Stiles, T. J

In this magisterial biography, T. J. Stiles paints a portrait of Custer both deeply personal and sweeping in scope, proving how much of Custer?s legacy has been ignored. He demolishes Custer?s historical caricature, revealing a capable yet insecure man, intelligent yet bigoted, passionate yet self-destructive, a romantic individualist at odds with the institution of the military (court-martialed twice in six years) and the new corporate economy, a wartime emancipator who rejected racial equality. Stiles argues that, although Custer was justly noted for his exploits on the western frontier, he also played a central role as both a wide-ranging participant and polarizing public figure in his extraordinary, transformational time?a time of civil war, emancipation, brutality toward Native Americans, and, finally, the Industrial Revolution?even as he became one of its casualties. Intimate, dramatic, and provocative, this biography captures the larger story of the changing nation. It casts surprising new light on one of the best-known figures of American history, a subject of seemingly endless fascination.

A biography of business tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, covering his personal life, development of a large fleet of steamships and a railroad empire, invention of the modern corporation, and other undertakings that shaped the economic world of the U.S. long after his time.

Chronicles the life of Jesse James, debunking his mythological identity as a Robin Hood figure and showing that his exploits had a clear political purpose: to use violent tactics and the news media to fight for the Confederate cause long after the Civil War ended.

A history of the first 150 years of European settlement in North America, combining the author's narrative with first-person accounts of events by William Penn, Captain John Smith, Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, and many others.

Chronicles the life of Jesse James, debunking his mythological identity as a Robin Hood figure and showing that his exploits had a clear political purpose: to use violent tactics and the news media to fight for the Confederate cause long after the Civil War ended.

A biography of business tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, covering his personal life, development of a large fleet of steamships and a railroad empire, invention of the modern corporation, and other undertakings that shaped the economic world of the U.S. long after his time.

Features firsthand accounts from white and African-American republicans that describe how American politicians fought amongst themselves in Washington and how the government battled against industrialists after the end of the Civil War.

A narrative history of the Revolutionary War, featuring stories and commentary by some of the men who shaped America's history, including Founding Fathers, as well as British and American soldiers.