**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...

**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...

To mark John F. Kennedy's centennial, celebrate the life and legacy of the 35th President of the United States.In July 1962, in an effort to preserve an accurate record of Presidential decision-making in a highly charged atmosphere of conflicting viewpoints, strategies and tactics, John F. Kennedy installed hidden recording systems in the Oval Office and in the Cabinet Room. The result is a priceless historical archive comprising some 265 hours of taped material. J...

A major collection of modern commentary from scholars, historians, and Civil War buffs' on the Civil War, from The New York Times' Disunion on-line journal.Since its debut on November six, 2010, Disunion, The New York Times' acclaimed journal about the Civil War, has published hundreds of original articles and won multiple awards, including "Best History Website" from the New Media Ins...

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...

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...

**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...

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...

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...