Best Selling Books by Thomas Fleming

Few writers have told the story of the American Revolution with more grace, clarity, or emotional power than New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming. Here, collected for the first time and posthumously, are Fleming''s favorite works. He takes us back to the days of the founders, detailing the surprising facts of American life in 1776, including its resemblance to today. He tells the seldom-told tale of the Loyalists, supporters of England who acted on their political convictions with impressive courage during the Revolution, and reveals little-known facets of men ranging from Franklin to Lafayette, Howe to Washington. He concludes with the Constitutional Convention of 1787 when fifty-five men from twelve virtually autonomous states came to Philadelphia in a brave - some thought foolhardy - attempt to replace a loose and fragile confederation with a strong national government. Their astonishing achievement became a standard of enlightenment the world over.

Today''s spectacle of an imperial Congress battling the president of the United States is unsettling to many Americans. But it should not come as a surprise. Since the earliest days of the republic, writes New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming in this essay, Congress has sought to seize power for itself and diminish the presidency.

They called themselves Loyalists. The rebels called them Tories. This derogatory term had previously been reserved for the supporters of the predominantly Catholic line of Stuart kings, whose reign ended in England''s bloodless revolution of 1688. For well over 100 years, it was the fashion among American historians to accept Thomas Paine''s 1776 declaration that "Every Tory is a coward . . . fear is the foundation of Toryism." But more recent historical research has revealed many New England Loyalists acted on their political convictions with impressive courage during the American Revolution. Here, in this short-form book by New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming, is their story.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

On April 19, 1775, thirty-eight Americans formed two uneven lines on the wet grass of the two-acre common in Lexington, Massachusetts. They were summoned by the rolling beat of sixteen-year-old William Diamond''s brightly painted drum. The order to sound the call to arms had been given by Lexington''s militia captain, John Parker. A British column had been reported just fifteen minutes away. This is one of the vivid scenes New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming sets in First Stroke, his award-winning history of the opening days of the American Revolution, beginning with the Boston Tea Party.

They called themselves Sons of Liberty--a revolutionary conspiracy that intended to form a new confederacy in the American heartland--and put an end to the American Civil War. Backed by the South, the Sons launch guerilla attacks against Union troops. The year is 1864, the place Indiana and Kentucky. A time of ruthless censorship, conscription, and a seemingly endless war that has left a half a million Americans dead. Union Major Paul Stapleton falls in love with Janet Todd, courier and evangelist for the Sons of Liberty. Another admirer, Colonel Adam Jameson, readies his Confederate cavalry division to support the Sons'' revolt. The battle for the future of America is about to begin. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

It was not just his wealth that made Frank Hague unique - it was the totality of his power and the ferocity with which he exercised it. For thirty years, he reigned as mayor of Jersey City and ruler of New Jersey. Here, in this short-form book by New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming, is the little-told story of one of the most powerful political bosses in American history.

On February 15, 1898 the Maine, an American battleship in Havana Harbor, blew up. It was no accident. The event led to the Spanish-American War, but the Spanish were not to blame. Here New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Thomas Fleming investigates who really sank the ship.

Even his abolitionist allies thought his attack on Harpers Ferry insane, but, as this short-form book by New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming points out, John Brown sensed that his trial and death would ignite the nation''s conscience.

The Heart of Liberty, a New York Times bestselling novel by Thomas Fleming, has been hailed as "The Gone with the Wind of the American Revolution." Told from the perspective of James, "Jemmy" Kemble, writing for his grandchildren, the opening of the book reads, "Let me caution in strictest terms against publishing what I write. The nation is not ready to face the truth about itself that an honest story of the Revolution must mirror." Kemble thus recalls the great event of his life - the upheaval that created the United States of America. His honest story unflinchingly depicts the panic and cowardice, the greed and brutality that were part of the war for independence. It also celebrates the Americans who struggled to cope with the chaos of a war most of them never wanted. Fleming expertly blends his fictional characters with the great men of the Revolution - George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Sir William Howe - as well as a host of other vivid characters. With a historian''s insight and a novelist''s skill, Fleming has produced a panorama that vividly recreates and matches the complexity and drama of America''s first war.

When Sir William Howe, commander-in-chief of the British Army in America, and his brother, Admiral Richard Howe, cornered General George Washington’s army on Manhattan Island, they politely asked the Americans if they wanted to surrender. The British gave the Americans two weeks to think it over, time Washington used to strengthen his troops for another round of fighting. Here, in this short-form book by New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming, is the surprising story of how William and Richard Howe guaranteed British defeat and American independence by choosing peacemaking over bloodletting.

In the early days of the twentieth century, a young American named Homer Lea predicted with uncanny accuracy the rise of Japan''s militarism and its challenge to the United States. An acknowledged military genius who never served in the armed forces, this hunchbacked, nearly blind dwarf worked tirelessly for Sun Yat-sen, the "George Washington of China," in his doomed attempt to turn China into a democracy. Here in this essay from New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming is Lea''s remarkable story.

It is a curious historical anomaly that the United States, for generations the greatest steel producer on the planet, the nation that invented the airplane and a staggering array of other technological marvels, never managed to design and build a good tank before the MIA1 Abrams of the 1991 Gulf War. The history of tanks has seldom attracted the attention it deserves, New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming argues in this essay. Here is the overlooked and fascinating story of America''s tanks.

General William Howe had a reputation as a bold, resourceful commander. Yet in battle after battle, he had George Washington beaten - and failed to pursue the advantage. Was "Sir Billy" all glitter and no gold? Or was he actually in sympathy with the rebellion? Here, in this short-form book by New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming are the answers.

"I have not sought or desired this new ministry," Pope John XXIII once wrote. For Matthew Mahan, the knowledge that he could say the same made his selection by John''s successor as one of five new American Cardinals the ultimate triumph in a life dedicated to the Catholic Church. But that triumph soon becomes painfully hollow in this moving novel. A born politician, Mahan rose in the Church with unquestioning belief in its doctrines. But the Vatican Council made him begin to doubt his faith. These doubts torment him as he tries to deal with priests and laymen who demand change in the Church''s teaching on birth control, divorce, and clerical celibacy, while conservative churchmen urge blind support of Rome''s uncompromising stand on these issues. As it examines and exposes the inner workings of the Catholic Church, The Good Shepherd, by New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming, is the extraordinary story of a man of God coping in the world of men.

Here in this essay from New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming is the harrowing account of a true hero of the Korean War, Commander Gene Clark. Without Clark, General Douglas MacArthur''s daring plan to invade South Korea from the sea would almost surely have failed.

On Yacht Sailing is a book by Thomas Fleming Day. This edition provides a simple treatise for beginners concerning the art of handling small yachts and boats.

The effort to understand human nature in a political context is a daunting challenge that has been undertaken in a variety of ways and by a myriad of disciplines through the ages. From Plato to Hobbes and Burke, to Wallas and Oakeschott in our era, efforts have been made to provide some organic framework for the political study of mankind. What has added greatly to the complexity of the task is the increasing denial, even rejection, in the positivist and behaviorist traditions, of the very notion of a human nature.The work can be described as a series of interlocking propositions: the proverbial view of human nature can be explained by evolutionary theory. Biological differences between men and women are responsible for family, community and group life. Social evolution goes through stages which are recapitulated in the moral life of individuals. A well-defined federal system mirrors human development. And finally, for Fleming, most problems in social and political life stem from violations of this federalist system.Fleming''s volume takes up a variety of issues: sex and gender differences, democracy and dictatorship, individual and familial patterns of association. He does so in the context of showing how forms of legitimate authority such as families, communities and nations establish such authority by appeals to human nature, and that these appeals, while presumably resting on empirical evidence, also confirm the existence of normative structures. Fleming''s work is an effort of synthesis that is sure to arouse discussion and debate. It represents a serious addition to a literature retrieved from the historical dustbins to which it has been repeatedly consigned.

Thomas Fleming Day''s ''Songs of Sea and Sail'' is a collection of maritime poems that beautifully capture the essence of the sea and the adventures of sailors. Through vivid imagery and powerful language, Day transports the reader to the deck of a ship, allowing them to feel the spray of the ocean and hear the creaking of the sails. Written in a lyrical and evocative style, these poems showcase Day''s deep connection to the sea and his admiration for the life of a sailor. ''Songs of Sea and Sail'' is a testament to Day''s mastery of poetic language and his ability to vividly depict the beauty and danger of the maritime world. This collection is a must-read for anyone with a love for the sea and a passion for poetry.

From The Louisiana Purchase Like many other major events in world history, the Louisiana Purchase is a fascinating mix of destiny and individual energy and creativity. . . . Thomas Jefferson would have been less than human had he not claimed a major share of the credit. In a private letter . . . the president, reviving a favorite metaphor, said he ""very early saw"" Louisiana was a ""speck"" that could turn into a ""tornado."" He added that the public never knew how near ""this catastrophe was."" But he decided to calm the hotheads of the west and ""endure"" Napoleon''s aggression, betting that a war with England would force Bonaparte to sell. This policy ""saved us from the storm."" Omitted almost entirely from this account is the melodrama of the purchase, so crowded with ""what ifs"" that might have changed the outcome-and the history of the world. The reports of the Lewis and Clark expedition . . . electrified the nation with their descriptions of a region of broad rivers and rich soil, of immense herds of buffalo and other game, of grassy prairies seemingly as illimitable as the ocean. . . . From the Louisiana Purchase would come, in future decades, the states of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and large portions of what is now North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Colorado, and Louisiana. For the immediate future, the purchase, by doubling the size of the United States, transformed it from a minor to a major world power. The emboldened Americans soon absorbed West and East Florida and fought mighty England to a bloody stalemate in the War of 1812. Looking westward, the orators of the 1840s who preached the ""Manifest Destiny"" of the United States to preside from sea to shining sea based their oratorical logic on the Louisiana Purchase. TURNING POINTS features preeminent writers offering fresh, personal perspectives on the defining events of our time.

A summary and analysis on research regarding the effects of class size in education.