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At War With Ourselves: Why America Is Squandering Its Chance to Build a Better World
by Michael HirshForeign policy analysis.
At War With The Wind: The Epic Struggle With Japan's World War II Suicide Bombers
by David SearsDrawing from hundreds of interviews with WWII veterans who survived Japan&’s terrifying kamikaze strikes, acclaimed author and former U.S. Navy Officer David Sears vividly portrays what it was like to experience this tactic, capturing the real-life dramas behind America&’s first confrontation with the psychology and devastating impact of suicide warfare. In the last days of World War II, a new and baffling weapon terrorized the United States Navy in the Pacific. To the sailors who learned to fear them, the body-crashing warriors of Japan were known as &“suiciders&”; among the Japanese, they were named for a divine wind that once saved the home islands from invasion: Told from the perspective of the men who endured this horrifying tactic, At War with the Wind is the first book to recount in nail-biting detail what it was like to experience an attack by Japanese kamikazes. Acclaimed author David Sears draws on personal interviews and unprecedented research to create a narrative of war that is stunning in its vividness and unforgettable in its revelations. This is the candid story of a war within a war—a relentless series of furious and violent engagements pitting men determined to die against men determined to live. Its echoes resonate hauntingly at a time of global conflict, especially when suicide as a weapon remains a perplexing and terrifying reality.Main Selection of the Military Book Club Featured Alternate of the History Book Club
At War at Sea: Sailors and Naval Combat in the Twentieth Century
by Ronald H. SpectorBeginning with a gripping account of one of the most decisive naval battles in history-the 1905 battle of Tsushima between the Japanese and Russians-and ending with the sophisticated missile engagements of the Falklands and in the Persian Gulf, naval historian Ronald Spector explores every facet of the past one hundred years of naval warfare. Drawing from more than one hundred diaries, memoirs, letters, and interviews, this is, above all, a masterful narrative of the human side of combat at sea-real stories told from the point of view of the sailors who experienced it. Exhaustively researched and fascinating in detail, At War at Sea is a monumental history of the men, the ships, and the battles fought on the high seas.
At War in Distant Waters
by Phillip G. PatteeA Great and Urgent Imperial Service investigates the reasons behind Great Britain's combined military and naval offensive expeditions of Europe during the Great War. These campaigns have been branded by various historians as unnecessary sideshows to the conflict waged on the European continent. Pattee argues that the various campaigns were necessary adjuncts to the war in Europe, and fulfilled an important strategic purpose by protecting British trade where it was most vulnerable. Since international trade was essential for maintaining the island nation's way of life, Great Britain required freedom of the seas in order to maintain its global trade. While the German High Seas Fleet constituted a serious threat that placed the British coast at grave risk, forcing the Royal Navy to concentrate in home waters, the importance of the island empire's global trade made it a valuable and vulnerable target to Germany's various commerce raiders-as Admiral Tirpitz's risk theory had anticipated.
At War with Government: How Conservatives Weaponized Distrust from Goldwater to Trump
by Douglas B. Harris Amy FriedPolling shows that since the 1950s Americans’ trust in government has fallen dramatically to historically low levels. In At War with Government, the political scientists Amy Fried and Douglas B. Harris reveal that this trend is no accident. Although distrust of authority is deeply rooted in American culture, it is fueled by conservative elites who benefit from it. Since the postwar era conservative leaders have deliberately and strategically undermined faith in the political system for partisan aims.Fried and Harris detail how conservatives have sown distrust to build organizations, win elections, shift power toward institutions that they control, and secure policy victories. They trace this strategy from the Nixon and Reagan years through Gingrich’s Contract with America, the Tea Party, and Donald Trump’s rise and presidency. Conservatives have promoted a political identity opposed to domestic state action, used racial messages to undermine unity, and cultivated cynicism to build and bolster coalitions. Once in power, they have defunded public services unless they help their constituencies and rolled back regulations, perversely proving the failure of government. Fried and Harris draw on archival sources to document how conservative elites have strategized behind the scenes. With a powerful diagnosis of our polarized era, At War with Government also proposes how we might rebuild trust in government by countering the strategies conservatives have used to weaken it.
At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House
by H. R. McMasterAn Instant New York Times Bestseller!A revealing account of National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster’s turbulent and consequential thirteen months in the Trump White House.At War with Ourselves is the story of helping a disruptive President drive necessary shifts in U.S. foreign policy at a critical moment in history. McMaster entered an administration beset by conflict and the hyper partisanship of American politics. With the candor of a soldier and the perspective of a historian, McMaster rises above the fray to lay bare the good, the bad, and the ugly of Trump’s presidency and give readers insight into what a second Trump term would look like.While all administrations are subject to backstabbing and infighting, some of Trump’s more unscrupulous political advisors were determined to undermine McMaster and others to advance their narrow agendas. McMaster writes candidly about Cabinet officials who, deeply disturbed by Trump’s language and behavior, prioritized controlling the President over collaborating to provide the President with options.McMaster offers a frank and fresh assessment of the achievements and failures of his tenure as National Security Advisor and the challenging task of maintaining one’s bearings and focus on the mission in a hectic and malicious environment.Determined to transcend the war within the administration and focus on national security priorities, McMaster forged coalitions in Washington and internationally to help Trump advance U.S. interests. Trump’s character and personality helped him make tough decisions, but sometimes prevented him from sticking to them. McMaster adroitly assesses the record of Trump’s presidency in comparison to the Obama and Biden administrations.With the 2024 election on the horizon, At War with Ourselves highlights the crucial importance of competence in foreign policy, and makes plain the need for leaders who possess the character and intellect to guide the United States in a tumultuous world.
At War with War: 5000 Years of Conquests, Invasions, and Terrorist Attacks, An IllustratedTimeline
by Seymour Chwast Victor NavaskyAt War with War visualizes humanity's 5,000-year-long state of conflict, chaos, and violence on a continuous timeline. Seventy pages of stark black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings and woodcuts illustrate history's most notorious battles -- from 3300 BCE to the present day. Interspersed are contemplations on war from historic thinkers, including excerpts from "The Art of War" by Sun Tsu, "The Complaint of Peace" by Desiderius Erasmus, and "The State" by Randolph Bourne. Searing and sardonic, balancing anger and despair with wit and humanity, these raw illustrations follow in the tradition of great social satirists such as Honoré Daumier, Frans Masereel, Felix Vallotton, and Otto Dix. Seymour Chwast is a design legend. As co-founder with Milton Glaser of Push Pin Studios, he led a revolution in graphic design in the 1960s and '70s, producing bold, vibrant work that pushed the limits of nearly every visual medium.Now, he turns his pen and sketchpad toward creating a new book on a subject that has been a personal obsession for nearly six decades: the fight against war, humankind's never-ending scourge.
At War with the 16th Irish Division, 1914–1918: The Letters of J H M Staniforth
by Richard GraysonThe letters of John Max Staniforth are among the most perceptive, graphic and evocative personal records of a soldiers life to have come down to us from the Great War. They cover his entire wartime career with the 16th (Irish) Division, from his enlistment in 1914 till the armistice, and they have never been published before. From his first days in the army, Staniforth wrote fluent, descriptive weekly letters to his parents and, in doing so, he created a fascinating record of his experiences and those of the men around him. When the division arrived on the Western Front in 1915, he related his impressions in detail, and went on to give an unflinching account of the drama and the cruelty and the grueling routine of trench warfare. After he was gassed in 1918, he wrote about his feelings and the treatment he received just as thoroughly as he did about every other aspect of the conflict.A striking aspect of the letters is that Staniforth enlisted as a private soldier and went through the training of the ordinary recruit before rising through the ranks. The letters also show how the Irish division was influenced by the turmoil of contemporary politics in Ireland.
At War's Summit: The Red Army and the Struggle for the Caucasus Mountains in World War II (Cambridge Military Histories)
by Alexander StatievThis is the story of the highest battlefield of World War Two, which brings to life the extremes endured during this harsh mountain warfare. When the German war machine began faltering from a shortage of oil after the failed Blitzkrieg against the Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht launched Operation Edelweiss in the summer of 1942, a bold attempt to capture the Soviet oilfields of Grozny and Baku and open the way to securing the vast reserves of Middle Eastern oil. Hitler viewed this campaign as the key to victory in World War Two. Mountain warfare requires unique skills: climbing and survival techniques, unconventional logistical and medical arrangements and knowledge of ballistics at high altitudes. The Main Caucasus Ridge became the battleground that saw the elite German mountain divisions clash with the untrained soldiers of the Red Army, as they fought each other, the weather and the terrain.
At War: The Military and American Culture in the Twentieth Century and Beyond (War Culture)
by Susan L. Carruthers Katherine Ellison Scott Laderman Christine Knauer William Watson John M. Kinder Jennifer Mittelstadt David Kieran Jana K. Lipman Edwin A. Martini Mark R. Wilson Christopher Hamner Sahr Conway-Lanz Stefan Aune Nick Witham Wilbur J. Scott Kara Dixon Vuic Richard P. Tucker Bonnie M. Miller Professor G. Kurt PiehlerThe country’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, its interventions around the world, and its global military presence make war, the military, and militarism defining features of contemporary American life. The armed services and the wars they fight shape all aspects of life—from the formation of racial and gendered identities to debates over environmental and immigration policy. Warfare and the military are ubiquitous in popular culture. At War offers short, accessible essays addressing the central issues in the new military history—ranging from diplomacy and the history of imperialism to the environmental issues that war raises and the ways that war shapes and is shaped by discourses of identity, to questions of who serves in the U.S. military and why and how U.S. wars have been represented in the media and in popular culture.
At Your Pleasure
by Meredith DuranMeredith Duran returns with another witty, humorous and smart romance. Fans of Julia Quinn, Jane Feather and Eloisa James will delight in Meredith's trademark headstrong heroine, cunning hero and tale of deep emotional intensity!By candlelight, she lures him...Glittering court socialites and underworld cutpurses alike know that Adrian Ferrers, Earl of Rivenham, is the most dangerous man in London. Rivenham will let nothing - not the deepening shadow of war, nor the growing darkness within him - interfere with his ambition to restore his family to its former glory. But when tasked by the king to uncover a traitor, he discovers instead a conspiracy - and a woman whose courage awakens terrible temptations. To save her is to risk everything. To love her might cost his life.At swordpoint she defies him...Lady Leonora knows that Rivenham is the devil in beautiful disguise - and that the irresistible tension between them is as unpredictable as the dilemma in which Nora finds herself: held hostage on her own estate by Rivenham and the king's men. But when war breaks out, Nora has no choice but to place her trust in her dearest enemy - and pray that love does not become the weapon that destroys them both...Looking for more Meredith Duran novels? Try Wicked Becomes You or her Rules for the Reckless series.
At Your Pleasure
by Meredith DuranBY CANDLELIGHT, SHE LURES HIM . . . Glittering court socialites and underworld cutpurses alike know that Adrian Ferrers, Earl of Rivenham, is the most dangerous man in London. Rivenham will let nothing--not the deepening shadow of war, nor the growing darkness within him--interfere with his ambition to restore his family to its former glory. But when tasked by the king to uncover a traitor, he discovers instead a conspiracy--and a woman whose courage awakens terrible temptations. To save her is to risk everything. To love her might cost his life. AT SWORDPOINT SHE DEFIES HIM . . . Lady Leonora knows that Rivenham is the devil in beautiful disguise--and that the irresistible tension between them is as unpredictable as the dilemma in which Nora finds herself: held hostage on her own estate by Rivenham and the king's men. But when war breaks out, Nora has no choice but to place her trust in her dearest enemy--and pray that love does not become the weapon that destroys them both. . . .
At a Century's Ending: Reflections, 1982-1995
by George F. KennanAs a participant and observer, Pulitzer Prize-winning and National Book Award-winning author George F. Kennan has left an indelible mark on more than six decades of this century. In this new volume of essays, reviews, and speeches, Kennan reflects on the forces that have gone wildly out of control in this tragic century.
At a Crossroads: Russia in the Global Economy
by Sergey Kulik Nikita Maslennikov Igor YurgensGlobalization proceeds apace, taking on new forms that impact global economic, financial and social processes. Interdependence is not simply strengthening the range of possibilities for national economies to participate in, and advantage of, these developments, but expanding the opportunities that are available to them. The question is how do states take advantage of these global developments. Russia is no exception. Although it actively participates in the globalization process, it is, however, confronting greater economic, technological, structural and institutional problems than other countries. At the same time, there is dwindling hope for favourable conditions to continue in global energy markets, which are crucial to the Russian economy. These problems exist alongside the risk that the widening gap between Russia and other economies in terms of economic performance and technological development and growth will continue. Russia now stands at the crossroads of either overcoming or exacerbating these current challenges. This choice dictates the current realities of pax economica. Moscow must, in the very near future, make meaningful, if not fundamental, decisions aimed at further opening its economy, improving its institutions, and strengthening its international ties. This task is made more difficult by Russia's weakening competitiveness and by its ambiguous position on the international division of labour. The old model of Russian development has been exhausted and a new one must be chosen. Russia's choice at this juncture will determine the future of its economic development for many years to come.
At a Loss for Words: Conversation in the Age of Rage
by Carol OffAN INSTANT #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER Award-winning author and broadcast journalist Carol Off digs deep into six words whose meanings have been distorted and weaponized in recent years—including democracy, freedom and truth—and asks whether we can reclaim their value.As co-host of CBC Radio's As It Happens, Carol Off spent a decade and a half talking to people in the news five nights a week. On top of her stellar writing and reporting career, those 25,000 interviews have given her a unique vantage point on the crucial subject at the heart of her new book—how, in these polarizing years, words that used to define civil society and social justice are being put to work for a completely different political agenda. Or they are being bleached of their meaning as the values they represent are mocked and distorted. As Off writes, &“If our language doesn&’t have a means to express an idea, then the idea itself is gone—even the range of thought is diminished.&” And, as she argues, that&’s a dangerous loss.In six, wide-ranging chapters, Off explores the mutating meanings and the changing political impact of her six chosen words—freedom, democracy, truth, woke, choice and taxes—unpacking the forces, from right and left, that have altered them beyond recognition. She also shows what happens when we lose our shared political vocabulary: we stop being able to hear each other, let alone speak with each other in meaningful ways. This means we stop being able to reckon with the complexity of the crises we face, leaving us prey to conspiracy theories, autocrats and the machinations of greed. At a Loss for Words is both an elegy and a call to arms.
At the Abyss
by Thomas C. Reed“The Cold War . . . was a fight to the death,” notes Thomas C. Reed, “fought with bayonets, napalm, and high-tech weaponry of every sort—save one. It was not fought with nuclear weapons.” With global powers now engaged in cataclysmic encounters, there is no more important time for this essential, epic account of the past half century, the tense years when the world trembled At the Abyss. Written by an author who rose from military officer to administration insider, this is a vivid, unvarnished view of America’s fight against Communism, from the end of WWII to the closing of the Strategic Air Command, a work as full of human interest as history, rich characters as bloody conflict. Among the unforgettable figures who devised weaponry, dictated policy, or deviously spied and subverted: Whittaker Chambers—the translator whose book, Witness, started the hunt for bigger game: Communists in our government; Lavrenti Beria—the head of the Soviet nuclear weapons program who apparently killed Joseph Stalin; Col. Ed Hall—the leader of America’s advanced missile system, whose own brother was a Soviet spy; Adm. James Stockwell—the prisoner of war and eventual vice presidential candidate who kept his terrible secret from the Vietnamese for eight long years; Nancy Reagan—the “Queen of Hearts,” who was both loving wife and instigator of palace intrigue in her husband’s White House. From Eisenhower’s decision to beat the Russians at their own game, to the “Missile Gap” of the Kennedy Era, to Reagan’s vow to “lean on the Soviets until they go broke”—all the pivotal events of the period are portrayed in new and stunning detail with information only someone on the front lines and in backrooms could know. Yet At the Abyss is more than a riveting and comprehensive recounting. It is a cautionary tale for our time, a revelation of how, “those years . . . came to be known as the Cold War, not World War III.”
At the Altar of Speed: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of Dale Earnhardt
by Leigh MontvilleHe was The Intimidator. A nightmare in the rear-view mirror. A unique winner in the boardroom. A seven-time Winston Cup champion. A driver whose personal success story and dedication inspired the adoration of millions of fans. Then on February 18, 2001, just seconds from the Daytona 500 finish line, the world of stock-car racing suffered a devastating loss as Dale Earnhardt fatally careened into a track wall. The tragic shock waves, and an unprecedented outpouring of respect and love, have not stopped since. At the Altar of Speedtakes readers behind the scenes of Earnhardt's celebrated life, tracing his rags-to-riches journey to the top of America's fastest-growing sport. Beginning with Earnhardt's early days growing up in small-town North Carolina, veteran sports writer Leigh Montville examines how a ninth-grade dropout started on the dusty dirt tracks of the South, went through two marriages and a string of no-future jobs before turning twenty-five, then took about a million left turns to glory. Through the pitfalls and triumphs, Earnhardt would ultimately become a celebrated champion, whose lifetime earnings would top forty-one million dollars. The son of a legendary racer, the father of a NASCAR star, he lived a total auto-racing life filled with triumph and sadness, great joy and great pain. Transporting readers to the colorful, noisy world of stock-car racing, where powerful engines allow drivers to reach speeds of 200 m. p. h. ,At the Altar of Speedvividly captures the man who drove the black No. 3 car, a man whose determination and inner strength left behind a legacy of greatness that has redefined his sport. Illustrated with a section of full-color photographs,At the Altar of Speedis a tribute to both the man and his unbeatable spirit.
At the Altar of the Appellate Gods: Arguing before the US Supreme Court, A Memoir
by Lisa Sarnoff GochmanHave you ever wondered what it's like to argue before the Supreme Court of the United States?In this poignant and compelling memoir, Lisa Sarnoff Gochmancaptures the terror, wonder, and joy of preparing for and arguing a landmark criminal case before the nine justices of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC. At the Altar of the Appellate Gods traces the arc of a violent, racially motivated crime by white supremacist Charles C. Apprendi Jr. in rural Vineland, New Jersey, through the New Jersey state court system, and all the way up to the Supreme Court, where Gochman defended the constitutionality of New Jersey's Hate Crime Statute before a very hot bench. Gochman went head-to-head with Justice Antonin Scalia, fielded tough questions from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and strolled down memory lane with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Told with grace and humor, At the Altar of the Appellate Gods will interest anyone who is curious about the inner workings of our court system and what it is really like to bring a case before the highest court in the country.
At the Base of the Giant's Throat: The Past and Future of America's Great Dams
by Anthony R. PalumbiThere are ninety thousand registered dams in the United States, fifty thousand of them classified as &“major.&” Nearly all of this infrastructure was built during a forty-year period, from 1932 to 1972, in an era of public investment and political consensus that seems inconceivable today. These incredible structures—sometimes called the American Pyramids—helped the country rebound from the Great Depression, brought water and electricity to enormous reaches, helped win World War II for the Allies, and became the basis for decades of prosperous stability.At the Base of the Giant&’s Throat dives into the history of dam-building in the United States as natural waterscapes have been replaced with engineered environments and the bone-dry West became America&’s produce aisle. From the Folsom Powerhouse cranking sixty-hertz alternating current in the 1890s to the iconic Hoover Dam and the gargantuan Grand Coulee Dam, Anthony R. Palumbi lays out how dams and water projects changed the North American continent forever and laid the groundwork for an age of unprecedented prosperity. He also describes how institutional complacency corrupted the ethos of public power and public works—and how the influence of rich landowners undermined the credibility of that ethos. Palumbi shows how our nation&’s ability to cope with natural disasters has been fatally compromised by underinvestment in decaying infrastructure. He argues that a livable future demands investment on a scale few Americans currently grasp. To win that future we must interrogate the history of our most vital public works: the dams, canals, and levees helping to channel life&’s most precious molecule.At the Base of the Giant&’s Throat tells the story of America through its water, sweeping across five hundred years of history, from the swashbuckling exploits of French colonist Samuel de Champlain to the nightmarish urban flooding of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.
At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge
by Jack R. Reese&“Said plainly, churches are in trouble. All churches are, but certainly Churches of Christ. Whether or not they recognize the threats they are facing is a different matter. The future is fraught with dangers. Many won&’t make it.&” On New Year&’s weekend, 1831–32, two churches came together in Lexington, Kentucky, in what is often known today as the Restoration Movement. Among the churches that emerged from this movement were Churches of Christ, which grew in the nineteenth century and then flourished in the twentieth. At their zenith, around 1990, there were over 13,000 Church of Christ congregations in the United States with nearly 1.3 million members. Especially in the southern states where Churches of Christ were concentrated, it seemed inconceivable that they would ever face their own death.Like many communities of faith, these churches are now in rapid decline. The numbers are devastating. At the current trajectory, Churches of Christ in America, with a membership of just over a million, will be less than a quarter their current size in thirty years. As they awaken to their crisis, many of them are beginning to see themselves at the edge.This book is an elegy for those churches. But it is also a story of hope and promise. As from the &“Blue Hole&”—the tiny, hidden spring from which flows the San Antonio River, near where Jack Reese ministers—there is still abundant life and grace to be found flowing into Churches of Christ, waiting to be uncovered. Anyone wondering how to stem the seemingly inevitable ebb of the fading Western church will find solace and help in Reese&’s account of a once-thriving fellowship of churches that, God willing, may yet emerge from the grave into the light of resurrection.
At the Borders of the Wondrous and Magical: Nature Spirits, Shapeshifters, and the Undead in the Never-Ending Middle Ages
by Claude Lecouteux• Examines the esoteric side of texts and tales from the Middle Ages, including the enduring presence of haunted areas and power places and the roles of witches, house spirits, rune priests, shapeshifters, and the undead• Discusses the dividing line between magic and deviltry, as well as the significance of grimoires, bells, blacksmiths, storm callers, and more• Serves as a guide to a still-present magical and imaginal realm, pointing readers to the borderlands and liminal thresholds that enable access to the other worldIn this new collection of his writings, scholar and Sorbonne professor Claude Lecouteux reveals that the magical world of the distant past is real and still very present—if you know where to look. Explaining how he makes the texts he studies reveal their hidden teachings, Lecouteux directly explores the esoteric side of medieval myths and tales, peeling back the Christian veneer to show the enduring presence of haunted areas and power places, witches, house spirits, rune carvers, vampires, shapeshifters, and the undead.In tales originating from Greenland and Iceland to Saxony, Romania, and beyond, the author discusses the dividing line between magic and diablerie as well as the significance of grimoires, bells, blacksmiths, and other magical objects and characters. He explores magic in the elements of nature and as illustrated by the art of witches and magicians specializing in weather magic—storm callers and storm dispellers. He examines the medieval mythology surrounding clouds and the mythic significance of mountains in the haunted world of our ancestors, which is still as close to us today as it was to them in the past. Looking at borderlands and liminal thresholds that can serve as gateways to other worlds, the author also discusses land spirits and the rituals needed to engage with them, recognizing how their ownership of the land can never fully be usurped.Through these writings Lecouteux acts as a ferryman, transporting readers into the realms of the wondrous and magical. He enables us to see how the haunted magic of the Middle Ages never ended and how the imaginal realm, standing just beyond the borders of our own, is as vividly real as the material world.
At the Bride Hunt Ball
by Olivia ParkerTo Snare a Bride . . .To Gabriel Devine, Duke of Wolverest, the bonds of marriage are nothing more than shackles. But if he's to remain a lifelong bachelor, that leaves only his younger brother to carry on the family name. Inviting the ton's most eligible ladies to an elegant ball, Gabriel is certain any one of them would be all too eager to become the next duchess and provide an heir—leaving Gabriel to continue his ecstatic pursuit of pleasure.To Catch a Rogue . . .Her social-climbing stepmother would give anything to have Madelyn Haywood betrothed to a future duke. But Madelyn believes the brothers Devine to be nothing more than heartless rogues—especially Gabriel, whose rakish reputation precedes him. He is nothing more than a slave to passion, and she will not be conquered by his caresses—and yet his wicked ways tempt her so . . .
At the Captain's Command
by Louise M. GougeDuty and career-Captain Thomas Moberly of His Majesty's Navy prizes them above all. So why is he tempted to relinquish both for Dinah Templeton? Though Dinah seems sweet and charming, the difference in station between an East Florida belle and the son of an earl is too marked to ignore. And all other obstacles pale with the discovery that Dinah's brother James is not what he seems....A war is brewing on the colonies' horizon, and James has chosen his side-in opposition to the country Thomas has sworn to defend. But what of Dinah? Where does her heart truly lie-with her family, or with the man she claims to love?
At the Center of the Circle (1773–1847): and the Writers She Influenced During Europe's Revolutionary Era
by Barbara de BoinvilleThis biography of &“a vital player in Revolutionary circles . . . offers us an important role model . . . a fearless woman almost lost to the fog of history&” (Charlotte Gordon, Ph.D., author of Romantic Outlaws, winner of the National Book Critics Circle award for biography). This first-ever biography of Harriet de Boinville explores her close relationships with Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and other leading writers of the Romantic era, but also tells the gripping story of Harriet's early years as the wife of an aristocratic military officer during the French-English Wars, when she experienced a naval attack in the Caribbean, a shipwreck off the coast of France, and detention as a suspected spy in Dunkirk. Combining literary history and gender study with the engaging story of a courageous and caring woman, this ground-breaking book has generated extraordinary praise from renowned authors and experts. &“. . . fascinating history, but it's also an adventure tale and a romance . . .&” —Cory Flintoff, NPR former foreign correspondent. &“. . . Harriet de Boinville most engages with her vibrant and resilient self. Her generous personality shines through the letters quoted in this fascinating biography . . .&” —Janet Todd, Ph.D., author of Death and the Maidens, and former president of Cambridge University's Cavendish College. &“Fascinating . . . Lives like Harriet de Boinville's fill out the story of those formative times as nothing else can . . .&” —Fiona Sampson, Ph.D., author of Two-Way Mirror, a Washington Post Book of the Year. &“. . . meticulously researched and fluidly written . . . At the Center of the Circle tells the compelling story of a remarkably influential woman . . .&” —Kristin Samuelian, Ph.D., Associate Professor at George Mason University and author of Royal Romances.
At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA
by George Tenet Bill HarlowAutobiography of the CIA director from 1997 to 2004, during 9/11 and the initial invasion of Iraq