Real History
3 total works
Ask most Americans why their forefathers started the Revolution and they'll likely mention "no taxation without representation" or the belief in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as inalienable rights. But that's just the beginning, as historian Alan Axelrod so brilliantly shows in this fascinating examination of what really caused the breach across the Atlantic and how the revolutionary movement began. This brought something unique to the world: an entirely new kind of nation, founded on a set of ideas. In engrossing, conversational prose, Axelrod digs beneath the classically taught history to explore everything from little-known facts to alternate realities, along with the eyewitness testimony, popular culture and art of the period. From the seeds of dissent through the long fight to glorious victory, the full, astonishing story of America's revolution finally comes to light.
The Civil War is shrouded in legend and mythology - but this new entry in the "Real History" series provides a clear, fresh view of the events for curious readers who want an intellectual, but not dryly academic, presentation of this inexhaustibly fascinating subject. Covering everything from the roots of the conflict to Reconstruction, Axelrod addresses a range of less-discussed subjects such as the efforts made to avert war (including Lincoln's initial hesitant response); the fragmentation of popular opinion in both the North and the South; and the institutional problems that afflicted the Union and Confederate Armies. Axelrod also explores the so-called "turning points" of the war and whether slavery really was the major cause of the conflict. Diary excerpts, letters, informative sidebars and contemporary photography, art and maps round out this absorbing, thought-provoking study.
This is the newest entry in Alan Axelrod's engaging, successful "Real History" series - and the only current illustrated book on a misunderstood and mysterious topic. From the fall of Nazi Germany to the fall of the Berlin Wall, a cold war raged between the US and the Soviet Union. Though not a shot was fired, the hostility between the two superpowers threatened the globe with nuclear annihilation. Axelrod reveals the intriguing, suspenseful true story behind this globe-spanning battle of wills. Judiciously, incisively, he probes the pivotal events of the era. Rarely seen illustrations, detail-packed sidebars, maps, statistics, quotes and 'reality checks' to popular myths make this a work general readers will turn to and enjoy.