Along with Mikhail Gorbachev, Helmut Kohl, and Francois Mitterand, Jacques Chirac is one of the most iconic statesmen of the twentieth century. Two-time president of France, mayor of Paris, and international politician, a recent poll voted him the most admired political figure in France, with current president Nicolas Sarkozy ranking in 32nd place. This memoir covers the full scope of Chirac's political career of more than 50 years and includes the last century's most significant events. A...

Two-time president of France, mayor of Paris, and international politician, Jacques Chirac stands with Mikhail Gorbachev, Helmut Kohl, and Margaret Thatcher as one of the most iconic statesmen of the twentieth century.In this revealing and informative memoir, Chirac looks back at his 50 years in politics, giving us both an intimate window onto the challenges of leadership and a broad reference for much of our recent history. A protégé of both General Charles de Gaulle and President...

A compact, profoundly inspiring book that captures the spirit of Nelson Mandela, distilling the South African leader’s wisdom into 15 vital life lessonsWe long for heroes and have too few. Nelson Mandela, who died in 2013 at the age of ninety-five, is the closest thing the world has to a secular saint. He liberated a country from a system of violent prejudice and helped unite oppressor and oppressed in a way that had never been done before.Now Richard Steng...

A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the YearDistinguished presidential biographer Jean Edward Smith offers a “comprehensive and compelling” (The New York Times) account of the life and presidency of George W. Bush, showing how he ignored his advisors to make key decisions himself—most disastrously in invading Iraq—and how these decisions were often driven by the President’s deep religious faith.George W. Bush, the...

*Includes pictures of the Lincolns and important people, places, and events in their lives.*Includes Bibliographies on both Abraham and Mary for further reading.*Includes a Table of Contents.Abraham Lincoln (18091865) is one of the most famous Americans in history and one of the countrys most revered presidents. Schoolchildren can recite the life story of Lincoln, the Westerner who educated himself and became a self made man, rising from lawyer to leader of the new Republican Party before bec...

Winner, Taste Canada Gold Medal for Culinary NarrativeCommemorating the two-hundredth anniversary of Sir John A. Macdonald's birth, Sir John's Table is a refreshing look at Canada's first prime minister.Sir John's Table traverses the colourful life of Macdonald, from his passage as a young Scottish boy in the steerage compartment aboard the Earl of Buckinghamshire to his new home in Kingston, Upper Canada. It traces his boyhood ye...

Margaret Thatcher's political career has been one of the most remarkable of modern times. Revered and reviled in almost equal measure, she bestrode the political scene, both at home and abroad. During her 11 years in office, she sought to change Britain's way of life and its position on the international stage.But who was Margaret Thatcher, and how did she become one of the most influential prime ministers in the 20th century?The Life and Times of Margaret Thatcher presents a short history of...

In this compelling, smart, and well-researched dual biography, Chris Matthews shows how the contest between the charismatic John F. Kennedy and the talented yet haunted Richard Nixon propelled America toward Vietnam and Watergate.John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon each dreamed of becoming the great young leader of their age. First as friends, then as bitter enemies, they were linked by a historic rivalry that changed both them and their country. Fresh, entertaining,...

In modern memory, Winston Churchill remains the man with the cigar and the equanimity among the ruins. Few can remember that at the age of 40, he was considered washed up, his best days behind him. In Young Titan, historian Michael Shelden has produced the first biography focused on Churchill’s early career, the years between 1901 and 1915 that both nearly undid him but also forged the character that would later triumph in the Second World War.Between his ...

When Harry S. Truman left the White House in 1953, his reputation was in ruins. Tarred by corruption scandals and his controversial decision to drop nuclear bombs on Japan, he ended his second term with an abysmal approval rating, his presidency widely considered a failure. But this dim view of Truman ignores his crucial role in the 20th century and his enduring legacy, as celebrated historian Aida D. Donald explains in this incisive biography of the 33rd president.In Citizen S...

People from all walks of life are appalled and fascinated in equal measure by the stratospheric political career of the tycoon and three-time Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.Michael Day provides an in depth look at the life and crimes of the shameless media mogul until his nine lives ran out and he faced definitive conviction which signaled his irreversible decline. He tells the story of a bright and ambitious man from a lower-middle class family who shook off his humble or...

In the heart of Europe's current crisis, one of the continent's foremost statesmen issues a clarion call to radically remake the European Union in the mold of the United States' own federal governmentEurope is caught in its greatest crisis since the Second World War. The catalog of ills seems endless: an economic crisis spread through most of Europe's Mediterranean tier that has crippled Greece and driven a wedge between northern and southern Europe; terrorist atta...