He was not much of a player and not much more of a manager, but by the time Branch Rickey (1881-1965) finished with baseball, he had revolutionized the sport-not just once but three times. In this definitive biography of Rickey-the man sportswriters dubbed "The Brain," "The Mahatma," and, on occasion, "El Cheapo"-Lee Lowenfish tells the full and ......
The Plains Indian Wars were always front-page news in frontier newspapers, and it was to such local newspapers that the public invariably turned for information about the fighting. The vivid, colorful accounts there captivated the nation-and in hindsight reveal much about the attitudes and prejudices of the public and the press. Bound to Have ......
Born to Explore chronicles the multifaceted adventures of NASA’s John Casani, who took us to the ends of the solar system but was largely overshadowed by astronauts and space shuttles. Casani discusses his pivotal career, private life, and the stories which made him a legend.
Free Love, Family, and Radicals in Twentieth-Century America
The opening years of the twentieth century saw a grand cast of radicals and reformers fighting for a new America, seeking change not only in labor picket lines and at women's suffrage rallies but also in homes and bedrooms. In the thick of this heady milieu were Sara Bard Field and Charles Erskine Scott Wood, two aspiring poets and political ......
Young Harriet's father sells her as a slave to settle his gambling debt with an eccentric Indian-and her story is just beginning. Part Huck Finn, part True Grit, Harriet's story of her encounter with the dark and brutal history of the American West is a true original. When she escapes the strange mound-building obsession of her Pawnee captor, ......
Bloodlines: A Story of Horses, Family, and Obsession is a love story--of a mother's love for her husband and a father's love for horses. Combining memoir and social history with a journey into the world of horses, Liza J. Nicholas reveals how a parent's passions can determine the destiny of an entire family. In the darkest days of the Depression, ......
The Hartford Whalers were a beloved hockey team from their founding in 1972 as the New England Whalers. Playing in the National Hockey League's smallest market and arena after the World Hockey Association merger in 1979, they struggled in a division that included both the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens-but their fans were among the NHL's ......
It Might Feel Good but It Won't Fix America's Economy
American society is angrier, more fragmented, and more polarized than at any time since the Civil War. We harbor deep insecurities about our economic future, our place in the world, our response to terrorism, and our deeply dysfunctional government. Over the next several years, Benjamin Shobert says, these four insecurities will be perverted and ......
Critically acclaimed and highly controversial, Black Planet was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and PEN USA Award and was named a Top Ten Nonfiction Book of 1999 by Esquire, Newsday, and LA Weekly. During the 1994-1995 NBA season, David Shields attended nearly all of the Seattle SuperSonics' home games; watched on TV nearly ......