slavery so fundamental.

A radical reinterpretation of America's greatest president. Where previous Lincoln biographers describe his temperament as "moderate," "passive," or even "conservative," historian Richard Striner offers a stunningly original perspective that will shed significant new light on one of the most studied figures in American history. Striner shows Lincoln's audacity as no other book has ever done. By emphasizing the workings of Lincoln's mind-stressing his cunning, his overall honesty, strategic thinking-even his ability to change his mind-Striner looks anew at many topics and themes important to Lincoln's story that either revise or add new meaning to the work of previous biographers. His insights into Lincoln's life, but also into antebellum America, and the military and political history of the Civil War, make this book indispensable for well-read armchair historians, seasoned students of Lincoln, the Civil War, or the American presidency and newcomers alike.

Woodrow Wilson is often considered one of the greatest presidents in American history because, in the first two years of his presidency, he succeeded on many fronts. However, acclaimed author and historian Richard Striner now makes the case that a presidency that is too often idealized was full of missteps and failures that profoundly affected America's politics and people long after it ended. While other negative assessments of Wilson's leadership have been one-sided, Striner's critique-though undoubtedly scathing-is judicious, nuanced, and fair. With detailed description and accessible prose, Striner sheds light on how-as soon as America entered World War I-flaws of Wilson's were exposed as the pressure on his administration mounted. This book is a story of presidential failure, a chronicle of Woodrow Wilson's miscalculations in war, and a harrowing account of the process through which an intelligent American leader fell to pieces under a burden he could not bear.