by David T. Morgan (1999)
The Devious Dr. Franklin focuses on Benjamin Franklin's fifteen-and-a-half-year career as a colonial agent in London, first for Pennsylvania and then for Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. During his years in London, Franklin became a seasoned lobbyist and gained the experience that enabled him to become America's first diplomat. But as a colonial agent he revealed himself to be a devious man who kept everyone guessing as to his true intentions. All of the acclaimed doctor's character flaws were clearly exhibited by him during the years he served in London as colonial agent. This is the only part of Franklin's career that has not been the focal point of an in-depth examination by historians. In this ground-breaking study, Morgan demonstrates that Benjamin Franklin knew well the value of a good public image and that the Doctor worked diligently to create and promote a favorable image, with both his contemporaries and posterity in mind.
John Charmley
Princess Dorothea Lieven was wife to the Russian ambassador in London from 1812 to 1840. As a woman, she was debarred from having any formal power in the world of European diplomacy. But as a Baltic Russian, brought up under the harsh regime of Catherine the Great, Dorothea Lieven was not meant to be the power behind any man: it was centre stage she craved.
Eric Mack
"John Locke (1632-1704), one of the great philosophers, is probably best known for his contributions to political thought. In this outstanding volume, Eric Mack explains Locke's philosophical position, placing it in the tumultuous political and religious context of 17th century England. For Locke, entering into political society did not involve giving up one's natural rights, but rather transferring to governmental authority the job of protecting those rights. In this rigorous critical analysis, Mack argues that Locke provides an impressive - if not decisive - philosophical case for the view that individuals have natural rights to life, liberty and property, despite the existence or actions of any political authority."--Bloomsbury Publishing.
Lynn H. Parsons
As son of the second president of the United States, father to the minister to the Court of St. James, and grandfather to author Henry Adams, John Quincy Adams was part of an American dynasty. In his own career as secretary of state, President, senator, and congressman, Adams was an actor in some of the most dramatic events of the nineteenth century. In this biography, Lynn Hudson Parsons chronicles the life of one of America's most absorbing figures. From the day in 1778 when as a boy he accompanied his father on a diplomatic mission to France, to his last years as an eloquent opponent of his country's foreign and domestic policies, Adams was rarely detached from public affairs. And yet, this biography reveals Adams as a man never truly at home anywhere -- in Washington he was stubborn and reclusive, in Europe he was a phlegmatic ideologue, a bulldog among spaniels. His story parallels America's own.
Paul Dukes
"At the Washington Conference on the Limitation of Armament and on Pacific and Far Eastern Questions of 1921-1922, hosted by President Harding, the USA established predominance over Britain and its empire, France and Japan in a series of treaties limiting the size of the world's major navies and aiming at stability throughout the Pacific as well as on the Asiatic mainland. Meanwhile, 'Uninvited Russia' was attempting to establish its hold on the former Tsarist lands, partly through the stratagem of the Far East Republic used against Japanese intervention. In 1922, Soviet power was consolidated in the creation of the USSR." "The USA in the Making of the USSR will show the importance of the 'Russian question' at the Washington Conference and throw light on the emergence of the 'Versailles-Washington' system of international relations."--Jacket.