Offers a complete portrait of this celebrated president through a review of his childhood upbringing, political views and goals, and historic legacy through an examination of his speeches, including the Gettysburg address, period photographs, personal statements, and more.

In this book the author tells the tale of the daring insurrection that put America on the path to bloody war. Plotted in secret, launched in the dark, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was a pivotal moment in U.S. history. But few Americans know the true story of the men and women who launched a desperate strike at the slaveholding South. Now, this work portrays Brown's uprising revealing a country on the brink of explosive conflict. Brown, the descendant...

This multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history. Historian Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius, as the one-term congressman rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals to become president. When Lincoln emerged as the victor at the Republican National Convention, his rivals were dismayed. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically...

A profile of the iconic Civil War general explores the paradoxes attributed to his character to discuss such topics as his achievements as a military strategist, his contributions to the Transcontinental Railroad, and his tempestuous family relationships.

H.W. Brands tells the story of settling the American West, from fur trading in Oregon to the Texas Revolution; from the California gold rush to the Oklahoma land rush. He shows how the migrants' vivid dreams drove courage, perseverance, and outrageous acts of violence. The West was where riches rewarded a miner's persistence, a cattleman's courage, a railroad man's enterprise; but El Dorado was as elusive in the West as it ever was in the East.