Empire Express

Author: David Haward Bain
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101658045
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1432

Book Description
After the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad was the nineteenth century's most transformative event. Beginning in 1842 with a visionary's dream to span the continent with twin bands of iron, Empire Express captures three dramatic decades in which the United States effectively doubled in size, fought three wars, and began to discover a new national identity. From self--made entrepreneurs such as the Union Pacific's Thomas Durant and era--defining figures such as President Lincoln to the thousands of laborers whose backbreaking work made the railroad possible, this extraordinary narrative summons an astonishing array of voices to give new dimension not only to this epic endeavor but also to the culture, political struggles, and social conflicts of an unforgettable period in American history.

The Berlin-Baghdad Express

Author: Sean McMeekin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674058534
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 478

Book Description
The modern Middle East was forged in the crucible of the First World War, but few know the full story of how war actually came to the region. As Sean McMeekin reveals in this startling reinterpretation of the war, it was neither the British nor the French but rather a small clique of Germans and Turks who thrust the Islamic world into the conflict for their own political, economic, and military ends. The Berlin-Baghdad Express tells the fascinating story of how Germany exploited Ottoman pan-Islamism in order to destroy the British Empire, then the largest Islamic power in the world. Meanwhile the Young Turks harnessed themselves to German military might to avenge Turkey’s hereditary enemy, Russia. Told from the perspective of the key decision-makers on the Turco-German side, many of the most consequential events of World War I—Turkey’s entry into the war, Gallipoli, the Armenian massacres, the Arab revolt, and the Russian Revolution—are illuminated as never before. Drawing on a wealth of new sources, McMeekin forces us to re-examine Western interference in the Middle East and its lamentable results. It is an epic tragicomedy of unintended consequences, as Turkish nationalists give Russia the war it desperately wants, jihad begets an Islamic insurrection in Mecca, German sabotage plots upend the Tsar delivering Turkey from Russia’s yoke, and German Zionism midwifes the Balfour Declaration. All along, the story is interwoven with the drama surrounding German efforts to complete the Berlin to Baghdad railway, the weapon designed to win the war and assure German hegemony over the Middle East.

Nothing Like It In the World

Author: Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780743203173
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 468

Book Description
The story of the men who build the transcontinental railroad in the 1860's.

The Inca Empire

Author: Jane Bingham
Publisher: Heinemann-Raintree Library
ISBN: 9781410927316
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 70

Book Description
This title uncovers the mysteries of the Incas. Find out where to see an underground punishment chamber filled with snakes, pumas, and jaguars, why a headache could end up with you having a hole drilled in your head, and how to pronounce some common Inca words.

House of Cards

Author: Jon Friedman
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
ISBN: 9780399136542
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Book Description
When courtly, charismatic James D. Robinson III, scion of an Atlanta banking family, took the helm of American Express in 1977, he envisioned expanding his new company into a giant financial-services conglomerate. But it was not to be. . . . Here is the gripping behind-the-scenes account of corporate scandals, bungled deals, and clashing egos in the far-flung realm of American Express. 8 pages of photographs.

Hearings

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Post Office and Civil Service
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1504

Book Description

The Republic of Nature

Author: Mark Fiege
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295804149
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 601

Book Description
In the dramatic narratives that comprise The Republic of Nature, Mark Fiege reframes the canonical account of American history based on the simple but radical premise that nothing in the nation's past can be considered apart from the natural circumstances in which it occurred. Revisiting historical icons so familiar that schoolchildren learn to take them for granted, he makes surprising connections that enable readers to see old stories in a new light. Among the historical moments revisited here, a revolutionary nation arises from its environment and struggles to reconcile the diversity of its people with the claim that nature is the source of liberty. Abraham Lincoln, an unlettered citizen from the countryside, steers the Union through a moment of extreme peril, guided by his clear-eyed vision of nature's capacity for improvement. In Topeka, Kansas, transformations of land and life prompt a lawsuit that culminates in the momentous civil rights case of Brown v. Board of Education. By focusing on materials and processes intrinsic to all things and by highlighting the nature of the United States, Fiege recovers the forgotten and overlooked ground on which so much history has unfolded. In these pages, the nation's birth and development, pain and sorrow, ideals and enduring promise come to life as never before, making a once-familiar past seem new. The Republic of Nature points to a startlingly different version of history that calls on readers to reconnect with fundamental forces that shaped the American experience. For more information, visit the author's website: http://republicofnature.com/

Private Empire

Author: Steve Coll
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101572140
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 654

Book Description
“ExxonMobil has met its match in Coll, an elegant writer and dogged reporter . . . extraordinary . . . monumental.” —The Washington Post “Fascinating . . . Private Empire is a book meticulously prepared as if for trial . . . a compelling and elucidatory work.” —Bloomberg From the Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling author of Ghost Wars and The Achilles Trap, an extraordinary exposé of Big Oil. Includes a profile of current Secretary of State and former chairman and chief executive of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobil—the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States—Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporation’s recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globe—featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlin—and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee “Iron Ass” Raymond, ExxonMobil’s chief executive until 2005, and current chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nomination for Secretary of State. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.

The Old Iron Road

Author: David Haward Bain
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1496230485
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 468

Book Description
The award-winning author of "Empire Express" retraces the route of the first transcontinental railroad.

Empire and Communications

Author: Harold Adams Innis
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Empire and Communications" by Harold Adams Innis. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.