Derek Beck, The War Before Independence
Derek W. Beck continues his groundbreaking narrative into the period preceding the Declaration of Independence, just days into the Revolutionary War. Sweeping readers from the Battle of Bunker Hill to the triumphs and tribulations of one of America’s greatest military leaders, George Washington, The War Before Independence: 1775–1776 features a vast amount of new investigative research. A historically accurate, narrative nonfiction that includes the Boston Campaign and the epic battle for Quebec, it is destined to become a vital work of great importance to the collective American conscience.
Derek W. Beck is an historian whose history writing has appeared in multiple history journals, scholarly works, and reviews and has been cited by the Boston Globe among other publications. He is a Major in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College, and is the recipient of numerous medals and awards for his achievements. Beck's education includes a Master of Science degree in Engineering & Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives in Los Angeles, CA, with his wife, Vicky.
American education as we know it today guaranteed by the state to serve every child in the country is still less than a hundred years old. It's no wonder we haven't agreed yet as to exactly what role education should play in our society. In these Tanner Lectures, Danielle Allen brings us much closer, examining the ideological impasse between vocational and humanistic approaches that has plagued educational discourse, offering a compelling proposal to finally resolve the dispute.
For over a decade the pundits of America have decried the dysfunction of American politics, and politicians have promised that, if elected, they'll bring about the change we need. We've grown rightly cynical to such promises, and we watch, seemingly helpless, as the state of politics in the US spirals further into partisan gridlock and mutual antipathy.
Fall, 1970. At the start of eighth grade, Peter Selgin fell in love with the young teacher who'd arrived from Oxford in Frye boots, with long hair, and a passion for his students that was intense and unorthodox. The son of an emotionally remote inventor, Peter was also a twin with a burning need to feel unique. 
On May 19, 1942 a U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey fifty miles away from New Orleans. Captained by 29-year-old Iron Cross and King's Cross recipient Erich Wurdemann, the submarine set its sights on the freighter Heredia with fifty-nine souls onboard. Most of the crew were merchant seamen, but there were also a handful of civilians, including the Downs family, consisting of the parents, Ray Sr. and Ina, along with their two children, eight-year-old Ray Jr., nicknamed Sonny, and eleven-year-old Lucille. Fast asleep in their berths, the Downs family had no notice that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, Ina and Lucille became separated from Ray Sr. and Sonny.
From the time of Stradivari, the mysterious craft of violinmaking has been a closely guarded, lucrative, and entirely masculine preserve. In the 1950s Carleen Maley Hutchins was a grade school science teacher, amateur trumpet player, and New Jersey housewife. When musical friends asked her to trade a trumpet for a $75 viola, she decided to try making one, thus setting in motion a surprising career.
Officially, America entered World War II on December 8, 1941 the day after the bombing of Peal Harbor, but even before that infamous day America had been at war. Long before, Franklin D. Roosevelt had been supporting the Allies. While Americans were sympathetic to the people being crushed under the Axis powers, they were unwilling to enter a foreign war.
"Revolutionary love, revolutionary memory and revolutionary analysis are at work in every page written by Mumia Abu-Jamal. His writings are a wake-up call. He is a voice from our prophetic tradition, speaking to us here, now, lovingly, urgently. Black man, old-school jazz man, freedom fighter, revolutionary--his presence, his voice, his words are the writing on the wall." -- Cornel West, from the foreword
History is right under our feet; we just need to dig a little to find it. Though not the most popular construction project, Boston's Big Dig has contributed more to our understanding and appreciation of the city's archaeological history than any other recent event. Joseph M. Bagley, city archaeologist of Boston, uncovers a fascinating hodgepodge of history from ancient fishing grounds to Jazz Age red-light districts that will surprise and delight even longtime residents. Each artifact is shown in full color and accompanied by description of the item's significance to its site location and the larger history of the city. From cannonballs to drinking cups and from ancient spears to chinaware, A History of Boston in 50 Artifacts offers a unique and accessible introduction to Boston's history and physical culture while revealing the ways objects can offer a tantalizing entree into our past. 
In 1864 a U.S. army doctor dug up the remains of a Dakota man who had been killed in Minnesota. Carefully recording his observations, he sent the skeleton to a museum in Washington, DC, that was collecting human remains for research. In the bone rooms of this museum and others like it, a scientific revolution was unfolding that would change our understanding of the human body, race, and prehistory.
