History : Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies)

A historian debunks four-dozen PC myths about our nation’s past. Over the last forty years, history textbooks have become more and more politically correct and distorted about our country’s past, argues professor Larry Schweikart. The result, he says, is that students graduate from high school and even college with twisted beliefs about economics, foreign policy, war, religion, race relations, and many other subjects. As he did in his popular A Patriot’s History of the United States, Professor Schweikart corrects liberal bias by rediscovering facts that were once widely known. He challenges distorted books by name and debunks forty-eight common myths. A sample:. • The founders wanted to create a “wall of separation” between church and state. • Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation only because he needed black soldiers. • Truman ordered the bombing of Hiroshima to intimidate the Soviets with “atomic diplomacy”. • Mikhail Gorbachev, not Ronald Reagan, was responsible for ending the Cold War. America’s past, though not perfect, is far more admirable than you were probably taught. more...

Price: $25.95

Kenneth C. Davis, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Don't Know Much About History , presents a collection of extraordinary stories, each detailing an overlooked episode that shaped the nation's destiny and character. Davis's dramatic narratives set the record straight, busting myths and bringing to light little-known but fascinating facts from a time when the nation's fate hung in the balance. Spanning a period from the Spanish arrival in America to George Washington's inauguration in 1789, America's Hidden History details these episodes, among others:.:.; The story of the first real Pilgrims in America, who were wine-making French Huguenots, not dour English Separatists.; The coming-of-age story of Queen Isabella, who suggested that Columbus pack the moving mess hall of pigs that may have spread disease to many Native Americans.; The long, bloody relationship between the Pilgrims and Indians that runs counter to the idyllic scene of the Thanksgiving feast.; The little-known story of George Washington as a headstrong young soldier who committed a war crime, signed a confession, and started a war!. Full of color, intrigue, and human interest, America's Hidden History is an iconoclastic look at America's past, connecting some of the dots between history and today's headlines, proving why Davis is truly America's Teacher. more...

Price: $19.95

A unique history of Cuba, captured in the life and times of the famous rum dynasty. The Bacardis of Cuba, builders of a rum distillery and a worldwide brand, came of age with their nation and helped define what it meant to be Cuban. Across five generations, the Bacardi family has held fast to its Cuban identity, even in exile from the country for whose freedom they once fought. Now National Public Radio correspondent Tom Gjelten tells the dramatic story of one family, its business, and its nation, a 150-year tale with the sweep and power of an epic. The Bacardi clan--patriots and bon vivants, entrepreneurs and intellectuals--provided an example of business and civic leadership in its homeland for nearly a century. From the fight for Cuban independence from Spain in the 1860s to the rise of Fidel Castro and beyond, there is no chapter in Cuban history in which the Bacardis have not played a role. In chronicling the saga of this remarkable family and the company that bears its name, Tom Gjelten describes the intersection of business and power, family and politics, community and exile. more...

Price: $27.95

People around the world know Dave Batista as World Wrestling Entertainment's "the Animal," the rope-shaking, spine-busting World Heavyweight Champion, one of the most popular Superstars in recent years. The crowd turned Batista from heel to baby face after they were electrified by his awesome physique and physical wrestling style. While his straight-shooting mouth has occasionally gotten him into trouble -- most notably in a backstage confrontation with Undertaker after some remarks about SmackDown! -- Batista is his own harshest critic. He explains his early limitations as a wrestler and the work he has done to overcome them. Interspersing his memoir with accounts from life on the road, Batista lightens the narrative with a surprising sense of humor. An Animal in the ring, he reveals himself as an honest and even humble man in everyday life. more...

Price: $17.99

This book is designed as a basic introduction to contemporary Brazil from a recent historical perspective and is one of the first such comprehensive surveys of recent Brazilian history and development - the shift, in effect, from a pre-modern to a modern economy and society - in any language. more...

Price: $19.00