Showing titles in Presidents & Heads of State

'A compelling read' -- Robert Jobson 'Racy' -- The Times 'Illuminating' -- Elizabeth Beller 'A meticulous feat of research and reporting' -- Kate Storey The story of two iconic dynasties-the Kennedys and the Windsors-whose glamour and ambition defined an era. Reveals never-before examined...

From periwigs and knee breeches to the 24-hour news cycle and presidential tweets, the fascinating and colorful stories of the 45 incumbents are a powerful lens through which to view US history and get insight into the present. Taking listeners on a fact-filled journey through two centuries, this book examines how each individual obtained their dream (or nightmare) position, what they stood for (or against), achieved (or didn't), and how their actions affected the country - for better or worse.

In When America Stopped Being Great, veteran reporter and BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant reveals how America's decline paved the way for Donald Trump's rise, sowing division and leaving the country vulnerable to its greatest challenge of the modern era. Deftly sifting through almost four decades of American history, from post-Cold War optimism through the scandal-wracked '90s and into the new millennium, Bryant unpacks the mistakes of past administrations, from Ronald Reagan's 'celebrity presidency' to Barack Obama's failure to adequately address racial inequality. 

In the first multivolume biography of Abraham Lincoln to be published in decades, Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame offers a fresh look at the life of one of America's greatest presidents. Incorporating the field notes of earlier biographers along with decades of research in multiple manuscript archives and long-neglected newspapers, this remarkable work will both alter and reinforce our current understanding of America's 16th president.

When a young Mary McAleese told a priest that she planned to become a lawyer, the priest dismissed the idea: she knew no one in the law, and she was female. The reality of what she went on to achieve - despite those obstacles, and despite a sectarian attack that forced her family to flee their home - is even more improbable. In this luminous memoir, Mary McAleese traces that astonishing arc: from the tight streets of north Belfast, to a professorship in Dublin while still in her twenties, behind-the-scenes work on the peace process, and two triumphant terms as President of Ireland.

“Impeccably researched…captivating!” —Elin Hilderbrand * “A well-paced history.” —The New York Times Book Review * “Fascinating…with new details and well-sourced reporting.” —Associated Press NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The intimate, multigenerational story of the Kennedy...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER With unparalleled reporting, a Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times reporter chronicles the clash between a president and the officials of his own government who tried to stop him. “A meticulously reported volume that clearly benefits from the author’s...

Brought to you by Penguin. Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the acclaimed multi-million copy bestseller Team of Rivals, filmed by Spielberg as Lincoln, turns to the birth of America's Progressive Era - that heady, optimistic time when the 20th Century is fresh. Reform is in the air, and it is...

This program is read by the author. The first behind-the-scenes look at the life of the most enigmatic First Lady in U.S. history. Melania Trump is an enigma. Regardless of your political leanings, she is fascinating—a First Lady who, in many ways, is the most modern and groundbreaking in...

Celebrate the life and legacy of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, with this expansive illustrated book which includes interviews, recordings and other exclusive materials. To mark John F. Kennedy's centennial, celebrate the life and legacy of the 35th President of the...

14 YEARS 5 PRIME MINISTERS THE PARTY IS OVER THE SELF-DESTRUCTION OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY With unparalleled access to people who were in the room, Nadine outlines exactly how we got here, and what really happened, in this astonishing real-life political thriller. After decades in the hands of...

From one of the most admired reporters covering China today comes a vital new account of the life and political vision of Xi Jinping, the authoritarian leader of the People's Republic whose hard-edged tactics have set the rising superpower on a collision with Western liberal democracies. As a China reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Chun Han Wong has chronicled Xi's hardline strategy for crushing dissent and his political repression in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Now, Wong has drawn on his years of reporting across China to create a lucid and historically rooted account of China's leader.

A major new history of Churchill in the 1930s, showing how his meetings at Chartwell, his country home, strengthened his fight against the Nazis In the 1930s, amidst an impending crisis in Europe, Winston Churchill found himself out of government and with little power. In these years, Chartwell...

Margaret Thatcher was a woman of tremendous paradoxes: a conviction politician who was also a pragmatist; someone who delighted in her tough reputation, yet could also be emotional, and even tearful, when confronted by personal or national tragedy. Her reputation as a cabinet leader was one of being quasi-dictatorial, yet she left her ministers to get on with their jobs - far more than any of her successors ever have. She was known as a classical laissez faire liberal, yet she started out as a social conservative, and wasn't averse to state intervention when she felt it was warranted.

Using newly declassified information, Dick Russell builds on three decades of painstaking research in On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, offering one of the most comprehensive and authoritative examinations of the assassination of our 35th president. Included are new revelations, such as the theory that Lee Harvey Oswald was subjected to “mind control,” Russell’s personal encounters inside the KGB headquarters, and new information gleaned from an interview with Oswald’s widow.

The most authoritative life of Mao ever written, by the bestselling author of Wild Swans, Jung Chang and her husband, historian Jon Halliday. Based on a decade of research, and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before, and with virtually everyone...

In interviews ranging from 1975 to 1990, Margaret Thatcher talks about being a woman in politics; managing men and women; her response to the media attacks she received in the early days of her career, and the importance of wearing the right clothes. She also recalls her memories of home...

‘An intimate, insightful portrait of an extraordinarily private leader’ WALTER ISAACSON From the bestselling author of Enemies of the People An intimate and deeply researched account of the extraordinary rise and political brilliance of the most powerful – and elusive – woman in the...

From New York Times bestselling biographer Bob Spitz, a full and rich biography of an epic American life, capturing what made Ronald Reagan both so beloved and so transformational. More than five years in the making, based on hundreds of interviews and access to previously unavailable documents...

A quarter of a century in power has allowed Vladimir Putin to enrich himself. He has done this by plundering Russia's resources, confiscated private businesses and persecuted those who stood against him including Boris Berezovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Bill Browder. Putin...