American Visionary

In this fresh and lively biography rich in literary analysis and new historical detail, Fred Kaplan brings into focus the dramatic life of John Quincy Adams - the little known and much misunderstood sixth president of the United States and the first son of John and Abigail Adams - and persuasively demonstrates how Adams's inspiring, progressive vision guided his life and helped shape the course of America.

The Untold Story of Steve Jobs's Wilderness Years—and the Creation of a Legend In 1985, Steve Jobs—the brilliant, volatile founder of Apple Computer—walked out of his company's headquarters, driven from the very corporation he had created. What happened next would transform not only his...

Born in an era of rising violence, Black Elk killed his first man at Little Big Horn, witnessed the death of his second cousin Crazy Horse, and traveled to Europe with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Upon his return, he was swept up in the traditionalist Ghost Dance movement and shaken by the massacre at Wounded Knee. But Black Elk was not a warrior, and instead chose the path of a healer and holy man, motivated by a powerful prophetic vision that haunted and inspired him.

From the bestselling author of Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness comes “a relentlessly optimistic guidebook on finding and securing individual happiness” (Kirkus Reviews). With this unprecedented promise, internationally esteemed psychologist Martin Seligman begins Flourish, his first...

Discover what life was really like during World War 2 for over 100,000 Japanese Americans. Whether you are an immigrant or not, anyone can imagine what it would be like to live in a country that is totally new to you and where you aren’t fully accepted. The life of an immigrant can be shockingly difficult. Japanese people who immigrated to the United States of America felt the brunt of this truth. In the wake of Pearl Harbor, Japanese families were uprooted from their stable lives and put into harsh internment camps around the USA. Their homes were lost, their businesses sold, and their ...

From author Earl Swift comes the surprising history of the U.S. interstate system, a fascinating route through the dreams, discoveries, and protests that shaped these mighty roads.

Before the consecutive two-term administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, there had only been one other trio of its type: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Kevin R. C. Gutzman's The Jeffersonians is a complete chronicle of the men who served as president from 1801 to 1825 and implemented the foreign policy, domestic, and constitutional agenda of the radical wing of the American Revolution, setting guideposts for later American liberals to follow.

The author looks at three Pan-Africanist leaders who had a lot in common yet profound ideological differences in pursuit of African unity and how they saw Africa's place in the world, especially in relation to the West. Nkrumah and Nyerere were ideological compatriots and were suspicious of the West in its intentions towards Africa. Senghor took a different approach and talked about a unity of cultures, what he called civilisation of the universal as opposed to universal civilisation. They were all committed to the well-being of Africa. At the core of their philosophies was African unity ...

Though Moynihan never wrote an autobiography, he was a gifted author and voluminous correspondent, and in this selection from his letters Steven Weisman has compiled a vivid portrait of Moynihan’s life, in the senator’s own words. Before his four terms as Senator from New York, Moynihan served in key positions under Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. His letters offer an extraordinary window into particular moments in history.

From Alec Nevala-Lee, the author of the Hugo and Locus Award finalist Astounding, comes a revelatory biography of the visionary designer who defined the rules of startup culture and shaped America’s idea of the future. During his lifetime, Buckminster Fuller was hailed as one of the greatest...

The monumental life of Benjamin Rush, medical pioneer and one of our most provocative and unsung Founding Fathers FINALIST FOR THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BOOK PRIZE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR By the time he was thirty, Dr. Benjamin Rush had signed the Declaration of...

America is the ultimate start-up venture – and these are the heroes who made it happen. The history of the United States is, to a remarkable degree, the story of its entrepreneurs, those daring movers and shakers who dreamed big and risked everything to build better lives for themselves, and...

As recommended on The Ezra Klein Show From Pulitzer Prize finalist John Fabian Witt comes the “engrossing” (The New York Times) secret history of an epic experiment to remake American democracy. Before the dark money of the Koch Brothers, before the billions of the Ford Foundation, there was...

Rhythm’s First Lady: A Platinum Chocolate Romance by LongTemple Power does not always arrive as cruelty. Sometimes it arrives as opportunity. Claire Graham is an architect whose talent is finally being seen—just as the church that shaped her husband begins to claim him. As invitations multiply and doors open, Claire and Oliver must decide what kind of success they are willing to accept, and what kind of faith they are willing to lose. Set against Newark’s rising cultural landscape and the quiet machinery of religious authority, Rhythm’s First Lady is a visionary, emotionally rich ...

In the summer of 1865, Emmaline Gulledge is 11 years old and stubborn as a mule. Determined to do exactly what she sets her mind to, she explores the mountains and valleys around her home with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a keen eye that misses nothing. When her mother dies, Emmaline, Emmy for short, is thrust into the mystical, spiritual world of her mother's native peoples, the Tsalagi, better known as the Cherokee.

In the sensational and much-anticipated conclusion to the internationally bestselling Library of the Dead trilogy, Will Piper, a former FBI agent, is retired and living a life of leisure in Florida when a new Doomsday Killer emerges. Then Will’s son, Phillip, disappears after receiving a...

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY San Francisco Chronicle The Plain Dealer The inspiring true story of a group of young men whose lives were changed by a visionary mentor On April 4, 1968, the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., shocked the nation. Later that month, the Reverend...

Introduction read by the author. An eye-opening new history of American political conflict, from Alexander Hamilton to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. These days it seems that nobody is satisfied with American democracy. Critics across the ideological spectrum warn that the country is heading toward...

Flip and Run: A Platinum Chocolate Sibling Saga Every silence has a song. Every goodbye finds its echo. From the fire escapes of the Lower East Side to the quiet hills of Wilkes-Barre, Flip and Run: A Platinum Chocolate Sibling Saga unfolds a powerful family saga about love, loss, and the unbreakable ties of a sibling bond that outlasts the streets, time, and tragedy. Raised just eleven months apart in the raw pulse of 1970s Manhattan, Runika “Run” Tamara Long and her older brother Flip learn early that family is not just love—it is survival. With an absent father and a mother whose ...

Who invented it? The answer is often more complicated—and far more fascinating—than most people realize. From blood banking and personal computers to video games, GPS, home security systems, electric lighting, and space exploration, the modern world has been shaped by countless brilliant minds. Among them are Black inventors, scientists, engineers, physicians, and mathematicians whose contributions have often been overlooked, misunderstood, or forgotten. In Black Innovators, author Frederick Amakom tells the remarkable true stories of the pioneers who changed history—not through myths...