- Table View
- List View
A Christmas Gift from Bob: NOW A MAJOR FILM
by James BowenFrom the day James rescued a street cat abandoned in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation, they began a friendship which has transformed both their lives and, through the bestselling books A STREET CAT NAMED BOB and THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BOB, touched millions around the world. In this new story from their journey together, James looks back at an early Christmas they spent on the streets and how Bob helped him through one of his toughest times - teaching him the true meaning of Christmas and bringing home him to in how many ways Bob has saved his life.(P)2014 Hodder & Stoughton
A Christmas Tree in the White House
by Gary HinesWhen President Theodore Roosevelt announces that there will be no White House Christmas tree because cutting down trees is against his conservation efforts, his youngest sons, Quentin and Archie, are deeply disappointed. They can't imagine Christmas without a tree. The two determined boys enlist the help of their aunt and sneak a small tree into their bedroom. When the president finds out, he takes the boys to see the chief forester in hopes of teaching them a lesson. But the chief forester surprises them all with his answer. "Isn't that bully!" says the president, and the boys shout, "Hooray for the tree!" Gary Hines and Alexandra Wallner bring this story, based on actual events, to life in a light-hearted text matched with bright, cheerful art. Young readers will enjoy this humorous episode in history and relish the children's "victory" over their father. At the end of the book, there is a photograph of the Roosevelt family and an author's note on Roosevelt, his children, and the real Christmas tree.
A Chronicle of Grief: Finding Life After Traumatic Loss
by Mel Lawrenz"Eva not breathing. Pray." That text message was Mel Lawrenz's entry into the harsh reality of losing his thirty-year-old daughter. Things would never be the same. How could he and his family cope with this devastating loss? In this narrative of grief, Pastor Mel Lawrenz chronicles how his family struggled to survive the sudden death of their beloved daughter. In raw, vivid episodes, he describes the immediacy of the pain and the uncertainty of what comes next. In the agony of traumatic loss, Lawrenz apprehends the realities of love and life and offers insights on how to navigate our life priorities before or after tragedy hits. You are not alone. You too can find a way forward.
A Circle of Quiet (The Crosswicks Journals #1)
by Madeleine L'EngleThe book begins:<P><P> We are four generations under one roof this summer, from infant Charlotte to almost-ninety Great-grandmother. This is a situation which is getting rarer and rarer in this day and age when families are divided by large distances and small dwellings, Josephine and Alan and the babies come from England; Great-grandmother from the Deep South; Hugh and I and our younger children from New York; and our assorted "adopted" children from as far afield as Mexico and as close as across the road; all to be together in Crosswicks, our big, old-fashioned New England farmhouse.<P> It's an ancient house by American standards-well over two hundred years old. It still seems old to me, although Josephine and Alan, in Lincoln, live close by the oldest inhabited house in Europe, built in the eleven-hundreds. <P>When our children were little and we lived in Crosswicks year round, they liked to count things. They started to count the books, but stopped after they got to three thousand. They also counted beds, and figured that as long as all the double beds held two people, we could sleep twenty-one; that, of course, included the attic. <P>We are using the attic this summer, though we haven't yet slept twenty-one. A lot of the time it is twelve, and even more to feed. Cooking is the only part of housekeeping I manage with any grace; it's something like writing a book: you look in the refrigerator and see what's there, choose all the ingredients you need, and a few your husband thinks you don't need, and put them all together to concoct a dish. <P>Vacuum cleaners are simply something more for me to trip over; and a kitchen floor, no matter how grubby, looks better before I wax it. The sight of a meal's worth of dirty dishes, pots, and pans makes me want to run in the other direction. <P>Every so often I need out; something will throw me into total disproportion, and I have to get away from everybody-away from all these people I love most in the world-in order to regain a sense of proportion.
A Circle of Quiet: A Circle Of Quiet, The Summer Of The Great-grandmother, The Irrational Season, And Two-part Invention (The Crosswicks Journals #1)
by Madeleine L'EngleThe beloved author of A Wrinkle in Time takes an introspective look at her life and muses on creativity in this memoir, the first of her Crosswicks Journals. Every so often I need OUT. . . . My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings. . . . I sit there, dangling my legs and looking through the foliage at the sky reflected in the water, and things slowly come back into perspective. Set against the lush backdrop of Crosswicks, her family&’s farmhouse in rural Connecticut, this deeply personal memoir details Madeleine L&’Engle&’s journey to find balance between her career as a Newbery Medal–winning author and her responsibilities as a wife, mother, teacher, and Christian. As she considers the roles that creativity, family, citizenship, and faith play in her life, L&’Engle reveals the complexities behind the author whose works—honored with the National Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and countless other prizes—have long been cherished by children and adults alike. Written in simple, profound, and often humorous prose, A Circle of Quiet is an insightful woman&’s elegant search for the meaning and purpose of her life. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Madeleine L&’Engle including rare images from the author&’s estate.
A Citizen-Soldier’s Road to Office of General: Memoir of Major General James R. Montgomery's Military Career
by James MontgomeryAs a young boy growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee, James R. Montgomery's sense of patriotism and duty to country is sparked by the United States' entry into World War II. Too young to serve his country, he joins Junior ROTC in high school and takes the first steps in a long and illustrious military career in the U.S. Army Reserve. A Citizen-Soldier's Road to the Office of General traces Montgomery's career from those early days of marching on a football field through active duty in Greenland and finally into his role as a Reserve officer. The book details the Reserve officer's job – the never-ending preparation for mobilization to active duty – and highlights the dedication of men and women willing to serve during the troubled times of the Cold War. The picture that emerges is one of how mentors, friendships, luck, and persistence influence Montgomery's journey through a maze of military pathways to his ultimate rank as major general of the 310th Theater Army Area Command.
A City Laid Waste: The Capture, Sack, and Destruction of the City of Columbia
by William Gilmore SimmsA City Laid Waste captures in riveting detail the destruction of South Carolina's capital city, a native South Carolinian and one of the nation's foremost men of letters, was in Columbia and witnessed firsthand the city's capture by Union forces and its subsequent devastation by fire. Simms recorded the events in a series of eyewitness and accounts published in the first ten issues of the Columbia Phoenix.
A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time: Julia Wilbur's Struggle for Purpose
by Paula Tarnapol WhitacreIn the fall of 1862 Julia Wilbur left her family’s farm near Rochester, New York, and boarded a train to Washington DC. As an ardent abolitionist, the forty-seven-year-old Wilbur left a sad but stable life, headed toward the chaos of the Civil War, and spent most of the next several years in Alexandria devising ways to aid recently escaped slaves and hospitalized Union soldiers. A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time shapes Wilbur’s diaries and other primary sources into a historical narrative sending the reader back 150 years to understand a woman who was alternately brave, self-pitying, foresighted, petty—and all too human. Paula Tarnapol Whitacre describes Wilbur’s experiences against the backdrop of Alexandria, Virginia, a southern town held by the Union from 1861 to 1865; of Washington DC, where Wilbur became active in the women’s suffrage movement and lived until her death in 1895; and of Rochester, New York, a hotbed of social reform and home to Wilbur’s acquaintances Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. In this second chapter of her life, Wilbur persisted in two things: improving conditions for African Americans who had escaped from slavery and creating a meaningful life for herself. A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time is the captivating story of a woman who remade herself at midlife during a period of massive social upheaval and change.
A Civil War Drummer Boy: The Diary of William Bircher, 1861-1865
by Shelley Swanson Sateren Suzanne L. BunkersExcerpts from the diary of William Bircher, a fifteen-year-old Minnesotan who was a drummer during the Civil War. Supplemented by sidebars, activities, and a timeline of the era.
A Clash of Cultures: Fort Bowie and the Chiricahua Apaches
by Robert M. UtleyRelates the history of the Apache Indians and of the Apache Wars of the 1800's. The Apache Wars ended with the surrender of their leader Geronimo. The parts played by Apaches Geronimo and Cochise, United States Army officers, Oliver Otis Howard, George Crook, and Nelson A. Miles, and many others are given in the narrative. Today the ruins of Fort Bowie, Arizona, stand as a monument commemorating the struggle of the Indians to maintain their way of life in the face of the white man's determination to conquer the wilderness.
A Clean Heart: A Novel
by John RosengrenA Novel of Redemption from Addiction and a Broken Family“A Clean Heart picks at the knot of addiction and recovery insistently and with a wholesomeness intriguingly at odds with its subject. I enjoyed this book.” –Thomas Beller, author of The Sleep-Over ArtistCarter Kirchner struggles to stay sane and sober as a counselor at Six West, an adolescent drug treatment center run by Sister Mary Xavier, a hard-drinking nun with an MBA. The young Kirchner is caught between Sister Mary’s plan to rescue the center by reforming a hard-case kid and the dysfunctional staff’s clumsy plan to intervene on their boss’s drinking. Meanwhile, Carter’s mother?who never forgave him for giving up a promising hockey career to treat his own addiction?lands in the hospital with an advanced case of cirrhosis. Before Carter can help the young addict commissioned to his care or safely navigate the staff’s dysfunctional intervention effort, he must rescue himself from his family’s broken past.A Clean Heart is a novel by John Rosengren, a writer and recent nominee for a Pulitzer Prize who knows the territory of addiction. He went through treatment at age 17 and has been clean and sober since 1981. He also worked in adolescent treatment centers when he was younger. John Rosengren’s articles have appeared in more than 100 publications, including The Atlantic, New Yorker, Reader’s Digest, Sports Illustrated, and Utne Reader.If you are a fan of the 2018 films Ben is Back or David Sheff’s Beautiful Boy or have read addiction memoirs such as If You Love Me or We All Fall Down, you will love reading John Rosengren’s A Clean Heart.
A Clean Mess: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb
by Tiffany JenkinsThe bestselling author of High Achiever chronicles life after addiction—the raw, the dark, and the hilarious—from setting out with nothing but a backpack to discovering her marriage was built on a shakier foundation than she&’d ever imagined to staying sober when life fell apart.&“Tiffany Jenkins illustrates that recovery is not just about sobriety, but about learning to live and feel again. Her compelling story is a testament to the power of resilience, humor, and hope.&”—Sarah Levy, author of Drinking GamesA Clean Mess opens with the moment that changed everything. Tiffany is about to go on stage when she receives an odd message from her husband: &“Hey Babe, some of the guys here are making some stupid decisions. Not me. But I just wanted to let you know in case you heard it from some of the other wives.&” By the end of the night, Tiffany knew her life would never be the same.This wasn&’t the first time she had to start over. After the opioid addiction and jail sentence that she chronicled in her bestselling memoir, High Achiever, Tiffany was ready for a fresh start. A chance to try life again, this time without drugs coursing through her veins. In A Clean Mess, she takes us back to those early days of recovery, and the whirlwind that she entered the moment she was out of prison. In just two years, she went from inmate to married and sober mom of three. Told with humor and honesty, A Clean Mess is Tiffany Jenkins&’s story of how she learned to live and feel for the first time without numbing herself with drugs—and how she discovered inner reserves of strength she didn&’t know she had. From her tentative first days of sobriety, to seeing two pink lines on a pregnancy test weeks later, to navigating anxiety, a new marriage, and motherhood at the same time, to surviving betrayal and divorce, Jenkins shows how she got through it all when her crutches and Band-Aids were taken away from her. An inspiring memoir that reads like fiction, A Clean Mess is a book that will buoy anyone seeking a life raft in hard times.
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (A Vintage Short)
by Jon KrakauerHere is Jon Krakauer’s portrait of the iconoclastic architect Christopher Alexander, whose revolutionary human-centered approach has shaken the foundations of modern architecture. Krakauer delves into Alexander’s life and career, from his theories on a timeless “pattern language” that could be used to create buildings and towns that were simultaneously more livable and more beautiful, to his belief that architecture is correctly viewed as a powerful social instrument; from his on-site drafting techniques to his design process that, like a cocoon, shapes a building from the inside out. With trademark rigor, nuance, and insight, Krakauer powerfully draws us into Alexander’s singular vision of human-centered design—one in which people reclaim control over their built environment.
A Clear Premonition: The Letters of Lieutenant Tim Lloyd To His Mother, North Africa and Italy, 1943-44
by Raleigh TrevelyanAn insightful collection of WWII correspondence between a British lieutenant & his mother, with commentary by his best friend and fellow soldier. Tim Lloyd was aged twenty-two, a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade, when he was killed in action near Florence in July, 1944. His personality made a vivid impression on his companions, and after all these years he is remembered still for his extraordinary zest for life, his indomitable cheerfulness, and his appreciation of beautiful things. If he had lived, he might well have joined the famous publishing firm of his brother-in-law, Sir William Collins, but more likely he would have been a theatre designer, possibly a great one. He was also brave, though his period at the front line was brief. Raleigh Trevelyan, a year younger, regarded him as his best friend. It was a shock when Tim's nephew Samson Lloyd showed Raleigh Tim&’s letters to his mother when they were together in North Africa and Italy. For the first time, Raleigh reread extracts from his own diary and found himself plunged into memories he hoped he had put to rest. Tim had been ill in Italy, so missed being sent to Anzio Beachhead, the subject of Raleigh&’s much praised and harrowing battle memoir The Fortress, and also part of his later book Rome &‘44. Meanwhile Tim continued his letters to his mother, outstanding not only in their descriptions of landscape and people, but as an example of a son's deep devotion. Sue Ryder, who had first met Tim on the boat to South Africa, was convinced that he had a clear premonition of what lay in store. Based on his letters to Mrs. Lloyd, the book traces his childhood at Repton, his passion for the theatre and his marionette shows in ENSA, also life in the ranks and wild times in London after being commissioned.
A Clearing In The Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the 19th Century
by Witold RybczynskiIn a brilliant collaboration between writer and subject, Witold Rybczynski, the bestselling author of Home and City Life, illuminates Frederick Law Olmsted's role as a major cultural figure at the epicenter of nineteenth-century American history.We know Olmsted through the physical legacy of his stunning landscapes -- among them, New York's Central Park, California's Stanford University campus, and Boston's Back Bay Fens. But Olmsted's contemporaries knew a man of even more extraordinarily diverse talents. Born in 1822, he traveled to China on a merchant ship at the age of twenty-one. He cofounded The Nation magazine and was an early voice against slavery. He managed California's largest gold mine and, during the Civil War, served as the executive secretary to the United States Sanitary Commission, the precursor of the Red Cross. Rybczynski's passion for his subject and his understanding of Olmsted's immense complexity and accomplishments make his book a triumphant work. In A Clearing in the Distance, the story of a great nineteenth-century American becomes an intellectual adventure.
A Clearing in the Wild (Change and Cherish #1)
by Jane KirkpatrickYoung Emma Wagner chafes at the constraints of Bethel colony, an 1850s religious community in Missouri that is determined to remain untainted by the concerns of the world. A passionate and independent thinker, she resents the limitations placed on women, who are expected to serve in quiet submission. In a community where dissent of any form is discouraged, Emma finds it difficult to rein in her tongue-and often doesn't even try to do so, fueling the animosity between her and the colony's charismatic and increasingly autocratic leader, Wilhelm Keil. Eventually Emma and her husband, Christian, are sent along with eight other men to scout out a new location in the northwest where the Bethelites can prepare to await "the last days." Christian believes they've found the ideal situation in Washington territory, but when Keil arrives with the rest of the community, he rejects Christian's choice in favor of moving to Oregon. Emma pushes her husband to take this opportunity to break away from the group, but her longed-for influence brings unexpected consequences. As she seeks a refuge for her wounded faith, she learns that her passionate nature can be her greatest strength-if she can harness it effectively.From the Trade Paperback edition.
A Clockwork Murder: The Night A Twisted Fantasy Became A Demented Reality
by Steve Jackson&“Wonderful and dark . . . a journey into the minds of two men who together become one killer&” from the New York Times bestselling true crime author(Blaine L. Pardoe, author of A Special Kind of Evil). In April 1997, pretty, 22-year-old Jacine Gielinski stopped her car at a red light in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She had no idea that the two young men looking at her from the car next to hers would in that moment decide she would be their target for unspeakable horrors. George Woldt and Lucas Salmon were an unlikely pair of best friends, much less killers. Woldt was a fast-talking, well-dressed ladies&’ man who boasted of his sexual conquests. Salmon was deeply religious and socially misfit, obsessed with losing his virginity. Woldt was the leader, Salmon his willing follower, but neither had been in serious trouble with the law. However, inspired by the cult movie, A Clockwork Orange, with its dystopian violence, they fantasized for months what it would be like to abduct, rape, torture and murder a woman. Then, aroused by watching ultra-violent pornography, they decided to act upon their evil thoughts. Revised and updated with a new afterword from the author, A Clockwork Murder recounts the steps that led to an unthinkable crime and its impact on a community, as well as the friends and especially the parents of an innocent young woman who paid with her life for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. &“Jackson&’s sharp eye misses nothing in the painstakingly rendered details.&”—Publishers Weekly
A Cloud Where the Birds Rise: A book about love and belonging
by Michael Harding Jacob StackPlease note this has been optimised for display on tablets and colour devices.In this stunning collaboration, bestselling writer Michael Harding's most memorable musings on the human condition are brought to life by illustrator Jacob Stack.In these pages, the reader is held in moments of belonging, solitude, love and healing as we witness the beauty of falling snow, the pain and love of goodbyes, and the shared lives and deaths of neighbours amid the sweeping landscape of Ireland.A Cloud Where the Birds Rise is a beautifully illustrated collection of observations and stories from one of Ireland's best-loved writers - a celebration of finding beauty and hope in the ordinary.
A Cluttered Life: Searching for God, Serenity, and My Missing Keys
by Pesi DinnersteinA Cluttered Life chronicles Pesi Dinnerstein's touching, quirky, and often comic search for order and simplicity amid an onslaught of relentless interruptions. When a chance encounter with an old acquaintance opens her eyes to the extent to which disorder has crept into every corner of her existence, she begins a quest to free herself from the excess baggage she carries and finds-to her great surprise-that the meaning she's spent years searching for is right there in her own piles of clutter.Dinnerstein's battle with chaos is an odyssey of self-discovery that leads her from the obvious mess spilling out of closets and the backseat of her car to the more subtle forms of disorder in her life and, finally, to the most hidden expressions deep within herself. In the end-with the help of devoted friends, a twelve-step recovery program, and a bit of Kabbalistic wisdom-her struggle with the things of this world is transformed from a distraction into its own journey of healing and personal growth. At turns insightful, unsettling, and wildly funny, A Cluttered Life is the story of how one woman found her true self-and spiritual fulfillment-through trying to make sense of her own muddled world.
A Coach's Life: My Forty Years in College Basketball
by Sally Jenkins John Kilgo Dean SmithLegendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith tells the full story of his fabled career, and shares the life lessons taught and learned over forty years of unparalleled success as a coach and mentor.For almost forty years, Dean Smith coached the University of North Carolina men's basketball program with unsurpassed success- on the court and in shaping young men's lives. In his long-awaited memoir, he reflects on the great games, teams, players, strategies, and rivalries that defined his career, and explains the philosophy that guided him. There's a lot more to life than basketball- though some may beg to differ- but there's a lot more to basketball than basketball, and this is a book about basketball filled with wisdom about life. Dean Smith insisted that the fundamentals of good basketball were the fundamentals of character- passion, discipline, focus, selflessness, and responsibility- and he strove to unite his teams in pursuit of those values.To read this book is to understand why Dean Smith changed the lives of the players he coached, from Michael Jordan, who calls him his second father and who never played a single NBA game without wearing a pair of UNC basketball shorts under his uniform, to the last man on the bench of his least talented team. We all wish we had a coach like Dean Smith in our lives, and now we will have that chance.
A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents
by Mary-Alice DanielA poetic coming-of-age memoir that probes the legacies and myths of family, race, and religion—from Nigeria to England to AmericaMary-Alice Daniel’s family moved from West Africa to England when she was a very young girl, leaving behind the vivid culture of her native land in the Nigerian savanna. They arrived to a blanched, cold world of prim suburbs and unfamiliar customs. So began her family’s series of travels across three continents in search of places of belonging.A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing ventures through the physical and mythical landscapes of Daniel’s upbringing. Against the backdrop of a migratory adolescence, she reckons with race, religious conflict, culture clash, and a multiplicity of possible identities. Daniel lays bare the lives and legends of her parents and past generations, unearthing the tribal mythologies that shaped her kin and her own way of being in the world. The impossible question of which tribe to claim as her own is one she has long struggled with: the Nigerian government recognizes her as Longuda, her father’s tribe; according to matrilineal tradition, Daniel belongs to her mother’s tribe, the nomadic Fulani; and the language she grew up speaking is that of the Hausa tribe. But her strongest emotional connection is to her adopted home: California, the final place she reveals to readers through its spellbinding history.Daniel’s approach is deeply personal: in order to reclaim her legacies, she revisits her unsettled childhood and navigates the traditions of her ancestors. Her layered narratives invoke the contrasting spiritualities of her tribes: Islam, Christianity, and magic. A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing is a powerful cultural distillation of mythos and ethos, mapping the far-flung corners of the Black diaspora that Daniel inherits and inhabits. Through lyrical observation and deep introspection, she probes the bonds and boundaries of Blackness, from bygone colonial empires to her present home in America.
A Coat of Yellow Paint: Moving Through the Noise to Love the Life You Live
by Naomi DavisLife doesn&’t come with an instruction book for the role of perfect wife and mother. However, as Naomi Davis discovered on her journey from newlywed Juilliard dancer to mother of five, a joyful life is a work of art that only you can create for yourself.***When Naomi launched the popular blog Love Taza over a decade ago, she had no way of knowing where that first blog post would lead or the millions of lives she&’d impact.In A Coat of Yellow Paint, Naomi shares all-new stories, time-stamped as intimate and vulnerable essays, exploring her faith, personal heartaches, challenges balancing a home life with career, motherhood, and her struggles with infertility. Along the way, Naomi illustrates the urgency of celebrating life&’s most important things––family, faith, friendship, and an upright piano painted bright yellow––ignoring the critics.Naomi shares life lessons she&’s learned, including how tocommunicate openly and honestly in your marriage and friendshipsbe confident in the choices you make as a mother--and why you&’re more than &“just a mom&”overcome criticism--including from yourself--on body image, infertility, and doing &“enough&”make childhood feel magical, and seek out adventures with your little onesnavigate spiritual upheaval and reclaim your faithfind more soulfulness in your social media and online experienceIf you dream of a life celebrating family, self, and work in a way that feels right for you, A Coat of Yellow Paint will inspire you to drown out the noise of others&’ opinions and expectations--so you can be empowered to love your life.
A Coffin for King Charles: The Trial and Execution of Charles I
by C. V. WedgwoodThe reign of Charles I, defined by religious conflict, a titanic power struggle with Parliament, and culminating in the English Civil Wars, the execution of the king, and the brief abolition of the monarchy, was one of the most turbulent in English history. <p><p>Six years after the First Civil War began, and following Charles' support for the failed Royalist uprising of the Second Civil War, an act of Parliament was passed that produced something unprecedented in the history of England: the trial of an English king on a capital charge. There followed ten extraordinary weeks that finally drew to a dark end on January 30, 1649, when Charles was beheaded in Whitehall. <p><p>In this acclaimed account, C. V. Wedgwood recreates the dramatic events of the trial and Charles's final days, to vividly bring to life the main actors in this tragic and compelling story.
A Cold War Odyssey
by Donald E. Nuechterlein“A fascinating ride through a period of history in which United States foreign policies and relationships matured greatly.” —Ralph C. Bledsoe, Special Assistant to the President, 1982–88The Cold War—that long ideological conflict between the world’s two superpowers—had a profound effect not only on nations but on individuals, especially all those involved in setting and implementing the policies that shaped the struggle. Donald Nuechterlein was one such individual and this is his story.Although based in fact, the narrative reads like fiction, and it takes the reader behind the scenes as no purely factual telling of that complex story can. Presented as the story of David and Helen Bruening and their family, A Cold War Odyssey carries us across three continents. Against a backdrop of national and international events, we follow the Bruenings through five decades as David’s governmental and academic assignments take them to all corners of the world.In the tradition of Herman Wouk’s Winds of War, the Bruenings’ personal and professional odyssey offers us a microcosm of world history in the second half of the twentieth century. Through the acute eyes of these participant observers, we see the partitioning of Europe after World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Watergate and Iran, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union and, with it, the end of the Cold War. With each succeeding episode, our understanding of the causes and consequences of international struggle is deepened through the Bruenings’ experience.
A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon And China, 1969-1972
by Chris TuddaIn February 1972, President Nixon arrived in Beijing for what Chairman Mao Zedong called the "week that changed the world. " Using recently declassified sources from American, Chinese, European, and Soviet archives, Chris Tudda's A Cold War Turning Point reveals new details about the relationship forged by the Nixon administration and the Chinese government that dramatically altered the trajectory of the Cold War. Between the years 1969 and 1972, Nixon's national security team actively fostered the U. S. rapprochement with China. Tudda argues that Nixon, in bold opposition to the stance of his predecessors, recognized the mutual benefits of repairing the Sino-U. S. relationship and was determined to establish a partnership with China. Nixon believed that America's relative economic decline, its overextension abroad, and its desire to create a more realistic international framework aligned with China's fear of Soviet military advancement and its eagerness to join the international marketplace. In a contested but calculated move, Nixon gradually eased trade and travel restrictions to China. Mao responded in kind, albeit slowly, by releasing prisoners, inviting the U. S. ping-pong team to Beijing, and secretly hosting Secretary of State Henry Kissinger prior to Nixon's momentous visit. Set in the larger framework of international relations at the peak of the Vietnam War, A Cold War Turning Point is the first book to use the Nixon tapes and Kissinger telephone conversations to illustrate the complexity of early Sino-U. S. relations. Tudda's thorough and illuminating research provides a multi-archival examination of this critical moment in twentieth-century international relations.