Vigilante Wars

How the 1849 Gold Rush in California brought mob rule ...


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American History Titles

Browse our American History titles listed below.

Dawning of the Counter-culture: The 1960s

by William L. O'Neill

United States History, American History, U.S. History

As William O’Neill makes us realize, the 1960s was a time like no other America has ever known. In this appraisal of its “new” culture, he conveys all that was inspired, phony, large-spirited, dreary, mad, magnificent, screwed-up, delightful, and confused about the period.

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The Closing Rounds of the Civil War

by Ulysses S. Grant

Introduction by David Hardin

United States History, Military History, American History, U.S. History

Ulysses S. Grant takes the reader onto the battlefield and behind the lines in his account of the final actions of the Civil War.  

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John F. Kennedy's Women

The Story of a Sexual Obsession

by Michael O'Brien

United States History, American History, U.S. History

Largely under the radar during Kennedy’s White House years was the president’s womanizing.  O’Brien details Kennedy’s near-pathological approach to women and sex, then beyond the farthest reaches of the media’s imagination.  Here is an astonishing piece of presidential history.

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Expanded Powers

The FBI, the NSA, and the Struggle Between National Security and Civil Liberties in the Wake of 9/11

by Athan G. Theoharis

United States History, American History, U.S. History, U.S. Government

Athan Theoharis considers the record of the past to assess today’s broadened powers for the FBI and the NSA after 9/11.  He concludes that Americans may feel marginally safer, but at a dangerous cost to their freedoms and to the tenor of our political dialogue.

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Shaping the American Character

The Significance of the Frontier in American History

by Frederick Jackson Turner

United States History, American History, U.S. History

Turner here lays out his “frontier thesis,” which remains one of the key interpretations of American history. He argued that the circumstances of life on the western frontier were a determining influence on American character and institutions. 

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Why American Newspapers Gave Away the Future

by Richard J. Tofel

United States History, European History, Military History, American History, U.S. History, Essays

An insider’s assessment of the precipitous decline of large city papers in the United States, and the newspapers’ response to their problems, by an experienced newspaper executive. 

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How Iran Got The Bomb

The Twisted Path to a Nuclear Weapon

by Jeremy Bernstein

United States History, Political Science, European History, Military History, American History, U.S. History, U.S. Government

Jeremy Bernstein traces the circuitous route by which Iran secured the expertise to develop a nuclear capability. Since Iran’s program appears to be aimed at weapons production, he concludes, the time of decision for action is fast approaching.

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Firing the General

Harry Truman Tells How He'd Had Enough of MacArthur

by Merle Miller

United States History, Military History, American History, U.S. History, U.S. Government

No episode in the Truman years caused a greater uproar than his firing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War. MacArthur wanted to expand the war; Truman sought a limited conflict. The always candid former president explains what happened. 

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