Small property versus big government

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Laurence M. Hauptman

In the nine essays in this volume, Laurence M. Hauptman selects topics from the seventeenth century to the present as examples of some commonly held but erroneous views on Indian-white relations, including campaigns to pacify and christianize Indians, policies of removal, and stereotypes of Indians as mascots for sports teams or Hollywood film sidekicks. Some misconceptions arise from mistaken claims that pass as fact, such as the notion that the U.S. Constitution derived some of its concepts from the Iroquois. The misuse of terms such as genocide and paternalism has also obscured the experience of individual Indian nations or dulled perceptions about Anglo-American avarice. The tribal sovereignty guaranteed by treaties and, at the same time, the Native Americans' United States citizenship have confused many who assume Indians receive special considerations.

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Walter R. Borneman

In Polk, Walter R. Borneman gives us the first complete and authoritative biography of a president often overshadowed in image but seldom outdone in accomplishment. James K. Polk occupied the White House for only four years, from 1845 to 1849, but he plotted and attained a formidable agenda: He fought for and won tariff reductions, reestablished an independent Treasury, and, most notably, brought Texas into the Union, bluffed Great Britain out of the lion's share of Oregon, and wrested California and much of the Southwest from Mexico. On reflection, these successes seem even more impressive, given the contentious political environment of the time.In this unprecedented, long-overdue warts-and-all look at Polk's life and career, we have a portrait of an expansionist president and decisive statesman who redefined the country he led, and we are reminded anew of the true meaning of presidential accomplishment and resolve.From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Justus D. Doenecke

When war broke out in Europe in 1914, political leaders in the United States were swayed by popular opinion to remain neutral; yet less than three years later, the nation declared war on Germany. In this book, the author examines the clash of opinions over the war during this transformative period and offers a fresh perspective on America's decision to enter World War I. He reappraises the public and private diplomacy of President Woodrow Wilson and his closest advisors and explores in great depth the response of Congress to the war. He also investigates the debates that raged in the popular media and among citizen groups that sprang up across the country as the U.S. economy was threatened by European blockades and as Americans died on ships sunk by German U-boats. The decision to engage in battle ultimately belonged to Wilson, but as the author demonstrates, Wilson's choice was not made in isolation. This work provides an examination of America's internal political climate and its changing international role during the seminal period of 1914-1917.

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Lou Cannon

Spring 1992, and the City of Angels was suddenly a modern hell. During five terrifying days, as the world watched in horror, the deadliest urban rioting of the twentieth century laid waste to South Central Los Angeles. But there's a hidden story behind the riots. Lou Cannon, who covered Los Angeles for The Washington Post before, during, and after the violence, has exhaustively interviewed the survivors and learned the definitive story of just what happened and why. Official Negligence takes us behind the scenes at City Hall and at police headquarters, inside jury rooms, onto the front lines of the violence in the streets, and into the hearts and minds of unknown heroes and tells, for the first time, a riveting tale of multiple injustices, mismanagements, and misjudgments. Official Negligence illuminates all the characters and events surrounding what went wrong in Los Angeles. In so doing, it lays bare the ethnic, racial, and economic fault lines that divide American society at the approach of the millennium.