American Epic

In 1987, E. L. Doctorow celebrated the Constitution's bicentennial by reading it. "It is five thousand words long but reads like fifty thousand," he said. Distinguished legal scholar Garrett Epps disagrees. It's about 7,500 words. In American Epic, Epps takes us through a complete reading of the Constitution to achieve an appreciation of its power and a holistic understanding of what it says. In this book he seeks not to provide a definitive interpretation, but to listen to the language and ponder its meaning.

"Call me Ishmael." With these words, Herman Melville launches the ultimate tale of the sea. Captain Ahab is driven by a singular, manic purpose: to hunt and kill Moby Dick, the legendary White Whale that took his leg.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the author of Ghost Soldiers comes an eye-opening history of the American conquest of the West—"a story full of authority and color, truth and prophecy" (The New York Times Book Review). In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route...

Stonewall Cousins, Roger and Alistair, become lifelong friends when they meet as boys in 1954. After both discovering their homosexuality, their lives intersect against the backdrop of 20th Century gay culture, from the beachboy surfer days of the 1960's, to the Greenwich Village AIDS activism in the 1990's.

In June 1846, General Stephen Watts Kearny rode out of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with two thousand soldiers, bound for California. At the time, the nation was hell-bent on expansion: James K. Polk had lately won the presidency by threatening England over the borders in Oregon, while Congress had just voted to annex Texas. After Mexico declared war on the United States, Kearny’s Army of the West was sent out, carrying orders to occupy Mexican territory. Winston Groom recounts the amazing adventure and danger that Kearny and his troops encountered on the trail.

The year 1865. Goldie O’Neill was nine years of age when she trekked across the unclaimed American West with her family to form their own Irish Catholic colony. Their new community had dreams of self-governance and prosperity far removed from the anti-Irish sentiment and prejudice of the ruling classes. They soon learned about the extremes of the American West and the ongoing Indian war. A year after their arrival, Goldie blames herself for her sister’s disappearance.

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by George Clooney The #1 New York Times bestseller freshly adapted for the next generation. Inspiration for the PBS American Experience Documentary 'The Boys of '36' For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Great Depression comes the...

In their own words, recorded in the famous journals of Lewis and Clark, the members of the Corps of Discovery tell their story with an immediacy and power missing from secondhand accounts. All of their triumphs and terrors are here: the thrill of seeing the vast herds of bison, the fear the captains felt when Sacagawea fell ill, the ordeal of crossing the Continental Divide, the misery of cold and hunger, and the kidnapping and rescue of Lewis' dog, Seaman.

The high points in the story of Alaska since the American acquisition are brought vividly to life through more than 100 characters, real and fictional...

Garth had been the favorite for the number-one draft pick in the next season of the USA's top sport. His college career was supposed to end on a high note… but it didn't. Sabotaged in his final game, he found himself shut out of the Dungeon League of America, forced to retire his jersey in shame. With no other options, he leaned on his university degree and became a licensed psychiatrist and therapist. That should have been the end of his dungeon-crawling days. But then, a new dungeon appeared in his city.

In a landmark work of history, Russell Shorto presents astonishing information on the founding of our nation and reveals in riveting detail the crucial role of the Dutch in making America what it is today. In the late 1960s, an archivist in the New York State Library made an astounding discovery...

A centuries-old secret document unravels the origin story of America and reveals the intellectual crime of the millennia in this "hugely entertaining" dive into our country’s history to discover the first, true Declaration of Independence (Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon and Churchill. In...

Following Blood and Iron and The Center Cannot Hold, The Victorious Opposition triumphantly concludes Harry Turtledove's American Empire trilogy - a masterful saga of alternate history. War is brewing yet again as the U.S.A. struggles to occupy Canada, and the C.S.A. begins forcing blacks into concentration camps.

Winner of the 2023 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Nonfiction A New York Times Notable Book A Best Book of the Year from TIME, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Washington Independent Review of Books, and more! The definitive history of World War II from the African American perspective...

In THE SECOND FOUNDATION, Isaac Asimov addresses the phenomenon of genetic mutation and its potential danger to a civilization. This novel tells of an overwhelmingly powerful mutant human being, born with the ability to mold men's emotions and minds. He has brought down the First Foundation, and...

Beginning with the invasion by Spanish Conquistadors in the sixteenth century, A Brutal Reckoning tells the story of the encroachment on Native American territory in the deep south by the US republic 150 years later, which culminated in the devastating Creek War and the rise of Andrew Jackson.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “Audacious…Life on the Mississippi sparkles.” —The Wall Street Journal * “A rich mix of history, reporting, and personal introspection.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch * “Both a travelogue and an engaging history lesson about America’s westward expansion...

JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE A sharply crafted and unflinchingly honest memoir about gangs, drugs, cooking, and living life on the line—both on the streets and in the kitchen—from one of the most exciting stars in the food world today “Beautiful. Moving. Inspiring. Get it.”—Chris...

A quarter-Canadian from Cleveland explores his roots--and melts your face with joy. There's an idea most Americans tend to learn as children. The idea that their country is the "best." But this never stuck with Dave Hill, even though he was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. His grandfather...

In the scorching summer of 1878, with the Gilded Age in its infancy, three tenacious and brilliant scientists raced to Wyoming and Colorado to observe a rare total solar eclipse. One sought to discover a new planet. Another - an adventuresome female astronomer - fought to prove that science was not anathema to femininity. And a young megalomaniacal inventor, with the tabloid press fast on his heels, sought to test his scientific bona fides and light the world through his revelations.