Richard Dawes's Books

William Dawes

Scientist, Governor, Abolitionist: Caught Between Science and Religion

By: Richard de Grijs,Andrew Jacob

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William Dawes

Scientist, Governor, Abolitionist: Caught Between Science and Religion

By: Richard de Grijs,Andrew Jacob

This book describes William Dawes’ life and professional achievements. William Dawes was a British Marine serving as the official astronomer on board the First Fleet making the 1787–1788 voyage from Britain to the new colony of New South Wales. Between 1788 and 1791, Dawes established not one but two observatories within a kilometre of Sydney’s present-day city centre, a full seven decades before the construction of Sydney’s historical Observatory at Dawes’ Point, today a stone’s throw from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In this comprehensive biography, the authors discuss William Dawes’ life and his considerable impact—as astronomer, engineer, surveyor, ordnance officer and intellectual centre point—on the early colony in New South Wales (in essence, his impact on the earliest history of Sydney as a settlement) and, subsequently, on the British colonies of Sierra Leone on the West African coast and Antigua in the West Indies. Dawes’ life and professional achievements are closely linked to the earliest history of Sydney as a British settlement. He is often considered a man of high morals, and as such his interactions with the local populations in New South Wales, Sierra Leone and Antigua were mostly deemed respectful and above reproach. He is seen a truly enlightened individual, far ahead of his time. The authors of this book have a significant track record of successful and engaging communication of complex concepts in physics and astronomy with experts and non-experts alike. This biography touches on numerous aspects related to 18th century maritime navigation (“sailing on the stars”), societal relationships, the exploration of newly discovered lands, as well as the early history of Sydney and New South Wales, and the colonial histories of Sierra Leone and the West Indies. As such, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, from scholars in the history of science and maritime navigation, to history enthusiasts ranging from local historians on Australia’s eastern seaboard to members of the public with a keen interest in British colonial history.

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Page Count

280

Publisher

Springer Nature

Published Date

ISBN 10

3031387740

ISBN 13

9783031387746

The American Senate

An Insider's History

By: Neil MacNeil,Richard A. Baker

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The American Senate

An Insider's History

By: Neil MacNeil,Richard A. Baker

Shares the history of the United States Senate, including its struggles with the presidency, its investigative power, and how filibustering became a common practice.

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Page Count

470

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195367618

ISBN 13

9780195367614

The Whisper of the Axe

By: Richard Condon

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The Whisper of the Axe

By: Richard Condon

For the sake of vengeance, a woman plots to destroy the US government It’s June 1976, and a bullet has shattered Agatha Teel’s shoulder. The gunman has fled, gushing blood from a bullet wound of his own, and Teel has just a few minutes to save her own life. She marches herself to the bathroom—the most lavish room she has ever owned—strips, and does what she can to dress the wound. A needle of morphine dulls the pain enough for her to walk, and she wraps a sable coat around her nude body and presses for the elevator. She can’t die tonight. She has a coup to stage. Six months earlier, Teel set her plot to overthrow the government of the United States in motion. On July 4, 1976, she will crush America beneath her heel. For Teel, it’s not about ideology, nor politics. This is strictly personal: It’s revenge.

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253

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

150402771X

ISBN 13

9781504027717

Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America

By: Richard White

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Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America

By: Richard White

A Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize "A powerful book, crowded with telling details and shrewd observations." —Michael Kazin, New York Times Book Review The transcontinental railroads were the first corporate behemoths. Their attempts to generate profits from proliferating debt sparked devastating economic panics. Their dependence on public largesse drew them into the corridors of power, initiating new forms of corruption. Their operations rearranged space and time, remade the landscape of the West, and opened new ways of life and work. Their discriminatory rates sparked a new antimonopoly politics. The transcontinentals were pivotal actors in the making of modern America, but the triumphal myths of the golden spike, Robber Barons larger than life, and an innovative capitalism all die here. Instead we have a new vision of the Gilded Age, often darkly funny, that shows history to be rooted in failure as well as success.

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1000

Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

0393082601

ISBN 13

9780393082609

200 Notable Days

Senate Stories, 1787 to 2002

By: Richard A. Baker

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200 Notable Days

Senate Stories, 1787 to 2002

By: Richard A. Baker

Comprised of 200 readable and informative historic vignettes reflecting all areas of Senate activities, from the well known and notorious to the unusual and whimsical. Prepared by Richard A. Baker, the Senates Historian, these brief sketches, each with an accompanying illustration and references for further reading, provide striking insights into the colorful and momentous history of The World's Greatest Deliberative Body. Review from Goodreads: "Jason" rated this book with 3 stars and had this to say "This coffee table book on Senate History comes from none other than the U.S. Senate Historian, Richard Baker. The House of Representatives recently acquired noted historian of the Jacksonian era, Robert Remini as the official House Historian. He recently wrote a pretty impressive tomb on the House of Representatives. The Senate already has a 4 volume history written by US Senator, Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, so the Senate could not reply in that manner. So, I think the coffee table book was the best that we could muster. I think this is the first time I have actually read a coffee table book from cover to cover. It is a chatty little story book filled with useful cocktail-party-history of the US Senate. That's useful knowledge to me, as I never know what to say at Washington cocktail parties. Perhaps anecdotes about Thomas Hart Benton will help break the ice. The most striking thing to me about the book was the number of attacks on the Capitol. I had heard about all the incidents individually, but it is more jolting to see them sequentially. 3 bombings, 2 gun attacks and then the attempt on September 11th. In a way, its remarkable that the Capitol complex remained so open for so long. Note, I use the past tense here. As any of you who have visited the capitol recently will have noted, it is increasingly difficult to get in. And once the Capitol Visitor Center is completed, I expect it will be very much a controlled experience like the White House. In any case, Baker's prose is breezy and he is dutifully reverent to the institution without missing the absurdities of Senate life. You also get a sense of the breakdown in lawfulness that preceded the Civil War. Its not just the canning of Charles Sumner, its also the Mississippi Senator pulling a gun on Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton in the Senate chamber. Then there is the case of California Senator David Broderick (an anti-slavery Democrat) being killed in a duel by the pro-slavery Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. Apparently, back in those days, California was a lot more like modern Texas. In any case, the slide toward anarchy can definitely be found long before Fort Sumter. Another interesting aside that I really never knew concerns the order of succession. All of us learn in school that it is the President, then the Vice President, then the Speaker of the House and then President Pro Tempore of the Senate. After that, you get the members of the Cabinet, and I was aware that as new departments were created, they have been shuffled up a bit. What I did not know, is that Congress was not always in the order of succession at all. For a long time, it devolved from the President to the VP and then directly to the Secretary of State. Furthermore, when they first inserted Congress, it was the President Pro Tempore of the Senate who was third in line over the Speaker of the House. The structure we all know and love was only finalized in 1947 after some hard thinking in light of FDR's demise and the Constitutional Amendments on succession that followed. Anyway, this is a book for government geeks. If you are one, its a nice read and about as pleasant a way to introduce yourself to Senate history as I have found. If not, there are prettier coffee table books to be had.

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Page Count

240

Publisher

Government Printing Office

Published Date

ISBN 10

0160763312

ISBN 13

9780160763311

Nature's Yellowstone

By: Richard A. Bartlett

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Nature's Yellowstone

By: Richard A. Bartlett

In this handsome volume, the author discusses the region from geologic times until its withdrawal by an act of Congress as our first national park' in 1872. . . .This is an exceptionally fine book, a noteworthy blending of scholarly and popular history. Bartlett knows his subject well, both as a student and as an outdoorsman. ÑPacific Northwest Quarterly "A timely work; its mission' is to make the reader wish to have seen Yellowstone before the people came.' The author must be commended for writing a scholarly book with appeal for a popular audience." ÑJournal of American History "A joy for the recreational reader and a solid reference for scholarly researchers . . .The author has been both energetic and fortunate in gathering material from a rich variety of original accounts and later writings, and he has used them skillfully." ÑWestern Historical Quarterly

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Page Count

284

Publisher

University of Arizona Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0816511098

ISBN 13

9780816511099

Shakespeare's Theatre: A History

By: Richard Dutton

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Shakespeare's Theatre: A History

By: Richard Dutton

Shakespeare’s Theatre: A History examines the theatre spaces used by William Shakespeare, and explores these spaces in relation to the social and political framework of the Elizabethan era. The text journeys from the performing spaces of the provincial inns, guild halls and houses of the gentry of the Bard’s early career, to the purpose-built outdoor playhouses of London, including the Globe, the Theatre, and the Curtain, and the royal courts of Elizabeth and James I. The author also discusses the players for whom Shakespeare wrote, and the positioning—or dispositioning—of audience members in relation to the stage. Widely and deeply researched, this fascinating volume is the first to draw on the most recent archaeological work on the remains of the Rose and the Globe, as well as continuing publications from the Records of Early English Drama project. The book also explores the contentious view that the ‘plot’ of The Seven Deadly Sins (part II), provides unprecedented insight into the working practices of Shakespeare’s company and includes a complete and modernized version of the ‘plot’. Throughout, the author relates the practicalities of early modern playing to the evolving systems of aristocratic patronage and royal licensing within which they developed Insightful and engaging, Shakespeare’s Theatre is ideal reading for undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars of literature and theatre studies.

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382

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons

Published Date

ISBN 10

1405115130

ISBN 13

9781405115131

The Development of the American Presidency

By: Richard Ellis

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The Development of the American Presidency

By: Richard Ellis

A full understanding of the institution of the American presidency requires us to examine how it developed from the founding to the present. This developmental lens, analyzing how historical turns have shaped the modern institution, allows for a richer, more nuanced understanding. The Development of the American Presidency pays great attention to that historical weight but is organized by the topics and concepts relevant to political science, with the constitutional origins and political development of the presidency its central focus. Through comprehensive and in-depth coverage, Richard J. Ellis looks at how the presidency has evolved in relation to the public, to Congress, to the executive branch, and to the law, showing at every step how different aspects of the presidency have followed distinct trajectories of change. Each chapter promotes active learning, beginning with a narrative account of some illustrative puzzle that brings to life a central concept. A wealth of photos, figures, and tables allow for the visual presentations of concepts. New to the Fourth Edition Explicit and expanded attention to the role of norms in shaping and constraining presidential power, with special focus on Trump’s norm-breaking and Biden’s efforts to shore up norms; Enhanced focus on the prospects for institutional reform, including in the electoral college, presidential relations with Congress, war powers, and the selection of Supreme Court justices; A full reckoning with the Trump presidency and its significance for the future of American democracy, presidential rhetoric, the unilateral executive, and the administrative state; Coverage of the first year of Biden’s presidency, including presidential rhetoric, relations with Congress and the bureaucracy, use of the war powers, and unilateral directives; Comprehensive updating of debates about the removal power, including the Supreme Court cases of Seila Law v. CFPB and Collins v. Yellen; In-depth exploration of the impact of partisan polarization on the legislative presidency and effective governance; Analysis of the 2020 election and its aftermath; Expanded discussion of impeachment to incorporate Trump’s two impeachments; Examination of presidential emergency powers, with special attention to Trump’s border wall declaration; Review of Biden’s and Trump’s impact on the judiciary; Assessment of Biden’s and Trump’s place in political time.

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Page Count

700

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

100056911X

ISBN 13

9781000569117

The Standing Bear Controversy

Prelude to Indian Reform

By: Valerie Sherer Mathes,Richard Lowitt

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The Standing Bear Controversy

Prelude to Indian Reform

By: Valerie Sherer Mathes,Richard Lowitt

In this book Valerie Sherer Mathes and Richard Lowitt examine how the national publicity surrounding the trial of Chief Standing Bear, as well as a speaking tour by the chief and others, brought the plight of his tribe, and of all Native Americans, to the attention of the general public, serving as a catalyst for the nineteenth-century Indian reform movement"--BOOK JACKET.

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Page Count

248

Publisher

University of Illinois Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

025202852X

ISBN 13

9780252028526

More than Just Games

Canada and the 1936 Olympics

By: Richard Menkis,Harold Troper

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More than Just Games

Canada and the 1936 Olympics

By: Richard Menkis,Harold Troper

Held in Germany, the 1936 Olympic Games sparked international controversy. Should athletes and nations boycott the games to protest the Nazi regime? More Than Just Games is the history of Canada’s involvement in the 1936 Olympics. It is the story of the Canadian Olympic officials and promoters who were convinced that national unity and pride demanded that Canadian athletes compete in the Olympics without regard for politics. It is the story of those Canadian athletes, mostly young and far more focused on sport than politics, who were eager to make family, friends, and country proud of their efforts on Canada’s behalf. And, finally, it is the story of those Canadians who led an unsuccessful campaign to boycott the Olympics and deny Nazi Germany the propaganda coup of serving as an Olympic host. Written by two noted historians of Canadian Jewish history, Richard Menkis and Harold Troper, More than Just Games brings to life the collision of politics, patriotism, and the passion of sport on the eve of the Second World War.

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Page Count

318

Publisher

University of Toronto Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1442620528

ISBN 13

9781442620520

President McKinley, War and Empire

President McKinley and the Coming of War, 1898

By: Richard F. Hamilton

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President McKinley, War and Empire

President McKinley and the Coming of War, 1898

By: Richard F. Hamilton

The "progressive" reading of history focuses on two major antecedents for the origins of the United States' 1898 war with Spain: the 1896 presidential election and the Hearst-Pulitzer press war that, reportedly, generated an irresistible clamor from an "aroused public." Underlying those narratives are two very different theoretical frameworks: a class-dominance view and that of the mass society. Volume 1 of President McKinley, War and Empire assesses the adequacy of those readings.In the 1896 election the Republicans, led by William McKinley, were challenged by William Jennings Bryan, a radical and an inflationist, who had defeated the conservative leaders of the Democratic Party. The Bryanites portrayed the 1896 election as a struggle between "Wall Street" and "the people." McKinley was portrayed as a docile, pliable figure whose campaign was directed by an adept Ohio business magnate, Mark Hanna. The McKinley victory meant that "big business" was now "in control."The Cuban insurgency, begun in 1895, gained attention and support from the American newspapers. This began with a circulation war in New York City, with Hearst and Pulitzer publishing "sensational" reports about the struggle in Cuba. The resulting public clamor, it is said, overwhelmed the members of the legislative and executive branches. McKinley and his advisors fended off those demands as best they could but, following the sinking of the Maine, he conceded and asked Congress to authorize intervention.This work provides an original assessment of those long-standing claims, the basic elements of the progressive history. It reviews McKinley's biography, principally the events leading up to his election victory, including discussion of Hanna's role. It then examines the events leading up to the war. Studies of press content are reviewed and new material is introduced. The work also argues that two other factors were decisive: the efforts of an adept Cuban pressure group and partisa

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Page Count

403

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351496956

ISBN 13

9781351496957

The Haunted Observatory

Curiosities from the Astronomer's Cabinet

By: Richard Baum

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The Haunted Observatory

Curiosities from the Astronomer's Cabinet

By: Richard Baum

For many centuries observers of the night sky interpreted the moving planets and the surrounding starry realms in terms of concentric crystalline spheres, in the center of which hung the Earth -- the hub of creation. But with the discoveries of Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton, astronomers were suddenly struck by a momentous truth: the solar system was neither small nor intimate, but extended an unfathomable distance toward countless even more distant stars. The endless possibilities of these astounding developments fired scientists'' imaginations, leading both to further discoveries and to flights of fancy. While newly discovered facts are important and interesting, the quaint curiosities and spectral "ghosts" that led scientists astray have a fascination of their own. This is the subject of astronomer Richard Baum in this elegant narrative about the mysteries and wonders of celestial exploration. The fabled "mountains of Venus," a "city in the moon," ghostly rings around Uranus and Neptune, bright inexplicable objects seen near the sun, and the truth behind Coleridge''s "Star dogged Moon" in his famous poem about the Ancient Mariner -- these are just some of the intriguing twists and turns that astronomers took while investigating our starry neighbors. Baum vividly conveys the romance of astronomy at a time when the vistas of outer space were a new frontier and astronomers, guided only by imagination and analogy, set forth on uncharted seas and were haunted for a lifetime by marvels both seen and imagined.

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Page Count

416

Publisher

Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1615923012

ISBN 13

9781615923014

American Endurance

Buffalo Bill, the Great Cowboy Race of 1893, and the Vanishing Wild West

By: Richard A. Serrano

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American Endurance

Buffalo Bill, the Great Cowboy Race of 1893, and the Vanishing Wild West

By: Richard A. Serrano

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Richard A. Serrano's new book American Endurance: The Great Cowboy Race and the Vanishing Wild West is history, mystery, and Western all rolled into one. In June 1893, nine cowboys raced across a thousand miles of American prairie to the Chicago World's Fair. For two weeks they thundered past angry sheriffs, governors, and Humane Society inspectors intent on halting their race. Waiting for them at the finish line was Buffalo Bill Cody, who had set up his Wild West Show right next to the World's Fair that had refused to allow his exhibition at the fair. The Great Cowboy Race occurred at a pivotal moment in our nation's history: many believed the frontier was settled and the West was no more. The Chicago World's Fair represented the triumph of modernity and the end of the cowboy age. Except no one told the cowboys. Racing toward Buffalo Bill Cody and the gold-plated Colt revolver he promised to the first to reach his arena, nine men went on a Wild West stampede from tiny Chadron, Nebraska, to bustling Chicago. But at the first thud of hooves pounding on Chicago's brick pavement, the race devolved into chaos. Some of the cowboys shipped their horses part of the way by rail, or hired private buggies. One had the unfair advantage of having helped plan the route map in the first place. It took three days, numerous allegations, and a good old Western showdown to sort out who was first to Chicago, and who won the Great Cowboy Race.

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Page Count

273

Publisher

Smithsonian Institution

Published Date

ISBN 10

1588345750

ISBN 13

9781588345752

Technology as Magic

The Triumph of the Irrational

By: Richard Stivers,Peter Stirk

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Technology as Magic

The Triumph of the Irrational

By: Richard Stivers,Peter Stirk

What gives the mass media, particularly advertising and television, their extraordinary power over our lives, so that even the most jaded and sophisticated among us are troubled and fascinated by their allure? The secret, according to Richard Stivers, in this brilliant new book, lies in the curious relationship between technology and magic. Stivers argues the two are now related to one another in such a way that each has taken on important characteristics of the other. His contention is that our expectations for technology have become magical to the point that they have generated a multitude of imitation technologies that function as magical practices. These imitation technologies flourish in the fields of psychology, management administration, and the mass media, and their paramount purpose in human adjustment and control. Advertising and television programs, in particular, contain the key magical rituals of our civilization.In a fascinating analysis of television programming, Stivers shows how various genres--news, sports, game shows, soap operas, sitcoms, etc.--have their distinct mythological symbols. Through dramatized information, they symbolically connect consumer goods and services to desired outcomes--the utopian goals of success, happiness, and health--thus enveloping technology, both real and imitation, in a magical cocoon.

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Page Count

260

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

0826413676

ISBN 13

9780826413673

In the Name of Honor

By: Richard North Patterson

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In the Name of Honor

By: Richard North Patterson

Military lawyer Paul Terry defends young Lieutenant Brian McCarran, who is accused of shooting his commanding officer, who claimed McCarran was having an affair with his wife.

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Page Count

612

Publisher

St. Martin's Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0312946406

ISBN 13

9780312946401

The Frailty of Reputation

By: Richard A. Platt

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The Frailty of Reputation

By: Richard A. Platt

Three young people with the same initials, but with little else in common: Scott Marshall ; A schools’ champion athlete and sixth form student at Turnvale Academy, university is his dream. Admired by almost everyone, but especially by Gemma. Susan Matthews; A tale-teller who craves celebrity, a believer in the motto, why let the truth stand in the way of a good story. Shane Myers; A bitter thug spiralling out of control. Sergeant Porter’s public enemy number one. Three Stories woven together by events; Scott’s promising future is thrown into turmoil by accusations and mounting evidence of his guilt. Can his friends prove Scott’s conspiracy theory is not just a figment of his imagination. Susan’s love for a story leads her into the cruel bullying world of Nicki Taylor and her sadistic friends. When you are prone to exaggeration, like Susan, it is hard to get support when you really need it. Shane’s malicious tormenting of a former teacher is a certain path to a life of crime and punishment, one night of vandalism and one badly injured elderly lady are major pieces in the jigsaw of his worthless life. Three Reputations made or broken; Three young people with three differing reputations, what will the future hold for them when their stories unfold? Key skills 2/3

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220

Publisher

Paragon Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1782223460

ISBN 13

9781782223467

Miseducating Americans

Distortions of Historical Understanding

By: Richard F. Hamilton

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Miseducating Americans

Distortions of Historical Understanding

By: Richard F. Hamilton

In Miseducating Americans, Richard F. Hamilton examines accounts of American history appearing in textbooks and popular accounts and compares these with the reports contained in scholarly monographs. The task: to determine how certain myths and misconstructions became accepted as recorded history. Hamilton provides much needed correction of those misleading accounts. Was America historically the "land of the free?" Not if you take into account slavery, discrimination, and post-Civil War segregation policies. Was America in the late nineteenth century truly expansionist, as American textbooks imply, or did it actually capitalize on unexpected political and economic opportunities, like Russia's desire to rid itself of Alaska? Was the acquisition of the Philippines a zealous profit-seeking effort aiming for "the China market," or the fortuitous consequences of a move against Spain during the Spanish-American War? Miseducating Americans debunks many commonly accepted explanations of historical facts. It contends that many accounts are oversimplifications, and some are one-sided depictions of virtue. Hamilton traces the sources of these misconstructions, which mostly come from history textbooks written by authors aiming for "popular audiences." He then offers explanations as to how and why the inaccuracies have been repeated and passed on.

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Page Count

428

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351505084

ISBN 13

9781351505086

It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own

A New History of the American West

By: Richard White

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It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own

A New History of the American West

By: Richard White

A centerpiece of the New History of the American West, this book embodies the theme that, as succeeding groups have occupied the American West and shaped the land, they have done so without regard for present inhabitants. Like the cowboy herding the dogies, they have cared little about the cost their activities imposed on others; what has mattered is the immediate benefit they have derived from their transformation of the land. Drawing on a recent flowering of scholarship on the western environment, western gender relations, minority history, and urban and labor history, as well as on more traditional western sources, It’s Your Misfortune and None of My Own is about the creation of the region rather than the vanishing of the frontier. Richard White tells how the various parts of the West—its distinct environments, its metropolitan areas and vast hinterlands, the various ethnic and racial groups and classes—are held together by a series of historical relationships that are developed over time. Widespread aridity and a common geographical location between the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean would have provided but weak regional ties if other stronger relationships had not been created. A common dependence on the deferral government and common roots in a largely extractive and service-based economy were formative influences on western states and territories. A dual labor system based on race and the existence of minority groups with distinctive legal status have helped further define the region. Patterns of political participation and political organization have proved enduring. Together, these relationships among people, and between people and place, have made the West a historical creation and a distinctive region. From Europeans contact and subsequent Anglo-American conquest, through the civil-rights movement, the energy crisis, and the current reconstructing of the national and world economies, the West has remained a distinctive section in a much larger nation. In the American imagination the West still embodies possibilities inherent in the vastness and beauty of the place itself. But, Richard White explains, the possibilities many imagined for themselves have yielded to the possibilities seized by others. Many who thought themselves cowboys have in the end turned out to be dogies.

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Page Count

668

Publisher

University of Oklahoma Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0806148993

ISBN 13

9780806148991

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