On January 30, 1889, during the Viennese Carnival, Emperor Franz Josef’s son and heir, Crown Prince Rudolf fired a revolver at his teenaged mistress and then at himself at Mayerling in the Vienna Woods. In this National Book Award finalist, Frederic Morton tells the story of the Prince and his city, where, in the span of ten months, “the Western dream started to go wrong.” In 1888-89 Vienna, other young men like Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Theodor Herzl, Gustav Klimt, and Arthur Schnitzl...

In the past two centuries, the Rothschild family has been at the center of great events in Europe and the world, such as the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo and the development of the Suez Canal. In this National Book Award finalist, Frederic Morton brings the family to life, starting with Mayer of Frankfurt, longtime adviser to Germany’s princes, who broke through the barriers of the Jewish ghetto and placed his family on the road to wealth and power, followed by Lord Alfred in London, Bar...

A landmark history illuminating two crucial years in the life of the extraordinary city of Vienna—and in the life of the twentieth century.With a New Afterword by the Author"Affecting. . . . Thunder at Twilight touches us with the sense of a world quite suddenly changed." — New York TimesIt was during the carnival of 1913 that a young Joseph Stal...

Born in Haifa in 1943 to a family of Jewish refugees from Austria, after World War II Oscar Bronner grew up among the ruins of war-torn Vienna. While his father embarked on a career that would see him become one of the greatest entertainment icons of Central Europe, his son became one of its most influential media entrepreneurs. After having founded Austria's first independent news and business magazines (profil and trend) in the late Sixties, only to be forc...

Thunder at Twilight is a landmark historical vision, drawing on hitherto untapped sources to illuminate two crucial years in the life of the extraordinary city of Vienna—and in the life of the twentieth century.It was during the carnival of 1913 that a young Stalin arrived in Vienna on a mission that would launch him into the upper echelon of Russian revolutionaries, and it was here that he first collided with Trotsky. It was in Vienna that the failed artist Adolf Hitler k...

Although the framers gave the president little authority, Washington knew whatever he did would set precedents for generations of his successors. To ensure their ability to defend the nation, he simply ignored the Constitution when he thought it necessary and reshaped the presidency into what James Madison called a "monarchical presidency." Modern scholars call it the "imperial presidency."A revealing new look at the birth of American government, "Mr. President" describes ...

A revealing history of the formative period when voices of dissent and innovation defied power and created visions of America still resonant today.The early decades of the nineteenth century saw the expansion of slavery, Native dispossession, and wars with Canada and Mexico. Mass immigration and powerful religious movements sent tremors through American society. But even as the powerful defended the status quo, others defied it: voices from the margins moved the ce...

"An essential, inspiring guide to the challenges of our time" from the author of the UK bestseller The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten (Sarah Bakewell, New York Times bestselling author).By now, it should be clear: in the face of disinformation and disaster, we cannot hot take, life hack, or meme our way to a better future. But how should we respond instead? In How to Think Like a Philosopher, Julian Baggini turns to the study of reason itself...

"Hartmann delivers a full-throated indictment of the U.S. Supreme Court in this punchy polemic." -Publishers WeeklyTaking his typically in-depth, historically informed view, Thom Hartmann asks, What if the Supreme Court didn't have the power to strike down laws? According to the Constitution, it doesn't. From the founding of the republic until 1803, the Supreme Court was the final court of appeals, as it was always meant to be. So where did the concept of judicial review start? As ...

Award-winning historian David Pietrusza boldly steers clear of the past narrative regarding Franklin Roosevelt’s unprecedented 1936 reelection landslide, weaving an enormously more intricate, ever more surprising tale of a polarized nation; of America’s most complex, calculating, and politically successful president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, at the very top of his Machiavellian game; and the unlocking of the puzzle of how our society, our politics, and our parties fitfully reinvented themsel...

A new account of America's most controversial diplomat that moves beyond praise or condemnation to reveal Kissinger as the architect of America's current imperial stance In his fascinating new book, acclaimed historian Greg Grandin argues that to understand the crisis of contemporary America-its never-ending wars abroad and political polarization at home-we have to understand Henry Kissinger. Examining Kissinger's own writings, as well as a wealth of newly declassified documents, Grandin r...

You Matter. And so does each day you spend here on earth.The idea was simple... what if we could get millions of people to engage in simple acts that were good for the world? Picking up litter, helping the homeless, smiling, planting a tree. And, in doing so, we would make the world a better place and also help people understand how much and why they matter. Every Monday Matters is a practical guide to life which kicks off each week with a specific and engaging the...