American Century

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the national best seller Ghost Wars, Steve Coll presents the story of the Bin Laden family's rise to power and privilege, revealing new information to show how American influences changed the family and how one member's rebellion changed America.

His winning percentage was well above Jordan’s shooting average or Woods’s domination of golf tournaments. And he sold products and drew spectators like no one had ever done. He was hands down the most famous athlete in America’s most popular spectator sport, and exactly one hundred years ago you would have been hard pressed to find anybody in the country who didn’t know his name. He was Dan Patch, and he was a racehorse.

In 1970, one of Mississippi's more colorful weekly newspapers, The Ford County Times, went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23 year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Willie Traynor reported all the gruesome details, and his newspaper began to prosper.

A historical fiction book set in California during the 16th to 19th centuries. Step into the vibrant and tumultuous world of early California in "California Gold," a sweeping historical fiction that captures the spirit of exploration, ambition, and survival against a backdrop of heart-wrenching beauty and conflict. As cultures clash and dreams are forged in the fires of gold fever, the story invites readers on an unforgettable journey through a land shaped by the hands of both settlers and native tribes. "California Gold" masterfully unfolds over centuries, beginning with the Spanish ...

A historical adventure book set in the American wilderness during the early 19th century. This gripping narrative captures the triumphs and tribulations of early American explorers. "Frontier Footsteps" unfolds the awe-inspiring journeys of Lieutenant Pike and Governor Cass as they traverse the unexplored American wilderness in the early 1800s. From the icy treachery of the Mississippi River to the dense, enigmatic forests of the Chippewa territory, this book vividly recounts the relentless pursuit of knowledge and discovery. Join these intrepid explorers as they map uncharted territories, ...

La historia de amor entre la joven Alma Velasco y el jardinero japonés Ichimei conduce al lector por un recorrido a través de diversos escenarios que van desde la Polonia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial hasta el San Francisco de nuestros días.

Cranky and jaded Lord Fine—Wesley, now, to the kind-hearted lover he cynically doubts life will let him keep—arrives in Manhattan with one goal: find the American paranormals and get their help with the relic burdening Sebastian. His plans are upended when the other paranormals seem to have vanished, and a mysterious letter warns Wesley that he’s in danger.

A historical exploration book set along the Colorado River in the American West during the 16th to 19th centuries. Embark on an unforgettable journey through "Colorado River Chronicle," where the fierce waters of the Colorado River become a steep barrier to discovery for early European explorers. This captivating narrative uncovers the epic quests of brave conquistadors, who dared to conquer the treacherous terrains shaped by this mighty river. With tales of heroism, tragedy, and relentless ambition, the book unravels the challenges faced by those who navigated this formidable landscape in ...

This wise, hilarious novel reminds us why Zadie Smith has rocketed to literary stardom. On Beauty is the story of an interracial family living in the university town of Wellington, Massachusetts, whose misadventures in the culture wars—on both sides of the Atlantic—serve to skewer everything from family life to political correctness to the combustive collision between the personal and the political. Full of dead-on wit and relentlessly funny, this tour de force confirms Zadie Smith's reputation as a major literary talent.

A Texas Legacy Family Saga - Book 3 Just before the Civil War, in the dark corners of the New Orleans waterfront, Billy Jefferson's dreams are yanked from him before he'd barely walked off the ship from Scotland. In the summer of 1860, America is a tinder box, ready to blow. Issues of states' rights, slavery and regionalism have come to a boiling point. Citizens across the South are willing to fight and die to maintain their Southern way of life. The South is a tough place to be if you disagree with that philosophy. It's especially tough if you are a free person of color or their friends. ...

In the world of the elite, reputation is everything... Wealthy heiress Amanda Mae Klein is set to marry the man she loves, Wesley Jansen—the only person she trusts to help ease her anxiety among the social climbers of high society. Then the daughter of a union boss falls down a flight of stairs at Wesley’s oil company’s office in the middle of the night…and the woman claims Wesley pushed her. Seeking solace from the growing scandal, Amanda flees to the mansion-dotted seaside of Newport. Wesley follows and sets about disproving the rumors while winning back the trust of Amanda. But ...

Set in the nineteenth century, The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel) follows the fortunes of three young travelers. Their dramatic adventures span sixteen years and see them engage with Native American Indians, Barbary Coast pirates, Aborigines, Maoris and Pacific Islanders as they travel around the world - from America to Africa, from England to the Canary Islands, to Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and Fiji. In book one, World Odyssey, ambitious American adventurer Nathan Johnson, sheltered English missionary Susannah Drake and irrepressible Cockney Jack Halliday each follow ...

The Struggle for Liberty gives us vintage Ralph Raico in his roles of lecturer and professor. In these lectures he weaves together the daily life of the past, competing intellectual traditions, the history of the modern state, and the international background to create a broad and compelling narrative. He pulls no intellectual punches, presenting a complex story in such a way that his mastery of learned disputes from a hundred, or from five hundred, years ago reaches us as living, breathing history. Ralph Raico, a student of Ludwig von Mises, was a historical revisionist in the best sense ...

Thelonious Monk is the critically acclaimed, gripping saga of an artist's struggle to "make it" without compromising his musical vision. It is a story that, like its subject, reflects the tidal ebbs and flows of American history in the 20th century. To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. His angular melodies and dissonant harmonies shook the jazz world to its foundations, ushering in the birth of "bebop" and establishing Monk as one of America's greatest composers.

Betrayed by her brother and the man she loves…whom can she trust when tragedy strikes? Soldiers are pouring into Washington City every day and have begun drilling in preparation for a battle with the Confederacy. Annie Swanson worries for her brother, whom she’s just discovered is a Confederate officer in his new home state of North Carolina. Even as Annie battles feelings of betrayal toward the big brother she’s always adored, her wealthy banker father swears her and her sister to secrecy about their brother’s actions. How could he forsake their mother’s abolitionist teachings? ...

Chasing El Dorado: A Daring Quest in 16th-Century South America is a gripping historical exploration narrative set during the tumultuous era of European colonialism in South America. In this riveting tale, follow the exploits of Spanish adventurers driven by the promise of untold riches, leading them through perilous jungles, hostile territories, and intense cultural interactions. Discover the story of Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, the determined explorer who, in his quest for the mythical city of gold, El Dorado, navigates through dense forests, combats sickness, and negotiates with native ...

At the height of World War II, the British Air Transport Auxiliary need help. A group of young women volunteer for action, but the perils of their new job don’t end on the tarmac. Things are tough in the air, but on the ground their abilities as pilots are constantly questioned. There is friction from the start between the new recruits. Spirited American Lizzie turns heads with her audacity, but few can deny her flying skills. She couldn’t be more different from shy, petite Ruby, who is far from diminutive in the sky. It falls to pragmatic pilot May to bring the women together.

Noah Lefevre, creator of Polyphonic, explores how our favorite music does more than entertain. From Aretha Franklin carving out her own space in what had been considered a man's world by reworking the chauvinistic lyrics to the 1967's hit "Respect," to Doja Cat's successful backlash against toxic fans of the digital age; from a broken amplifier on "Rocket 88" ushering in the distorted sounds of rock n' roll, to Kendrick Lamar's release of "Alright," which became the unofficial anthem to the BLM protests-each song mirrors the strife, change and progress of our country's narrative.

The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan’s war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey’s exacting analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality.

The hero of John Updike's Rabbit, Run (1960), ten years after the hectic events described in Rabbit Redux (1971), has come to enjoy considerable prosperity as Chief Sales Representative of Springer Motors, a Toyota agency in Brewer, Pennsylvania. The time is 1979: Skylab is falling, gas lines are lengthening, the President collapses while running in a marathon, and double-digit inflation coincides with a deflation of national confidence.