New Releases by Robert Byrd

A deeply informative and gorgeously illustrated look at the Statue of Liberty, from award-winning nonfiction master Robert Byrd. America''s most iconic national symbol was a gift from France to the United States--provided America raised the money for the pedestal on which it was to stand. Urged on by the publisher Joseph Pulitzer, it was raised, largely with the help of children, in the first example of a crowd sourced fund-raising campaign. This book tells the story of the best gift ever: how it was designed, created, transported, and then finally erected on its pedestal in the entrance to New York Harbor. Readable text is enhanced with illustrations chock-full of historical detail in Bob Byrd''s lighthearted, witty style.

How smart can humans really be? According to a panel of expert canines, we''re awfully confusing! We ignore the fact that we have a big water bowl in the bathroom, and don''t even re-eat our vomit! Follow along and see why our pets might think we''re a little silly.

Jason and the Argonauts traces each step of our hero s journey, from the Golden Fleece s origin story and Jason s childhood to his triumphant return with the prize and eventual death.

Whack! What’s that? Could it be? A piece of the sky! Oh my! Chicken Little and his friends run, run, run to tell the king. Nothing stands in the way except...the sly Foxy Loxy. Surely they have time to stop for lunch with Foxy and his kits. But what happens when Chicken Little and company find themselves on the menu? What this classic story needs is a new ending and a brave hero. And maybe this time, it’s Chicken Little! Cleverly retold and exquisitely illustrated by Robert Byrd, Brave Chicken Little transforms a cautionary fable into a tale of triumph.

Electric Ben is now a 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Book Award Winner, a Kirkus Reviews Best Children''s Book, a Horn Fanfare Book, and a Robert F. Sibert Honor book! “a true standout…bright, witty, informative and cleverly organized as the man himself.” – The New York Times A true Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin was the first American celebrity. In pictures and text, master artist Robert Byrd documents Franklin''s numerous and diverse accomplishments, from framing the Constitution to creating bifocals. The witty, wise, and endlessly curious Franklin is the perfect subject for Byrd''s lively style and vibrant art. The pages pulse with facts, quotes, and captions, while the inventive design and intricately detailed illustrations make a striking tribute to the brilliant American.

Muslim heresiographers present the medieval rationalist school of theology known as the Muʻtazila as heretics, while modern Western and modernist Muslim scholarship almost invariably present the Muʻtazila as the original free-thinkers of Islam. The result is a polarized view of the Muʻtazili tradition tradition; Islamists view the Muʻtazila as a heresy best forgotten while modernists, Muslim and Western, as historical proof of Islam''s essentially rational character. The present study is an attempt to problematize both perspectives by reexamining the concepts of reason (or rationalism) and tradition (or traditionalism) in light of Muʻtazilite theology and ethics. This analysis shows that the modern heirs of Muʻtazili thought are not be sought in Muslim scholastic theology or Enlightenment liberalism, but in the postmodern critiques of Western Muslim scholars such as Tariq Ramadan and Khaled Abou El Fadl.

The story of Prince Theseus and the trials that befall him when he vows to become a hero.

Famous in his time as a painter, prankster, and philosopher, Leonardo da Vinci was also a musician, sculptor, and engineer for dukes, popes, and kings. What remains of his work-from futuristic designs and scientific inquiry to artwork of ethereal beauty-reveals the ambitious, unpredictable brilliance of a visionary, and a timeless dreamer. Robert Byrd celebrates this passionate, playful genius in a glowing picture book replete with the richness and imagination of Leonardo''s own notebooks. Twenty lavish spreads, including side drawings, supplemental texts, and quotes from Leonardo''s writings, highlight distinct periods and make the master''s art, jokes, explorations, and inventions wonderfully vivid and accessible. A striking tribute to an irrepressible mind and to the potential within all who are curious.

Saint Francis, who loves all animals, explains to a sullen donkey why his kind have always had to work hard, but also tells him of a donkey''s role in the first Christmas. Full-color illustrations.

Gregory the gondolier comes up with a plan to keep Venice from sinking.

For three hundred years the Society of Friends, or Quakers, has been forwarding to governments recommendations on foreign policy, and it has often been in the vanguard of thought in its social and political views. In this study, Dr. Byrd brings together and states carefully and accurately those beliefs, principles, attitudes, and practices which have been fundamental to the Quaker approach. He illustrates and verifies his statement by an analytical Friends acting in official and semi-official capacities, which relate to foreign policy and international relations. Dr. Byrd’s systematic exposition of the modern Quaker’s theory of international relations offers a stimulating antidote to the realpolitik school of thought. His account of the Quaker interest in international affairs from 1647 to the present underlines for the diplomatic historian the role of morality in diplomacy, the influence of public opinion upon policy, and the part played by groups like Friends in shaping public attitudes. As Hans J. Morgenthau comments in his Foreword, “In a world which uses Christian ethics for un-Christian ends it is indeed moving to follow the historical trail of a Christian sect which seeks to transform itself and political society in the image of Christian teaching.... In their convictions, achievements, and sufferings the Quakers bear witness to the teachings of Christianity; in their failures they bear witness to the insuperable stubbornness of the human condition.... not the least of the merits of Professor Byrd’s book is his ability to convey through the movement of his mind and pen something of that moving quality which makes the Quaker approach to foreign policy, if nothing else, a noble experiment in Christian living.”

White House Staff and Office Files - Donald Steinberg - African Affairs, Rwanda, Jan.-July 1994.

National Security Council Cable, Email, and Records Management System - NSC Records Management - Rwanda & Lake.