friends and associates

"This fast-paced history traces the escalating racial violence that led to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and then documents how Klan lawyer Arthur J. Hanes and checkbook journalist William Bradford Huie aided the evolution of James Earl Ray's bogus alibi"--Provided by publisher.

Born in Jamaica, Francis Barber was brought to London by his owner in 1750 and became a servant in the household of the renowned Dr. Samuel Johnson. Although Barber left London for a time and served in the British navy during the Seven Years' War, he later returned to Johnson's employ. A fascinating reversal took place in the relationship between the two men as Johnson's health declined and the older man came to rely more and more upon his now educated and devoted companion. When Johnson died he left the bulk of his estate to Barber, a generous (and at the time scandalous) legacy, and a testament to the depth of their friendship. There were thousands of black Britons in the eighteenth century, but few accounts of their lives exist. In uncovering Francis Barber's story, this book not only provides insights into his life and Samuel Johnson's but also opens a window onto London when slaves had yet to win their freedom.

When Maya Angelou and Tavis Smiley met in 1986, he was twenty-one and she was fifty-eight. For the next twenty-eight years they shared an unlikely, special bond. Angelou was a teacher and a maternal figure to Smiley, and they talked often, of art, politics, history, race, religion, music, love, purpose and courage. Especially the courage to be open, to follow dreams, to believe in oneself. Tavis Smiley's personal memories and decades-long friendship with one of history's most fascinating women enriched his life.

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.

A biography of Elizabeth I that examines her relationships with women, including her mother--Anne Boleyn--sister--Mary Tudor--and female rivals for the throne, and discusses the influence these women had on Elizabeth's character, actions, and motivations throughout her life.

Looks at the life of Robert Peace, who was born outside Newark in a ghetto known as "Illtown," earned a full scholarship to Yale University, and graduated. He returned home and taught at a Catholic high school, but was killed at the age of thirty in a drug-related shooting.

"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"--.

Portrays the intelligence agents known as George Washington's secret six, who were recruited by George Washington to gather information secretly and thus contributed significantly to the general's successes in the Revolutionary War.

Hollywood chronicler William J. Mann draws on a rich host of sources, including recently released FBI files, to unpack the story of the enigmatic William Desmond Taylor, the popular president of the Motion Picture Directors Association, and the diverse cast that surrounded him before he was murdered in 1922-- including three beautiful, ambitious actresses, the ruthless founder of Paramount locked in a struggle for control of the film industry, a grasping stage mother, a devoted valet, and a gang of two-bit thugs, any of whom might have fired the fatal bullet.