In a blend of history, biography, political science, and political theory, he offers examples of the finest democratic leadership as well as cautionary tales of prominent leaders whose styles were essentially aristocratic."--BOOK JACKET.

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"A wise, humane and beautifully written book." —Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal From the best-selling author of Benjamin Franklin comes this remarkable work that will help redefine our notion of American heroism. Americans have long been obsessed with their heroes, but the men and women dramatically portrayed here are not celebrated for the typical banal reasons contained in Founding Fathers hagiography. Effortlessly challenging those who persist in revering the American history status quo and its tropes and falsehoods, Morgan, now ninety-three, continues to believe that the past is just not the way it seems.

One of America's most versatile writers, author of bestselling biographies such as Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin, has assembled a gallery of portraits of (mostly) Americans that celebreate genius, talent, and versatility, and traces his own education as a writer and biographer. In this collection of essays, the brilliant, acclaimed biographer Walter Isaacson reflects on lessons to be learned from Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, and other interesting characters he has chronicled both as biographer and journalist. The people he writes about have an awesome intelligence, but that is not the secret to their success. They had qualities that were even more rare, such as imagination and true curiousity. Isaacson also reflects on how he became a writer, the lessons he learned from various people he met, and the challenges for journalism in the digital age. He also offers loving tributes to his hometown of New Orleans, which offers many of the ingredients for a creative culture, and to the Louisiana novelist Walker Percy, who was an early mentor. In an anecdotal and personal way, Isaacson describes the joys of writing and the way that tales about the lives of fascinating people can enlighten our own lives.

Conservatism in America, as one early twentieth-century politician said, is “as old as the Republic itself.” But what are its foundational principles, and how did they form the modern conservative movement? Author Garland S. Tucker III tells the story in this lively look at fourteen champions of conservative thought—some well known, others hardly remembered at all. Taking readers on an exciting tour from the American Founding to the modern era, Tucker traces the development of conservatism’s basic tenets and shows how leaders put principle into action (some more successfully than others). Conservative Heroes offers brief but penetrating profiles of: —The Founders who agreed on the two primary purposes of government—but differed on how best to achieve the balance between them —The pair of nineteenth-century congressional leaders who fought to preserve the founding vision of a limited national government —The towering statesman whose defense of slavery has obscured his considerable contributions to American constitutional history —The last Democratic president to advance conservative principles —The president and treasury secretary who together reduced taxes and the size of the federal government—and sparked an economic boom —The forgotten leaders, both Democrats, who spearheaded the conservative challenge to FDR’s New Deal —The man who revived the GOP as the conservative party —The three driving forces behind the ascent of modern conservatism Here is the story of American conservatism in fourteen lives—a story we need to understand to tackle the challenges we face today.

This edition presents incredible lives of some of the most notable persons of American history. It is hoped that this book will furnish reader's mind some conception of what American history is, and at the same time stimulate an abiding interest in historical and biographical reading. Contents: Christopher Columbus and the Discovery Of America Hernando De Soto and the Discovery of the Mississippi Sir Walter Raleigh and the First English Attempts to Colonize America John Smith and the Settlement of Jamestown Nathaniel Bacon and the Uprising of the People in Virginia in 1676 Miles Standish and the Pilgrims Roger Williams and the Puritans William Penn and the Settlement of Pennsylvania Cavelier De La Salle and the French in the Mississippi Valley George Washington, the Boy Surveyor and Young Soldier James Wolfe, the Hero of Quebec Patrick Henry and the Stamp Act Samuel Adams and the Boston Tea Party Paul Revere and the Battle of Concord and Lexington Benjamin Franklin and Aid from France George Washington, the Virginia Planter and the Revolutionary Soldier Nathaniel Greene, the Hero of the South, and Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox" Daniel Boone, the Kentucky Pioneer Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase Robert Fulton and the Steamboat Andrew Jackson, the Upholder of the Union Daniel Webster, the Defender and Expounder of the Constitution Samuel Finley Breese Morse and the Electric Telegraph Abraham Lincoln, the Liberator of the Slaves Ulysses Simpson Grant and the Civil War Some Leaders and Heroes in the War with Spain

Celebrates the lives and contributions of African-American leaders who played significant roles in colonial and Revolutionary War-era America, and includes over twenty related activities.