History : United States

The past few decades have seen a remarkable surge in Jewish influences on American culture. Entertainers and artists such as Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Allegra Goodman, and Tony Kushner have heralded new waves of television, film, literature, and theater; a major klezmer revival is under way; bagels are now as commonplace as pizza; and kabbalah has become as cool as crystals. Does this broad range of cultural expression accurately reflect what it means to be Jewish in America today?. Bringing together fourteen new essays by leading scholars, You Should See Yourself examines the fluctuating representations of Jewishness in a variety of areas of popular culture and high art, including literature, the media, film, theater, music, dance, painting, photography, and comedy. Contributors explore the evolution that has taken place within these cultural forms and how we can best explain these changes. Are variations in our understanding of Jewishness the result of general phenomena such as multiculturalism, politics, and postmodernism, or are they the product of more specifically Jewish concerns such as the intermarriage/continuity crisis, religious renewal, and relations between the United States and Israel?. Accessible to students and general readers alike, this volume takes an important step toward advancing the discussion of Jewish cultural influences in this country. more...

Price: $17.00

In 1943, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant, charismatic head of the Manhattan Project, recruited scientists to live as virtual prisoners of the U.S. government at Los Alamos, a barren mesa thirty-five miles outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Thousands of men, women, and children spent the war years sequestered in this top-secret military facility. They lied to friends and family about where they were going and what they were doing, and then disappeared into the desert. Through the eyes of a young Santa Fe widow who was one of Oppenheimer's first recruits, we see how, for all his flaws, he developed into an inspiring leader and motivated all those involved in the Los Alamos project to make a supreme effort and achieve the unthinkable. more...

Price: $14.00

In a masterful narrative, historian and biographer Charles Bracelen Flood brings to life the drama of Lincoln's final year, in which he oversaw the last campaigns of the Civil War, was reelected as president, and laid out his majestic vision for the nation's future in a reunified South and in the expanding West. more...

Price: $30.00

This work describes each year of the decade with a narrative account of the most significant social, cultural and political developments; a chronology of events; and eyewitness testimonies drawn from newspapers, memoirs of private and public figures, literature and other sources. more...

Price: $75.00

Included on the Chief of Staff of the Army’s recommended reading list, this concise account by David W. Hogan, Jr., of the United States Army’s Center of Military History gives a brief overview of how the Army has served the nation since the formation of George Washington’s Continental Army on 14 June 1775, covering not only the Army’s distinguished performance in America’s major conflicts but also its conduct of several other military and non-military missions throughout American history. more...

Price: $3.99