Tom McGowen

#2

1901

George Washington is by far the most important figure in the history of the United States. Against all military odds, he liberated the thirteen colonies from the superior forces of the British Empire and presided over the process to produce and ratify a Constitution that (suitably amended) has lasted for more than two hundred years. In two terms as president, he set that Constitution to work with such success that, by the time he finally retired, America was well on its way to becoming the richest and most powerful nation on earth.Despite his importance, Washington remains today a distant figure to many Americans. Previous books about him are immensely long, multivolume, and complicated. Paul Johnson has now produced a brief life that presents a vivid portrait of the great man as young warrior, masterly commander-in-chief, patient Constitution maker, and exceptionally wise president. He also shows Washington as a farmer of unusual skill and an entrepreneur of foresight, patriarch of an extended family, and proprietor of one of the most beautiful homes in America, which he largely built and adorned.Trenchant and original as ever, Johnson has given us a brilliant, sharply etched portrait of this iconic figure -- both as a hero and as a man.

#3

1999

World War II was the most intensively photographed conflict in history. Military and press photographers, propagandists, camera-wielding soldiers and civilians--all took the opportunity to record the tumultuous events of 1939-45. The scenes they captured of mass suffering and individual heroism, of atrocious cruelty and humanitarianism against the odds, of hate and comradership, misery and hope, remain undiminished in their intensity and constitute a vital record of an extra ordinary period. World War II: A Photographic History features 900 clearly captioned images selected from a wide variety of sources, many of which are seen here for the first time. Every major theatre of conflict is covered, from the ice seas of the Arctic Circle to the jungles of the South Pacific, from the deserts of North Africa to the steppes of Russia. Throughout, proper historical grounding is given by an informative, indexed commentary summarizing the many complex events of the period.