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Mr. Ferris and His Wheel
by Gilbert Ford Kathryn Gibbs DavisCapturing an engineer's creative vision and mind for detail, this fully illustrated picture book biography sheds light on how the American inventor George Ferris defied gravity and seemingly impossible odds to invent the world's most iconic amusement park attraction, the Ferris wheel. A fun, fact-filled text by Kathryn Gibbs Davis combines with Gilbert Ford's dazzling full-color illustrations to transport readers to the 1893 World's Fair, where George Ferris and his big, wonderful wheel lifted passengers to the skies for the first time.
Mr. Flagler’s St. Augustine
by Thomas GrahamFlorida Book Awards, Bronze Medal for Florida Nonfiction Florida Historical Society Charlton Tebeau Book AwardArguably no man did more to make over a city—or a state—than Henry Morrison Flagler. Almost single-handedly, he transformed the east coast of Florida from a remote frontier into the winter playground of America’s elite.Mr. Flagler’s St. Augustine tells the story of how one of the wealthiest men in America spared no expense in transforming the country’s “Oldest City” into the “Newport of the South.” He built railroads into remote areas where men feared to tread and erected palatial hotels on swampland. He funded hospitals and churches and improved streets and parks. The rich and famous flocked to his invented paradise.In tracing Flagler’s life and second career, Thomas Graham reveals much about the inner life of the former oil magnate and the demons that drove him to expand a coastal empire southward to Palm Beach, Miami, Key West, and finally Nassau. Graham also gives voice to the individuals history has forgotten: the women who wrote tourist books, the artists who decorated the hotels, the black servants who waited tables, and the journalists who filed society columns in the newspapers.Filled with fascinating details that bring the Gilded Age to life, this book will stand as the definitive history of Henry Flagler and his time in Florida.
Mr. Funny Pants
by Michael ShowalterI was at my wit's end. I'd had enough of this job, this life, and my relationship had broken up. Should I eat chocolate, or go to India, or fall in love? Then I had a revelation: Why not do all three, in that order? And so it was that I embarked on a journey that was segmented into three parts and was then made into a major motion picture. Later, I woke up on an airplane with a hole in my face and a really bad hangover. I was ushered brusquely off the plane by my parents who took me to a rehab where I tested positive for coke, classic coke, special k (the drug), Special K (the cereal), mushrooms, pepperoni, and Restless Leg Syndrome. It was there that I first began painting with my feet.But rewind...the year was 1914. I was just a young German soldier serving in the trenches while simultaneously trying to destroy an evil ring with some help from an elf, a troll, and a giant sorcerer, all while cooking every recipe out of a Julia Child cookbook. What I'm trying to say is that there was a secret code hidden in a painting and I was looking for it with this girl who had a tattoo of a dragon! Let me clarify, it was the 1930s and a bunch of us were migrating out of Oklahoma, and I was this teenage wizard/CIA operative, okay? And, um then I floated off into the meta-verse as a ball of invisible energy that had no outer edge...Ugh, okay. None of this is true. I'm just kind of a normal guy from New Jersey who moved to New York, got into comedy, wrote this book about trying to write this book, and then moved to Alaska, became the mayor of a small town, spent $30,000 on underwear, and now I'm going to rule the world!!!
Mr. Hockey: My Story
by Gordie HoweThe definitive autobiography from hockey's greatest living legend--"Mr. Hockey" himself, Gordie Howe. Big, skilled, tough on the ice, and nearly indestructible, Howe dominated both the sport and the record books like no one has before or since. <P><P>Over an incredible six decades, the Hall of Famer had so many accomplishments that he set the record for the most records by any athlete ever in any sport. He also achieved the remarkable feat of playing for six years with his own two sons, Mark and Marty. But Howe did not inspire generations of hockey players simply by rewriting the record books. When people talk about him, it's the man they revere even more than the player. Despite his ferocity on the ice, Howe's name has long been a byword for decency and generosity. <P>A family man, a man of his word, a lifelong ambassador for the game, he is a true icon, and now he takes us through it all, from his Depression-era childhood and early obstacles through the ups and downs of his spectacular career, to his enduring marriage and close relationship with his children, to his thoughts on the game of hockey today. There has never been a comprehensive account of Howe's life from the man himself. Now is the time.
Mr. Hornaday's War: How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife That Changed the World
by Stefan BechtelHe was complex, quirky, pugnacious, and difficult. He seemed to create enemies wherever he went, even among his friends. A fireplug of a man who stood only five feet eight inches in his stocking feet, he had an outsized ambition to make his mark on the world. And he did. William Temple Hornaday (1854-1937) was probably the most famous conservationist of the nineteenth century, second only to his great friend and ally Theodore Roosevelt. Hornaday's great passion was protecting wild things and wild places, and he spent most of his adult life in a state of war on their behalf, as a taxidermist and museum collector; as the founder and first director of the National Zoo in Washington, DC; as director of the Bronx Zoo for thirty years; and as the author of nearly two dozen books on conservation and wildlife. But in Mr. Hornaday's War, the long-overdue biography of Hornaday by journalist Stefan Bechtel, the grinding contradictions of Hornaday's life also become clear. Though he is credited with saving the American bison from extinction, he began his career as a rifleman and trophy hunter who led "the last buffalo hunt" into the Montana Territory. And what happened in 1906 at the Bronx Zoo, when Hornaday displayed an African man in a cage, shows a side of him that is as baffling as it is repellent. This gripping new book takes an honest look at a fascinating and enigmatic man.
Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul
by Brandy SchillaceThe &“delightfully macabre&” (The New York Times) true tale of a brilliant and eccentric surgeon…and his quest to transplant the human soul.In the early days of the Cold War, a spirit of desperate scientific rivalry birthed a different kind of space race: not the race to outer space that we all know, but a race to master the inner space of the human body. While surgeons on either side of the Iron Curtain competed to become the first to transplant organs like the kidney and heart, a young American neurosurgeon had an even more ambitious thought: Why not transplant the brain? Dr. Robert White was a friend to two popes and a founder of the Vatican&’s Commission on Bioethics. He developed lifesaving neurosurgical techniques still used in hospitals today and was nominated for the Nobel Prize. But like Dr. Jekyll before him, Dr. White had another identity. In his lab, he was waging a battle against the limits of science and against mortality itself—working to perfect a surgery that would allow the soul to live on after the human body had died. This &“fascinating&” (The Wall Street Journal), &“provocative&” (The Washington Post) tale follows his decades-long quest into tangled matters of science, Cold War politics, and faith, revealing the complex (and often murky) ethics of experimentation and remarkable innovations that today save patients from certain death. It&’s a &“masterful&” (Science) look at our greatest fears and our greatest hopes—and the long, strange journey from science fiction to science fact.
Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America
by Lee Alan DugatkinIn the years after the Revolutionary War, the fledgling republic of America was viewed by many Europeans as a degenerate backwater, populated by subspecies weak and feeble. Chief among these naysayers was the French Count and world-renowned naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, who wrote that the flora and fauna of America (humans included) were inferior to European specimens. Thomas Jefferson--author of the Declaration of Independence, U. S. president, and ardent naturalist--spent years countering the French conception of American degeneracy. His Notes on Virginia systematically and scientifically dismantled Buffon's case through a series of tables and equally compelling writing on the nature of his home state. But the book did little to counter the arrogance of the French and hardly satisfied Jefferson's quest to demonstrate that his young nation was every bit the equal of a well-established Europe. Enter the giant moose. The American moose, which Jefferson claimed was so enormous a European reindeer could walk under it, became the cornerstone of his defense. Convinced that the sight of such a magnificent beast would cause Buffon to revise his claims, Jefferson had the remains of a seven-foot ungulate shipped first class from New Hampshire to Paris. Unfortunately, Buffon died before he could make any revisions to his Histoire Naturelle,but the legend of the moose makes for a fascinating tale about Jefferson's passion to prove that American nature deserved prestige. In Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose,Lee Alan Dugatkin vividly recreates the origin and evolution of the debates about natural history in America and, in so doing, returns the prize moose to its rightful place in American history.
Mr Jones' Rules for the Modern Man
by Dylan JonesA witty, stylish and indispensable guide to being a modern man. It is tough being a man in the twenty-first century. First there are the big dilemmas, like how to get a pay rise and how to suck up to your boss. Then there are the minor irritations: how do you beat jet-lag, and how do you stop your trousers sliding off their hangers? And finally there are all those things you ought to know, but don't: how to jump-start a car, how to buy lingerie, how to stop smoking, how to tie a Windsor Knot, how to behave at a lap-dancing club ... the list is endless. Fear not. In Mr Jones Rules, the highly respected editor of GQ magazine, draws on his wealth of experience to give the final answer to these questions and more. It will be the must-have present for every husband, boyfriend and son this Christmas.
Mr Jones' Rules for the Modern Man
by Dylan JonesA witty, stylish and indispensable guide to being a modern man. It is tough being a man in the twenty-first century. First there are the big dilemmas, like how to get a pay rise and how to suck up to your boss. Then there are the minor irritations: how do you beat jet-lag, and how do you stop your trousers sliding off their hangers? And finally there are all those things you ought to know, but don't: how to jump-start a car, how to buy lingerie, how to stop smoking, how to tie a Windsor Knot, how to behave at a lap-dancing club ... the list is endless. Fear not. In Mr Jones Rules, the highly respected editor of GQ magazine, draws on his wealth of experience to give the final answer to these questions and more. It will be the must-have present for every husband, boyfriend and son this Christmas.
Mr. Kaiser Goes to Washington: The Rise of a Government Entrepreneur (The Luther H. Hodges Jr. and Luther H. Hodges Sr. Series on Business, Entrepreneurship, and Public Policy #No. 2)
by Stephen B. AdamsIn the 1940s, the name Henry J. Kaiser was magic. Based on the success of his shipyards, Kaiser was hailed by the national media as the force behind a 'can-do' production miracle and credited by the American public with doing more to help President Roosevelt win World War II than any other civilian. Kaiser also built an empire in construction, cement, magnesium, steel, and aluminum--all based on government contracts, government loans, and changes in government regulations. In this book, Stephen Adams offers Kaiser's story as the first detailed case study of 'government entrepreneurship.' Taking a fresh look at the birth of modern business-government relations, he explores the symbiotic connection forged between FDR and Kaiser. Adams shows that while Kaiser capitalized on opportunities provided by the growth of the federal government, FDR found in Kaiser an industrial partner whose enterprises embodied New Deal goals. The result of a confluence of administration policy and entrepreneurial zeal, Kaiser's dramatic rise illustrates the important role of governmental relations in American entrepreneurial success.Originally published in 1997.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder
by John WatersNo one knows more about everything—especially everything rude, clever, and offensively compelling—than John Waters. The man in the pencil-thin mustache, auteur of the transgressive movie classics Pink Flamingos, Polyester, the original Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and A Dirty Shame, is one of the world’s great sophisticates, and in Mr. Know-It-All he serves it up raw: how to fail upward in Hollywood; how to develop musical taste from Nervous Norvus to Maria Callas; how to build a home so ugly and trendy that no one but you would dare live in it; more important, how to tell someone you love them without emotional risk; and yes, how to cheat death itself. Through it all, Waters swears by one undeniable truth: “Whatever you might have heard, there is absolutely no downside to being famous. None at all.” <P><P>Studded with cameos of Waters’s stars, from Divine and Mink Stole to Johnny Depp, Kathleen Turner, Patricia Hearst, and Tracey Ullman, and illustrated with unseen photos from Waters’s personal collection, Mr. Know-It-All is Waters’s most hypnotically readable, upsetting, revelatory book—another instant Waters classic.
Mr Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder
by John WatersNo one knows more about everything - especially everything rude, clever, and offensively compelling - than John Waters. The man in the pencil-thin mustache, auteur of the transgressive movie classics Pink Flamingos, Polyester, the original Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and A Dirty Shame, is one of the world's great sophisticates, and in Mr. Know-It-All he serves it up raw: how to fail upward in Hollywood; how to develop musical taste from Nervous Norvus to Maria Callas; how to build a home so ugly and trendy that no one but you would dare live in it; more important, how to tell someone you love them without emotional risk; and yes, how to cheat death itself. Through it all, Waters swears by one undeniable truth: "Whatever you might have heard, there is absolutely no downside to being famous. None at all."Studded with cameos of Waters's stars, from Divine and Mink Stole to Johnny Depp, Kathleen Turner, Patricia Hearst, and Tracey Ullman, and illustrated with unseen photos from Waters's personal collection, Mr. Know-It-All is Waters's most hypnotically readable, upsetting, revelatory book - another instant Waters classic.'Waters doesn't kowtow to the received wisdom, he flips it the bird . . . [Waters] has the ability to show humanity at its most ridiculous and make that funny rather than repellent' Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post'Carsick becomes a portrait not just of America's desolate freeway nodes - though they're brilliantly evoked - but of American fame itself' Lawrence Osborne, The New York Times Book Review
Mr. Lincoln Goes to War
by William MarvelAn account of how America&’s greatest crisis began, by &“the Civil War&’s master historical detective&” (Stephen W. Sears, author of Chancellorsville). This groundbreaking book investigates the mystery of how the Civil War began, reconsidering the big question: Was it inevitable? The award-winning author of Andersonville and Lincoln&’s Autocrat vividly recreates President Abraham Lincoln&’s first year in office, from his inauguration through the rising crisis of secession and the first several months of the war. Drawing on original sources and examining previously overlooked factors, he leads the reader inexorably to the conclusion that Lincoln not only missed opportunities to avoid war but actually fanned the flames—and often acted unconstitutionally in prosecuting the war once it had begun. With a keen eye for the telling detail, on the battlefield as well as in the White House, this is revisionist history at its best, not sparing anyone, even Abraham Lincoln. &“A brilliant narrative that reveals the possibilities of the past that were squandered by historical figures who seem so unassailable and godlike to us today.&” —Peter S. Carmichael, author of The Last Generation &“The most provocative account of events in 1861 in a generation. Readers who think they understand the Civil War&’s first year and the roles played by Abraham Lincoln, Nathanial Lyon, Charles Stone, and a host of others should brace themselves for a bold new perspective.&” —A. Wilson Greene, author of Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion
Mr. Lincoln Sits for His Portrait: The Story of a Photograph That Became an American Icon
by Leonard S. MarcusMr. Lincoln Sits for His Portrait is a unique middle-grade depiction of America’s sixteenth president, through the story of one famous photograph, written by award-winning author Leonard S. Marcus. On February 9, 1864, Abraham Lincoln made the mile-long walk from the Executive Mansion to photographer Mathew Brady's Washington, DC, studio, to be joined there later by his ten-year-old son, Tad. With a fractious re-election campaign looming that year, America's first media-savvy president was intent on securing another portrait that cast him in a favorable light, as he prepared to make the case for himself to a nation weary of war. At least four iconic pictures were made that day. One was Lincoln in profile, the image that later found its way onto the penny; two more would be adapted for the 1928 and 2008 five-dollar bills. The fourth was a dual portrait of Lincoln and Tad. The pose, featuring Lincoln reading to his son, was a last-minute improvisation, but the image that came of it was—and remains—incomparably tender and enduringly powerful. Immediately after the president’s murder the following year, the picture of Lincoln reading to his son became a mass-produced icon—a cherished portrait of a nation’s fallen leader, a disarmingly intimate record of a care-worn father's feeling for his child, and a timeless comment on books as a binding force between generations.
Mr. Lincoln's High-tech War: How The North Used the Telegraph, Railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Ironclads, High-powered Weapons, and More to Win the Civil War
by Thomas B. Allen Roger Macbride AllenThis history lesson for general readership walks the reader through the American Civil War by way of the technologies that allowed Abraham Lincoln and the Union forces to triumph over the Confederacy. The text, loosely laid out in the style of a 19th century newspaper, is supported by b&w primary source materials (photographs, paintings, and political cartoons), as well as contemporary illustrations. Chapters address the involvement in the war of military mass production and the Dahlgren gun, the hot-air balloon, land torpedoes (used by the South), naval technology, photography, the Spencer Repeating Rifle, and civic constructions such as bridges and railroads, among other technologies. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War
by Tom WheelerThe story of how Lincoln adapted to a new medium of communication during a period of social and technological innovation.
Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers
by Karen B. Winnick Boyds Mills Press StaffAbraham Lincoln was the first President of the United States to wear a beard. What gave him the idea was a letter he received from an eleven-year-old girl from Westfield, New York named Grace Bedell. "Dear Sir," she wrote, "... if you will let your whiskers grow I will try to get (my brothers) to vote for you. You would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you..."
Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards: The Making of Make Way for Ducklings
by Emma Bland SmithThis behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the classic and beloved picture book Make Way for Ducklings will captivate young artists, writers, readers, and animal lovers alike.While writing and illustrating the beloved picture book Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey brings a flock of ducklings into his tiny New York City apartment. But an artist + a bunch of ducklings in his apartment = chaos! There are ducklings in the bathtub and ducklings in the kitchen, quacking at dawn and sitting on his desk. Can he learn to draw them just right before they grow too big? This glimpse into the creation of a much-loved story for kids is a must-read for fans of children&’s books, or for anyone who is interested in the creative process and the importance of persistence. &“Emma Smith has done a bang-up job imagining how my father wrote Make Way for Ducklings. I enjoyed reading her book.&” —Jane McCloskey, daughter of Robert McCloskey and author ofRobert McCloskey: A Private Life in Words and Pictures&“A wonderfully rollicking rendition of the story behind the story.&” —Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honor-winning author of books for children and author of Robert McCloskey
Mr Midshipman VC: The Short Accident-Prone Life of George Drewry, Gallipoli Hero
by Quentin FalkOf the thirty-nine Gallipoli Victoria Crosses arguably none was more deserved than the medal earned by George Leslie Drewry.At just 20, he was the first officer of the Royal Naval Reserve to get the nations premier award for valour when part of the landing on V Beach at Cape Helles. In so doing he was badly wounded.Accident-prone, he survived falling into a bog as a child; he was knocked over by a car; as a novice merchantman he fell from the mast of his ship and on another occasion was shipwrecked after rounding Cape Horn and stranded on a deserted island.Tragically he died at Scapa Flow shortly before the end of The Great War, while in command of his first ship.Using contemporary sources, the author brings Drewrys life into sharp focus and describes the role of Snotty as midshipmen were then known. The result will appeal to addicts of real-life adventure and military historians
Mr Midshipman VC: The Short Accident-Prone Life of George Drewry, Gallipoli Hero
by Quentin FalkOf the thirty-nine Gallipoli Victoria Crosses arguably none was more deserved than the medal earned by George Leslie Drewry.At just 20, he was the first officer of the Royal Naval Reserve to get the nations premier award for valour when part of the landing on V Beach at Cape Helles. In so doing he was badly wounded.Accident-prone, he survived falling into a bog as a child; he was knocked over by a car; as a novice merchantman he fell from the mast of his ship and on another occasion was shipwrecked after rounding Cape Horn and stranded on a deserted island.Tragically he died at Scapa Flow shortly before the end of The Great War, while in command of his first ship.Using contemporary sources, the author brings Drewrys life into sharp focus and describes the role of Snotty as midshipmen were then known. The result will appeal to addicts of real-life adventure and military historians
Mr. New York: Lew Rudin and His Love for the City (Excelsior Editions)
by Seymour P. LachmanLew Rudin was one of New York City's most influential power brokers in the latter part of the twentieth century, but he was also one of its most indefatigable boosters. Born in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx on April 4, 1927, Rudin rose to become cochairman, with his brother, Jack, of one of New York's oldest real estate dynasties, Rudin Management. It is for his civic involvement, however, that he is best remembered. Whether helping to get the New York City Marathon off the ground, or rallying corporate and labor leaders to come to the city's aid during the fiscal crises of the 1970s, Rudin worked tirelessly on behalf of the city he loved. The Association for a Better New York, which he founded in 1971 in response to growing concerns about the city's decline, continues to play a vital role in virtually every area of municipal life, from transportation to education.In Mr. New York, Seymour P. Lachman chronicles Rudin's life and interesting times, and his love affair with the city he never ceased to believe in. Drawing on published materials as well as personal interviews with family members, business associates, and federal, state, and city officials, Lachman paints a portrait of a man who, by the time of his death in 2001, had truly earned the nickname "Mr. New York."
Mr Nice: An Autobiography
by Howard MarksThis candid crime memoir by Britain&’s most famous drug baron is &“frequently hilarious, occasionally sad, and often surreal&” (GQ). During the mid-1980s Howard Marks had 43 aliases, 89 phone lines, and owned 25 companies throughout the world. From local bars to recording studios to offshore banks—all of his &“businesses&” were in fact money laundering vehicles serving his one true business: dope dealing. Marks began dealing small amounts of hashish while doing a postgraduate philosophy course at Oxford, but soon he was moving much larger quantities. At the height of his career he was smuggling consignments of up to fifty tons from Pakistan and Thailand to America and Canada and had contact with organizations as diverse as MI6, the CIA, the IRA, and the Mafia. This is his extraordinary story. &“A folk legend.&”—Daily Mail, UK &“A racy yarn with plenty of globe-trotting color.&”—The Independent, UK
Mr Nice & Mrs Marks: - Adventures with Howard
by Judy Marks'I have long wanted to write a book about my life and the extraordinary years I spent with my husband Howard Marks. I feel now is the time. I want to write it from a woman's perspective and describe what it was like to be married to such a charismatic drug smuggler.' Judy MarksHoward Marks's story has passed into hippie folklore. At one time, the world's then most wanted man had 43 aliases, 89 phone lines and 25 registered companies. Thanks to the technical brilliance of his networking skills, it was estimated that he was trafficking as much as a tenth of all the marijuana smoked in the world. But this is only half the story. Intimately involved throughout was Marks's wife Judy. From living the high life hobnobbing with movie stars and euro trash to mixing it with the IRA and CIA, then the long, increasingly desperate years on the run, Mr Nice and Mrs Marks is about the exhilaration of their criminal life and the hell of not knowing what's happening when your husband stops telling you the truth. Now, for the first time, Judy tells her own side of the tale.
Mr. Poilu; Notes And Sketches With The Fighting French [Illustrated Edition]
by Herbert WardIllustrated with 45 pictures and vignettes many in colour.Herbert Ward was a patriotic and passionate Englishman at an unfortunate juncture in his life during the First World War, he was over 40 and would not be allowed to enlist in the British Army for service in the fields of Flanders under ordinary circumstances. However this was a minor issue when the Kaiser's German hordes advanced to within artillery range of his home in France; he at once gave over his large estate to the Red Cross and argued and created so much fuss that he was finally allowed to join the famous No. 3 Convoy of the British Ambulance Committee. He worked with at a furious rate and his work with the units, which was attached to the French army at the time, surely saved many lives of the "Poilus" that he so admired. Despite the huge burdens that work placed him under he set about recording the admirable bravery and courage of the Allied French soldiers fighting the common German foe.
"Mr. President": George Washington and the Making of the Nation's Highest Office
by Harlow Giles UngerAlthough the framers gave the president little authority, George Washington knew whatever he did would set precedents for generations of future leaders. To ensure their ability to defend the nation, he simply ignored the Constitution when he thought it necessary. In a revealing new look at the birth of American government, #147;Mr. President” describes Washington’s presidency in a time of continual crisis, as rebellion and attacks by foreign enemies threatened to destroy this new nation. Constantly weighing preservation of the Union against preservation of individual liberties and states’ rights, Washington assumed more power with each crisis. In a series of brilliant but unconstitutional maneuvers he forced Congress to cede control of the four pillars of executive power: war, finance, foreign affairs, and law enforcement. Drawing on rare documents and letters, Unger shows how Washington combined political cunning and sheer genius to seize ever-widening powers, impose law and order while ensuring individual freedom, and shape the office of President of the United States.