Presents a biography of Alexander Hamilton, one of the most important figures in the history of American politics never elected to the presidency, discussing his childhood as an orphan in the Caribbean, his marriage and family, and his death in a duel, and examining his multifaceted role in the formation of U.S. government.

"The American experiment rests on three ideas--"these truths," Jefferson called them--political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. And it rests, too, "on a dedication to inquiry, fearless and unflinching," writes Jill Lepore in a groundbreaking investigation into the American past that places truth itself at the center of the nation's history. In riveting prose, These truths tells the story of America, beginning in 1492,...

"Donald Trump's presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we'd be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang--in a revolution or military coup--but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions,...

"The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the White House Chiefs of Staff, whose actions--and inactions--have defined the course of our country What do Dick Cheney and Rahm Emanuel have in common? Aside from polarizing personalities, both served as chief of staff to the president of the United States--as did Donald Rumsfeld, Leon Panetta, and a relative handful of others. The chiefs of staff, often referred to as "the gatekeepers," wield tremendous...

Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008 partly because he was a Washington outsider. But when he got to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, that distinction turned out to be double-bladed. NBC's award-winning Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd draws upon his unprecedented inner-circle sources to create a gripping account of Obama's tumultuous first term and campaign to win another.

Pulitzer Prize winner Samantha Power, widely known as a relentless advocate for promoting human rights, has been heralded by President Barack Obama as one of America's foremost thinkers on foreign policy. In her memoir, Power offers an urgent response to the question What can one person do?--and a call for a clearer eye, a kinder heart, and a more open and civil hand in our politics and daily lives.--Publisher's description.

The First Congress was the most important in U.S. history, says prizewinning author and historian Fergus Bordewich, because it established how our government would actually function. Had it failed-as many at the time feared it would-it's possible that the United States as we know it would not exist today. The Constitution was a broad set of principles. It was left to the members of the First Congress and President George Washington to create the machinery...

Jeannette Rankin was a take-charge girl. Whether caring for her little brother and sisters or her horses on her family's Montana ranch, she knew just what to do. Later she visited San Francisco where she saw children living in poor conditions. She went to work to change that. But for women to really change things, they needed to vote. In Jeannette's time that was illegal! So she spent years giving speeches and organizing women to convince men to grant...

Herb Nutterman, a long-time Trump Organization employee, unexpectedly becomes President Trump's White House chief of staff and finds himself entangled in Russian intrigue and leading the president's reelection campaign.

FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE, FIRST IN LEADERSHIP. Richard Brookhiser's revolutionary biography, Founding Father , took George Washington off the dollar bill and made him live. Now, with his trademark wit and precision, Brookhiser expertly examines the details of Washington's life that fullscale biographies sweep over, to instruct us in true leadership. George Washington on Leadership is a textbook look at Washington's three spectacularly successful...