Other books that might interest you

• 

  Grand Old Unraveling - The...

  John Kenneth White

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  It didn't begin with Donald Trump. Since the time of FDR, the Republican Party has been home to conspiracy thinking, including a belief that lost elections were rigged. And when Republicans later won the White House, the party elevated their presidents to heroic status—a predisposition that eventually posed a threat to democracy. John Kenneth White proposes to explain why this happened—not just the election of Trump but the authoritarian shift in the party as a whole that led to the insurrection of January 6, 2021, and its aftermath. 
   
   
   
  White presents a clear and concise analysis of how the modern Republican Party came to be by tracing historical patterns that reach back to the 1930s. He argues that the rise of Republican authoritarianism has been decades in the making, going back to the desperation that took hold among party elites in the wake of twenty years of Democratic dominance between 1932 and 1952. The fear of losing that overtook the party during the Roosevelt period eventually led to an escalation of intrigue that included the rise of the John Birch Society in the 1950s and QAnon today. White traces the development of this culture of conspiracy theories within the GOP and explains how the emphasis on winning at any cost created a cult of personality and a willingness to seize power by any means necessary.

  Show book

• 

  Westover - Giving Girls a Place...

  Laurie Lisle

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Westover, a girls' high school in Middlebury, Connecticut, has evolved from a finishing school for the Protestant elite, including F. Scott Fitzgerald's first love, to a meritocracy for pupils of many religions and races from all around the world. The fascinating account of the ups and downs of this female community is the subject of Laurie Lisle's well-researched and beautifully illustrated book. It tells an important story about female education during decades of dramatic social change in America. 
  This school for girls was founded in 1909 by emancipated New Women. The author describes the innovations of the idealistic minister's daughter who founded the school, her intellectual successor who turned it into a college preparatory school in the 1930s, the quiet headmaster who struggled to keep it open during the turbulent 1970s, and the prize-winning mathematics teacher, wife, and mother who then lead the school into a new era.

  Show book

• 

  George H W Bush - A Life from...

  Hourly History

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  George H. W. Bush was a fascinating figure. Growing up in a wealthy family, he was driven by a calling to contribute to the greater good from an early age. His journey into adulthood was defined by valiant service in World War II, which laid the groundwork for a distinguished career in public service. He then navigated through various high-profile positions, from serving as a Congressman to holding pivotal roles as a US ambassador, and he was even made director of the CIA. 
  Chosen by Ronald Reagan as his running mate in the 1980s, Bush utilized the vice presidency as a springboard to the nation’s highest office. Despite serving only a single term before being defeated by Bill Clinton, his presidency was filled with significant global and domestic milestones. Bush saw America through the waning days of the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He also led an international coalition that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait in the Gulf War in 1991. 
  Bush was known for his pragmatic approach to governance, his commitment to volunteerism (which he termed “a thousand points of light”), and his dedication to traditional American values. His legacy also includes his political family; his son George W. Bush served as the 43rd president of the United States, and his son Jeb Bush as the governor of Florida. This book explores George H. W. Bush’s life and legacy from beginning to end.

  Show book

• 

  The Nail in the Skull and Other...

  Simon Young

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In the last fifty years, folklorists have amassed an extraordinary corpus of contemporary legends including "the Choking Doberman," "the Eaten Ticket," and "the Vanishing Hitchhiker." But what about the urban legends of the past? These legends and tales have rarely been collected, and when they occasionally appear, they do so as ancestors or precursors of the urban legends of today, rather than as stories in their own right. 
   
   
   
  In The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends, Simon Young fills this gap for British folklore (and for the wider English-speaking world) of the 1800s. Young introduces seventy Victorian urban legends ranging from "Beetle Eyes" to the "Shoplifter's Dilemma" and from "Hands in the Muff" to "the Suicide Club." While a handful of these stories are already known, the vast majority have never been identified, and they have certainly never received scholarly treatment. 
   
   
   
  Young begins the volume with a lengthy introduction assessing nineteenth-century media, emphasizing the importance of the written word to the perpetuation and preservation of these myths. He draws on numerous nineteenth-century books, periodicals, and ephemera, including digitized newspaper archives—particularly the British Newspaper Archive, an exciting new hunting ground for folklorists.

  Show book

• 

  Practical Stoicism - Your Action...

  David Dillinger

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  What if a steadier, calmer mind had nothing to do with changing your circumstances, and everything to do with how you meet them? 
  You read the quotes and nod along to the wisdom. Then the insult lands, the plan falls apart, or the day blurs into the same routine, and every bit of hard-won calm evaporates. Knowing what a Stoic would do is not the same as doing it when it counts. 
  The problem was never good intentions. It's that nobody handed you the practice: the small, repeatable actions that turn a good idea into how you carry yourself under pressure. 
  This is stoicism as daily exercise, not a museum piece. In this audiobook, you'll discover:How to triage your day: separate what truly deserves your energy from what only feels urgent.The discipline of voluntary discomfort: deliberately trimming comforts, like sleep, so hardship loses its grip on you.How to disarm an insult: respond to criticism without letting it hijack your mood or self-worth.Cognitive distancing: separate an event from the story you tell about it, so your first reaction stops running your life.How to stop playing the victim: reclaim the one thing always in your control when everything else isn't.The quiet power of doing less: simplify your commitments until your attention has room to breathe.Gratitude you can actually feel: appreciate what you already have, even on the days it feels forced. 
  Each chapter pairs a Stoic principle with a concrete action and room to journal your thoughts, so the ideas move from your ears into your habits rather than staying abstract. 
  You don't need a philosophy degree or hours of spare time, only the willingness to try one practice at a time. Start where you are, and let a calmer, more deliberate life build itself.

  Show book

• 

  The Communist Manifesto

  Karl Marx

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A world divided. A system in crisis. A document that ignited a global movement.
  Written in 1848 at a moment of rising unrest, The Communist Manifesto lays out Marx and Engels's bold vision of class struggle, economic injustice, and the power of collective action. With clarity and urgency, it exposes the tensions between workers and capital, challenges the foundations of modern society, and calls on the oppressed to reshape the future.
  
  Celebrated as "one of the most influential political texts ever written," this manifesto continues to spark debate, inspire social movements, and shape discussions about power, inequality, and human rights. Its ideas remain as provocative and relevant today as they were more than a century ago.
  
  If you're drawn to political philosophy, social justice, or foundational works that changed world history, this essential classic offers a powerful lens on how societies rise, fall, and transform.
  
  Open the book—and explore the ideas that still challenge the world.

  Show book