The definitive biography of a larger-than-life president who defied norms, divided a nation, and changed Washington forever Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson’s presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House. Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he details the human drama–the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers– that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of storm and victory. One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will– or face his formidable wrath. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House–from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to FDR to Truman–have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision. Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe–no matter what it took.

Bike racers were America’s media darlings less than a century ago—dashing, eccentric, and very rich daredevils. Until the 1920s bike races drew larger crowds than all other American sports events, including Major League Baseball games. Prize-winning racer and journalist Peter Joffre Nye vividly re-creates this period of sports history, forgotten until now, in Hearts of Lions, a true story of courage, daring, and occasional lunacy. Revised, updated, and expanded, this second edition of Hearts of Lions is based on interviews with more than one thousand cyclists whose racing careers span from 1908 through the 2016 Rio Olympics, along with interviews with trainers and family members. Included are stories about Joseph Magnani, the lone American from southern Illinois who rode on the dusty roads of Europe in road racing’s golden era of the 1930s and 1940s; Lance Armstrong, whose rise in the mid-1990s was eclipsed in the doping era that still casts a long shadow over the sport; Kristin Armstrong, a three-time Olympic gold medalist who set new standards for women in cycling; and Evelyn “Evie” Stevens, who chucked a Wall Street career in her mid-twenties to compete in two Olympics and win several world championship gold medals. Hearts of Lions is a colorful, exciting, classic work on the art of bicycle racing over 140 years against a backdrop of social, political, and technical changes.

Told here is the riveting story of the 332nd U.S. Infantry Regiment in the Army in World War I. As Pershings Propaganda Regiment they were the only American regiment assigned to Italy, where they formed a phantom army that helped defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The 332nd fought in the Vittorio-Veneto Campaign and following the armistice, served in the occupation of Austria, Dalmatia, and Montenegro. Includes the uniforms, insignia, and ephemera, of the 332nd; lavishly illustrated with over 300 rare and previously unpublished color and sepia photographs, which are drawn from public and private collections. This detailed work illuminates the compelling story of the courageous Lions of St. Mark.

The adventure, suspense and dangers of hunting American lions as told by a man who has spent ten years tracking cougars, jaguars and bob cats up and down the canyons and across the ranges of New Mexico and the Southwest. The author learned- from an old hermit hunter- the secrets of lion hunting, went out on special request to trail particular lions that had menaced livestock or ranch houses. Here is the progression of the hunt, from the picking up of the scent or spoor by the dogs, or the location of the victim, to the final bagging of the game. Hibben ends with a spectacular feat, the literal tail-grabbing of a lion which he had treed, lassoed, and brought down alive... For the sportsman, active or passive participant in the field.

Provides poems to give voice to Bridges' grandparents and great-grandparents to make their stories relevant to today. Demonstrates how families, memories, and cultural histories are quietly built, forming the foundations of the "where we came from" aspect of ourselves, and lending promise to the towering "where we're going" structure of our future.

Arlene Avakian's memoir evokes the quarrels, ambition, prejudice, and courage that shaped her coming of age in a family that immigrated to the United States to escape genocide in Turkey. Inspired by her passionate feminism and strengthened within a loving lesbian relationship, Avakian records and re-examines her personal history, discovering the story of her grandmother, which brings with it a legacy of radical politics and a powerful affirmation of ethnic identity.

Finalist, 2015 National Jewish Book Awards in the American Jewish Studies category Winner, 2017 AJS Jordan Schnitzer Book Award in the category of Modern Jewish History and Culture: Africa, Americas, Asia, and Oceania Young Lions: How Jewish Authors Reinvented the American War Novel shows how Jews, traditionally castigated as weak and cowardly, for the first time became the popular literary representatives of what it meant to be a soldier and what it meant to be an American. Revisiting best-selling works ranging from Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead to Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, and uncovering a range of unknown archival material, Leah Garrett shows how Jewish writers used the theme of World War II to reshape the American public’s ideas about war, the Holocaust, and the role of Jews in postwar life. In contrast to most previous war fiction these new “Jewish” war novels were often ironic, funny, and irreverent and sought to teach the reading public broader lessons about liberalism, masculinity, and pluralism.

Explores how sea lions help the Navy, discusses why they are used to retrieve military equipment from the ocean, and describes their training.

This is the fascinating story of Catholic heroes who, despite discrimination and persecution, saw the promise of America and sought to fight for its independence. Some of these Catholic heroes were Americans, like the three Carroll brothersmof Maryland who included Charles, the longest-lived signer of the Declaration of Independence, John, America's first bishop, and John Barry, one of the founders of the U.S. Navy. Other heroes were foreign-born: Frenchmen like legendary generals the Marquis de Lafayette and the Comte de Rochambeau, as well as Polish soldiers such as Casimir Pulaski, the founder of the U.S. Calvary, and the daring Thaddeus Kosciuszko. All were inspired by their Catholic faith to join the Revolution and its call for human freedom and dignity. For all who are passionate about the Catholic Faith and the American experiment, Dan LeRoy's Liberty's Lions is a book you won't be able to put down.

Placing the clubs in the context of twentieth-century middle-class culture, Charles maintains that they represented the response of locally oriented, traditional middle-class men to societal changes. The groups emerged at a time when service was becoming both a middle-class and a business ideal. As voluntary associations, they represented a shift in organizing rationale, from fraternalism to service. The clubs and their ideology of service were welcome as a unifying force at a time when small cities and towns were beset by economic and population pressures.