Best Selling Books by Richard B

In the 1990s Richard B. Alley and his colleagues made headlines with the discovery that the last ice age came to an abrupt end over a period of only three years. In The Two-Mile Time Machine, Alley tells the fascinating history of global climate changes as revealed by reading the annual rings of ice from cores drilled in Greenland. He explains that humans have experienced an unusually temperate climate compared to the wild fluctuations that characterized most of prehistory. He warns that our comfortable environment could come to an end in a matter of years and tells us what we need to know in order to understand and perhaps overcome climate changes in the future. In a new preface, the author weighs in on whether our understanding of global climate change has altered in the years since the book was first published, what the latest research tells us, and what he is working on next.

In "The Grand Old Man," Richard B. Cook crafts a compelling biographical narrative that explores the life and legacy of a pivotal figure in American history. Through a rich tapestry of meticulously researched facts and evocative prose, Cook captures the complexities of his subject'Äôs personal and public life, illuminating the influences that shaped a leader renowned for his wisdom and vision. The book's literary style is both accessible and profound, blending narrative storytelling with analytical rigor, allowing readers to engage deeply with the historical context surrounding the era in which the figure thrived. Richard B. Cook, a distinguished historian with a passion for uncovering the nuances of American leadership, draws from his extensive background in historical research and writing. His academic pursuits have endowed him with a unique perspective on the intersections of individual agency and sociopolitical movements, equipping him to deliver an evocative portrayal of the subject's impact on contemporary society. Cook's intimate familiarity with the socio-historical landscape informs his narrative, making it not just a biography but a lens into a transformative period in American history. I highly recommend "The Grand Old Man" to readers who seek a deeper understanding of leadership and legacy in the United States. Cook'Äôs insightful exploration invites readers to reflect on the enduring lessons of the past, making it a valuable resource for history enthusiasts, scholars, and anyone interested in the dynamics of power and influence.

“Brilliant...an enormous work based on the most meticulous research.”—LA Times Book Review The battle at Guadalcanal—which began eight months to the day after Pearl Harbor—marked the first American offensive of World War II. It was a brutal six-month campaign that cost the lives of some 7,000 Americans and over 30,000 Japanese. This volume, ten years in the writing, recounts the full story of the critical campaign for Guadalcanal and is based on first-time translations of official Japanese Defense Agency accounts and recently declassified U.S. radio intelligence, Guadalcanal recreates the battle—on land, at sea, and in the air—as never before: it examines the feelings of both American and Japanese soldiers, the strategies and conflicts of their commanders, and the strengths and weaknesses of various fighting units.

Between 1500 and 1850, European traders shipped hundreds of thousands of African, Indian, Malagasy, and Southeast Asian slaves to ports throughout the Indian Ocean world. The activities of the British, Dutch, French, and Portuguese traders who operated in the Indian Ocean demonstrate that European slave trading was not confined largely to the Atlantic but must now be viewed as a truly global phenomenon. European slave trading and abolitionism in the Indian Ocean also led to the development of an increasingly integrated movement of slave, convict, and indentured labor during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the consequences of which resonated well into the twentieth century. Richard B. Allen’s magisterial work dramatically expands our understanding of the movement of free and forced labor around the world. Drawing upon extensive archival research and a thorough command of published scholarship, Allen challenges the modern tendency to view the Indian and Atlantic oceans as self-contained units of historical analysis and the attendant failure to understand the ways in which the Indian Ocean and Atlantic worlds have interacted with one another. In so doing, he offers tantalizing new insights into the origins and dynamics of global labor migration in the modern world.

"Former vice president Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney explain the unique and indispensable nature of American power, reveal the damage done by President Obama's abandonment of this principle, and show how America can and must lead again"--

This is a comprehensive manual containing all the necessary information for making the best of living with a devastating disease and its miserable symptoms and side effects.

"The story of a patient, a doctor, and 35 years of medical innovation"--Dust jacket.

Montana: A History of Two Centuries first appeared in 1976 and immediately became the standard work in its field. In this thoroughgoing revision, William L. Lang has joined Michael P. Malone and Richard B. Roeder in carrying forward the narrative to the 1990s. Fully twenty percent of the text is new or revised, incorporating the results of new research and new interpretations dealing with pre-history, Native American studies, ethnic history, women's studies, oral history, and recent political history. In addition, the bibliography has been updated and greatly expanded, new maps have been drawn, and new photographs have been selected.

The story of how the Constitution has been reshaped over the past 200 years to meet America’s changing needs. Since 1789, 27 amendments were adopted — creating the Bill of Rights, banning liquor, protecting the right to vote and reworking how we choose presidents and senators — and more than 10,000 failed. Proposed amendments tried to stave off the Civil War and then wrote its results into the Constitution. “[A] thoughtful history of the Amendments to the Constitution... An excellent delineation of issues debated by modern constitutional scholars.” — Kirkus “[A] sober, straightforward history of the process of amending the Constitution” — Publishers Weekly “[A] comprehensive and engaging study of Article V’s procedures for amending the constitution.” — Washington Post “The authors capture the essence of the importance of the amending process in a highly readable, gracefully written book... This book, which discusses knotty legal and constitutional issues without stuffiness and in plain language, should be easy reading for students and laypersons.” — The Journal of American History “[A] readable, intelligently organized, and well-informed history of how and why the Constitution has been amended.” — The Historian “[S]cholarly and readable.” — Human Rights “Bernstein’s work is engaging and stimulating... he is to be commended for explaining so carefully just how complex a set of questions and problems cluster around Article 5.” — The American Historical Review “Well written... this volume fills an important gap in the current literature and is likely to be the standard account of amending history for some time to come.” — The American Journal of Legal History “[A] masterful book, daring in its scope and impeccable in its execution. Amending America is a great work of scholarship that does justice to the United States Constitution as a living and evolving document. It is a tribute to the working of American democracy, and contributes to our understanding of its evolution and its unfinished agenda.” — Vartan Gregorian, President, Brown University “A magnificent treasure trove of American history, which brings to life why our Constitution has remained a ‘living document’ for over two centuries. Amending America is a wonderful book for anyone interested in our country.” — Arthur R. Miller, Bruce Bromley Professor of Law, Harvard Law School “Amending America is invaluable for just about anybody seeking to understand the contradictions of our approach to constitutional government. With grace, insight, and considerable information, Bernstein and Agel have written what should be the standard work for a long time to come.” — Herbert S. Parmet, Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York, author of Richard Nixon and His America “Amending America admirably illuminates the complex and remarkable history of the American people’s repeated attempts to amend the Constitution, and captures that history’s enduring significance. Written with scholarship, clarity, and grace, this book recovers a previously neglected dimension of American constitutional history.” — William E. Nelson, Professor of Law, New York University, author of The Fourteenth Amendment: From Political Principle to Judicial Doctrine “Instructive and fascinating. The book is thorough, erudite, and packed with the anecdotes that make our political past so enjoyable to review.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune “An intelligent, carefully researched, and highly readable account.” — Detroit News

Slow Fade to Black completes Richard B. Jewell’s richly detailed two-part history of the RKO film studio, which began with RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan Is Born, published in 2012. This second volume charts the studio’s fortunes, which peaked during World War II, declined in the postwar period, and finally collapsed in the 1950s. Drawing on hard-to-access archival materials, Jewell chronicles the period from 1942 to the company’s demise in 1957. Towering figures associated with the studio included Howard Hughes, Orson Welles, Charles Koerner, Val Lewton, Jane Russell, and Robert Mitchum. In addition to featuring an extraordinary cast of characters, the RKO story describes key aspects of entertainment history: Hollywood’s collaboration with Washington, film noir, censorship, HUAC, the rise of independent film production, and the impact of television on film. Taken as a whole, Jewell’s two-volume study represents the most substantial and insightful exploration of the Hollywood studio system to date.

A uniquely rich portrayal of Tennesseans who fought and lost their lives in the Civil War is presented in this collection of stories and portraits that are joined with personal remembrances from recovered letters and diaries and detailed historical background.

Since the Constitution delegates presidential powers in general rather than specific terms, the domestic influence of the president has varied over time according to the nature of the person holding the office. From George Washington to George W. Bush, this volume takes an in-depth look at the domestic programs of America's 43 presidents. Written from a non-partisan viewpoint, each chapter focuses on a single presidency, providing information, analysis, interpretation and commentary regarding the domestic program of each chief executive.

X-ray Vision weaves together some of the most fascinating images and accounts in science and medicine. It is the first book to combine stories from the history of medical imaging, the remarkable ways in which it illuminates our lives and the world in which we live, and the lives of real patients whose medical care it has enriched.

Richard B. Gardner invites readers to explore the dramatic story of Jesus which Matthew tells. He connects that story to the first-century world of its author and early readers. The commentary then shows how Matthew has shaped the church and still speaks to the life of the Christian community. Gardner probes each section for its meaning in the wider biblical context and in the life of the church. Thus readers are prepared to wrestle with Jesus’ gospel and mission, starting small, but for all nations. Ends with essays, an extensive bibliography, and a list of select resources.

Through its inclusion of specific applications, The Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, Second Edition continues to provide a bridge between the theory and applications of elasticity. It presents classical as well as more recent results, including those obtained by the authors and their colleagues. Revised and improved, this edition incorporates additional examples and the latest research results. New to the Second Edition Exposition of the application of Laplace transforms, the Dirac delta function, and the Heaviside function Presentation of the Cherkaev, Lurie, and Milton (CLM) stress invariance theorem that is widely used to determine the effective moduli of elastic composites The Cauchy relations in elasticity A body force analogy for the transient thermal stresses A three-part table of Laplace transforms An appendix that explores recent developments in thermoelasticity Although emphasis is placed on the problems of elastodynamics and thermoelastodynamics, the text also covers elastostatics and thermoelastostatics. It discusses the fundamentals of linear elasticity and applications, including kinematics, motion and equilibrium, constitutive relations, formulation of problems, and variational principles. It also explains how to solve various boundary value problems of one, two, and three dimensions. This professional reference includes access to a solutions manual for those wishing to adopt the book for instructional purposes.