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Smokestacks in the Hills: Rural-Industrial Workers in West Virginia (The Working Class in American History)
by Lou MartinLong considered an urban phenomenon, industrialization also transformed the American countryside. Lou Martin weaves the narrative of how the relocation of steel and pottery factories to Hancock County, West Virginia, created a rural and small-town working class--and what that meant for communities and for labor. As Martin shows, access to land in and around steel and pottery towns allowed residents to preserve rural habits and culture. Workers in these places valued place and local community. Because of their belief in localism, an individualistic ethic of "making do," and company loyalty, they often worked to place limits on union influence. At the same time, this localism allowed workers to adapt to the dictates of industrial capitalism and a continually changing world on their own terms--and retain rural ways to a degree unknown among their urbanized peers. Throughout, Martin ties these themes to illuminating discussions of capital mobility, the ways in which changing work experiences defined gender roles, and the persistent myth that modernizing forces bulldozed docile local cultures. Revealing and incisive, Smokestacks in the Hills reappraises an overlooked stratum of American labor history and contributes to the ongoing dialogue on shifts in national politics in the postwar era.
Smoldering Ashes: Cuzco and the Creation Of Republican Peru, 1780-1840
by Charles F. WalkerIn Smoldering Ashes Charles F. Walker interprets the end of Spanish domination in Peru and that country's shaky transition to an autonomous republican state. Placing the indigenous population at the center of his analysis, Walker shows how the Indian peasants played a crucial and previously unacknowledged role in the battle against colonialism and in the political clashes of the early republican period. With its focus on Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, Smoldering Ashes highlights the promises and frustrations of a critical period whose long shadow remains cast on modern Peru. Peru's Indian majority and non-Indian elite were both opposed to Spanish rule, and both groups participated in uprisings during the late colonial period. But, at the same time, seething tensions between the two groups were evident, and non-Indians feared a mass uprising. As Walker shows, this internal conflict shaped the many struggles to come, including the Tupac Amaru uprising and other Indian-based rebellions, the long War of Independence, the caudillo civil wars, and the Peru-Bolivian Confederation. Smoldering Ashes not only reinterprets these conflicts but also examines the debates that took place--in the courts, in the press, in taverns, and even during public festivities--over the place of Indians in the republic. In clear and elegant prose, Walker explores why the fate of the indigenous population, despite its participation in decades of anticolonial battles, was little improved by republican rule, as Indians were denied citizenship in the new nation--an unhappy legacy with which Peru still grapples. Informed by the notion of political culture and grounded in Walker's archival research and knowledge of Peruvian and Latin American history, Smoldering Ashes will be essential reading for experts in Andean history, as well as scholars and students in the fields of nationalism, peasant and Native American studies, colonialism and postcolonialism, and state formation.
Smugglers and States: Negotiating the Maghreb at Its Margins (Columbia Studies in Middle East Politics)
by Max GallienSmuggling is typically thought of as furtive and hidden, taking place under the radar and beyond the reach of the state. But in many cases, governments tacitly permit illicit cross-border commerce, or even devise informal arrangements to regulate it. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in the borderlands of Tunisia and Morocco, Max Gallien explains why states have long tolerated illegal trade across their borders and develops new ways to understand the political economy of smuggling.This book examines the rules and agreements that govern smuggling in North Africa, tracing the involvement of states in these practices and their consequences for borderland communities. Gallien demonstrates that, contrary to common assumptions about the effects of informal economies, smuggling can promote both state and social stability. States not only turn a blind eye to smuggling, they rely on it to secure political acquiescence and maintain order, because it provides income for otherwise neglected border communities. More recently, however, the securitization of borders, wars, political change, and the pandemic have put these arrangements under pressure. Gallien explores the renegotiation of the role of smuggling, showing how stability turns into vulnerability and why some groups have been able to thrive while others have been pushed further to the margins. With both rich empirical detail and novel theoretical contributions, Smugglers and States offers important insights into security and stability in North Africa and the prospects for economic inclusion in a context where many livelihoods exist outside of the law.
Smugglers, Speculators, and the City in the Ethiopia-Somalia Borderlands (African Studies)
by Daniel K. ThompsonFor a century, the Ethiopian city Jigjiga was known as a dusty hub of cross-border smuggling and a hotbed of rebellion on Ethiopia's eastern frontier. After 2010, it transformed into a post-conflict boomtown, becoming one of Africa's fastest-growing cities and attracting Somali return-migrants from across the globe. This study examines Jigjiga's astonishing transformation through the eyes of its cross-border traders, urban businesspeople, and officials. Daniel K. Thompson follows traders and return-migrants across borders to where their lives collide in the city. Analysing their strategies of mobility and exchange, this study reveals how Ethiopia's federal politics, Euro-American concerns about terrorism, and local business aspirations have intertwined to reshape links between border-making and city-making in the Horn of Africa. To understand this distinctive brand of urbanism, Thompson follows globalized connections and reveals how urbanites in Africa and beyond participate in the “urban borderwork” of constructing, as well as contesting, today's border management regimes.
Snake in the Grass (The Fina Mendoza Mysteries)
by Kitty FeldeA great book and series for CIVICS EDUCATIONPairing the allure of Washington DC, with an animal misadventure, "Snake in the Grass" is a robust series mystery novel. —FOREWORD REVIEWS Fina Mendoza is the 10-year-old daughter of a congressman who solves mysteries in the U.S. Capitol with the help of a big orange dog named Senator Something. * * * * * *FINA'S LATEST CASE: Everybody's mad at everybody else on Capitol Hill. Members call each other names on the floor of the House of Representatives. And anybody who dares to work with someone in the other political party is punished. Now somebody's putting snakes in lawmaker gym bags and trash cans. It's up to Fina and Senator Something to find the real snake in the grass. TEACHERS, LIBRARIANS, and HOMESCHOOLERS, The Fina Mendoza Mysteries series of books, podcasts, teacher's guides, and "Facts Behind the Fiction" blog/newsletter provide a multidisciplinary approach to civics education for elementary school readers. As our amateur detective solves mysteries on Capitol Hill, Fina learns about American democracy, the electoral process and legislative branch along with your students. Take them deeper into Common Core knowledge with standards-based instruction through the series' multimedia sources! * * * * * * This third book in the series is more than a mystery story! It's THE WEST WING meets NANCY DREW.Available soon in Spanish! Look for Serpiente en la Hierba by Kitty Felde, translated by Jorge Flores GonzÁlez. * * * * * *FREE DOWNLOADABLE TEACHER'S GUIDE AVAILABLE:– Build reading skills while teaching integrated lessons in: ELA, social studies, and history designed for grades 3-5 Common Core Standards NCSS curriculum standards, C3 Social Studies Readiness California Public Schools' History-Social Science content standards. – Promote deeper learning through: active engagement reading comprehension content knowledge creative and analytical thinking – Designed for elementary school teachers, librarians, parents, homeschoolers, scout leaders, and other community educators. INTERACTIVE COMPONENTS & FREE MULTIMEDIA SOURCES: Helps address students' diverse learning needs. Supports the use of technology in the classroom. Dramatic podcast based on the books and current events. Facts Behind the Fiction blog and newsletter offer historical and civics context for the books and podcast. * * * * * *Introduce civics to your students with "The Fina Mendoza Mysteries" series!THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES SERIES: Book 1 – Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza Book 2 – State of the Union: A Fina Mendoza Mystery Book 3 – Snake in the Grass Book 4 – Home of the Brave (coming Spring 2026) Novella – Losing is Democratic: How to Talk to Kids About January 6th Podcast – The Fina Mendoza MysteriesALSO AVAILABLE IN SPANISH: Libro 1 – Bienvenida a Washington Fina Mendoza Libro 2 – Estado de la UniÓn: Un Misterio de Fina Mendoza Libro 3 – Serpiente en la Hierba (OtoÑo 2025) Libro 4 – Casa de los Valientes (OtoÑo 2026) * * * * * *For fans of: The Secret L
Snapshots from Home: Mind, Action and Strategy in an Uncertain World (Bristol Studies in International Theory)
by Karin M. FierkeTaking a broadly interdisciplinary approach, this book provides a unique angle on the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for global theory and practice. The book bridges two important debates regarding the relevance of quantum theory to the social sciences, and the pressing need for a more global international relations (IR). It brings the parallels between quantum physics and ancient Asian traditions – Daoism, Buddhism and Hinduism – to an investigation of mind, action and strategy in conditions of radical uncertainty. Engaging with both theory and real-world problems, including climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic and racial inequality, this book explores what it might mean to successfully navigate the potentials of a post-pandemic world.
Snarl: In Defense of Stalled Traffic and Faulty Networks
by Ruth A. MillerRuth A. Miller excavates a centuries-old history of nonhuman and nonbiological constitutional engagement and outlines a robust mechanical democracy that challenges existing theories of liberal and human political participation. Drawing on an eclectic set of legal, political, and automotive texts from France, Turkey, and the United States, she proposes a radical mechanical re-articulation of three of the most basic principles of democracy: vitality, mobility, and liberty. Rather than defending a grand theory of materialist or posthumanist politics, or addressing abstract concepts or "things" writ large, Miller invites readers into a self-contained history of constitutionalism situated in a focused discussion of automobile traffic congestion in Paris, Istanbul, and Boston. Within the mechanical public sphere created by automotive space, Snarl finds a model of democratic politics that transforms our most fundamental assumptions about the nature, and constitutional potential, of life, movement, and freedom.
Sniper in Helmand: Six Months On The Frontline
by James CartwrightFew soldiers are deemed good enough to be selected and trained as snipers and even fewer qualify. As a result, snipers are regarded as the elite of their units and their skills command the ungrudging respect of their fellows - and the enemy. The Author is one such man who recently served a full tour of duty with 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. James describes the highs and lows of almost daily front line action experienced by our soldiers deployed on active service in arguably the most dangerous area of the world. As part of the Battle Groups crack Mobile Operations Group, Jamess mission was to liquidate as many Taliban as possible. The reader experiences sniper tactics and actions, whether in ambush or quick pre-planned strikes, amid the ever present lethal danger of IEDs. His book, the first to be written by a trained sniper in Afghanistan, reveals the psychological pressures and awesome life-and-death responsibility of his role and, in particular, the deadly cat-and-mouse games with the enemy snipers intent on their own kills. These involved the clinical killing of targets at ranges of 1,000 meters or greater. Sniper in Helmand is a thrilling action-packed, yet very human, account of both front line service in the intense Afghanistan war and first-hand sniper action. Andy McNab inspired James to join the army and has written a moving foreword.
Snitch: Informants, Cooperators & the Corruption of Justice
by Ethan BrownOur criminal justice system favors defendants who know how to play the "5K game": criminals who are so savvy about the cooperation process that they repeatedly commit serious crimes knowing they can be sent back to the streets if they simply cooperate with prosecutors. In Snitch, investigative reporter Ethan Brown shows through a compelling series of case profiles how the sentencing guidelines for drug-related offenses, along with the 5K1. 1 section, have unintentionally created a "cottage industry of cooperators," and led to fabricated evidence. The result is wrongful convictions and appallingly gruesome crimes, including the grisly murder of the Harvey family in Richmond, Virginia and the well-publicized murder of Imette St. Guillen in New York City. This cooperator-coddling criminal justice system has ignited the infamous "Stop Snitching" movement in urban neighborhoods, deplored by everyone from the NAACP to the mayor of Boston for encouraging witness intimidation. But as Snitch shows, the movement is actually a cry against the harsh sentencing guidelines for drug-related crimes, and a call for hustlers to return to "old school" street values, like: do the crime, do the time. Combining deep knowledge of the criminal justice system with frontline true crime reporting, Snitch is a shocking and brutally troubling report about the state of American justice when it's no longer clear who are the good guys and who are the bad.
Snob Zones
by Lisa PrevostAn exploration of the corrosive effects of overpriced housing, exclusionary zoning, and the flight of the younger population in the Northeast As anyone of moderate income who has wanted to buy a house or condo in the Northeast knows, young couples and families are increasingly being priced out of the market. And the housing crisis only drove up rents. As a result, young people are leaving the region entirely: six northeastern states now rank among the top ten nationally in age of their residents. In Snob Zones, Lisa Prevost argues that rising housing costs and a huge increase in restrictive zoning laws are undermining the very notion of community. Prevost illustrates this issue with eye-opening stories that illustrate the outrageous lengths to which towns will go to exclude the less affluent. She takes readers from notoriously upper-crust Darien, Connecticut, to a rural second-home town that is so restrictive its celebrity residents may soon outnumber its children and a northern lake community that brazenly deems itself out of bounds for apartment dwellers. This "every town for itself" mentality is threatening the social health and economic vitality of the region, argues Prevost in this thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be a community in post-recession America.
Snow White's Forest Friends (Step into Reading)
by Nicholas TanaDiscover how Princess Snow White from Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs met her animal friends in this Step 2 Step into Reading levelled reader! Perfect for beginning readers ages 4 to 6.One sunny spring morning, Princess Snow White wakes up to find a bunny stuck in the bottom of her wishing well. With some quick thinking and the help of the other animals in the forest, can Snow White rescue the bunny? Young readers and Disney Princess fans will love this sweet story about helping others and new friends.Step 2 readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories. For children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help.
Snow-Storm in August: Washington City, Francis Scott Key, and the Forgotten Race Riot of 1835
by Jefferson MorleyA gripping narrative history of the explosive events that drew together Francis Scott Key, Andrew Jackson, and an 18-year-old slave on trial for attempted murder. In 1835, the city of Washington pulsed with change. As newly freed African Americans from the South poured in, free blacks outnumbered slaves for the first time. Radical notions of abolishing slavery circulated on the city's streets, and white residents were forced to confront new ideas of what the nation's future might look like.On the night of August 4th, Arthur Bowen, an eighteen-year-old slave, stumbled into the bedroom where his owner, Anna Thornton, slept. He had an ax in the crook of his arm. An alarm was raised, and he ran away. Word of the incident spread rapidly, and within days, Washington's first race riot exploded, as whites fearing a slave rebellion attacked the property of the free blacks. Residents dubbed the event the "Snow-Storm," in reference to the central role of Beverly Snow, a flamboyant former slave turned successful restaurateur, who became the target of the mob's rage.In the wake of the riot came two sensational criminal trials that gripped the city. Prosecuting both cases was none other than Francis Scott Key, a politically ambitious attorney famous for writing the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner," who few now remember served as the city's district attorney for eight years. Key defended slavery until the twilight's last gleaming, and pandered to racial fears by seeking capital punishment for Arthur Bowen. But in a surprise twist his prosecution was thwarted by Arthur's ostensible victim, Anna Thornton, a respected socialite who sought the help of President Andrew Jackson.Ranging beyond the familiar confines of the White House and the Capitol, Snow-Storm in August delivers readers into an unknown chapter of American history with a textured and absorbing account of the racial secrets and contradictions that coursed beneath the freewheeling capital of a rising world power."Snow-Storm in August is the sort of book I most love to read: history so fresh it feels alive, yet introducing me to a time and place that I had little known or utterly misunderstood. After reading Jefferson Morley's vibrant account, one can never hear 'The Star-Spangled Banner' the same way again."--David Maraniss, author of Barack Obama: The StoryFrom the Hardcover edition.
Snowball's Chance
by John Reed Alexander CockburnThis unauthorized companion to George Orwell's Animal Farm is a controversial parable about September 11th by one of fiction's most inventive and provocative writersWritten in 14 days shortly after the September 11th attacks, Snowball's Chance is an outrageous and unauthorized companion to George Orwell's Animal Farm, in which exiled pig Snowball returns to the farm, takes charge, and implements a new world order of untrammeled capitalism. Orwell's "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" has morphed into the new rallying cry: "All animals are born equal--what they become is their own affair."A brilliant political satire and literary parody, John Reed's Snowball's Chance caused an uproar on publication in 2002, denounced by Christopher Hitchens, and barely dodging a lawsuit from the Orwell estate. Now, a decade later, with America in wars on many fronts, readers can judge anew the visionary truth of Reed's satirical masterpiece.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Snowden
by Ted RallAs many as 1.4 million citizens with security clearance saw some or all of the same documents revealed by Edward Snowden. Why did he, and no one else, decide to step forward and take on the risks associated with becoming a whistleblower and then a fugitive? Rall delves into Snowden's early life and work experience, his personality, and the larger issues of privacy, new surveillance technologies, and the recent history of government intrusion. Rall describes Snowden's political vision and hopes for the future. In a way, the book tells two stories: Snowden's and a larger one that describes all of us on the threshold of tremendous technological upheaval and political change.Snowden is a portrait of a brave young man standing up to the most powerful government in the world and, if not winning, at least reaching a stand-off, and in this way is an incitation to us all to measure our courage and listen to our consciences in asking ourselves what we might have done in his shoes.
Snowden's Box: Trust in the Age of Surveillance
by Dale Maharidge Jessica BruderTwo behind-the-scenes players in the edward snowden story reflect on the meaning of snowden&’s revelations in our age of surveillance One day in the spring of 2013, a box appeared outside a fourth-floor apartment door in Brooklyn, New York. The recipient, who didn&’t know the sender, only knew she was supposed to bring this box to a friend, who would ferry it to another friend. This was Edward Snowden&’s box—materials proving that the U.S. government had built a massive surveillance apparatus and used it to spy on its own people--and the friend on the end of this chain was filmmaker Laura Poitras. Thus the biggest national security leak of the digital era was launched via a remarkably analog network, the US Postal Service. This is just one of the odd, ironic details that emerges from the story of how Jessica Bruder and Dale Maharidge, two experienced journalists but security novices (and the friends who received and ferried the box) got drawn into the Snowden story as behind-the-scenes players. Their initially stumbling, increasingly paranoid, and sometimes comic efforts to help bring Snowden&’s leaks to light, and ultimately, to understand their significance, unfold in an engrossing narrative that includes emails and diary entries from Poitras. This is an illuminating story on the status of transparency, privacy, and trust in the age of surveillance. With an appendix suggesting what citizens and activists can do to protect privacy and democracy.
Snowden: Official Motion Picture Edition
by David Talbot Oliver Stone Kieran FitzgeraldFrom director and screenwriter Oliver Stone, Snowden examines the life and actions of one of the most polarizing figures in modern history. In 2013, Edward Snowden quietly leaves his job at the NSA and flies to Hong Kong to meet with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill, as well as filmmaker Laura Poitras, to expose the US government’s secret—and shockingly extensive—cyber surveillance programs. A top security contractor with virtuoso programming skills, Snowden’s monumental act has been called heroic, treasonous, and the most far-reaching security breach in US intelligence history. This official motion picture screenplay edition, written by Kieran Fitzgerald and Oliver Stone, includes a foreword by David Talbot and dozens of photos from the film that features Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Melissa Leo, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden.
Snowdon: The Biography
by Anne De CourcyThe first proper biography of the man who married, and divorced, Princess MargaretAnthony Armstrong-Jones was born to a Welsh father and English-Jewish mother. Creative and inventive, he attended Eton and then Cambridge. The engagement of this motorbike-riding freelance photographer in 1960 to Princess Margaret was a bombshell.Friends privately predicted disaster. And so it proved. But meanwhile in the 1960s, mixing with actors, artists and pop stars, they were the epitome of stylish and unstuffy arts-loving Royals - and one of the iconic glamorous couples of that era.Tony continued to work and both began to have affairs. They divorced in 1978. Snowdon married again but this marriage collapsed after the birth of a secret love-child and the suicide of his mistress of twenty years.His low boredom threshold and waspish cruelty are balanced by his fabled charm and genuine concern for the disabled and underprivileged. One of the great British photographers, at 76 he now suffers from a recurrence of childhood polio. But by any standards he has had an extraordinary life.
Snowdon: The Biography
by Anne de Courcy'The most sensational book on the Royal Family in recent times' Sunday Telegraph'Offers a fascinating insight into not just his life but the social mores of the day' Evening StandardHow did a photographer who was a relentless playboy, an unashamed womaniser and a leather-clad motorcyclist marry the Queen's sister and become the Establishment figure Lord Snowdon? The brilliantly talented Antony Armstrong-Jones often humiliated Princess Margaret, yet he was compassionate to the causes he cared about. Since his death in 2017, Snowdon still hasn't escaped the limelight, as more and more is revealed about his wild and intriguing life.Written with exclusive access to Snowdon and the people closest to him, this book uncovers the real man and his times. Addressing the facts behind the myths - the secret courtship of Margaret, the love child born just weeks after the royal marriage, the affairs on both sides, the suicide of one mistress and the birth of an illegitimate son to another - this balanced yet no-holds-barred account of Snowdon's life is essential reading for fans of The Crown and Ma'am Darling.
Snowflake Sisters: Two adventures in one! Special (Secret Princesses #1)
by Rosie BanksA gorgeous new series about magical princesses and best friends. Snowflake Sisters is a special bumper long book for even more magical fun! In this winter special, trainee Secret Princesses Charlotte and Mia must grant the Christmas wish of two sisters, Holly and Ivy. But will horrid Princess Poison ruin their family Christmas?Join Charlotte and Mia in this brilliant adventure full of princess sparkle and Christmas excitement!
So As I Was Saying . . .: My Somewhat Eventful Life
by Frank Mankiewicz Joel Swerdlow“I first met Robert Kennedy because I spoke Spanish. I spoke Spanish because the U.S. Army taught me that before sending me to France, Belgium, and Germany to fight Hitler’s Army. This makes complete sense if you are familiar with military bureaucracy.”Such is the trademark wit of Frank Mankiewicz. With his dry sense of humor and self-deprecating humility—despite his many accomplishments—Frank’s voice speaks from the pages of So as I was Saying... in a way that is both conversational and profound. Before he died in 2014 Frank’s fascinating life took him from Beverly Hills to the battlefields of Europe; from the halls of power in Washington D.C. to the far corners of the world. A lifelong student of humanity and mentor to many, including presidents, Frank was a loving father, husband, and friend, and his legacy is will endure for generations.Born into Hollywood royalty but determined to make his own way, Frank served in World War Two, wrote speeches for Robert Kennedy, ran a presidential campaign, carried messages to Fidel Castro, served as president of National Public Radio (helping create Morning Edition), and as regional director for the Peace Corps. Naturally such a long and interesting life gave rise to a myriad of opinions, and Frank was not afraid to share them. In this intriguing, insightful, and often humorous memoir, Frank recalls his favorite memories while sharing his opinions on everything from Zionism to smartphones. Imbued with the personality of one of the twentieth century’s most gifted raconteurs, So As I Was Saying... invokes nostalgia for the past even as it gives hope for the future.
So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas (Vintage Departures)
by Barbara CrossetteA travelogue of Bhutan and its neighbors in the Himalayas that introduces readers to a world that has emerged from the middle ages only to find itself peering into the abyss of modernity. "For anyone with a serious interest in Buddhism, it's essential reading" (Washington Post Book World).For more than a thousand years Tibet, Sikkim, Ladakh, and Bhutan were the santuaries of Tantric Buddhism. But in the last half of this century, geopolitics has scoured the landscape of the Himalayas, and only the reclusive kingdom of Bhutan remains true to Tantric Buddhism.
So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government
by Robert G. KaiserIn this sometimes shocking and always riveting book, a political correspondent for "The Washington Post" offers the startling story of the monumental growth of lobbying in Washington, D. C. , and how it undermines effective government.
So Great a Prince: England In 1509 (Great Lives Ser.)
by Lauren JohnsonA vivid and original portrait of the year the young Henry VIII assumes the throne, revealing a kingdom at a crossroads between two dynamic monarchs and two ages of history. England, 1509. Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, is dead; his successor, the seventeen-year-old Henry VIII, offers hope of renewal and reconciliation after the corruption and repression of the last years of his father's reign. The kingdom Henry inherits is not the familiar Tudor England of Protestantism and playwrights. It is still more than two decades away from the English Reformation, and ancient traditions persist: boy bishops, pilgrimages, Corpus Christi pageants, the jewel-decked shrine at Canterbury. So Great a Prince offers a fascinating portrait of a country at a crossroads between two powerful monarchs and between the worlds of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Historian Lauren Johnson tells the story of 1509 not just from the perspective of the young king and his court, but from the point of view of merchants, ploughmen, apprentices, laundresses, and foreign workers. She looks at these early Tudor lives through the rhythms of annual rituals, juxtaposing political events in Westminster and the palaces of southeast England with the religious, agrarian, and social events that punctuated the lives of the people of young Henry VIII's England.
So Help Me God
by Mike PenceThe New York Times bestselling autobiography of former Vice President Mike Pence.Loyalty is a Vice President&’s first duty; but there is a greater one—to God and the Constitution. Mike Pence spent more hours in the Oval Office than any of his predecessors. On the surface, the affable evangelical Christian from a gas-station-owning family in Indiana wouldn&’t seem to have much in common with a brash real estate mogul from New York. But the unlikely duo formed a tight bond. Pence was at Donald Trump&’s side when he enacted historic tax relief, when he decided to take more assertive stances toward China and North Korea, and when he appointed three Supreme Court justices. But the relationship broke down after the 2020 election. On January 6, 2021, as the president pressured him to overturn the election, a mob erected a gallows on Capitol Hill and its members chanted &“Hang Mike Pence!&” as they rampaged through the halls of Congress. The vice president refused to leave the Capitol, and once the riot was quelled, he reconvened Congress to complete the work of a peaceful transfer of power. So Help Me God is the chronicle of the events and people who forged Mike Pence&’s character and led him to that historic moment. His father, a Korean War combat veteran, was a formidable influence, but so was the Indiana history professor who inspired his devotion to the Constitution. And it was in college and law school that he embraced his Christian faith and met the love of his life, Karen—the two pillars that support him every day. You will read how his early political career was full of missteps that humbled him and how, as a talk radio host, Pence found his voice and the path that led him to Congress, the governor&’s office in Indiana, and back to Washington as vice president. This is the inside story of the Trump administration by its second highest official—what he said to the president and how he was tested. The relationship begins in Indiana, when Pence sees how Trump connects with working-class voters. After the election, the vice president comes to appreciate how Trump maintains that connection through unvarnished tweets and how his unorthodox style led to historic breakthroughs, from tax cuts to trade deals, from establishing the United States Space Force to the first new peace agreement in the Middle East in more than twenty-five years. This is the most robust defense of the Trump record of anyone who served in the administration. But it is also about the private moments when Pence pushed back forcefully, how he navigated through the Mueller investigation, his damage control after Charlottesville, and his work on healing racial rifts after the murder of George Floyd. Pence was at the forefront when &“history showed up&” in the form of a devastating pandemic, and he provides a detailed account of leading the task force that circumvented bureaucracies to slow the disease in its tracks. Yes, it sometimes involved brokering peace between a president with an itchy Twitter finger and an agitated New York governor, but above all, it meant giving states and America&’s eager entrepreneurs the power to come up with the solutions we needed. The result was the fastest development of life-saving vaccines in history. In So Help Me God, Pence shows how the faith that he embraced as a young man guided his every decision. It is a faith that guided him on that historic day and that keeps him happily at peace, ready to accept the next challenge.
So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State
by Forrest ChurchThe author of The American Creed tells “the story of our nation’s historical encounters with God and culture” (Peter J. Gomes, New York Times bestselling author).Today’s dispute over the line between church and state (or the lack thereof) is neither the first nor the fiercest in our history. In a revelatory look at our nation’s birth, Forrest Church recreates our first great culture war—a tumultuous, nearly forgotten conflict that raged from George Washington’s presidency to James Monroe’s.Religion was the most divisive issue in the nation’s early presidential elections. Battles raged over numerous issues while the bible and the Declaration of Independence competed for American affections. The religious political wars reached a vicious peak during the War of 1812; the American victory drove New England’s Christian right to withdraw from electoral politics, thereby shaping our modern sense of church-state separation. No longer entangled, both church and state flourished.Forrest Church has written a rich, page-turning history, a new vision of our earliest presidents’ beliefs that stands as a reminder and a warning for America today.“An illuminating study of the great tangle of our time. If we look back to our early years, we may well find a way forward.” —Jon Meacham, #1 New York Times bestselling author of His Truth is Marching On“In this beautifully crafted and timely work, the aptly named Church takes us through the complex thoughts and actions of the nation’s founders in a way that will give pause to most readers . . . This is an important work that delights and informs.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)