biography

Type: 
Other
Subfield: 
v
Alias: 
biography

Loud and proud

the life of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm
2023
"Shirley Chisholm is a hero and trailblazer. She was the first African American woman in Congress and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties"--Provided by publisher.

Hope and honor

2006
Vietnam War veteran and concentration camp survivor Major General Sid Shachnow describes his childhood in Nazi occupied Easter Europe, his schooling in America, and time in the U.S. Special Forces.

The last honest man

the CIA, the FBI, the mafia, and the Kennedys - and one senator's fight to save democracy
Senator Frank Church of Idaho was an unlikely hero. He led congressional opposition to the Vietnam War and had become a scathing, radical critic of what he saw as American imperialism around the world. But he was still politically ambitious, privately yearning for acceptance from the foreign policy establishment that he hated and eager to run for president. Despite his flaws, Church would show historic strength in his greatest moment, when in the wake of Watergate, he was suddenly tasked with investigating abuses of power in the intelligence community. The dark truths that Church exposed--from assassination plots by the CIA, to links between the Kennedy dynasty and the mafia, to the surveillance of civil rights activists by the NSA and FBI--would shake the nation to its core, and forever change the way that Americans thought about not only their government but also their ability to hold it accountable. Drawing upon hundreds of interviews, thousands of pages of recently declassified documents, and reams of unpublished letters, notes, and memoirs, some of which remain sensitive today, James Risen tells the gripping, untold story of truth and integrity standing against unchecked power--and winning--in this book --.

G-man

J. Edgar Hoover and the making of the American century
"A major new biography of J Edgar Hoover that draws from never-before-seen sources to create a groundbreaking portrait of a colossus who dominated half a century of American history and planted the seeds for much of today's conservative political landscape. We remember him as a bulldog--squat frame, bulging wide-set eyes, fearsome jowls--but in 1924, when he became director of the FBI, he had been the trim, dazzling wunderkind of the administrative state, buzzing with energy and big ideas for reform. He transformed a failing law-enforcement backwater, riddled with scandal, into a modern machine. He believed in the power of the federal government to do great things for the nation and its citizens. He also believed that certain people--many of them communists or racial minorities or both-- did not deserve to be included in that American project. Hoover rose to power and then stayed there, decade after decade, using the tools of state to create a personal fiefdom unrivaled in U.S. history. Beverly Gage's monumental work explores the full sweep of Hoover's life and career, from his birth in 1895 to a modest Washington civil-service family through his death in 1972. In her nuanced and definitive portrait, Gage shows how Hoover was more than a one-dimensional tyrant and schemer who strong-armed the rest of the country into submission. As FBI director from 1924 through his death in 1972, he was a confidant, counselor, and adversary to eight U.S. presidents, four Republicans and four Democrats. Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson did the most to empower him, yet his closest friend among the eight was fellow anticommunist warrior Richard Nixon. Hoover was not above blackmail and intimidation, but he also embodied conservative values ranging from anticommunism to white supremacy to a crusading and politicized interpretation of Christianity. This garnered him the admiration of millions of Americans. He stayed in office for so long because many people, from the highest reaches of government down to the grassroots, wanted him there and supported what he was doing, thus creating the template that the political right has followed to transform its party. G-Man places Hoover back where he once stood in American political history--not at the fringes, but at the center--and uses his story to explain the trajectories of governance, policing, race, ideology, political culture, and federal power as they evolved over the course of the 20th century"--.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

political headliner
2020
"American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever to serve in the US Congress. Learn about the . . . details of her life and her career in the House of Representatives"--Provided by publisher.

Craig & Fred

a Marine, a stray dog, and how they rescued each other
"In 2010 Sergeant Craig Grossi was doing intelligence work for Marine Recon in a remote part of Afghanistan. While on patrol, he spotted a young stray dog 'with a big goofy head and little legs.' Fred not only stole Craig's heart; he won over the Recon fighters, who helped smuggle the dog into Camp Leatherneck. Fred eventually made it to Craig's family in Virginia, where months later, it was Fred's turn to save Craig's life"--OCLC.

Kamala Harris

This biography highlights the life and accomplishments of Kamala Harris. Readers learn about Harris's early life, her education through law school, and her career trajectory from deputy district attorney, district attorney, US Senator, to her election as the first African American and first female vice president of the United States. Features include a timeline, glossary, fun facts, online resources, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Checkerboard Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

The art of intelligence

lessons from a life in the CIA's clandestine service
2012
An autobiography of Henry A. Crumpton, who was an operations officer in the CIA's Clandestine Service for twenty-four years, discussing his career, in which, he pioneered programs such as UAV predator and lead the CIA in Afghanistan.

The real Benedict Arnold

2019
A biography of Benedict Arnold, including his childhood, military career during the American Revolutionary War, becoming a British spy, and more.

Rachel Levine

2023
Introduces readers to the life of the first transgender government official, first transgender four-star officer, and first female four-star admiral, Rachel Levine.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - biography