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American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Chris Kyle
Format: Deckle Edge]
Publisher: William Morrow (2013, May 14th).
Pages: 304
Chris Kyle—fallen hero and #1 bestselling author of American Sniper—reveals how ten legendary guns forever changed U.S. history.At the time of his tragic death in February 2013, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the top sniper in U.S. military history, was finishing one of the most exciting missions of his life: a remarkable book that retold American history through the lens of a hand-selected list of firearms. Kyle masterfully shows how guns have played a fascinating, indispensable, and often underappreciated role in our national story."Perhaps more than any other nation in the world," Kyle writes, "the history of the United States has been shaped by the gun. Firearms secured the first Europeans' hold on the continent, opened the frontier, helped win our independence, settled the West, kept law and order, and defeated tyranny across the world. more
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War Photographs Taken on the Battlefields of the Civil War
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Mathew B. Brady
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing; 1 edition (2013, Jun 1st).
Pages: 128
See the American Civil War through the eyes of the Union and Confederate soldiersFought over the course of four years, the Civil War pitted countrymen against countrymen, North versus South, friend against friend, and brother against brother. The photographs within these pages document the war that united America as one. These rare shots were taken in the middle of the battlefield during the earliest days of photography. Selected from a collection of seven thousand original negatives, these historic photos capture nearly every aspect of Civil War life. Among these photos are images of camps sprawling across acres, soldiers at their battlements, firing of heavy artillery, the aftermath of battle, and the terror that these young men faced. See first-hand of Union and Confederate officers strategizing their next moves, and Abraham Lincoln addressing his Union commanders. more
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Act of Congress: How America's Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn't
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Robert G. Kaiser
Format: Deckle Edge]
Publisher: Knopf (2013, May 7th).
Pages:
An eye-opening account of how Congress today really works—and doesn’t—that follows the dramatic journey of the sweeping financial reform bill enacted in response to the Great Crash of 2008.The founding fathers expected Congress to be the most important branch of government and gave it the most power. When Congress is broken—as its justifiably dismal approval ratings suggest—so is our democracy. Here, Robert G. Kaiser, whose long and distinguished career at The Washington Post has made him as keen and knowledgeable an observer of Congress as we have, takes us behind the sound bites to expose the protocols, players, and politics of the House and Senate—revealing both the triumphs of the system and (more often) its fundamental flaws. more
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Guide to Gettysburg Battlefield Monuments: Find Every Monument and Tablet in the Park
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Tom Huntington
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Stackpole Books (2013, May 1st).
Pages: 240
Where to find every monument and tablet on the Gettysburg Battlefield--over 800 in all--organized by state, military unit, person, or armyPhotos and descriptions of each monument, with information on who is being honored and what they did during the battleCovers the entire Gettysburg National Military Park and all three days of fighting more
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The Space Book: From the Beginning to the End of Time, 250 Milestones in the History of Space & Astronomy (Sterling Milestones)
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Jim Bell
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Sterling (2013, May 7th).
Pages: 528
We live in a truly golden age of astronomy and space exploration that may allow us to unravel some of the biggest mysteries of all: How did the Universe begin? Are there other Earth-like planets out there? Are we alone? The Space Book is a gateway into these kinds of questions—and more—for anyone interested in the worlds beyond our planet.Expanding the series that began with the highly successful volumes The Science Book and The Math Book, astronomer and planetary scientist Jim Bell presents 250 of the most groundbreaking astronomical events, from the formation of galaxies to the recent discovery of water ice on Mars. Beautiful photographs or illustrations accompany each entry. Open the book to any page to discover some new wonder or mystery about the Universe around us. more
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Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Robert M. Edsel
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (2013, May 6th).
Pages: 464
New York Times Bestseller "A poignant, fascinating story, bringing to life the soldier-scholars who saved Italy's treasures."—Evan Thomas, best-selling author of Ike’s Bluff and Sea of ThunderWhen Hitler’s armies occupied Italy in 1943, they also seized control of mankind’s greatest cultural treasures. As they had done throughout Europe, the Nazis could now plunder the masterpieces of the Renaissance, the treasures of the Vatican, and the antiquities of the Roman Empire. On the eve of the Allied invasion, General Dwight Eisenhower empowered a new kind of soldier to protect these historic riches. In May 1944 two unlikely American heroes—artist Deane Keller and scholar Fred Hartt—embarked from Naples on the treasure hunt of a lifetime, tracking billions of dollars of missing art, including works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Titian, Caravaggio, and Botticelli. more
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The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (Liberation Trilogy)
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Rick Atkinson
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; Volume Three of The Liberation Trilogy edition (2013, May 14th).
Pages: 896
The magnificent conclusion to Rick Atkinson’s acclaimed Liberation Trilogy about the Allied triumph in Europe during World War IIIt is the twentieth century’s unrivaled epic: at a staggering price, the United States and its allies liberated Europe and vanquished Hitler. In the first two volumes of his bestselling Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson recounted how the American-led coalition fought through North Africa and Italy to the threshold of victory. Now, in The Guns at Last Light, he tells the most dramatic story of all—the titanic battle for Western Europe.D-Day marked the commencement of the final campaign of the European war, and Atkinson’s riveting account of that bold gamble sets the pace for the masterly narrative that follows. more
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Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Mitchell Zuckoff
Format: Deckle Edge]
Publisher: Harper (2013, Apr 23rd).
Pages:
Frozen in Time is a gripping true story of survival, bravery, and honor in the vast Arctic wilderness during World War II, from the author of New York Times bestseller Lost in Shangri-La.On November 5, 1942, a US cargo plane slammed into the Greenland Ice Cap. Four days later, the B-17 assigned to the search-and-rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on board survived, and the US military launched a daring rescue operation. But after picking up one man, the Grumman Duck amphibious plane flew into a severe storm and vanished.Frozen in Time tells the story of these crashes and the fate of the survivors, bringing vividly to life their battle to endure 148 days of the brutal Arctic winter, until an expedition headed by famed Arctic explorer Bernt Balchen brought them to safety. more
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Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Michael Moss
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House (2013, Mar 12th).
Pages: 480
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the explosive story of the rise of the processed food industry and its link to the emerging obesity epidemic. Michael Moss reveals how companies use salt, sugar, and fat to addict us and, more important, how we can fight back. In the spring of 1999 the heads of the world’s largest processed food companies—from Coca-Cola to Nabisco—gathered at Pillsbury headquarters in Minneapolis for a secret meeting. On the agenda: the emerging epidemic of obesity, and what to do about it. Increasingly, the salt-, sugar-, and fat-laden foods these companies produced were being linked to obesity, and a concerned Kraft executive took the stage to issue a warning: There would be a day of reckoning unless changes were made. more
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George Washington's Sacred Fire
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Peter A. Lillback
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Providence Forum Press; 1st edition (2006, Jul 24th).
Pages: 1208
What sets "George Washington's Sacred Fire" apart from all previous works on this man for the ages, is the exhaustive fifteen years of Dr. Peter Lillback's research, revealing a unique icon driven by the highest of ideals. Only do George Washington's own writings, journals, letters, manuscripts, and those of his closest family and confidants reveal the truth of this awe-inspiring role model for all generations. Dr. Lillback paints a picture of a man, who, faced with unprecedented challenges and circumstances, ultimately drew upon his persistent qualities of character - honesty, justice, equity, perseverence, piety, forgiveness, humility, and servant leadership, to become one of the most revered figures in world history. more
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