Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race," a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men -- bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can...

Mallory O'Meara uncovers the life and work of Milicent Patrick, one of Disney's first female animators and the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood's classic movie monsters. O'Meara discovered that Patrick's contribution had been claimed by a jealous male colleague, and she soon after had disappeared from film history. O'Meara set out to right the wrong, and in the process discovered the full, fascinating story of an ambitious, artistic...

"Universally recognized as a landmark in American literature, Elmer Gantry scandalized readers when it was first published, causing Sinclair Lewis to be “invited” to a jail cell in New Hampshire and to his own lynching in Virginia. His portrait of a golden-tongued evangelist who rises to power within his church—a saver of souls who lives a life of duplicity, sensuality, and ruthless self-indulgence—is also the record of a period, a reign of...

Discover the charisma and wisdom of one of America's most influential founding fathers in this new edition of Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. Printer, scientist, statesman, and architect of the American spirit, Franklin's literary masterpiece is not just a historical document; it's a candid examination of colonial American life through the eyes of one of its most astute observers. Franklin's Autobiography remains a cornerstone of American literature,...

"Alexander Hamilton was arguably the most important figure in American history who never attained the presidency, but he had a far more lasting impact than many who did." "An illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean, Hamilton rose with stunning speed to become George Washington's aide-de-camp, a battlefield hero, a member of the Constitutional Convention, the leading author of The Federalist Papers, and head of the Federalist party....

We have a glut of text and trade books on American history. But what we don't have is a compact, inexpensive, authoritative, and compulsively readable book that will offer to American readers a clear, informative, and inspiring narrative account of their own country. Such an account can shape and deepen their sense of the land they inhabit and, by making them understand that land's roots, and share in its memories, will equip them for the privileges...

"In Paris, Julia devoured recipe books, shopped in outdoor markets, consumed all kinds of foods, and whipped through culinary school. And although she wasn't always successful in the kitchen, she was determined to "master the art" of French cooking. Through perseverance and grit, Julia became a chef who shared her passion with the world, making cooking fun, and turning every meal into a special event."--Publisher's website

"The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it. The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and...

A republication of the 1958 text in which Elisabeth Elliot reconstructs the life of her husband Jim, a Christian missionary who was killed along with four other men by the Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1956, based on the memories of family members and friends, as well as Jim's own writings.

"Since the world’s first-ever national park—Yellowstone—was established, national parks have fed millions of hungry visitors in their historic dining rooms and restaurants. From Acadia’s famous puffy popovers to Zion’s loaded Navajo tacos, guests have long enjoyed a range of unique regional cuisines, meals made from foraged foods, and gourmet menus whipped up by celebrated chefs, even in the middle of nowhere. Now you can re-create and enjoy...