The provocative new biography of the man who fought to transform a city
Raised in a political family on Chicago's South Side, Harold Washington made history as the city's first African American mayor. His 1983 electoral triumph, fueled by overwhelming black support, represented victory over the ......
The autobiography of Lawrence Douglas Wilder, a grandson of slaves, who was sworn in as Governor of Virginia in a January 1990 ceremony that changed the political face of the United States. In Virginia, long ago the centerpiece of the Confederacy, Wilder became the first African American to assume a governorship by virtue of winning a popular ......
By the time Stagecoach made John Wayne a silver-screen star in 1939, the thirty-one-year-old was already a veteran of more than sixty films, having appeared in B Westerns for five studios. By the 1950s he was destined to become an American icon. This biography reveals the story of his early life, illustrated with rare archival images.
Young Martha Jane Cannary began life as a camp follower and street urchin. Parentless by the age of twelve, she morphed into the mother of two who just as often took employment as a waitress, laundress, or dance hall girl as she did an Indian scout or bullwhacker. Just as likely to wear a dress as she was buckskins, she was impossible to ignore ......
By the 1980s, critics and the public alike considered James Baldwin irrelevant. Yet Baldwin remained an important, prolific writer until his death in 1987. Indeed, his work throughout the decade pushed him into new areas, in particular an expanded ......
The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt
The Cowboy President: The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt reveals how his time spent in the Western Dakota Territory helped him recover from an overwhelming personal loss, but more importantly, how it transformed him into the man etched onto Mount Rushmore, a man who is still rated as one of the top five Presidents in American ......
Vol. 3: Creating Hull-House and an International Presence, 1889-1900
From neophyte to icon in eleven incredible years
In 1889 an unknown but determined Jane Addams arrived in the immigrant-burdened, politically corrupt, and environmentally challenged Chicago with a vision for achieving a more secure, satisfying, and hopeful life for all. Eleven years later, her scheme, as she called ......
Long before the silver screen placed Mary Pickford before the eyes of millions of Americans, this girl, born August 13, 1860 as Phoebe Anne Oakley Moses, had won the right to the title of the first "America's Sweetheart." After winning first prize at a shooting match as a teenager, Annie quickly gained worldwide fame as an incredible crack shot.
This book of quotes explores the many sides of the one-and-only Elizabeth Taylor. In her time, she was perceived as a celebrity, an actress, a siren, and a champion for causes. She became a popular and prominent female figure in the twentieth century, and her legacy continues to thrive through today.
