Books by Douglas Brinkley
The World War II Desk Reference
More than 12 million American men and women entered the U.S. armed forces during World War II, and millions more worked and sacrificed at home to help the Allied cause to defeat the Axis powers. At the close of the war, America had become the leading nation on the global stage, and its veterans returned home to forge a vibrant postwar society. Written under the direction of two distinguished historians, The World War II Desk Reference explains in clear prose, backed by rosters of statistics, time lines, and maps, the global cataclysm that was World War II.
But this volume is not a typical almanac. With material ranging from battlefronts to important military commanders to armaments, among the backdrop of all the necessary political, social, and economic factors, Douglas Brinkley and Michael E. Haskew's reference will prove invaluable to readers. Photographs, lists, time lines, tables, glossaries, and maps encapsulate many pieces of complicated information, making The World War II Desk Reference immensely browsable. The book also includes a helpful resource on national World War II monuments, organizations, and museums.
Throughout the book, you'll find oral histories culled from several sources, including the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans, which holds the world's largest repository of valuable letters, journals, and other war-related records. Excerpted from those who fought on both sides, these accounts add a deeply touching, profoundly personal dimension seldom found in other books on World War II.
In a modern world plagued by terrorism, dictators, and weapons of mass destruction, Brinkley and Haskew's seminal work reminds us that America's role in World War II led to a truly monumental victory. For World War II enthusiasts, history buffs, and anyone interested in our nation's history, this is the one book to own.
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Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism
by Douglas Brinkley, Julie Fenster, Julie M. Fenster
The first commercial, in-depth biography of the American-born Roman Catholic priest who may well be declared a saint. . . . “Delightful. . . . No magisterial biography emanating a suffocating aura of pomp and self-importance, this book is as low-key and as uplifting as Father Michael McGivney himself.”―Calgary Herald
“Father McGivney’s vision remains as relevant as ever in the changed circumstances of today’s Church and society.”―Pope John Paul II
In a time of discrimination and poverty for Catholics across America, Father Michael McGivney (1852-1890), began a legacy of hope that continues to this day. Called to action in 1882 by his sympathy for these suffering people, this dynamic yet tenderhearted man―the son of Irish immigrants― founded the Knights of Columbus, an organization that has saved countless families from destitution.
At heart, Father McGivney was the model of an American parish priest: Beloved by children, trusted by adults, and regarded as a “positive saint” by the elderly in his New Haven, CT, parish―a truly holy man whose life and works are still celebrated today.
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Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism
by Douglas Brinkley, Julie Fenster, Julie M. Fenster
The first commercial, in-depth biography of the American-born Roman Catholic priest who may well be declared a saint. . . . “Delightful. . . . No magisterial biography emanating a suffocating aura of pomp and self-importance, this book is as low-key and as uplifting as Father Michael McGivney himself.”―Calgary Herald
“Father McGivney’s vision remains as relevant as ever in the changed circumstances of today’s Church and society.”―Pope John Paul II
In a time of discrimination and poverty for Catholics across America, Father Michael McGivney (1852-1890), began a legacy of hope that continues to this day. Called to action in 1882 by his sympathy for these suffering people, this dynamic yet tenderhearted man―the son of Irish immigrants― founded the Knights of Columbus, an organization that has saved countless families from destitution.
At heart, Father McGivney was the model of an American parish priest: Beloved by children, trusted by adults, and regarded as a “positive saint” by the elderly in his New Haven, CT, parish―a truly holy man whose life and works are still celebrated today.
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The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion
"These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. Theseare the men who took the cliffs. These are thechampions who helped free a continent. Theseare the heroes who helped end a war."—Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984,Normandy, France
Acclaimed historian and author of the "New York Times" bestselling Tour of Duty Douglas Brinkley tells the riveting account of the brave U.S. Army Rangers who stormed the coast of Normandy on D-Day and the President, forty years later, who paid them homage.
The importance of Pointe du Hoc to Allied planners like General Dwight Eisenhower cannot be overstated. The heavy U.S. and British warships poised in the English Channel had eighteen targets on their bombardment list for D-Day morning. The 100-foot promontory known as Pointe du Hoc -- where six big German guns were ensconced -- was number one. General Omar Bradley, in fact, called knocking out the Nazi defenses at the Pointe the toughest of any task assigned on June 6, 1944. Under the bulldoggish command of Colonel James E. Rudder of Texas, who is profiled here, these elite forces "Rudder's Rangers" -- took control of the fortified cliff. The liberation of Europe was under way.
Based upon recently released documents from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the Eisenhower Center, Texas A & M University, and the U.S. Army Military History Institute, The Boys of Pointe du Hoc is the first in-depth, anecdotal remembrance of these fearless Army Rangers. With brilliant deftness, Brinkley moves between two events four decades apart to tell the dual story of the making of Reagan's two uplifting 1984 speeches, considered by many to be among the best orations the Great Communicator ever gave, and the actual heroic event, which was indelibly captured as well in the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan".Just as compellingly, Brinkley tells the story of how Lisa Zanatta Henn, the daughter of a D-Day veteran, forged a special friendship with President Reagan that changed public perceptions of World War II veterans forever. Two White House speechwriters -- Peggy Noonan and Tony Dolan -- emerge in the narrative as the master scribes whose ethereal prose helped Reagan become the spokesperson for the entire World War II generation.
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The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion
The 100-foot promontory known as Pointe du Hoc -- where six big German guns were ensconced -- was the number one target of the heavy U.S. and British warships poised in the English Channel on D-Day morning. Facing arguably the toughest task to befall U.S. forces during the war, the brave men of the Army 2nd Ranger Battalion boldly took control of the fortified cliff and set in motion the liberation of Europe.
Based upon recently released documents, here is the first in-depth, anecdotal remembrance of these fearless Army Rangers. Acclaimed author and historian Douglas Brinkley deftly moves between events four decades apart to tell two riveting stories: the making of Ronald Reagan's historic 1984 speeches about the storming of the Normandy coast and the actual heroic event that inspired them and helped to end the Second World War.
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The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
In the span of five violent hours on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed major Gulf Coast cities and flattened 150 miles of coastline. Yet those wind-torn hours represented only the first stage of the relentless triple tragedy that Katrina brought to the entire Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to Mississippi to Alabama.
First came the hurricane, one of the three strongest ever to make landfall in the United States -- 150-mile-per-hour winds, with gusts measuring more than 180 miles per hour ripping buildings to pieces.
Second, the storm-surge flooding, which submerged a half million homes, creating the largest domestic refugee crisis since the Civil War. Eighty percent of New Orleans was under water, as debris and sewage coursed through the streets, and whole towns in south-eastern Louisiana ceased to exist.
And third, the human tragedy of government mis-management, which proved as cruel as the natural disaster itself. Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, implemented an evacuation plan that favored the rich and healthy. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana, dithered in the most important aspect of her job: providing leadership in a time of fear and confusion. Michael C. Brown, the FEMA director, seemed more concerned with his sartorial splendor than the specter of death and horror that was taking New Orleans into its grip.
In The Great Deluge, bestselling author Douglas Brinkley, a New Orleans resident and professor of history at Tulane University, rips the story of Katrina apart and relates what the Category 3 hurricane was like from every point of view. The book finds the true heroes -- such as Coast Guard officer Jimmy Duckworth and hurricane jock Tony Zumbado.
Throughout the book, Brinkley lets the Katrina survivors tell their own stories, masterly allowing them to record the nightmare that was Katrina. The Great Deluge investigates the failure of government at every level and breaks important new stories. Packed with interviews and original research, it traces the character flaws, inexperience, and ulterior motives that allowed the Katrina disaster to devastate the Gulf Coast.
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The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
In the span of five violent hours on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed major Gulf Coast cities and flattened 150 miles of coastline. But it was only the first stage of a shocking triple tragedy. On the heels of one of the three strongest hurricanes ever to make landfall in the United States came the storm-surge flooding, which submerged a half-million homes—followed by the human tragedy of government mismanagement, which proved as cruel as the natural disaster itself.
In The Great Deluge, bestselling author Douglas Brinkley finds the true heroes of this unparalleled catastrophe, and lets the survivors tell their own stories, masterly allowing them to record the nightmare that was Katrina.
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American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
Instant New York Times Bestseller
As the fiftieth anniversary of the first lunar landing approaches, the award winning historian and perennial New York Times bestselling author takes a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon.
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”—President John F. Kennedy
On May 25, 1961, JFK made an astonishing announcement: his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In this engrossing, fast-paced epic, Douglas Brinkley returns to the 1960s to recreate one of the most exciting and ambitious achievements in the history of humankind. American Moonshot brings together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, which shot the United States to victory in the space race against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
Drawing on new primary source material and major interviews with many of the surviving figures who were key to America’s success, Brinkley brings this fascinating history to life as never before. American Moonshot is a portrait of the brilliant men and women who made this giant leap possible, the technology that enabled us to propel men beyond earth’s orbit to the moon and return them safely, and the geopolitical tensions that spurred Kennedy to commit himself fully to this audacious dream. Brinkley’s ensemble cast of New Frontier characters include rocketeer Wernher von Braun, astronaut John Glenn and space booster Lyndon Johnson.
A vivid and enthralling chronicle of one of the most thrilling, hopeful, and turbulent eras in the nation’s history, American Moonshot is an homage to scientific ingenuity, human curiosity, and the boundless American spirit.
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American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
Now in paperback, an award-winning historian and perennial New York Times bestselling author takes a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon.
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”—President John F. Kennedy
On May 25, 1961, JFK made an astonishing announcement: his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In this engrossing, fast-paced epic, Douglas Brinkley returns to the 1960s to recreate one of the most exciting and ambitious achievements in the history of humankind. American Moonshot brings together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, which shot the United States to victory in the space race against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
Drawing on new primary source material and major interviews with many of the surviving figures who were key to America’s success, Brinkley brings this fascinating history to life as never before. American Moonshot is a portrait of the brilliant men and women who made this giant leap possible, the technology that enabled us to propel men beyond earth’s orbit to the moon and return them safely, and the geopolitical tensions that spurred Kennedy to commit himself fully to this audacious dream. Brinkley’s ensemble cast of New Frontier characters include rocketeer Wernher von Braun, astronaut John Glenn and space booster Lyndon Johnson.
A vivid and enthralling chronicle of one of the most thrilling, hopeful, and turbulent eras in the nation’s history, American Moonshot is an homage to scientific ingenuity, human curiosity, and the boundless American spirit.
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Voices of Courage: The Battle for Khe Sanh, Vietnam
by Douglas Brinkley, Ronald J. Drez
Dozens of illustrations and photographs, accompanied by detailed accounts of the battle, offer a vivid narrative of the seventy-seven-day struggle to control the remote Khe Sanh base in Vietnam, during which a severely outnumbered and isolated group of Marines held off an enemy onslaught, in a multimedia history that features firsthand reminiscences by participants on two audio CDs. 30,000 first printing.
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Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War
One of our most acclaimed historians explores the decorated military service of one of America’s most intriguing politicians―the leading Democratic presidential candidate for 2004―and its profound effects on his career and life
In Tour of Duty, Brinkley explores Senator John Kerry’s career and deftly deals with such explosive issues as U.S. atrocities in Vietnam and the bombing of Cambodia. Using new information acquired from the recently released Nixon tapes, Brinkley reveals how White House aides Charles Colson and H.R. Haldeman tried to discredit Kerry. Refusing to be intimidated, Kerry started running for public office, eventually becoming a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.
Covering more than four decades, this is the first full-scale definitive account of Kerry’s journey from war to peace. In writing this riveting, action-packed narrative, Brinkley has drawn on extensive interviews with virtually everyone who knew Kerry well in Vietnam. Kerry also relegated to Brinkley his letters home from Vietnam and his voluminous “war notes” journals, notebooks, and personal reminiscences written during and shortly after the war. This material was provided without restriction, to be used at Brinkley’s discretion, and has never before been published.
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Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War
Covering more than four decades, Tour of Duty is the definitive account of John Kerry's journey from war to peace. Written by acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley, this is the first full-scale, intimate account of Kerry's naval career. In writing this riveting narrative, Brinkley has drawn on extensive interviews with virtually everyone who knew Kerry well in Vietnam, including all the men still living who served under him. Kerry also entrusted to Brinkley his letters home from Vietnam and his voluminous "War Notes" -- journals, notebooks, and personal reminiscences written during and shortly after the war. This material was provided without restriction, to be used at Brinkley's discretion, and has never before been published.
John Kerry enlisted in the Navy in February 1966, months before he graduated from Yale. In December 1967 Ensign Kerry was assigned to the frigate U.S.S. Gridley; after five months of service in the Pacific, with a brief stop in Vietnam, he returned to the United States and underwent training to command a Swift boat, a small craft deployed in Vietnam's rivers. In June 1968 Kerry was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade), and by the end of that year he was back in Vietnam, where he commanded, over time, two Swift boats. Throughout Tour of Duty Brinkley deftly deals with such explosive issues as U.S. atrocities in Vietnam and the bombing of Cambodia. In a series of unforgettable combat-action sequences, he recounts how Kerry won the Purple Heart three times for wounds suffered in action and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Navy’s Silver Star for gallantry in action.
When Kerry returned from Southeast Asia, he joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), becoming a prominent antiwar spokesperson. He challenged the Nixon administration on Capitol Hill with the antiwar movementcheering him on. As Kerry's public popularity soared in April-May 1971, the FBI considered him a subversive. Brinkley -- using new information acquired from the recently released Nixon tapes -- reveals how White House aides Charles Colson and H. R. Haldeman tried to discredit Kerry. Refusing to be intimidated, Kerry started running for public office, eventually becoming a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. But he never forgot his fallen comrades. Working with his friend Senator John McCain, he returned to Vietnam numerous times looking for MIAs and POWs. By the time Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, Kerry was the leading proponent of "normalization" of relations with Vietnam. When President Clinton officially recognized Vietnam in 1995, Kerry's three-decade-long tour of duty had at long last ended.
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The World War II Memorial: A Grateful Nation Remembers
In May 2004, the sixtieth anniversary year of D-Day, the nation paid tribute to its World War II heroes with the dedication of a memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This beautifully illustrated keepsake offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the memorial and its place in American history.
Exclusive photographs show the memorial in all stages of development, accompanied by text exploring the symbolism of each part -- the Rainbow Pool, the Wall of Remembrance, the Field of Stars, the Freedom Wall, and the Pillars of the States and Territories. George H. W. Bush, former senator Bob Dole, Yogi Berra, and other veterans share their personal stories, and leading military historians contribute essays on the war efforts at home and abroad. Like the memorial it commemorates, this book pays tribute to the "greatest generation" -- the everyday Americans who rose up to defend our freedom.
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The World War II Memorial: A Grateful Nation Remembers
Assuming its rightful place of honor on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial is an eloquent and moving tribute to “The Greatest Generation.” Sixteen million Americans served in the armed forces—more than 400,000 gave their lives—and millions supported the war effort from home, all in the name of protecting that which we, as Americans, hold most dear: freedom.
The World War II Memorial, published in conjunction with the dedication of this long-overdue memorial, commemorates the everyday Americans who in countless ways rose up to defeat one of history's gravest threats to freedom. Veterans—including George H.W. Bush, Sen. Daniel Inouye, former senators Bob Dole and George McGovern, Yogi Berra, and many, many others—contribute their own personal stories while leading historians look at the military campaigns of the war. The memorial's architect and its sculptor provide insights into how it symbolizes the fortitude and perseverance of a generation, and the exclusive photographs present the memorial through all stages of construction. Fittingly, this historic tribute falls in the 60th anniversary year of D-Day, a time when our nation once again reflects on its greatest sacrifice and greatest victory in the name of freedom.
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The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America
"Douglas Brinkley brings to this magnificent story of Theodore Roosevelt's crusade on behalf of America's national parks the same qualities that made TR so fascinating a figure—an astonishing range of knowledge, a superb narrative skill, a wonderfully vivid writing style and an inexhaustible energy."
—Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals
A vast, inspiring, and enormously entertaining book.”
— New York Times Book Review
From New York Times bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley comes a sweeping historical narrative and eye-opening look at the pioneering environmental policies of President Theodore Roosevelt, avid bird-watcher, naturalist, and the founding father of America’s conservation movement—now approaching its 100th anniversary.
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The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America
From New York Times bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley comes a sweeping historical narrative and eye-opening look at the pioneering environmental policies of President Theodore Roosevelt, avid bird-watcher, naturalist, and the founding father of America’s conservation movement. In this groundbreaking epic biography, Douglas Brinkley draws on never-before-published materials to examine the life and achievements of our “naturalist president.” By setting aside more than 230 million acres of wild America for posterity between 1901 and 1909, Theodore Roosevelt made conservation a universal endeavor. This crusade for the American wilderness was perhaps the greatest U.S. presidential initiative between the Civil War and World War I. Roosevelt’s most important legacies led to the creation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and passage of the Antiquities Act in 1906. His executive orders saved such treasures as Devils Tower, the Grand Canyon, and the Petrified Forest.
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American Moonshot Young Readers' Edition: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, New York Times bestselling author and historian Douglas Brinkley delivers a young readers’ edition of a story rooted in heroism, bravery, and patriotism: America’s race to the moon.
July 20, 1969. It’s a day that has earned a spot in history. It’s the day that America was the first nation to succeed in sending two astronauts—Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong—to the moon.
But what led to this unforgettable event? What were the stakes riding on the Apollo 11’s safe landing? In acclaimed author Douglas Brinkley’s first young readers' edition, space fans will get the riveting and factual backstory of arguably the most significant achievement of the 20th century.
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$9.99
American Moonshot Young Readers' Edition: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, New York Times bestselling author and historian Douglas Brinkley delivers a young readers’ edition of a story rooted in heroism, bravery, and patriotism: America’s race to the moon.
July 20, 1969. It’s a day that has earned a spot in history. It’s the day that America was the first nation to succeed in sending two astronauts—Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong—to the moon.
But what led to this unforgettable event? What were the stakes riding on the Apollo 11’s safe landing? In acclaimed author Douglas Brinkley’s first young readers' edition, space fans will get the riveting and factual backstory of arguably the most significant achievement of the 20th century.
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JFK: A Vision for America
by Douglas Brinkley, Stephen Kennedy Smith
Published in commemoration of the centennial of President John F. Kennedy’s birth, here is the definitive compendium of JFK’s most important and brilliant speeches, accompanied by commentary and reflections by leading American and international figures—including Senator Elizabeth Warren, David McCullough, Kofi Annan, and the Dalai Lama—and edited by JFK’s nephew Stephen Kennedy Smith and renowned historian Douglas Brinkley. Combined with over seven hundred documentary photos, it tells the story, in words and pictures, of JFK’s life and presidency, and depicts his compelling vision for America.
JFK brings together in one volume John F. Kennedy’s greatest speeches alongside essays by America’s top historians, analysis from leading political thinkers, and personal insights from preeminent writers and artists. Here is JFK at his best—thought-provoking, inspiring, eloquent, and wise—on a number of wide-ranging topics, including civil rights, the race to the moon, the environment, immigration, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and much more. JFK demonstrates the deep relevance of his words today and his lasting power and influence as an outstanding American leader and orator.
Elegantly designed and enriched by more than 500 photographs and facsimiles of Kennedy’s marginalia on drafts of speeches, his notes from important meetings, letters, and other fascinating documents, JFK is a major contribution to American history.
The august list of contributors includes Secretary John Kerry, Ambassador Samantha Power, Congressman John Lewis, Senator John McCain, Senator Elizabeth Warren, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Robert Redford, Conan O’Brien, Dave Eggers, Gloria Steinem, Don DeLillo, David McCullough, George Packer, Colum McCann, Michael Beschloss, Robert Dallek, David Kennedy, Ted Widmer, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Drew Faust, Tariq Ramadan, Pastor Rick Warren, Jonathan Alter, E. J. Dionne, Ron Suskind, Paul Krugman, Kofi Annan, Governor Jerry Brown, Paul Theroux, Jorge Domínguez, and many others.
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Cronkite
Douglas Brinkley presents the definitive, revealing biography of an American legend: renowned news anchor Walter Cronkite.
An acclaimed author and historian, Brinkley has drawn upon recently disclosed letters, diaries, and other artifacts at the recently opened Cronkite Archive to bring detail and depth to this deeply personal portrait.
He also interviewed nearly two hundred of Cronkite’s closest friends and colleagues, including Andy Rooney, Leslie Stahl, Barbara Walters, Dan Rather, Brian Williams, Les Moonves, Christiane Amanpour, Katie Couric, Bob Schieffer, Ted Turner, Jimmy Buffett, and Morley Safer, using their voices to instill dignity and humanity in this study of one of America’s most beloved and trusted public figures.
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Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The acclaimed, award-winning historian—“America’s new past master” (Chicago Tribune)—examines the environmental legacy of FDR and the New Deal.
Douglas Brinkley’s The Wilderness Warrior celebrated Theodore Roosevelt’s spirit of outdoor exploration and bold vision to protect 234 million acres of wild America. Now, in Rightful Heritage, Brinkley turns his attention to the other indefatigable environmental leader—Teddy’s distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, chronicling his essential yet under-sung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of America’s public lands. FDR built from scratch dozens of State Park systems and scenic roadways. Pristine landscapes such as the Great Smokies, the Everglades, Joshua Tree, the Olympics, Big Bend, Channel Islands, Mammoth Cave, and the slickrock wilderness of Utah were forever saved by his leadership.
Brinkley traces FDR’s love for the natural world from his youth exploring the Hudson River Valley and bird watching. As America’s president from 1933 to 1945, Roosevelt—consummate political strategist—established hundreds of federal migratory bird refuges and spearheaded the modern endangered species movement. He brilliantly positioned his conservation goals as economic policy to combat the severe unemployment of the Great Depression. During its nine-year existence, the CCC put nearly three million young men to work on conservation projects—including building trails in the national parks, pollution control, land restoration to combat the Dust Bowl, and planting over two billion trees.
Rightful Heritage is an epic chronicle that is both an irresistible portrait of FDR’s unrivaled passion and drive, and an indispensable analysis that skillfully illuminates the tension between business and nature—exploiting our natural resources and conserving them. Within the narrative are brilliant capsule biographies of such environmental warriors as Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, and Rosalie Edge. Rightful Heritage is essential reading for everyone seeking to preserve our treasured landscapes as an American birthright.
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Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America
Douglas Brinkley’s The Wilderness Warrior celebrated Theodore Roosevelt’s spirit of outdoor exploration and bold vision to protect 234 million acres of wild America. Now, in Rightful Heritage, Brinkley turns his attention to another indefatigable environmental leader—Teddy’s distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt—chronicling his essential yet undersung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of America’s public lands. FDR built from scratch dozens of state park systems and scenic roadways. Pristine landscapes such as the Great Smokies, the Everglades, Joshua Tree, the Olympics, Big Bend, the Channel Islands, Mammoth Cave, and the slickrock wilderness of Utah were forever saved by his leadership.
Brinkley traces FDR’s love for the natural world back to his youth spent exploring the Hudson River Valley and bird-watching. As America’s president from 1933 to 1945, Roosevelt, a consummate political strategist, established hundreds of federal migratory bird refuges and spearheaded the modern endangered species movement. He brilliantly positioned his conservation goals as economic policy to fight the severe unemployment of the Great Depression. During its nine-year existence, the CCC put nearly three million young men to work on conservation projects—including building trails in the national parks, pollution control, land restoration to combat the Dust Bowl, and planting more than two billion trees.
Within the narrative are brilliant capsule biographies of such environmental warriors as Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, and Rosalie Edge. Rightful Heritage is essential reading for everyone seeking to preserve our treasured landscapes as an American birthright.
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Witness to America: A Documentary History of the United States from the Revolution to Today
This updated edition presents the history of the Unites States by the people who lived it, including essays, diaries, letters and speeches that provide first-person accounts of events ranging from the signing of the Declaration of Independence to Hurricane Katrina. 15,000 first printing.
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The Quiet World: Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom, 1879-1960
“Douglas Brinkley has written a sweeping, blow-by-blow account of the struggle to preserve the last great remnants of American wilderness. An engaging appraisal of the crucial skirmishes in the battle over wild Alaska, The Quiet World is populated not only by the requisite luminaries like John Muir and Ansel Adams, but also by a cast of quirky, unexpected characters. The Quiet World is a fascinating and important read.” — Jon Krakauer
In this follow-up to his New York Times bestseller Wilderness Warrior, acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley offers a riveting, expansive look at the past and present battle to preserve Alaska’s wilderness.
Brinkley explores the colorful diversity of Alaska’s wildlife, arrays the forces that have wreaked havoc on its primeval arctic refuge—from Klondike Gold Rush prospectors to environmental disasters like the Exxon-Valdez oil spill—and documents environmental heroes from Theodore Roosevelt to Dwight Eisenhower and beyond. Not merely a record of Alaska’s past, The Quiet World is a compelling call-to-arms for sustainability, conservationism, and conscientious environmental stewardship—a warning that the land once called Seward’s Folly may go down in history as America’s Greatest Mistake.
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The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House
Reveals the range of activities in which former president Jimmy Carter has been involved since leaving office in 1980, his enormous influence in world politics, and his complex relationship with Fidel Castro and other world leaders. Reprint.
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Rise to Globalism
by Douglas Brinkley, Stephen Ambrose
A survey of America's foreign policy from 1938 through to President Clinton's second term in 1995. Included in the text is commentary on Reagan's deal with Iran in 1980, Bush's deal with Iraq up to the invasion of Kuwait, the Middle East peace talks and the collapse of Soviet Union.
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Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening
"A work of stunning erudition by one of our most brilliant chroniclers of the American past. By meticulously detailing how courageous activists sparked an environmental revolution that fueled the legislative imaginations of three very different presidents, Douglas Brinkley also renders a vivid portrait of the endangered species of bipartisan cooperation in the effort to save our planet. In this magisterial account, Brinkley proves himself a man for all seasons: he springs into action and refuses to take the summer off in the desperate drive to prevent our fall into an even more destructive winter of environmental discontent." --Michael Eric Dyson
“This is not only a majestic work of history; it is an urgent call for our time.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian
New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed presidential historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties (1960-1973), telling the story of an indomitable generation that saved the natural world under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon.
With the detonation of the Trinity explosion in the New Mexico desert in 1945, the United States took control of Earth’s destiny for the first time. After the Truman administration dropped atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II, a grim new epoch had arrived. During the early Cold War years, the federal government routinely detonated nuclear devices in the Nevada desert and the Marshall Islands. Not only was nuclear fallout a public health menace, but entire ecosystems were contaminated with radioactive materials. During the 1950s, an unprecedented postwar economic boom took hold, with America becoming the world’s leading hyperindustrial and military giant. But with this historic prosperity came a heavy cost: oceans began to die, wilderness vanished, the insecticide DDT poisoned ecosystems, wildlife perished, and chronic smog blighted major cities.
In Silent Spring Revolution, Douglas Brinkley pays tribute to those who combated the mauling of the natural world in the Long Sixties: Rachel Carson (a marine biologist and author), David Brower (director of the Sierra Club), Barry Commoner (an environmental justice advocate), Coretta Scott King (an antinuclear activist), Stewart Udall (the secretary of the interior), William O. Douglas (Supreme Court justice), Cesar Chavez (a labor organizer), and other crusaders are profiled with verve and insight.
Carson’s book Silent Spring, published in 1962, depicted how detrimental DDT was to living creatures. The exposé launched an ecological revolution that inspired such landmark legislation as the Wilderness Act (1964), the Clean Air Acts (1963 and 1970), and the Endangered Species Acts (1966, 1969, and 1973). In intimate detail, Brinkley extrapolates on such epic events as the Donora (Pennsylvania) smog incident, JFK’s Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Great Lakes preservation, the Santa Barbara oil spill, and the first Earth Day.
With the United States grappling with climate change and resource exhaustion, Douglas Brinkley’s meticulously researched and deftly written Silent Spring Revolution reminds us that a new generation of twenty-first-century environmentalists can save the planet from ruin.
Silent Spring Revolution features two 8-page color photo inserts.
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$27.99
Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening
New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed presidential historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties (1960-1973), telling the story of an indomitable generation that saved the natural world under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon.
With the detonation of the Trinity explosion in the New Mexico desert in 1945, the United States took control of Earth’s destiny for the first time. After the Truman administration dropped atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II, a grim new epoch had arrived. During the early Cold War years, the federal government routinely detonated nuclear devices in the Nevada desert and the Marshall Islands. Not only was nuclear fallout a public health menace, but entire ecosystems were contaminated with radioactive materials. During the 1950s, an unprecedented postwar economic boom took hold, with America becoming the world’s leading hyperindustrial and military giant. But with this historic prosperity came a heavy cost: oceans began to die, wilderness vanished, the insecticide DDT poisoned ecosystems, wildlife perished, and chronic smog blighted major cities.
In Silent Spring Revolution, Douglas Brinkley pays tribute to those who combated the mauling of the natural world in the Long Sixties: Rachel Carson (a marine biologist and author), David Brower (director of the Sierra Club), Barry Commoner (an environmental justice advocate), Coretta Scott King (an antinuclear activist), Stewart Udall (the secretary of the interior), William O. Douglas (Supreme Court justice), Cesar Chavez (a labor organizer), and other crusaders are profiled with verve and insight.
Carson’s book Silent Spring, published in 1962, depicted how detrimental DDT was to living creatures. The exposé launched an ecological revolution that inspired such landmark legislation as the Wilderness Act (1964), the Clean Air Acts (1963 and 1970), and the Endangered Species Acts (1966, 1969, and 1973). In intimate detail, Brinkley extrapolates on such epic events as the Donora (Pennsylvania) smog incident, JFK’s Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Great Lakes preservation, the Santa Barbara oil spill, and the first Earth Day.
With the United States grappling with climate change and resource exhaustion, Douglas Brinkley’s meticulously researched and deftly written Silent Spring Revolution reminds us that a new generation of twenty-first-century environmentalists can save the planet from ruin.
Silent Spring Revolution features two 8-page color photo inserts.
Copies
-
$40.00
Rosa Parks: A Life
Fifty years after she made history by refusing to give up her seat on a bus, Rosa Parks at last gets the major biography she deserves. The eminent historian Douglas Brinkley follows this thoughtful and devout woman from her childhood in Jim Crow Alabama through her early involvement in the NAACP to her epochal moment of courage and her afterlife as a beloved (and resented) icon of the civil rights movement. Well researched and written with sympathy and keen insight, the result is a moving, revelatory portrait of an American heroine and her tumultuous times.
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The Nixon Tapes: 1971–1972
by Douglas Brinkley, Luke Nichter
"[A] fascinating and devastatingly accurate portrait of the 37th president . . . Groundbreaking." — San Francisco Chronicle
“Presents a clear, fly-on-the-wall view of Nixon’s White House . . . A monumental accomplishment.” — USA Today
President Nixon’s voice-activated taping system captured every word spoken in the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, and other key locations in the White House and at Camp David — in all, 3,700 hours of recordings between 1971 and 1973. Yet less than 5 percent of those conversations have ever been transcribed and published. Now the world can finally read an unprecedented account of one of the most important and controversial presidencies in U.S. history.
The Nixon Tapes, with annotations and commentary by Professors Luke Nichter and Douglas Brinkley, offers a selection of fascinating scenes from the years Nixon opened relations with China, negotiated the SALT I arms agreement with the Soviet Union, and won a landslide reelection victory, while the growing shadow of Watergate and Nixon’s political downfall crept ever closer. The Nixon Tapes provides a unique glimpse into a flawed president’s hubris, paranoia, and political genius.
“A treasure trove.” — Boston Globe
“Strangely addictive.” — Los Angeles Times
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The Nixon Tapes: 1973
by Douglas Brinkley, Luke Nichter
The blueprint for Nixon’s downfall, based on tapes released from 2010 to 2013, most of which have never been published
When The Nixon Tapes: 1971–1972 was published in August of 2014, it jumped immediately onto the New York Times bestseller list and captivated media attention for its many revelations. Douglas Brinkley and Luke Nichter’s heroic efforts to transcribe and annotate the highlights of more than 3,700 hours of recorded conversations provided an unprecedented and fascinating window into the inner workings of a momentous presidency. Now, with a concluding volume to cover the final year of the Nixon taping system, Brinkley and Nichter tell the rest of the story — once again with revelations on every page, including: how Nixon and Kissinger knew privately that the January 1973 Vietnam peace agreement would not hold, even as the ink was still drying how Nixon and Kissinger anticipated the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East Nixon’s threat to send a “division” of tanks to kill Native Americans at the Wounded Knee standoff and more . . . With Nixon’s dominating 1972 reelection receding into the background and the Watergate scandal looming, The Nixon Tapes: 1973 reveals the inside story of the tragedy that followed the triumph.
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The Nixon Tapes: 1973
by Douglas Brinkley, Luke Nichter
“A revealing selection . . . [a] heroic service.” — New York Times Book Review
“Endlessly fascinating . . . Essential for students of late-twentieth-century history and the American presidency.” — Kirkus Reviews
“[A] monumental effort . . . Astonishing.” — Austin American-Statesman
Between 1971 and 1973, President Richard Nixon’s voice-activated tape recorders captured 3,700 hours of conversations. Douglas Brinkley and Luke Nichter’s intrepid two-volume transcription and annotation of the highlights of this essential archive provides an unprecedented and fascinating window into the inner workings of a momentous presidency.
The Nixon Tapes: 1973 tells the concluding chapter of the story, the final year of taping, covering such events as the Vietnam cease-fire, the Wounded Knee standoff, and, of course, the Watergate investigation. Once again, there are revelations on every page. With Nixon’s landslide 1972 reelection victory receding into the background and the scandal that would scuttle the administration looming, The Nixon Tapes: 1973 reveals the inside story of the tragedy that followed the triumph.
“A priceless . . . historical document . . . Readers will enjoy the editors’ insightful introductions.” — Publishers Weekly
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The Nixon Tapes: 1971-1972
by Douglas Brinkley, Luke Nichter
The famous -- and infamous -- Nixon White House tapes that reveal for
the first time President Richard Nixon uncensored, unfiltered, and in his
own words
President Nixon's voice-activated taping system captured every word
spoken in the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, and other key locations in the
White House, and at Camp David -- 3,700 hours of recordings between
1971 and 1973. Yet less than 5 percent of those conversations have ever
been transcribed and published. Now, thanks to professor Luke Nichter's
massive effort to digitize and transcribe the tapes, the world can finally
read an unprecedented account of one of the most important and
controversial presidencies in U.S. history.
The Nixon Tapes offers a selection of fascinating scenes from the
year Nixon opened relations with China, negotiated the SALT I arms
agreement with the Soviet Union, and won a landslide reelection victory.
All the while, the growing shadow of Watergate and Nixon's political
downfall crept ever closer. The Nixon Tapes provides a never-before-seen
glimpse into a flawed president's hubris, paranoia, and political genius.
Copies
No copies available.
Rosa Parks (Penguin Lives)
A portrait of the African American woman immortalized for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger examines who Rosa Parks was before, during, and after her historic act
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The New York Public Library American History Desk Reference
The New York Public Library Desk Reference series, a trusted source for frequently sought information, adds an updated and comprehensive volume on a timely subject-American History-to this bestselling series he fascinating history of America has now been condensed into a compact, easy-to-use overview of the nation's development. The New York Public Library American History Desk Reference is packed with information on a variety of topics from military and foreign affairs to education and science. Information is organized into detailed timelines highlighting events throughout America's history, along with numerous sidebars, photos, maps, brief biographies, and trivia tidbits, making this book the ultimate 'look-it-up' book.
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The New York Times Living History: World War II, 1939-1942: The Axis Assault
Introducing a new series where history comes alive in riveting documents and images of great events as they occurred
We have long relied on historians to sift through the debris of history and piece together narratives to shape our understanding of events. But it is in the letters, diaries, speeches, song lyrics, newspaper articles, and government papers that history comes alive. The New York Times Living History books reinvigorate history by presenting the actual documents and images of the day.
Eminent historian Douglas Brinkley has carefully chosen fifty critical documents that chart the Axis's grip over Europe and the Pacific-such as Churchill's Blood and Toil speech and the text of the Atlantic Charter. Readers will find FDR's cables to Japan in the hours before Pearl Harbor, Edward R. Murrow's broadcast during the Blitz, an American G.I.'s last message from Corregidor, and a Dutch boy's diary recounting Germany's invasion.
Each primary document is accompanied by New York Times reporting or commentary from the period and original text illuminating their historical significance. News photos and other images add a strong visual component to this vivid re-creation of history.
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The New York Times Living History: World War II, 1942-1945: The Allied Counteroffensive
World War II comes alive through the public records and private accounts of the day
We have long relied on historians to sift through the debris of the past and piece together narratives to shape our understanding of events. But it is in the letters, diaries, speeches, song lyrics, newspaper articles, and government papers that history truly comes alive.
Eminent historian Douglas Brinkley has carefully chosen the critical documents that bring to life the days of the war from the first Allied counteroffensive to V-J Day. His selections span the momentous, such as Eisenhower’s address to the troops in preparation for D-Day or Hirohito’s surrender on Japanese radio, to the intimate and the obscure. Readers will find one of Tokyo Rose’s broadcasts, letters from soldiers on the eve of battle, Ernie Pyle’s dispatches from Sicily, and Truman’s diary entries in which he wrestles with the decision to drop the A-bomb.
Each primary document is accompanied by a relevant piece of New York Times reporting from the period and original text explaining the historical significance of the event in the war’s progress. News photos and other images add a strong visual component to this vivid re-creation of history.
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Coming Back: New Orleans Resurgent
by Anderson Cooper, Douglas Brinkley, Mario Tama
Mario Tama's moving body of award-winning pictures documents Hurricane Katrina's shocking disaster and the resilience of recovery, hope, and change. It won the 2011 Nautilus Silver Award and was a finalist for Pictures of the Year Best PhotoBook Award.
As a news photographer for Getty Images, Tama's powerful imagery of events like September 11th, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the funeral of Pope John Paul II, and the earthquake in Haiti have appeared in major magazines and newspapers internationally. His numerous honors include the prestigious Cliff Edom's New America Award at the NPPA Best of Photojournalism Awards, POY Year International, White House News Photographers Association, NPPA's Best of Photojournalism, UNICEF Photo of the Year, and Care International Award for Humanitarian Reportage. In 2008 Tama was nominated for an Emmy Award for his Coney Island series, and his work on Baghdad's orphans was exhibited at Visa Pour L'Image in Perpignan.
Features an introduction by Anderson Cooper, who joined CNN in 2001 and has anchored Anderson Cooper 360 since 2003. Previously a correspondent for ABC News and Channel One News, his many awards include four Emmys for his comprehensive and impassioned coverage of world events.
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The Promise and the Dream The Interrupted Lives of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr
by Douglas Brinkley, David Margolick
Fifty years after the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, acclaimed journalist David Margolick reveals the untold story of the complex relationship between the two remarkable men.
With the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, which took place only 62 days apart in 1968, the United States was changed forever. The deaths of these two great American heroes was a turning point in the social history of our country, embodying the nation's inner turmoil and serving as a sinister embodiment of race relations at the time. Fifty years later, how far have we come? In this riveting narrative, journalist David Margolick examines the complex relationship between MLK and RFK and provides a living history of this turbulent time, documented with richly drawn interviews from the people who experienced it firsthand. Filled with untold stories from close intimates and revealing photos by the foremost photojournalists of the period, this book provides a compelling look at a tumultuous moment in our country's history, bringing the past vibrantly to life to shine a light on the unique cultural crossroads of the modern age.
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