- Table View
- List View
Last Night in San Francisco: Tech's Lost Promise and the Killing of Bob Lee
by Scott Alan LucasBad Blood meets Burn Book in this exposé about tech icon Bob Lee—and what his life and 2023 murder tell us about San Francisco in the Internet AgeFOR FANS OF GOING INFINITE AND SUPER PUMPED: Sex and drugs, parties and violence, genius coders and VC tycoons—welcome to the rip-roaring world of the American tech industryThe full story of an industry, a city, and two men—one who got everything he ever wanted, one who never got what he thought he deserved—and what happened the night it all came apart.Like his many peers in the tech industry who had poured into San Francisco over the last two decades, Bob Lee was remaking the world, building the most familiar parts of our digital lives, a lead innovator at one start-up after another, such as Google, Android, Square, and CashApp.When Lee was found stabbed to death one night on the streets of San Francisco, the city&’s many critics knew exactly what it meant. Just like they had been saying, the city was violent, dangerous, and out-of-control. San Francisco was so bent on creating a liberal utopia that it was failing at its most basic tasks—to keep its citizens safe.It&’s a familiar story—familiar and wrong. Bob Lee was a man without limits, and he had a recklessness that led to his triumphs as well as his downfall.
Last Night with the Duke: The Rakes of St. James (The Rakes of St. James #1)
by Amelia GreyCould finding love be his greatest scandal of all? The Duke of Griffin has never lived down his reputation as one of the Rakes of St. James. Now rumors are swirling around London that his twin sisters may bear the brunt of his past follies. Hiring a competent chaperone is the only thing Griffin has on his mind--until he meets the lovely and intriguing Miss Esmeralda Swift. In ways he could never have expected, she arouses more than just his curiosity. Esmeralda Swift considered herself too sensible to ever fall for a scoundrel, but that was before she met the irresistibly seductive Duke of Griffin. His employment offer proves too tempting for her to resist. She can’t afford to be distracted by his devilish charms because the stakes are so high for his sisters’ debut Season. . .unless one of London’s most notorious rakes has had a change of heart and is ready to make Esmeralda his bride in Last Night with the Duke, the first novel in the brand-new Regency Rakes of St. James series by New York Times bestselling author Amelia Grey.
Last Night's Scandal
by Loretta ChaseAfter surviving the perils of Egypt, Peregrine Dalmay, Earl of Lisle, is back in London, facing the most dire threat of all: his irrational family . . . and Miss Olivia Wingate-Carsington. A descendant of notorious-but very aristocratic-swindlers, the delectable redhead has the ability to completely unhinge him and a long history of dragging him into her scandalous schemes. Olivia may be Society's darling, but she's aware a respectable future looms menacingly. And so when Lisle is forced to go on a family mission, she sees this as the perfect chance for one last adventure-even if it is with the one man in the world she can't wrap around her finger. But really, she only wants to help . . . Which is why Lisle and Olivia find themselves in a gloomy Scottish castle inhabited by spiteful ghosts and craven murderers . . . and a shocking secret: the greatest peril of all may be burning within their own stubborn hearts.
Last Night's Scandal
by Loretta ChasePeregrine Dalmay, Earl of Lisle, may have survived the deadly perils of Egypt, but back in Regency London, he faces the most dire threat yet: his irrational, emotional family...and the completely uncontrollable Miss Olivia Wingate-Carsington!Descended from a line of notorious--but very aristocratic--adventurers, Olivia has a long history of driving Peregrine to distraction, and her debut into polite society hasn't lessened her flair for drama, or her ability to drag him into her scandalous schemes.All Peregrine wants to do is escape back to his research and the lesser evils of poisonous snakes and tomb robbers, but his family has guilted him into an impossible mission in the Scottish wilds; and Olivia--who is keenly aware that a respectable future of marriage and rules and propriety looms--decides that accompanying him will be the perfect chance for one last adventure. Besides, she really, only wants to help.Which is why Lisle and Olivia find themselves in a gloomy Scottish castle, inhabited by grumpy servants, spiteful ghosts, and craven murderers...and possibly the greatest peril of all: the wayward commands of their very unruly hearts!
Last Nocturne: A Mystery
by Marjorie EcclesBeautifully written and highly evocative of the bustling streets of London and Vienna in the early twentieth century, Marjorie Eccles's Last Nocturne is an intriguingly complex mystery of passion and the devastating repercussions of a single action.What could make a successful, happily married man take a gun and shoot himself? What made a young artist on the brink of fame throw himself to his death?These are the questions facing Chief Inspector Lamb and his assistant, Detective Sergeant Cogan. Neither victim left a note behind to explain what drove him to take his own life, and it appears that nothing untoward had occurred in the weeks preceding their deaths. Having briefly met both victims, Lamb struggles to connect the impression he gained of the men with their final actions, and his close attention pays off when a postmortem reveals some surprising results.With one case now looking like a suspicious death, Lamb looks for links between the two men. All paths seem to lead to the enigmatic figure of Mrs. Isobel Amberley and a mysterious event that took place one winter's night in Vienna.
Last Of The Breed
by Les Savage Jr.Last of the Breed by Les Savage Jr. is a gripping and emotionally charged Western novel that explores the struggle for survival, identity, and justice in the rugged frontier of the American West. With vivid storytelling and richly drawn characters, Savage delivers a tale that is as much about the untamed wilderness as it is about the complexities of human nature.The story follows a Native American protagonist, a proud and resourceful warrior, who finds himself at the center of a fierce conflict between his people’s traditions and the relentless encroachment of settlers and soldiers. As one of the last of his kind, he must navigate a world that is rapidly changing, fighting to preserve his heritage while confronting the harsh realities of survival in a hostile land.As alliances shift and tensions rise, the protagonist becomes a symbol of resilience and defiance, embodying the spirit of those who refuse to be erased by history. Alongside moments of action and adventure, Savage infuses the narrative with themes of loyalty, honor, and the enduring bond between people and the land they call home.With its fast-paced plot, compelling characters, and evocative depiction of the Western frontier, Last of the Breed is a classic tale of courage and perseverance. Savage captures the clash of cultures and the profound sense of loss experienced by those who fought to protect their way of life against overwhelming odds.Perfect for fans of Western fiction and historical dramas, Last of the Breed is a powerful and unforgettable story that reflects on the enduring legacy of the American West and the people who shaped its history.
Last One Out: Yates McDaniel: World War II's Most Daring Reporter
by Jack TorryThis is an exciting story about a newspaper reporter who risked his life on countless occasions in Nanking, Singapore, and Manila to provide people throughout the world with riveting coverage of the war in Asia.Author Jack Torry spent two and a half years reading hundreds of the subject's newspaper articles, examining scores of letters written by McDaniel's parents and sister, going through personal letters he wrote during the war, and reviewing extensive interview notes in the Library of Congress.McDaniel was the last reporter to leave Singapore before its fall to the Japanese in 1942. He escaped on one of the last ships leaving Singapore, and when it was sunk by Japanese aircraft, he and 130 others had to survive on a deserted island.
Last One Over the Wall: The Massachusetts Experiment in Closing Reform Schools
by Jerome G. MillerLast One over the Wall is an analytical and autobiographical account of Jerome G. Miller's tenure as head of the Massachusetts juvenile justice system, during which he undertook one of the most daring and drastic steps in recent juvenile justice history -- he closed reformatories and returned offenders to community supervision and treatment by private schools and youth agencies. Filled with insights into juvenile and adult behavior in prison and outside, Miller's account provides a rare opportunity to view our juvenile justice system as a whole, including all the politics, economics, and social biases that come with it. In a new preface for this edition, the author reflects on his decision of seven years ago and the lessons learned from it.
Last Orders
by Harry TurtledoveHistory is changed by one small act.In an extraordinary saga of nations locked in war, master storyteller Harry Turtledove tells the story of World War II, which begins over Czechoslovakia rather than Poland, eleven months earlier than it really came. Now we have the final installment in Turtledove's landmark World War II series. Hitler's Plan A was to win in a hurry, striking hard and deep into France. There was no Plan B. Now the war grinds on. Countries have been forced into strange alliances. The Nazis fortify thin lines with Hungarian and Romanian troops. England, finding its footing after the suspicious death of Winston Churchill and a coup d'état, fights back in Europe and on the seas of the North Atlantic. Jews fight on both sides of the war--in secret in German uniform, openly in Spain, France, and Russia. Into the standoff come new killing tools, from tanks to bazookas. In the Pacific, Japan prepares bombs filled with macabre biological concoctions to be dropped on Hawaii. For the U.S., the only enemy is Japan, as there has been no casus belli for America in Europe. Then Hitler becomes desperate and declares war on the United States. But is it too late? His own people are rising up in revolt. The German military may have to put down the violence, even perhaps bomb its own cities. In this epic drama, real men and women are shaped by the carnage, and their individual acts in turn shape history. Drawing on the gritty, personal reality of war and on a cast of unforgettable characters, Harry Turtledove has written an alternate history that intrigues, fascinates, and astounds. Praise for Harry Turtledove "If you like alternate histories, you're going to like this series a lot."--The San Diego Union-Tribune "Turtledove is the standard-bearer for alternate history."--USA Today Coup d'Etat "This is what alternative history is all about."--Historical Novel Society The Big Switch "The Hugo Award winner continues to delight in exploring the world of 'what if?'"--Library Journal West and East "There's plenty to satisfy fans of military strategy, tactics, and armaments."--Publishers WeeklyHitler's War "Turtledove is always good, but this return to World War II . . . is genuinely brilliant. . . . The characterizations in particular bring the book to extraordinary life."--BooklistFrom the Hardcover edition.
Last Outpost on the Zulu Frontier: Fort Napier and the British Imperial Garrison
by Graham DominySmall and isolated in the Colony of Natal, Fort Napier was long treated like a temporary outpost of the expanding British Empire. Yet British troops manned this South African garrison for over seventy years. Tasked with protecting colonists, the fort became even more significant as an influence on, and reference point for, settler society. Graham Dominy's Last Outpost on the Zulu Frontier reveals the unexamined but pivotal role of Fort Napier in the peacetime public dramas of the colony. Its triumphalist colonial-themed pageantry belied colonists's worries about their own vulnerability. As Dominy shows, the cultural, political, and economic methods used by the garrison compensated for this perceived weakness. Settler elites married their daughters to soldiers to create and preserve an English-speaking oligarchy. At the same time, garrison troops formed the backbone of a consumer market that allowed colonists to form banking and property interests that consolidated their control.
Last Paper Standing: A Century of Competition between the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News (G - Reference,information And Interdisciplinary Subjects Ser.)
by Ken J. WardLast Paper Standing chronicles the history of competition between the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News—from both newspapers’ origins to their joint operating agreement in 2001 to the death of the News in 2009—to tell a broader story about the decline of newspaper readership in the United States. The papers fought for dominance in the lucrative Denver newspaper market for more than a century, enduring vigorous competition in pursuit of monopoly control. This frequently sensational, sometimes outlandish, and occasionally bloody battle spanned numerous eras of journalism, embodying the rise and fall of the newspaper industry during the twentieth century in the lead up to the fall of American newspapering. Drawing on manuscript collections scattered across the United States as well as oral histories with executives, managers, and journalists from the papers, Ken J. Ward investigates the strategies employed in their competition with one another and against other challenges, such as widespread economic uncertainty and the deterioration of the newspaper industry. He follows this competition through the death of the Rocky Mountain News in 2009, which ended the country’s last great newspaper war and marked the close of the golden age of Denver journalism. Fake news runs rampant in the absence of high-quality news sources like the News and the Post of the past. Neither canonizing nor vilifying key characters, Last Paper Standing offers insight into the historical context that led these papers’ managers to their changing strategies over time. It is of interest to media and business historians, as well as anyone interested in the general history of journalism, Denver, and Colorado.
Last Post over the River Kwai: The 2nd East Surreys in the Far East, 1938–1945
by Cecil LowryLast Post Over the River Kwai is the carefully researched account of the experiences of the officers and men of 2nd Battalion The East Surreys during the Second World War.Stationed in Shanghai in the early 1940s, the Battalion was deployed to Malaya and fought gallantly to slow the Japanese advance. After heavy losses the survivors found themselves POWs in Singapore in February 1942 after the humiliating surrender which Churchill described as Britains worst ever military disaster.The next three and a half years saw members of the Battalion suffering appalling hardship at the hands of their brutal Japanese captors, whether in Singapore, on the Death Railway, Malaya or Japan itself, as wells as on hellships. Many died but remarkably the majority survived to tell their story. Their prolonged captivity with unbelievable hardship, deprivation and cruelty makes for distressing but inspiring reading.
Last Post: The Final Word From Our First World War Soldiers
by Max ArthurThe 'Forgotten Voices' of the First World War speak for the final time.LAST POST is very consciously the last word from the handful of First World War survivors who were left alive in 2004. Now they have passed away, our final human connection with the First World War has been broken.Max Arthur, a skilled interviewer, took the very last chance we had to ask questions of those who were there. Now updated to include a new introduction by the author for the centenary of the First World War.
Last Post: The Final Word From Our First World War Soldiers
by Max ArthurLAST POST is very consciously the last word from the handful of First World War survivors who were left alive in 2004. Now they have passed away, our final human connection with the First World War has been broken.Max Arthur, a skilled interviewer, took the very last chance we had to ask questions of those who were there. Read by Max Arthur, Paul McGann and Clive Mantle(p) 2007 Orion Publishing Group
Last Post: The Final World From Our First World War Soldiers
by Max ArthurLAST POST is very consciously the last word from the handful of First World War survivors who were left alive in 2004. Now they have passed away, our final human connection with the First World War has been broken.Max Arthur, a skilled interviewer, took the very last chance we had to ask questions of those who were there.Now updated to include a new introduction by the author for the centenary of the First World War.
Last Promise (The McBride Brothers #3)
by Scarlett DunnA fiercely independent heiress and a wild cowboy find strength with each other in the Wild West in this inspirational romance by the author of Finding Promise. For English heiress Mary Ann Hardwicke, the Wild West is the perfect place to make her own life and escape a stifling arranged marriage. Hard at work proving her independence, it&’s little wonder she has no time for handsome cowboy Luke McBride. No matter that he somehow understands the freedom she so badly needs—how could she trust such a wild spirit, much less find a way to love him? Like the broncs he busts, Luke doesn&’t see himself settling down in one place, let alone with one woman. So, at first, Mary Ann is just an intriguing challenge. But her determination and bravery spark a longing to prove he can be the truly good man she deserves. Now as their enemies work to separate them, they will take a dangerous gamble on faith to claim an enduring love . . .&“It is bittersweet when a series ends; questions are answered, readers are reunited with beloved characters. Mary Ann was a favorite; she defied her family and society to explore the Wild West to prove she could take of herself. Dunn is a talented author who has brought new and refreshing ideas to the historical romance genre.&” —RT Book Reviews &“This one swept me off my feet . . . I didn&’t want it to end!&” —First for Women
Last Resort: The Financial Crisis and the Future of Bailouts
by Eric A. PosnerThe bailouts during the recent financial crisis enraged the public. They felt unfair—and counterproductive: people who take risks must be allowed to fail. If we reward firms that make irresponsible investments, costing taxpayers billions of dollars, aren’t we encouraging them to continue to act irresponsibly, setting the stage for future crises? And beyond the ethics of it was the question of whether the government even had the authority to bail out failing firms like Bear Stearns and AIG. The answer, according to Eric A. Posner, is no. The federal government freely and frequently violated the law with the bailouts—but it did so in the public interest. An understandable lack of sympathy toward Wall Street has obscured the fact that bailouts have happened throughout economic history and are unavoidable in any modern, market-based economy. And they’re actually good. Contrary to popular belief, the financial system cannot operate properly unless the government stands ready to bail out banks and other firms. During the recent crisis, Posner agues, the law didn’t give federal agencies sufficient power to rescue the financial system. The legal constraints were damaging, but harm was limited because the agencies—with a few exceptions—violated or improvised elaborate evasions of the law. Yet the agencies also abused their power. If illegal actions were what it took to advance the public interest, Posner argues, we ought to change the law, but we need to do so in a way that also prevents agencies from misusing their authority. In the aftermath of the crisis, confusion about what agencies did do, should have done, and were allowed to do, has prevented a clear and realistic assessment and may hamper our response to future crises. Taking up the common objections raised by both right and left, Posner argues that future bailouts will occur. Acknowledging that inevitability, we can and must look ahead and carefully assess our policy options before we need them.
Last Rites
by David WishartIt is the morning after the nocturnal rite of the good Goddess, an all-female ceremony strictly out of bounds to the male of the species, and the body of a young woman has been found, her throat cut. Suicide or murder?Hoping to avoid scandal, Senator Lucius Arruntius calls in Marcus Corvinus to do some discreet sleuthing. Marcus is helped in his investigations by a feisty flutegirl and by his clever, loyal wife Perilla (even though her attention is somewhat distracted by the acquisition of a revolutionary new clock). But - inevitably - to solve the mystery, Marcus must look beyond the obvious and first untangle a complex web of treachery and deceit.
Last Rites
by David WishartIt is the morning after the nocturnal rite of the good Goddess, an all-female ceremony strictly out of bounds to the male of the species, and the body of a young woman has been found, her throat cut. Suicide or murder?Hoping to avoid scandal, Senator Lucius Arruntius calls in Marcus Corvinus to do some discreet sleuthing. Marcus is helped in his investigations by a feisty flutegirl and by his clever, loyal wife Perilla (even though her attention is somewhat distracted by the acquisition of a revolutionary new clock). But - inevitably - to solve the mystery, Marcus must look beyond the obvious and first untangle a complex web of treachery and deceit.
Last Rites
by John LukacsTwenty years ago, John Lukacs paused to set down the history of his own thoughts and beliefs in Confessions of an Original Sinner, an adroit blend of autobiography and personal philosophy. Now, in Last Rites, he continues and expands his reflections, this time integrating his conception of history and human knowledge with private memories of his wives and loves, and enhancing the book with footnotes from his idiosyncratic diaries. The resulting volume is fascinating and delightful-an auto-history by a passionate, authentic, brilliant, and witty man. Lukacs begins with a concise rendering of a historical understanding of our world (essential reading for any historian), then follows with trenchant observations on his life in the United States, commentary on his native Hungary and the new meanings it took for him after 1989, and deeply personal portraits of his three wives, about whom he has not written before. He includes also a chapter on his formative memories of May and June 1940 and of Winston Churchill, a subject in some of Lukacs's later studies. Last Rites is a richly layered summation combined with a set of extraordinary observations-an original book only John Lukacs could have written. Praise for Confessions of an Original Sinner:"[Lukacs] is an often witty and always fascinating-even entertaining-writer."-Washington Post
Last Rites: The Final Days of the Boston Mob Wars
by William J. CraigLast Rites chronicles one man's dramatic descent into the seedy world of New England mobster Raymond Patriarca and his underboss, Gennaro "Jerry" Angiulo. In the early 1980s, Gigi Portalla, a well-liked student, athlete and Revere prom king, transformed into a mafia hit man after discovering that his biological father was "Big Eddy" Marino. Portalla rose through the ranks within the Angiulo organization, joining famous Boston wise guys like Sean Cote, Joseph "J.R." Russo and Bobby Carrozza. Drawing on wiretaps, court testimonies and interviews through personal relationships with the criminals in question, Revere writer William J. Craig uncovers the depths of criminality. Portalla clung to a self-imposed moral code, striving to find honor within thievery, even as the lure of his family's past eclipsed his promising future.
Last Seasons in Havana: The Castro Revolution and the End of Professional Baseball in Cuba
by César BriosoLast Seasons in Havana explores the intersection between Cuba and America’s pastime from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, when Fidel Castro overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. César Brioso takes the reader through the triumph of the revolution in 1959 and its impact on professional baseball in the seasons immediately following Castro’s rise to power. Baseball in pre‑Castro Cuba was enjoying a golden age. <P><P>The Cuban League, which had been founded in 1878, just two years after the formation of the National League, was thriving under the auspices of organized baseball. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, players from the Major Leagues, Minor Leagues, and Negro Leagues had come to Cuba to play in the country’s wholly integrated winter baseball league. <P><P>Cuban teams had come to dominate the annual Caribbean Series tournament, and Havana had joined the highest levels of Minor League Baseball, fielding the Havana Sugar Kings of the Class AAA International League. Confidence was high that Havana might one day have a Major League team of its own. <P><P> But professional baseball became one of the many victims of Castro’s Communist revolution. American players stopped participating in the Cuban League, and Cuban teams moved to an amateur, state‑sponsored model. Focusing on the final three seasons of the Cuban League (1958–61) and the final two seasons of the Havana Sugar Kings (1959–60), Last Seasons in Havana explores how Castro’s rise to power forever altered Cuba and the course of a sport that had become ingrained in the island’s culture over the course of almost a century.
Last Seen Wearing (Library of Congress Crime Classics #Vol. 10)
by Hillary WaughNo one saw her leave, and no one knows where she went...It's a perfectly typical day for Lowell Mitchell at her perfectly ordinary university in Massachusetts. She goes to class, chats with friends, and retires to her dorm room. Everything is normal until suddenly it's not—in the blink of an eye, Lowell is gone.Facts are everything for Police Chief Frank Ford. He's a small-town cop, and he knows only hard evidence and thorough procedure will lead him to the truth. Together with the wise-cracking officer Burt Cameron, the grizzled chief will deal with the distraught family, chase dead-end leads, interrogate shady witnesses, and spend late nights ruminating over black coffee and cigars. Everyone tells him what a good, responsible girl Lowell is. But Ford believes that Lowell had a secret and that if he can discover it, this case will crack wide open.Considered one of the first-ever police procedurals and hailed as an American mystery milestone, Last Seen Wearing—based on a true story—builds suspense through its accurate portrayal of an official police investigation. Hillary Waugh, who earned the title of Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America, went on to create several memorable series, but this classic crime novel ranks among his finest work.This next installment in the Library of Congress Crime Classics series will keep readers in suspense until the final page.
Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families
by Judith GiesbergDrawing from an archive of nearly five thousand letters and advertisements, the riveting, dramatic story of formerly enslaved people who spent years searching for family members stolen away during slavery.Of all the many horrors of slavery, the cruelest was the separation of families in slave auctions. Spouses and siblings were sold away from one other. Young children were separated from their mothers. Fathers were sent down river and never saw their families again. As soon as slavery ended in 1865, family members began to search for one another, in some cases persisting until as late as the 1920s. They took out &“information wanted&” advertisements in newspapers and sent letters to the editor. Pastors in churches across the country read these advertisements from the pulpit, expanding the search to those who had never learned to read or who did not have access to newspapers. These documents demonstrate that even as most white Americans—and even some younger Black Americans, too—wanted to put slavery in the past, many former slaves, members of the &“Freedom Generation,&” continued for years, and even decades, to search for one another. These letters and advertisements are testaments to formerly enslaved people&’s enduring love for the families they lost in slavery, yet they spent many years buried in the storage of local historical societies or on microfilm reels that time forgot. Judith Giesberg draws on the archive that she founded—containing almost five thousand letters and advertisements placed by members of the Freedom Generation—to compile these stories in a narrative form for the first time. Her in-depth research turned up additional information about the writers, their families, and their enslavers. With this critical context, she recounts the moving stories of the people who placed the advertisements, the loved ones they tried to find, and the outcome of their quests to reunite. This story underscores the cruelest horror of slavery—the forced breakup of families—and the resilience and determination of the formerly enslaved. Thoughtful, heart-wrenching, and illuminating, Last Seen finally gives this lesser-known aspect of slavery the attention it deserves.
Last Ships from Hamburg The: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia's Jews on the Eve of World War I
by Steven Ujifusa“A captivating group portrait of three ‘titans’ of industry who facilitated the steamship routes by which around 2 million Jewish refugees, fleeing pogroms and discrimination, immigrated from Europe to America between 1890 and 1921. . . . Ujifusa ties this intricate business history into a broader economic and diplomatic context and relates the experiences of regular people who made the crossings, including the families who perished aboard the Titanic. This innovative account provides a complex new perspective on the turn of the 20th century.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Absorbing . . . a David-and-Goliath tale of the industrial age.”—Wall Street JournalA propulsive human drama that chronicles the mass exodus of Jews from Eastern Europe to America in the early years of the twentieth century, and the men who made it possible.Over thirty years, from 1890 to 1921, 2.5 million Jews, fleeing discrimination and violence in their homelands of Eastern Europe, arrived in the United States. Many sailed on steamships from Hamburg.This mass exodus was facilitated by three businessmen whose involvement in the Jewish-American narrative has been largely forgotten: Jacob Schiff, the managing partner of the investment bank Kuhn, Loeb & Company, who used his immense wealth to help Jews to leave Europe; Albert Ballin, managing director of the Hamburg-American Line, who created a transportation network of trains and steamships to carry them across continents and an ocean; and J. P. Morgan, mastermind of the International Mercantile Marine (I.M.M.) trust, who tried to monopolize the lucrative steamship business. Though their goals were often contradictory, together they made possible a migration that spared millions from persecution. Descendants of these immigrants included Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Estée Lauder, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Fanny Brice, Lauren Bacall, the Marx Brothers, David Sarnoff, Al Jolson, Sam Goldwyn, Ben Shahn, Hank Greenberg, Moses Annenberg, and many more—including Ujifusa’s great grandparents. That is their legacy.Moving from the shtetls of Russia and the ports of Hamburg to the mansions of New York’s Upper East Side and the picket lines outside of the notorious Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, The Last Ships from Hamburg is a history that unfolds on both an intimate and epic scale. Meticulously researched, masterfully told, Ujifusa’s story offers original insight into the American experience, connecting banking, shipping, politics, immigration, nativism, and war—and delivers crucial insight into the burgeoning refugee crisis of our own time.