The Meanest Man in Congress
The Meanest Man in Congress

Author: Timothy McNulty

Publisher: NewSouth Books

Published: 2019-05-10

Total Pages: 547

ISBN-13: 1603064117

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A native of Beaumont, Texas, and a World War II veteran, Jack Brooks represented Texas's Ninth District for forty-two years in the U.S. Congress. One of the most influential congressmen you've never heard of, the irascible Brooks is finally getting his due in this first full biography. The Meanest Man in Congress chronicles in fascinating detail not only a remarkable lawmaker's career—spanning the tenures of ten U.S. presidents—but also the epic sweep of American history in the latter half of the twentieth century, from the Kennedy assassination to the Iran-Contra affair. Packed with anecdotes based on Brooks's personal correspondence, interviews with his peers and family members, and more, this meticulously researched biography traces the incredible life and times of a true public servant, a man who applied his tenacious will to practical, across-the-aisle governance for the good of his constituents and his country. At a time when Brooks's brand of selfless service is in short supply and American politics has become a zero-sum game, distinguished authors Timothy McNulty and Brendan McNulty bring into high relief the character of a man who knew how to compromise and bargain, negotiate and cooperate to get things done.

Crisis of the House Divided
Crisis of the House Divided

Author: Harry V. Jaffa

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-09-21

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 022611158X

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This definitive analysis of the Lincoln-Douglas debates is “one of the most influential works of American history and political philosophy ever published (National Review). In Crisis of the House Divided, noted conservative scholar and historian Harry V. Jaffa illuminates the political principles that guided Abraham Lincoln from his reentry into politics in 1854 through his Senate campaign against Stephen Douglas in 1858. Through critical analysis of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Jaffa demonstrates that Lincoln’s political career was grounded in his commitment to constitutionalism, the rule of law, and abolition. A landmark work of American history, it “has shaped the thought of a generation of Abraham Lincoln and Civil War scholars." To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the original publication, Jaffa has provided a new introduction (Civil War History). "A searching and provocative analysis of the issues confronted and the ideas expounded in the great debates…A book which displays such learning and insight that it cannot fail to excite the admiration even of scholars who disagree with its major arguments and conclusions."—D. E. Fehrenbacher, American Historical Review

Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War

Author: George Crile

Publisher: Grove Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 572

ISBN-13: 9780802141248

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Describes how, after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, maverick Texas congressman Charlie Wilson persuaded his colleagues to fund the CIA's efforts to arm the mujahideen and recounts the repercussions of that covert operation.

Testing the Limits
Testing the Limits

Author: Brian Lewis Crispell

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780820321035

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A Floridian who served as a U.S. Senator from 1950 to 1968, George Armistead Smathers is generally regarded as a playboy politician who wasted his opportunities to achieve legal and political brilliance, abandoning his constituency to represent business, industry, and other wealthy interests in Florida. This detailed chronicle of Smathers's life and career reveals that his reputation was sensationalized and largely undeserved. Brian Lewis Crispell incorporates lively anecdotes and personal descriptions, in addition to details culled from research in newspapers, interviews, and the archives of Kennedy, Johnson, Truman, and Smathers himself, to bring the largely unstudied senator to life. The work traces Smathers's political path from the forming of his "statewide collection of loyal men," a gathering of supporters from the University of Florida who formed his political base, through his election to the House, his successful 1950 Senate campaign against Claude Pepper, and his Senatorial career during the beginning of the civil rights movement and the early Cold War. Crispell highlights the senator's moderate civil rights record, role in the 1960 presidential election, and his internationalist position on aid to Latin America. This thoroughly researched account presents Smathers as the quintessential "Cold Warrior"--a man who significantly influenced his political world.

Strange Truth
Strange Truth

Author: Maggie Thrash

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-08-29

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1534411283

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From the critically acclaimed author of Honor Girl, comes a “sassy, sultry whodunit” (School Library Journal) set in an Atlanta boarding school that’s infused with subversive humor and featuring a cast of bizarre and unforgettable characters. It’s better to know the truth. At least sometimes. Halfway through Friday night’s football game, beautiful cheerleader Brittany Montague—dressed as the giant Winship Wildcat mascot—hurls herself off a bridge into Atlanta’s surging Chattahoochee River. Just like that, she’s gone. Eight days later, Benny Flax and Virginia Leeds will be the only ones who know why. Their search for the truth reveals a web of depravity hiding in plain sight at their picture perfect school. When love becomes obsession, how far will someone go to make their twisted fantasies a reality? And who has the power to stop them? A twisty, turny mystery loaded with the perfect punch of satire and heart.

The House of Morgan
The House of Morgan

Author: Ron Chernow

Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Published: 2010-03-16

Total Pages: 847

ISBN-13: 0802198139

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The National Book Award–winning history of American finance by the renowned biographer and author of Hamilton: “A tour de force” (New York Times Book Review). The House of Morgan is a panoramic story of four generations in the powerful Morgan family and their secretive firms that would transform the modern financial world. Tracing the trajectory of J. P. Morgan’s empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the financial crisis of 1987, acclaimed author Ron Chernow paints a fascinating portrait of the family’s private saga and the rarefied world of the American and British elite in which they moved—a world that included Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, Franklin Roosevelt, Nancy Astor, and Winston Churchill. A masterpiece of financial history—it was awarded the 1990 National Book Award for Nonfiction and selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Twentieth Century—The House of Morgan is a compelling account of a remarkable institution and the men who ran it. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the money and power behind the major historical events of the last 150 years.

Paperboy
Paperboy

Author: Vince Vawter

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Published: 2013-05-14

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0307975053

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*"Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird." —Booklist, Starred "An unforgettable boy and his unforgettable story. I loved it!" —ROB BUYEA, author of Because of Mr. Terupt and Mr. Terupt Falls Again This Newbery Honor winner is perfect for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, The King’s Speech, and The Help. A boy who stutters comes of age in the segregated South, during the summer that changes his life. Little Man throws the meanest fastball in town. But talking is a whole different ball game. He can barely say a word without stuttering—not even his own name. So when he takes over his best friend’s paper route for the month of July, he’s not exactly looking forward to interacting with the customers. But it’s the neighborhood junkman, a bully and thief, who stirs up real trouble in Little Man’s life. A Newbery Honor Award Winner An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book An IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Choice An IRA Teachers’ Choice A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year A National Parenting Publications Award Honor Book A BookPage Best Children’s Book An ABC New Voices Pick A Junior Library Guild Selection An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Recording An ALA-YALSA Amazing Audiobook A Mississippi Magnolia State Award List Selection “[Vawter’s] characterization of Little Man feels deeply authentic, with . . . his fierce desire to be ‘somebody instead of just a kid who couldn’t talk right.’” —The Washington Post “Paperboy offers a penetrating look at both the mystery and the daily frustrations of stuttering. People of all ages will appreciate this positive and universal story.” —Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation of America *“[A] tense, memorable story.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred “An engaging and heartfelt presentation that never whitewashes the difficult time and situation as Little Man comes of age.” —Kirkus Reviews “Vawter portrays a protagonist so true to a disability that one cannot help but empathize with the difficult world of a stutterer.” —School Library Journal

Robert H. Michel
Robert H. Michel

Author: Frank H. Mackaman

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2019-04-08

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 0700627596

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As incredible as it might seem, there was a time when Congress worked—a time when partisan competition produced consensus and good public policy. At the center of it all, for four decades, was Robert H. Michel, the longest-serving Republican leader in the history of the US House of Representatives. In this book, top congressional scholars, historians, and political scientists provide a compelling picture of Bob Michel and the congressional politics of his day. Marshaling a wealth of biographical, historical, and political detail, they describe Michel’s House of Representatives and how the institution became what it is now. During the thirty-eight years that Michel represented Illinois’s 18th congressional district (January 3, 1957–January 3, 1995), the last fourteen as Republican leader in the House, his party was in the minority. Drawing on archival material that captures politics in the making, the authors of this volume show how Michel made the most of that minority status. They write about his legislative efforts, as with President Ronald Reagan’s tax cuts and President George H. W. Bush’s North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The resulting friction between Michel’s leadership on the national stage and his responsibilities to constituents back home almost cost him reelection in 1982, forcing a change in his “home style.” Their essays also cover Michel’s strategies for House minority leadership, his party’s proposals to reform the House, and his retirement one election before Republicans became the House majority party—the result of a generational and ideological shift to a more combative style of politics practiced by Michel’s successor, Newt Gingrich. An innovative approach to biography, with its examination of Bob Michel’s career from a variety of angles, this volume offers both an unusually nuanced portrait of one important politician and a uniquely informed perspective on politics in the latter half of the twentieth century.

His Very Best
His Very Best

Author: Jonathan Alter

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2021-09-21

Total Pages: 800

ISBN-13: 1501125540

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“Drawing on fresh archival material and extensive access to Carter and his family, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Alter tells the epic story of a man of faith and his improbable journey from barefoot boy in the vicious Jim Crow South to global icon. We learn how Carter evolved from a timid child into an ambitious naval nuclear engineer and an indefatigable born-again governor; how as a president he failed politically amid the bad economy of the 1970s and the seizure of hostages in Iran but succeeded in engineering peace between Israel and Egypt, amassing a historic environmental record, moving the government from tokenism to diversity, setting a new global standard for human rights, and normalizing relations with China, among dozens of other unheralded achievements. After leaving office, Carter revolutionized the postpresidency with the bold global accomplishments of the Carter center”--Cover.