Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Americas

Henry Kissinger is one of the most controversial Secretaries of State in U.S. history—serving under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, never-before-seen transcripts of Kissinger's conversations, including top-secret talks with Beijing and Moscow, provide an unvarnished record of his brand of high-stakes diplomacy during the Nixon years. These transcripts provide an unparalleled view of historical events that shaped the world and rocked the way diplomacy is conducted in the United States.

Nixon - loathed or admired, the name recalls one of the most extraordinary political survivors in American history. Author Jonathan Aitken interviewed the legendary politician and was granted unprecedented access to his private documents to root out answers to many questions. Why didn't he burn the Watergate tapes? What were his relationships with John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, and Henry Kissinger?

For Forgotten Heroes, a few of the country's leading historians were invited to choose their favorite stories of under appreciated Americans—from Stephen Jay Gould on deaf baseball player Dummy Hoy, to Alfred Kazin on "the failed president" John Quincy Adams, to Christine Stansell on Margaret Anderson, the publisher of James Joyce's Ulysses.

The horrific bombing in Oklahoma City, the discovery of huge caches of weapons stockpiled in private residences, and the astounding rise in membership of various armed militias across the United States has forced Americans to re-examine what it means to have the "right to bear arms". And the scrutinizing public eye wasted no time in looking to the NRA for answers, a group whose foundation and lifeblood is founded in the Second Amendment. Now, from famed muckraker Jack Anderson comes an expose on this controversial organization that will forever change the public's perception of the NRA

Honor's Voice provides a revealing look at how Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States and one of the greatest men of his time. Douglas Wilson traces the development of this great leader from an insecure country boy full of ambition to schoolboy, storekeeper, riverboat man, and, finally, politician. The author returns to original sources, including friends and acquaintances in the Illinois of the 1830s and '40s and exposes truths about Lincoln never before revealed.

After an unprecedented, relentless four-year investigation, the long-anticipated Starr Report arrived in 36 boxes to the House of Representatives on September 9, 1998. The report brought to a close the first chapter in the saga of the trials and tribulations of the Clinton presidency. But most importantly, it was a prime piece of evidence in the subsequent impeachment hearings.

Charles Siringo's riveting narrative tells of the people and events that shaped the legend of America's Wild West. Siringo spent more than 22 years riding with the cattle country's most lawless men. He relied more on instincts and experience than deductive reasoning to survive Idaho labor riots, hunt Appalachian moonshiners, and chase Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch across the Southwest.

From the great triumphs - the opening of China and the success of the Nixon-Brezhnev Moscow summit - to the most dramatic defeats - Watergate and the decline of détente - this is an unparalleled view of some events that shaped the world and rocked the way diplomacy is conducted in the United States.

You're sure to recognize the voices of Gary Owens, who Radio & Records deemed, "the Babe Ruth of Radio" and the beloved Mel Blanc, who provided the voices of many of the world's most famous cartoon characters, including those of Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Pie, Sylvester, and The Road Runner, who together provide all voices featured on this performance.

Gallo Be Thy Name is the portrait of an American dynasty that rose from poverty in the early 1900s to become the most successful wine company in the world through toil, cunning, and crime. From selling ³Dago Red² to Al Capone during Prohibition to conquering America¹s wine market, and from the Great Depression to the roiling farm labor movements of the 60s and 70s, the Gallos rode the turbulent currents of history to triumph, with iconic brothers Ernest and Julio steering the ship.

In the current wave of seafaring literature, no fictional sailor's story can match this true real-life adventure. With Charles Tyng's Before the Wind we roam the world of the early 19th century: visit Lord Byron in Italy, King Tamehameha in Hawaii, and skirt Napoleon's prison isle of St. Helena. We learn to siphon rum from the captain's cask, relive the historic battle of The Bulwark and The Chesapeake, and witness an encounter with a mermaid.

The Obama Revolution is an in-the-trenches look at how President Barack Obama mobilized a generation to reclaim America. In this timely book, the author draws a vivid picture of grassroots organizing, from the grueling all-nighters to the endless canvassing, and explores the steps Obama took to clinch the Democratic nomination and win the election.

One of the most definitive accounts of the training and work of a Pipe Carrier, I Send a Voice is a gripping first-person account inside a Native American sweat lodge ceremony. Evelyn Eaton writes of her resolve to become worthy of participating in this healing ritual as she embraces the whole length of "the hero's journey." Through tests and ordeals inside and outside of the lodge while following the shamanic spiritual path, she arrives at her ultimate request—a healing pipe of her own.

Anyone who thinks America no longer contributes innovations for public consumption needs to pay attention to Bill Geist. The long-time news correspondent chronicles seven wacky but true entrepreneurial endeavors that prove the American Dream is alive and well—just a tad warped.

George Dawson was a slave's grandson who learned to read at age 98 and lived to the age of 103. In this remarkable memoir, he reflects on his life and shares valuable lessons in living, as well as a fresh, firsthand view of America during the entire sweep of the twentieth century. Dawson's irresistible voice and view of the world are captured here as he offers insights into humanity, history, hardships, and happiness. From segregation and civil rights to many other defining moments in history, George Dawson's account and assessment of the last century inspires listeners.

What can we learn from the events of the 20th century? David Halberstam set out to answer that question in this perceptive and eye-opening work which examines the past in order to determine the future. From the rise of the Japanese economy to the startling changes that reshaped the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Halberstam argues that the American economy's survival depends on the rededication and continued education of the American worker. As pertinent in today's economy as it was when first published, The Next Century is a timeless call to arms.

Though he was a great statesman, one of America's founding fathers, and the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson suffered from depression. In Jefferson's Demons, Michael Knox Beran examines episodes of melancholia in Jefferson's life. In particular, he focuses on the journey Jefferson made to Europe in 1787 to escape the depression that set in due to his tumultuous experience as governor of Virginia following the Revolution and his wife Martha's death.

In this startling and original work, best-selling author Charles Higham (Howard Hughes: The Secret Life) addresses one of the greatest historical mysteries: Did John Wilkes Booth act alone on the night of Good Friday, 1865, or was he part of a wide conspiracy? Drawing from letters, diaries, previously unstudied records of official hearings, railway timetables, and obscure shipping manifests, Higham weaves a spellbinding account of intrigue.

Carl Hiaasen doesn't like the Walt Disney Company. A native of Florida, Hiaasen comes by his dislike for Disney honestly. He has witnessed the relentless success of the Disney machine firsthand with the development of Disney World and other properties around Orlando. In Team Rodent, Hiaasen paints a witty and sarcastic portrait of a company that can control the press, manipulate local governments, and—because it's Disney—get away with it. Entertaining and enlightening, the book takes a critical view of the Disney corporate giant, tracing its destructive impact.

The story of Pocahontas, the young daughter of Chief Powhatan, is one that has captured the imagination of children and adults for more than 400 years. Responsible for saving the life of Captain John Smith, Pocahontas also saved Jamestown colonists from starvation and saved them from being massacred by her father's warriors. To this day, no one really knows what motivated the unselfish deeds of Pocahontas. What we do know is, without her, American history would not be the same.