Political Biographies

As one of al-Qaeda's most respected bomb-makers, Aimen Dean rubbed shoulders with the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden himself. As a double agent at the heart of al-Qaeda's chemical weapons program, he foiled attacks on civilians and saved countless lives, brushing with death so often that his handlers began to call him their spy with nine lives. This is the story of how a young Muslim, determined to defend his faith, found himself fighting on the wrong side - and his fateful decision to work undercover for his sworn enemy.

Written by a prize-winning NPR veteran who spent years covering Latin America, this blend of biography, history, and political reporting details the events that lead to the American invasion of Panama.

In turbulent times Americans look to the Civil Rights Movement as the apotheosis of political expression. As we confront a startling rise in racism and hate speech and remain a culture scarred by social inequality, there's no better time to revisit the lessons of the '60s and no better leader to learn from than the late Representative John Lewis.

For five long years in the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy and his anti-Communist crusade dominated the American scene, terrified politicians, and destroyed the lives of thousands of our citizens. In this masterful history, Haynes Johnson re-creates that time of crisis. Johnson tells this monumental story through the lens of its relevance to our own time, when fear again affects American behavior and attitudes.

By the time he was 19, Frank Schaeffer’s parents had achieved global fame as best-selling evangelical authors and speakers, and Frank had joined his father on the evangelical circuit. He would go on to speak before thousands and publish his own best seller. But while coming of age as a rising evangelical star, Schaeffer felt increasingly alienated, and as a result, he experienced a crisis of faith that would ultimately lead to his journey out of the fold - even if it meant losing everything.

Can you name a real spy from history? Meet Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were communist spies for the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Learn about their work on the Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb for the US, and their eventual trial for espionage. Do you think these historical spies were guilty for sharing secrets with the Soviets?

There's a job available to all natural-born American citizens aged 35 and older: the President! From campaigning to conventions, voting and the Electoral College, it's a long way to the Oval Office! U.S. presidents have a lot of work ahead of them, such as preserving the Constitution and making sure the laws of the land are obeyed.

It takes a strong person to lead a nation. This article explores humble beginnings and massive achievements of several world leaders.

Strong, democratic leadership can be found around the world. This article describes several world leaders' struggles and achievements.

Who has been the Commander in Chief? In this series, young listeners will learn all about famous American presidents. From George Washington to Joseph Biden, they will learn about some of the most well-known presidents in American history. This Volume includes George Washington, Joe Biden, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Thomas Jefferson

Who has been the Commander in Chief? In this series, young listeners will learn all about famous American presidents. From George Washington to Joseph Biden, listeners will learn about some of the most well-known presidents in American history. This volume includes Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and George W. Bush.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, often known as AOC, wrote her name in the history books in 2018 when she became the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress. Her fearless, meteoric rise from paycheck-to-paycheck to the House of Representatives and her tireless advocacy for a world inclusive of all peoples will fascinate listeners.

Elizabeth Warren was the first woman senator elected in Massachusetts in 2013. But before she took that role, she was a respected professor of law. She has no fear of speaking up when she sees something she feels is wrong.

Before he was a senator, John McCain fought in the Vietnam War and served in the House of Representatives. He ran for president of the United States in 2008. Get to know the maverick who was willing to speak his mind.

In this highly anticipated follow-up to his blockbuster New York Times bestseller The Amateur, former New York Times Magazine editor-in-chief Edward Klein delves into the rocky relationship between the Obamas and the Clintons. An old-school reporter with incredible insider contacts, Klein reveals just how deep the rivalry between the Obamas and the Clintons runs, with details on closed-door meetings buttressed by hundreds of interviews.

Thomas Paine was one of the greatest political propagandists in history. The Rights of Man, first published in 1791, is the key to his reputation. Inspired by his outrage at Edmund Burke's attack on the uprising of the French people, Paine's text is a passionate defense of the rights of man. Paine argued against monarchy and outlined the elements of a successful republic, including public education, pensions, and relief of the poor and unemployed, all financed by income tax.

A fresh look at the endlessly fascinating Tudors - the dramatic and overlooked story of Henry VII and his founding of the Tudor Dynasty - filled with spies, plots, counter-plots, and an uneasy royal succession to Henry VIII. Near the turn of the sixteenth century, England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy and civil war. Henry Tudor clambered to the top of the heap, a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England’s crown who managed to win the throne and stay on it for 24 years.

A leading thinker on Canada's place in the world contends that our country's greatest untapped resource may be the three million Canadians who don't live here. Entrepreneurs, educators, humanitarians: an entire province's worth of Canadian citizens live outside Canada. Some will return, others...

This third and final volume of the unexpurgated diaries of Sir Henry 'Chips' Channon begins as the Second World War is turning in the Allies' favour. It ends with a prematurely aged Chips descending into poor health but still socially active and able to turn a pointed phrase about the political events that swirl around him and the great and the good with whom he mingles.

In 1983 Chicago elected Harold Washington as the city's first black mayor. This is the story of Washington's improbable victory over Jane Byrne, heir to the late Richard J. Daley's political empire, and over Daley's eldest son. It's the story of a coalition outside the party's mainstream coming to power and ruling in the country's most political of cities. In Fire on the Prairie, Gary Rivlin reveals the personalities and philosophies of those who were at the center of events, from black separatists such as Lu Palmer to community organizers such as Jesse Jackson....