American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith is the companion volume to an exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History that celebrates the bold and radical experiment to test a wholly new form of government. Democracy is still a work in progress, but it is at the core of our nation's political, economic, and social life. This lavishly illustrated book explores democracy from the Revolution to the present using objects from the museum's collection, such as the po...

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore talks of the many things he feels is necessary for creativity through joy of unity, he covers many topics like the creative ideal, makes comparisons of creativity between the east and the west, the spirit of freedom and about his idea of an University.

Clark Ashton Smith, nicknamed one of the "big three" of Weird Tales (the famous pulp fiction magazine), was also a romantic-style poet, contributor to the Cthulhu Mythos and a literary friend of H.P Lovecraft. As a poet, he was considered one of the last great West Coast Romantics. Published in 1918, prefaced by his mentor George Sterling and illustrated with Decadent movement-inspired embellishments by Florence Lundborg, this volume contains material republished from his 1912 collection a...

This “authoritative [and] important” (The New York Times Book Review) “biography” of America’s framing document explores topics ranging from presidential power and freedom of speech to birthright citizenship and beyond, explaining not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it.“Elegantly written, thorough but concise, and consistently enlightening . . . an indispensable reference.”—Scott Turow, The Washington Post Boo...

The life story of the most controversial, volatile, and misunderstood provision of the Bill of Rights and “a welcome re-injection of historical context into the present debate over the rightful role of guns in American culture” (Chicago Tribune).At a time of increasing gun violence in America, Waldman’s book provoked a wide range of discussion. This book looks at history to provide some surprising, illuminating answers.The Amendmen...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the first woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court comes this fascinating book about the history and evolution of the highest court in the land.“[A] succinct, snappy account of how today’s court—so powerful, so controversial and so frequently dissected by the media—evolved from such startlingly humble and uncertain beginnings.”—The New York TimesOut of Order...

The sixteenth Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist’s classic book offers a lively and accessible history of the Supreme Court.Chief Justice Rehnquist’s engaging writing illuminates both the high and low points in the Court's history, from Chief Justice Marshall’s dominance of the Court during the early nineteenth century through the landmark decisions of the Warren Court. Citing cases such as the Dred Scott decision and Roosevelt's Court-packing plan, Rehnquist makes...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Shows us why Sandra Day O’Connor is so compelling as a human being and so vital as a public thinker.”—Michael BeschlossIn this remarkable book, Sandra Day O’Connor explores the law, her life as a Supreme Court Justice, and how the Court has evolved and continues to function, grow, and change as an American institution. Tracing some of the origins of American law through history, people, ideas, and landmark cases, O’Connor sheds new light on t...

The Constitution of the United States created a representative republic marked by federalism and the separation of powers. Yet numerous federal judges--led by the Supreme Court--have used the Constitution as a blank check to substitute their own views on hot-button issues such as abortion, capital punishment, and samesex marriage for perfectly constitutional laws enacted by We the People through our elected representatives.Now, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Con...

A comprehensive history of the people and cases that have changed history, this is the definitive account of the nation's highest court featuring a forward by Howard ZinnRecent changes in the Supreme Court have placed the venerable institution at the forefront of current affairs, making this comprehensive and engaging work as timely as ever. In the tradition of Howard Zinn's classic A People's History of the United States, Peter Irons chronicles the decisi...

From renowned political theorist James MacGregor Burns, an incisive critique of the overreaching power of an ideological Supreme CourtFor decades, Pulitzer Prize-winner James MacGregor Burns has been one of the great masters of the study of power and leadership in America. In Packing the Court, he turns his eye to the U.S. Supreme Court, an institution that he believes has become more powerful, and more partisan, than the founding fathers ever intended. In...

Now with a new epilogue-- an unprecedented and unwavering history of the Supreme Court showing how its decisions have consistently favored the moneyed and powerful.Few American institutions have inflicted greater suffering on ordinary people than the Supreme Court of the United States. Since its inception, the justices of the Supreme Court have shaped a nation where children toiled in coal mines, where Americans could be forced into camps because of their race, and...