**INDEPENDENCE WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING: A historian and former presidential speechwriter traces the origins and legacy of the words and ideas that made America.Illustrations and close readings of 68 original texts offer new insights on the American Revolution, the Civil War, and other key moments and figures in American history.**We hold these truths to be self-evident . . . all men are created equal . . . with certain inalienable rights . . . life, liberty, and the pursuit ...

In a sweeping history of centuries, Ted Widmer's Ark of the Liberties recounts America's ambition to be the world's guarantor of liberty.The United States stands at a historic crossroads; essential to the world yet unappreciated. America's decline in popularity over the decades has been nothing short of astonishing. With wit, brilliance, and deep affection, Ted Widmer, a scholar and a former presidential speechwriter, reminds everyone why this great nation...

WINNER OF THE LINCOLN FORUM BOOK PRIZE“A Lincoln classic...superb.” —The Washington Post“A book for our time.”—Doris Kearns GoodwinLincoln on the Verge tells the dramatic story of America’s greatest president discovering his own strength to save the Republic.As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln...

**INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFinancial Times: Best Books of 2025“We made what seemed like an impossible dream come true.” —Paul McCartney**An engrossing oral history of a band that came to define a generation, Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run tells the madcap story of Paul McCartney and his newly formed band, from their humble beginnings in the early 1970s to their dissolution barely a decade later. Drawn from over 500,000 words ...

Introduced by presidential historian Ted Widmer, this work offers both the original texts and insightful essays by leading historians on each of the presidential inaugural addresses--from George Washington to Joseph Biden. Every four years, the incoming president of the United States delivers an inaugural address in a tradition that dates back to 1789, with the first inauguration of George Washington. The address tells Americans--and peoples around the world--what the cou...

**A Financial Times Book of the Year**A landmark account of Paul McCartney’s triumphant musical reinvention in the 1970s and the rise of one of the decade’s most iconic bandsThis is the story, in their own words, of a band that came to define a generation. Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run tells the madcap history of Paul McCartney and his newly formed band, from their humble beginnings in the early 1970s to their dissolution barely a de...

The first president born after America's independence ushers in a new era of no-holds-barred democracyThe first "professional politician" to become president, the slick and dandyish Martin Van Buren was to all appearances the opposite of his predecessor, the rugged general and Democratic champion Andrew Jackson. Van Buren, a native Dutch speaker, was America's first ethnic president as well as the first New Yorker to hold the office, at a time when Manhattan was bu...

WINNER OF THE LINCOLN FORUM BOOK PRIZE“A Lincoln classic...superb.” —The Washington Post“A book for our time.”—Doris Kearns GoodwinLincoln on the Verge tells the dramatic story of America’s greatest president discovering his own strength to save the Republic.As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln...

**Brought to you by Penguin.**A Financial Times Book of the Year**FOREWORD READ BY SIR PAUL McCARTNEYA landmark account of Paul McCartney’s triumphant musical reinvention in the 1970s and the rise of one of the decade’s most iconic bands**This is the story, in their own words, of a band that came to define a generation. Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run tells the madcap history of Paul McCartney and his newly formed band, from their humble begin...

**A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The American Story and How to Lead and host of PBS’s History with David Rubenstein—David Rubenstein interviews living American presidents and top historians and journalists who reflect on the US presidency, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Maggie Haberman, Ron Chernow, and more.**For years, bestselling author David M. Rubenstein has disti...

Every four years, the incoming president of the United States delivers an inaugural address in a tradition that dates back to 1789, with the first inauguration of George Washington. The address tells Americans—and peoples around the world—what the country has been and what it has the potential to become.This work brings together all of the inaugural addresses—from George Washington's first in 1789 through Joseph Biden's in 2021. What distinguishes it from other compilations of inau...

From its earliest beginnings, America has been seen as an icon of liberty with a mission to redeem the world. Often, the ideal fits. But sometimes even our most noble aspirations can be as damaging as they are uplifting. With wit, brilliance, and deep affection, the inimitable Ted Widmer traces America’s wondrous history, from the Declaration of Independence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He also looks unblinkingly at our less glorious history, from slavery to the occupation...