Best Selling Books by Garry Wills

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Lincoln at Gettysburg" brings his eloquence, his wit, and his on-target perceptions of American life and politics to this fascinating, well-drawn portrait of John Wayne, a true 20th-century hero. "Deeply satisfying at every level".--Michael Stern, "San Francisco Chronicle". of photos.

The power of words has rarely been given a more compelling demonstration than in the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was asked to memorialize the gruesome battle. Instead, he gave the whole nation "a new birth of freedom" in the space of a mere 272 words. His entire life and previous training, and his deep political experience went into this, his revolutionary masterpiece. By examining both the address and Lincoln in their historical moment and cultural frame, Wills breathes new life into words we thought we knew, and reveals much about a president so mythologized but often misunderstood. Wills shows how Lincoln came to change the world and to effect an intellectual revolution, how his words had to and did complete the work of the guns, and how Lincoln wove a spell that has not yet been broken.

The New York Times bestselling historian takes on a pressing question in modern religion—will Pope Francis embrace change? Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas, offers a challenge to his church. Can he bring about significant change? Should he? Garry Wills, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, argues provocatively that, in fact, the history of the church throughout is a history of change. In this brilliant and incisive study, Wills describes the deep and serious changes that have taken place in the church or are in the process of occurring. These include the change from Latin, the growth and withering of the ecclesiastical monarchy, the abandonment of biblical literalism, the assertion and nonassertion of infallibility, and the erosion of church patriarchy. In such developments we see the living church adapting itself to the new historical circumstances. As Wills contends, it is only by examining the history of the church that we can understand Pope Francis''s and the church''s challenges.

New York Times Bestseller: A "remarkable and evenhanded study of Ronald Reagan" from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lincoln at Gettysburg ( The New York Times). Updated with a new preface by the author, this captivating biography of America''s fortieth president recounts Ronald Reagan''s life—from his poverty-stricken Illinois childhood to his acting career to his California governorship to his role as commander in chief—and examines the powerful myths surrounding him, many of which he created himself. Praised by some for his sunny optimism and old-fashioned rugged individualism, derided by others for being a politician out of touch with reality, Reagan was both a popular and polarizing figure in the 1980s United States, and continues to fascinate us as a symbol. In Reagan''s America, Garry Wills reveals the realities behind Reagan''s own descriptions of his idyllic boyhood, as well as the story behind his leadership of the Screen Actors Guild, the role religion played in his thinking, and the facts of his military service. With a wide-ranging and balanced assessment of both the personal and political life of this outsize American icon, the author of such acclaimed works as What Jesus Meant and The Kennedy Imprisonment "elegantly dissects the first U.S. President to come out of Hollywood''s dream factory [in] a fascinating biography whose impact is enhanced by techniques of psychological profile and social history" ( Los Angeles Times) .

“If you think you knew Paul, get ready to have all sorts of cherished preconceptions exhilaratingly stripped away. If you''ve ever been vaguely curious, there is no finer introduction.” (Los Angeles Times) Look out for a new book from Garry Wills, What The Qur''an Meant, coming fall 2017. In his New York Times bestsellers What Jesus Meant and What the Gospels Meant, Garry Wills offers fresh and incisive readings of Jesus'' teachings and the four gospels. Here Wills turns to Paul the Apostle, whose writings have provoked controversy throughout Christian history. Upending many common assumptions, Wills argues eloquently that Paul’s teachings are not opposed to Jesus'' message. Rather, the best way to know Jesus is to discover Paul. In this stimulating and masterly analysis, Wills illuminates how Paul, writing on the road and in the heat of the moment, and often in the midst of controversy, galvanized a movement and offers us the best reflection of those early times.

Gary Wills has won significant acclaim for his bestselling works of religion and history. Here, for the first time, he combines both disciplines in a sweeping examination of Christianity in America throughout the last 400 years. Wills argues that the struggle now''as throughout our nation''s history''is between the head and the heart, reason and emotion, enlightenment and Evangelism. A landmark volume for anyone interested in either politics or religion, Head and Heart concludes that, while religion is a fertile and enduring force in American politics, the tension between the two is necessary, inevitable, and unending.

With a new preface: A "stunning" analysis of the troubled Republican president by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lincoln at Gettysburg ( The New York Times Book Review). In this acclaimed biography that earned him a spot on Nixon''s infamous "enemies list," Garry Wills takes a thoughtful, in-depth, and often "very amusing" look at the thirty-seventh US president, and draws some surprising conclusions about a man whose name has become synonymous with scandal and the abuse of power ( Kirkus Reviews). Arguing that Nixon was a reflection of the country that elected him, Wills examines not only the psychology of the man himself and his relationships with others—from his wife, Pat, to his vice-president, Spiro Agnew—but also the state of the nation at the time, mired in the Vietnam War and experiencing a cultural rift that pitted the young against the old. Putting his findings into moral, economic, intellectual, and political contexts, he ultimately "paints a broad and provocative landscape of the nation''s—and Nixon''s—travails" ( The New York Times). Simultaneously compassionate and critical, and raising interesting perspectives on the shifting definitions of terms like "conservative" and "liberal" over recent decades, Nixon Agonistes is a brilliant and indispensable book from one of America''s most acclaimed historians.

Now with a new introduction--award-winning historian Garry Wills''s definitive analysis of the Federalist Papers In 1787 and 1788, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison published what remains perhaps the greatest example of political journalism in the English language--the Federalist Papers. Written to urge ratification of the Constitution, the eighty-five essays--trenchant in thought and graceful in expression--defended the Constitution not merely as a theoretical statement but as a practical instrument of rule. Now updated with a new introduction, Garry Wills''s classic study subjects these essays to rigorous analysis, illuminating, as only he can, their significance in the development of the philosophy on which our government is based.

Moving beyond the recent revisionist debate over Jefferson''s own slaves and his relationship with Sally Hemings, Wills instead probes the heart of Jefferson''s presidency and political life, revealing how the might of the slave states remained a concern behind his most important policies and decisions.

From one of America''s foremost historians, Inventing America compares Thomas Jefferson''s original draft of the Declaration of Independence with the final, accepted version, thereby challenging many long-cherished assumptions about both the man and the document. Although Jefferson has long been idealized as a champion of individual rights, Wills argues that in fact his vision was one in which interdependence, not self-interest, lay at the foundation of society. "No one has offered so drastic a revision or so close or convincing an analysis as Wills has . . . The results are little short of astonishing" —(Edmund S. Morgan, New York Review of Books)

“Garry Wills brings his signature brand of erudite, unorthodox thinking to his latest book of revelations. . . . A tour de force and a profound show of faith.” (O, the Oprah Magazine) Look out for a new book from Garry Wills, What The Qur''an Meant, coming fall 2017. In what are billed “culture wars,” people on the political right and the political left cite Jesus as endorsing their views. But in this New York Times-bestselling masterpiece, Garry Wills argues that Jesus subscribed to no political program. He was far more radical than that. In a fresh reading of the gospels, Wills explores the meaning of the “reign of heaven” Jesus not only promised for the future but brought with him into this life. It is only by dodges and evasions that people misrepresent what Jesus plainly had to say against power, the wealthy, and religion itself. But Wills is just as critical of those who would make Jesus a mere ethical teacher, ignoring or playing down his divinity. An illuminating analysis for believers and nonbelievers alike, What Jesus Meant is a brilliant addition to our national conversation on religion.

Look out for a new book from Garry Wills, What The Qur''an Meant, coming fall 2017. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lincoln at Gettysburg and Papal Sin captures the many dimensions of one of the twentieth century''s most influential writers. Part of a literary circle that included H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Hillaire Belloc, and Max Beerbohm, G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) wrote essays of social criticism for contemporary journals, literary criticism (including notable books on Browning, Dickens, and Shaw), and works of theology and religious argument, but may have been best known for his Father Brown mysteries. Chesterton''s interest in Catholic Christianity, first expressed in Orthodoxy, led to his conversion from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1922. His classic Saint Francis of Assisi and the equally acclaimed Saint Thomas Aquinas confirmed his reputation as a writer with the rare ability to simultaneously entertain, inform, and enlighten readers. This revised edition of Garry Wills''s finely crafted biography includes updates to the text and a new Introduction by the author.

Bestselling author Wills showcases Henry Adams little-known but seminal studyof the early United States, and draws from it fresh insights on the paradoxesthat roil America to this day.

This book reinterprets Macbeth by returning it to the context of its own time, recreating the theological and political crises of Shakespeare''s era.

Look out for a new book from Garry Wills, What The Qur''an Meant, coming fall 2017. In an age when self -help methods abound and meditation is a common prescriptive, Garry Wills-one of the most respected writers on religious topics today-offers an extraordinary journey through one of the oldest aids to spiritual contemplation. Drawing together history and readings from scripture, Wills explains the beads on the rosary and the moments in Christ''s life they represent, illustrating each mystery with a stunning Tintoretto painting. The result is an illuminating and poignant exploration of the power of prayer that will edify and inspire readers.

The author blames American''s long-standing mistrust of government on a misreading of history, and a fundamental misunderstanding of the Founding Fathers.

"For more than a decade, The Kennedy Imprisonment has stood as the definitive historical and psychological analysis of the Kennedy clan and its crippling conception of power. Written in 1981 on the heels of Edward M. Kennedy''s embarrassing 1980 presidential candidacy, this book by Pulitzer Prize winner Garry Wills contends that Edward''s failure was not a reversal of the Kennedys'' bright history, but its ironic fulfillment. In it Wills reveals a family who enjoyed public adulation but provided pale leadership; who experienced both stunning fame and tragic failure; whose core values ensnared its men - particularly JFK - in their own myths of success, toughness, and masculinity. How the Kennedys'' sense of power played out in their private and public lives - in their relationships with women and world leaders - provides the unifying principle of this fascinating study." "Now available with a new introduction by the author, this insightful and prescient analysis of the venerable yet vulnerable Kennedy family remains as relevant and accurate of ever."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved