The black soldiers, sailors, spies, scouts, guides, and wagoners who participated and sacrificed in the struggle for American independence are profiled in this fascinating history which features prints and portraits from the period.
Some are household names, other are all but forgotten. These twelve heroes played an important role in the American Revolution. Paul Revere, silversmith, engraver, midnight messenger to the Patriots. Lydia Darragh, nurse, mother of five, Continental army spy. Crispus Attucks, escaped slave, "the first to defy, the first to die." George Washington, father of the country. Deborah Sampson, "the female soldier." From spying on the British to rescuing fallen soldiers on the battlefield, these men and women stand as unforgettable heroes of the Revolutionary War. David A. Adler's lively anecdotes and Donald A. Smith's bold paintings present a dozen figures whose courage and determination to seek freedom were indomitable in their own times and remain a shining example in our own. Author's notes, a list of important dates, source notes, and a selected bibliography expand on the biographies of each person. This is a great gift for young history buffs interested in the Revolutionary War as well as a resource for classroom use.
Newly liberated from nearly four brutal years under Japanese control the people of Indonesia faced great uncertainty in October 1945. As the British Army attempted to take control of the city of Surabaya maintain order and deal with surrendered Japanese personnel their actions were interpreted by the young residents of Surabaya as a plan to restore Dutch colonial rule. In response the youth of the city seized Japanese arms and repelled the force sent to occupy the city. They then held off British reinforcements for two weeks battling tanks and heavy artillery with little more than light weapons and sheer audacity. Though eventually defeated Surabaya's defenders had set the stage for Indonesia's national revolution.
On the eve of the war against the South Vietnamese regime in 1964, the communist party strove to carve out a new productivist and political elite from the towns and villages of the country. According to a categorization of patriotic exemplarity devised by Ho Chi Minh, "avant-garde workers," "exemplary soldiers" and "new heroes" would fill the ranks of a "new model society," one in which political virtue would serve as the principle to mobilize the masses. This study presents and analyzes the process by which "new heroes" were invented. It first develops a picture of what constituted heroes in Vietnamese tradition and history, and then shows how the new model, effectively a Sino-Soviet import, was imposed, only to be slowly distorted by its own cultural rationale and by specific objectives. Far from being a transitory phenomenon, this model has contributed for more than half a century to the reconstruction of the national imagination and the development of a new collective, patriotic and communist memory in Vietnam. «This fascinating account is like no other study in French or English. Based on primary sources from Archives No. III in Hanoi and scores of interviews, it is a fascinating read.» -Christopher Goscha, Professor of International Relations, Universite du Quebec a Montreal
When you think of the American Revolution, perhaps you envision the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere's infamous ride, or George Washington crossing the Delaware River. But there are many other, lesser-known stories of the war that engulfed women's lives as it did the lives of their fathers, husbands, and sons. Some women served as spies, nurses, and water carriers; some helped as fundraisers, writers, and couriers; and still others functioned as resistors, rescuers, and—surprisingly—even soldiers. Most often, their names did not make it into history books. In Women Heroes of the American Revolution, these fascinating women step into the spotlight they deserve. You'll learn about such brave rebels as Martha Bratton, who blew up a supply of gunpowder to keep it out of the hands of approaching British troops and boldly claimed, "It was I who did it!"; 16-year-old Sybil Ludington, who rode her horse Star twice as far as the legendary Paul revere did in order to help her father, Colonel Ludington, muster his scattered troops to fight the British; and Deborah Sampson Gannett, who bound her chest, dressed as a man, enlisted in the Continental Army as Robert Shurtliff, and served undetected for three years alongside her fellow soldiers. These and 17 other inspiring stories of women and girls contributing to our nation's independence are recounted through energetic narrative and revealing letters and documents that allow us to hear the voices of the women themselves and those who knew and admired them.
Mary (1662-94), daughter of James, Duke of York, heir to the English throne, then 15, is said to have wept for a day and a half when she was told she was to marry her cousin, William (1650-1702), son of William II of Orange (1626-50), Stadtholder of the Dutch republic, and Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I of England, who was eleven years older than her. In November 1677, on William's 27th birthday, they married in a private ceremony at St James's Palace. William was solemn, James gloomy, Mary in tears, and only King Charles appeared cheerful. This dual biography deals with both the 'life and times' of the monarchs, and with England's place in Europe. Interests of the subjects, outside the constitutional, are dealt with, as well as their personal relationships: William's rumoured homosexuality and Mary's hinted-at lesbianism; Mary's troubled personal relations with her father, James II; and the relationship between Mary and her sister and husband's successor Anne. The book also examines the personal and political relations between William and his uncle Charles II, and between William and Mary and Charles' illegitimate son the Duke of Monmouth.
This 25th anniversary edition of Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers -- those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers. Levy profiles the imaginative brainiacs who found clever and unorthodox solutions to computer engineering problems. They had a shared sense of values, known as "the hacker ethic," that still thrives today. Hackers captures a seminal period in recent history when underground activities blazed a trail for today's digital world, from MIT students finagling access to clunky computer-card machines to the DIY culture that spawned the Altair and the Apple II.
“It is not only the cause, but our manner of conducting it, that will establish character.” —John Dickinson, 1773 A nation at war and widespread mistrust of the military. A financial crash and an endless economic crisis. A Congress so divided it barely functioned. Bitter partisan disputes over everything from taxation and the distribution of wealth to the role of banks and corporations in society. Welcome to the world of the Founding Fathers. According to most narratives of the American Revolution, the founders were united in their quest for independence and steadfast in their efforts to create a stable, effective government. But the birth of our republic was far more complicated than many realize. The Revolution was nearly derailed by extremists who wanted to do too much, too quickly and who refused to rest until they had remade American society. If not for a small circle of conservatives who kept radicalism in check and promoted capitalism, a strong military, and the preservation of tradition, our country would be vastly different today. In the first book to chronicle the critical role these men played in securing our freedom, David Lefer provides an insightful and gripping account of the birth of modern American conservatism and its impact on the earliest days of our nation. Among these founding conservatives were men like John Dickinson, who joined George Washington’s troops in a battle against the British on July 4, 1776, and that same week drafted the Articles of Confederation; James Wilson, a staunch free-market capitalist who defended his home against a mob of radicals demanding price controls and in the process averted a bloody American equivalent to Bastille Day; Silas Deane, who mixed patriotism with profit seeking while petitioning France to aid America; and Robert Morris, who financed the American Revolution and founded the first bank and the first modern multinational corporation in the United States. Drawing on years of archival research, Lefer shows how these and other determined founders championed American freedom while staying faithful to their ideals. In the process, they not only helped defeat the British but also laid the groundwork for American capitalism to thrive. The Founding Conservatives is an intellectual adventure story, full of gunfights and big ideas. It is also an extraordinary reminder of the punishing battles our predecessors fought to create and maintain the free and prosperous nation we know today.
From the bestselling author of The Storm Before the Storm and host of the Revolutions podcast comes the thrilling story of the Marquis de Lafayette’s lifelong quest to defend the principles of liberty and equality A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A #1 ABA INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE BESTSELLER Few in history can match the revolutionary career of the Marquis de Lafayette. Over fifty incredible years at the heart of the Age of Revolution, he fought courageously on both sides of the Atlantic. He was a soldier, statesman, idealist, philanthropist, and abolitionist. As a teenager, Lafayette ran away from France to join the American Revolution. Returning home a national hero, he helped launch the French Revolution, eventually spending five years locked in dungeon prisons. After his release, Lafayette sparred with Napoleon, joined an underground conspiracy to overthrow King Louis XVIII, and became an international symbol of liberty. Finally, as a revered elder statesman, he was instrumental in the overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty in the Revolution of 1830. From enthusiastic youth to world-weary old age, from the pinnacle of glory to the depths of despair, Lafayette never stopped fighting for the rights of all mankind. His remarkable life is the story of where we come from, and an inspiration to defend the ideals he held dear.