H. W. Brands Bücher

The book explores the evolution of wealth in America, tracing the journey from early fur trading to the modern tech empires of Silicon Valley. It highlights the impact of visionary leaders like John Jacob Astor and Cornelius Vanderbilt, alongside Gilded Age tycoons such as Rockefeller and Carnegie. The narrative continues through influential figures in mass culture and the Information Age, including Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates, illustrating how each generation has produced remarkable fortunes driven by singular focus and innovation.

A gripping narrative that captivates readers with its compelling characters and intricate plot. The story delves into themes of resilience, identity, and the human experience, weaving together personal struggles with broader societal issues. With rich, evocative prose, it explores the complexities of relationships and the journey towards self-discovery. This bestselling work has resonated with audiences, offering both emotional depth and thought-provoking insights that linger long after the last page is turned.

"Bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands follows the lives of General William Tecumseh Sherman and Apache war leader Geronimo to tell the story of the Indian Wars and the final fight for control of the American continent. William Tecumseh Sherman and Geronimo were keen strategists and bold soldiers, ruthless with their enemies. Over the course of the 1870s and 1880s these two war chiefs would confront each other in the final battle for what the American West would be- a sparsely settled, wild home where Indian tribes could thrive, or a more densely populated extension of the America to the east of the Mississippi. Sherman was a well-connected son of Ohio who attended West Point and rose to prominence through his scorched-earth campaigns in the Civil War. Geronimo grew up among the Apache people, hunting wild game for sustenance and roaming freely on the land. After the brutal killing of his wife, children and mother by Mexican soldiers, he became a relentless avenger, raiding Mexican settlements across the American border. When Sherman rose to commanding general of the Army, he was tasked with bringing Geronimo and his followers onto a reservation where they would live as farmers and ranchers and roam no more. But Geronimo preferred to fight. The Last Campaign is a powerful retelling of a turning point in the making of our nation and a searing elegy for a way of life that is gone"--

The biography presents Ulysses Grant as a brilliant military leader and a determined president during a tumultuous period in American history. It highlights his commitment to justice, including his efforts to protect the rights of freedmen and his respect for Native Americans' autonomy amid the challenges of Manifest Destiny. H.W. Brands offers a comprehensive narrative that reexamines Grant's legacy, portraying him as a heroic figure who played a crucial role in preserving the Union and navigating the complexities of leadership.

A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times-bestselling author sets a new standard for histories of the American West

"What do moral people do when democracy countenances evil? The question, implicit in the idea that people can govern themselves, came to a head in America at the middle of the nineteenth century, in the struggle over slavery. John Brown's answer was violence--violence of a sort some in later generations would call terrorism. Brown was a deeply religious man who heard the God of the Old Testament speaking to him, telling him to do whatever was necessary to destroy slavery. When Congress opened Kansas territory to slavery, the eerily charismatic Brown raised a band of followers to wage war against the evil institution. One dark night his men tore several proslavery settlers from their homes and hacked them to death with broadswords, as a bloody warning to others. Three years later Brown and his men assaulted the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, with the goal of furnishing slaves with weapons to murder their masters in a race war that would cleanse the nation of slavery once and for all. Abraham Lincoln's answer was politics. Lincoln was an ambitious lawyer and former office-holder who read the Bible not for moral guidance but as a writer's primer. He disliked slavery yet didn't consider it worth shedding blood over. He distanced himself from John Brown and joined the moderate wing of the new, antislavery Republican party. He spoke cautiously and dreamed big, plotting his path to Washington and perhaps the White House. Yet Lincoln's caution couldn't preserve him from the vortex of violence Brown set in motion. Arrested and sentenced to death, Brown comported himself with such conviction and dignity on the way to the gallows that he was canonized in the North as a martyr to liberty. Southerners responded in anger and horror that a terrorist was made into a saint. Lincoln shrewdly threaded the needle of the fracturing country and won election as president, still preaching moderation. But the time for moderation had passed. Slaveholders lumped Lincoln with Brown as an enemy of the Southern way of life; seven Southern states left the Union. Lincoln resisted secession, and the Civil War followed. At first a war for the Union, it became the war against slavery Brown had attempted to start. Before it was over, slavery had been destroyed, but so had Lincoln's faith that democracy can resolve its moral crises peacefully"-- Provided by publisher

The first major biography of Benjamin Franklin in more than sixty years, The First American is history on a grand scale -- a work of meticulous scholarship and a thoroughly engaging portrait of the foremost American of his day. Diplomat, scientist, philosopher, businessman, inventor, wit, and bon vivant, Benjamin Franklin was in every respect America's first Renaissance man. The eighteenth-century genius comes to life in this masterwork by acclaimed historian H.W. Brands, whose access to previously unpublished letters and a host of other sources makes this the definitive biography. A much-needed reminder of Franklin's greatness and humanity, The First American provides a magnificent tour of a legendary historical figure, the countless arenas in which the protean Franklin left his legacy, and a pivotal era in American life

The two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and author of Traitor to His Class explores the 40th president's indelible role in preserving democracy and shaping present-day America, detailing his early life, improbable rise and presidential achievements.

The book provides a gripping narrative of the military and political events surrounding the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent war. It highlights the complexities of the founding of the nation, emphasizing that division played a crucial role alongside unity. Through detailed accounts, the author sheds light on the turbulent times that shaped America's history, offering readers a deeper understanding of the struggles and conflicts that defined the nation's birth.

When gold was discovered on the American River above Sutter's Fort in January 1848, California was a sparsely populated frontier territory that had yet to be officially ceded to the United States following the war with Mexico. The astonishing news -- GOLD! IN CALIFORNIA! -- prompted hundreds of thousands of people from around the world to flock to California in hopes of finding instant riches. This book explores the far-reaching implications of this pivotal point in U.S. history, interweaving the politics of the times with the gripping stories of both the ordinary and the famous in a colorful, intricate tapestry displaying both the best and worst of the American character