influence

Summarizes the observations of French sociologist Alexis de Toqueville about the structure of American democracy in the early 1800s.

The year 1944 was perhaps the most important year in the 20th century. American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt was at the pinnacle of his wartime leadership and his campaign for reelection, the planning of Operation Overlord (D-Day) with Britain's Winston Churchill and Russia's Joseph Stalin was in progress, Paris was liberated from Nazi Germany, the Battle of the Bulge took place, and numerous conferences on peace-time were starting. But millions of lives were still at stake as Roosevelt became fully aware of the true scope of the Final Solution -- the death of all Jews by the Nazis. Roosevelt's rapidly deteriorating health was a closely guarded secret as he was forced to make momentous decisions : was winning the war the best way to rescue the Jews? -- or was the actual bombing of the death camps the solution?.

A few years ago, Mark Adams made a strange discovery: Everything we know about the lost city of Atlantis comes from the work of one man, the Greek philosopher Plato. Then he made a second, stranger discovery: Amateur explorers are still actively searching for this sunken city all around the world, based entirely on the clues Plato left behind. Adams decided to try and find out how well the searchers are doing. He visited scientists who use cutting-edge technology to find legendary civilizations once thought to be fictional. He examines the numerical and musical codes hidden in Plato's writings, and with the help of some charismatic sleuths traces their roots back to Pythagoras, the sixth-century BC mathematician. He learns how ancient societies transmitted accounts of cataclysmic events--and how one might dig out the 'kernel of truth' in Plato's original tale.

James Madison cared about achieving results, not about taking credit. Neither soldier nor orator, low on charisma, and high on intelligence, Madison worked towards his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic for the United States of America. He blended his talents with those of his most talented contemporaries. Working with George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe he joined with them in pursuit of his goal.

"Historian David O. Stewart restores James Madison, sometimes overshadowed by his fellow Founders, to his proper place as the most significant framer of the new nation. Short, plain, balding, neither soldier nor orator, low on charisma and high on intelligence, Madison cared more about achieving results than taking the credit. To reach his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic, he blended his talents with those of key partners. It was Madison who led the drive for the Constitutional Convention and pressed for an effective new government as his patron George Washington lent the effort legitimacy; Madison who wrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton to secure the Constitution's ratification; Madison who corrected the greatest blunder of the Constitution by drafting and securing passage of the Bill of Rights with Washington's support; Madison who joined Thomas Jefferson to found the nation's first political party and move the nation toward broad democratic principles; Madison, with James Monroe, who guided the new nation through its first war in 1812, really its Second War of Independence; and it was Madison who handed the reins of government to the last of the Founders, his old friend and sometime rival Monroe. These were the main characters in his life. But it was his final partnership that allowed Madison to escape his natural shyness and reach the greatest heights. Dolley was the woman he married in middle age and who presided over both him and an enlivened White House. This partnership was a love story, a unique one that sustained Madison through his political rise, his presidency, and a fruitful retirement"--.

Examines the life and writings of twentieth-century author Daphne du Maurier, best known for her novel, "Rebecca"; drawing attention to the large body of work she created, and discussing how her talent developed in the shadow of her famous father and grandfather.

Explores the growth of the environmentalist movement in the fifty years since Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" was published in 1962. Details the growth of environmental awareness and the place of this new trend of thinking in pop culture and political history and considers how the planet has changed in this time.

What would the ancient Greek philosopher make of the twenty-first-century Google headquarters? A dazzling exploration of the role of ancient philosophy in modern life from the acclaimed writer and thinker.