Christopher Gadsden and the American Revolution

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Peter Padfield

The flight of Rudolf Hess, the deputy leader of the Nazi Party, to Scotland in May 1941 remains one of the great unresolved mysteries of the Second World War. Did he come on Hitler's commission--or, as he always maintained, without the Fuhrer's knowledge? Was the man who parachuted out of the Messerschmitt Bf 100 really Hess ... or a double? What was his purpose, why was he incarcerated for life in Berlin's Spandau Prison, and was he (as his son alleged) murdered to prevent his revealing an explosive secret? The biographer of Himmler and Donitz navigates these still swirling controversies with confidence, profiling the man, the milieu, and the uppermost echelons of the Nazi hierarchy. The conclusion: Hess was indeed sacrificed ... but he was a most willing victim.

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J. Lee Annis, Jr

In the first biography of Baker ever written, J. Lee Annis examines Baker's life and his work as a conciliator and statesman who could make politics work. He argues that Baker brought to Washington diplomatic talents and a moderation that are lacking in politics today.

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Jeanne Nienaber Clarke

By any measure, Harold Ickes was one of the towering figures of the New Deal. With remarkable energy and a genius for organization, he transformed a tradition-bound, much-maligned Department of the Interior into a progressive and highly respected organization. He was known for his sharp wit and brilliant intellect. He could be crusty, temperamental, and self-righteous. And he was just the kind of tenacious fighter FDR needed. In this political biography of the nation's most influential secretary of the interior, Jeanne Clarke examines Harold Ickes's tenure in the Roosevelt administration and his role as a powerful champion of New Deal policies. She offers an unprecedented examination of the internal conflicts that raged within Roosevelt's bureaucracy and provides new insights into the public career and private life of FDR's "liberal lightning rod." Ickes led the Interior Department for all of Roosevelt's thirteen years in the White House, a tenure longer than any Interior secretary before or since. Soon after his appointment as secretary in 1933, Ickes took on the added duties and political clout of public works administrator and oil administrator. As a popular public speaker, he was an important player in FDR's reelection campaigns. He often deflected criticism and attention away from the president by assuming the role of the administration's "hatchet man." In a variety of ways, Clarke concludes, Ickes helped to define the role of the modern political executive. Roosevelt's Warrior is also a revealing look at FDR himself. Clarke describes the president as a figure so genuinely attractive that he managed to keep even self-styled curmudgeons like Ickes orbiting around him. To this day, Clarke notes, FDR has the capacity to attract our attention and influence our political life. This study of his close friend and political partner Harold Ickes helps to explain why.--Publisher description.

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James Lincoln Collier

Explores the childhood, character, and influential events that shaped the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of America's founding fathers.