For the last 25 years, Sunday nights at 8pm on C-SPAN has been appointment television for many Americans. During that time, host Brian Lamb has invited people to his Capitol Hill studio for hour-long conversations about contemporary society and history. In today's soundbite culture that hour remains one of television's last vestiges of in-depth, civil conversation.First came C-SPAN's Booknotes in 1989, which by the time it ended in December 2004, was the longest-running au...

A look inside the personal life of every first lady in American history, based on original interviews with major historiansC-SPAN's yearlong history series, First Ladies: Influence and Image, featured interviews with more than fifty preeminent historians and biographers. In this informative book, these experts paint intimate portraits of all forty-five first ladies -- their lives, ambitions, and unique partnerships with their presidential spouses. Susan Sw...

In this beautifully designed volume, America's top Lincoln historians offer a diverse array of perspectives on the life and legacy of America's sixteenth president. Spanning Lincoln's life -- from his early career as a Springfield lawyer, to his presidential reign during one of America's most troubled historical periods, to his assassination in 1865 -- these essays, developed from original C-SPAN interviews, provide a compelling, composite portrait of Lincoln, one that offers up new storie...

The Supreme Court grew out of a unique opportunity to interview all nine sitting Supreme Court Justices plus retired Justice O'Connor for a documentary on the Supreme Court. Through Brian Lamb and Susan Swain's interviews with our country's most influential judges, the book offers portraits of the Justices that introduces readers to the closed world of the Supreme Court, and what's it's really like to serve on the nation's highest Court.Accompanying the Justices around the...

Some presidents have been larger than life but none of them have been larger than death. Brian Lamb has visited the gravesites of every American president, living and dead, in order to put together this book, with assistance from the staff of C-SPAN. Heavily illustrated and with contributions from historians Richard Norton Smith and Douglas Brinkley, Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb? is about the presidents' lives as much as it is about their final resting places. The book's collecti...

Breaking nearly eight decades of silence, Essie Mae Washington–Williams comes forward with a story of unique historical magnitude and incredible human drama. Her father, the late Strom Thurmond, was once the nation's leading voice for racial segregation (one of his signature political achievements was his 24–hour filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, done in the name of saving the South from "mongrelization"). Her mother, however, was a black teenager named Carrie Butler who wor...

Three cheers for the red, white, and bloopers . . . A US treasury of gaffes, goofs, and weird White House trivia!If they advertised the job opening for President of the United States, the ad would be pretty short. The only basic requirements are to be a natural-born American citizen and at least thirty-five years old. Now you can learn about some of the successful applicants in this special "Chief Executive" edition of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader!...

Following on the heels of his national bestseller A Treasury of Royal Scandals, Michael Farquhar turns his attention to matters a little closer to home with A Treasury of Great American Scandals. From the unhappy family relationships of prominent Americans to the feuds, smear campaigns, duels, and infamous sex scandals that have punctuated our history, we see our founding fathers and other American heroes in the course of their all-too-human events. Ineffe...

"Entertaining…Carlson shifts deftly among sombre, macabre, and playful stories and shows how the death-tourism industry reveals more than amusing trivia." —The New YorkerIn Dead Presidents, public radio host and reporter Brady Carlson takes readers on an epic trip to presidential gravesites, monuments, and memorials from sea to shining sea. With an engaging mix of history and contemporary reporting, Carlson explores the death stories of o...

Thurgood Marshall brought down the separate-but-equal doctrine, integrated schools, and not only fought for human rights and human dignity but also made them impossible to deny in the courts and in the streets. In this stunning new biography, award-winning author Wil Haygood surpasses the emotional impact of his inspiring best seller The Butler to detail the life and career of one of the most transformative legal minds of the past one hundred years.Using the framework of t...

Which American First Lady never cooked a meal? Was accused of looting the White House? Was once a professional dancer? Find out in this accessible, illustrated reference packed with history and revelations.The First Ladies Fact Book is a comprehensive, fascinating, and intimate look at the life of each first lady from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. Each profile includes a portrait, key biographical information, and several additional photographs. For ...

THINK YOU KNOW YOUR AMERICANA? WITH THIS BOOK, YOU WILL!The Great American History Quiz is the popular show on The History Channel that's also a great, entertaining way to learn about our country's history. Filled with celebrities, it tests viewers on facts from the basic to the arcane -- and sometimes both at once! Now, based on this national treasure of a quiz show, comes a book that's just as fun, challenging, and quirky. Featuring questions from the program (and new brainteasers...