- Table View
- List View
The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan
by Elliot AckermanA powerful and revelatory eyewitness account of the American collapse in Afghanistan, its desperate endgame, and the war&’s echoing legacyElliot Ackerman left the American military ten years ago, but his time in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines and later as a CIA paramilitary officer marked him indelibly. When the Taliban began to close in on Kabul in August 2021 and the Afghan regime began its death spiral, he found himself pulled back into the conflict. Afghan nationals who had worked closely with the American military and intelligence communities for years now faced brutal reprisal and sought frantically to flee the country with their families. The official US government evacuation effort was a bureaucratic failure that led to a humanitarian catastrophe. With former colleagues and friends protecting the airport in Kabul, Ackerman joined an impromptu effort by a group of journalists and other veterans to arrange flights and negotiate with both Taliban and American forces to secure the safe evacuation of hundreds. These were desperate measures taken during a desperate end to America's longest war. For Ackerman, it also became a chance to reconcile his past with his present. The Fifth Act is an astonishing human document that brings the weight of twenty years of war to bear on a single week, the week the war ended. Using the dramatic rescue efforts in Kabul as his lattice, Ackerman weaves a personal history of the war's long progression, beginning with the initial invasion in the months after 9/11. It is a play in five acts, the fifth act being the story&’s tragic denouement, a prelude to Afghanistan's dark future. Any reader who wants to understand what went wrong with the war&’s trajectory will find a trenchant account here. But The Fifth Act also brings readers into close contact with a remarkable group of characters, American and Afghan, who fought the war with courage and dedication, and at great personal cost. Ackerman's story is a first draft of history that feels like a timeless classic.
Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning
by Elliot AckermanFrom a decorated Marine war veteran and National Book Award Finalist, an astonishing reckoning with the nature of combat and the human cost of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. <P><P>"War hath determined us ..." - John Milton, Paradise Lost <P><P>Toward the beginning of Places and Names, Elliot Ackerman sits in a refugee camp in southern Turkey, across the table from a man named Abu Hassar, who fought for Al Qaeda in Iraq, and whose connections to the Islamic State are murky. At first, Ackerman pretends to have been a journalist during the Iraq War, but after establishes a rapport with Abu Hassar, he takes a risk by revealing to him that in fact he was a Marine special operation officer. <P><P>Ackerman then draws the shape of the Euphrates River on a large piece of paper, and his one-time adversary quickly joins him in the game of filling in the map with the names and dates of where they saw fighting during the war. They had shadowed each other for some time, it turned out, a realization that brought them to a strange kind of intimacy. <P><P>The rest of Elliot Ackerman's extraordinary memoir is in a way an answer to the question of why he came to that refugee camp and what he hoped to find there. By moving back and forth between his recent experiences on the ground as a journalist in Syria and its environs and his deeper past in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, he creates a work of astonishing atmospheric pressurization. <P><P>Ackerman shares extraordinarily vivid and powerful stories of his own experiences in battle, culminating in the events of the Second Battle of Fallujah, the most intense urban combat for the Marines since Hue in Vietnam, where Ackerman's actions leading a rifle platoon saw him awarded the Silver Star. He weaves these stories into the latticework of a masterful larger reckoning, with contemporary geopolitics through his vantage as a journalist in Istanbul and with the human extremes of both bravery and horror. <P><P> At once an intensely personal book about the terrible lure of combat and a brilliant meditation on the larger meaning of the past two decades of strife for America, the region and the world, Places and Names bids fair to take its place among our greatest books about modern war.
One Hundred Names for Love: A Memoir
by Diane AckermanFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize Finalist for the National Book Circle Critics Award "A testament to the power of creativity in language, life--and love." --Heller McAlpin, Washington Post No other writer can blend the science of the brain with the love of language like Diane Ackerman. In this extraordinary memoir, she opens a window into the experience of wordlessness--the language paralysis called aphasia. In narrating the recovery of her husband, Paul West, from a stroke that reduced his vast vocabulary to a single syllable, she evokes the joy and mystery of the brain's ability to find and connect words. Deeply rewarding to readers of all kinds, Ackerman has given us a literary love story, accessible insight into the science and medicine of brain injury, and invaluable spiritual sustenance in the face of life's myriad physical sufferings.
Twilight of the Tenderfoot: A Western Memoir
by Diane AckermanIn the twenty-some years since award-winning writer Diane Ackerman first visited the Tequesquite ranch in New Mexico, she has delighted readers with her rich, observant prose in such books as "A Natural History of the Senses" and, most recently, "Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden". However, her first nonfiction book, "Twilight of the Tenderfoot", reveals the strong beginnings of a writer who renders the experience of nature and place into an intimate and magical affair. Now back in print, "Twilight of the Tenderfoot" lets readers once more glimpse the backbreaking, soul-satisfying work of ranching. Growing up in rural Illinois, Diane Ackerman "knew" the West through film and television. Her abiding love of horses led her to one day seek to ride alongside cowboys on a traditional New Mexican ranch. As a tenderfoot -- and a woman in a man's world -- Ackerman undergoes an often hilarious initiation: but she is game and spirited, up to the challenges of red-hot chiles, Red Man chewing tobacco, revved-up horses, snakes dangling from brooms, and tough work well before sunrise. For Ackerman, and for her readers, what happened remains indelibly branded in memory.
The Zookeeper's Wife: An unforgettable true story, now a major film (Movie Tie-in Editions Ser. #0)
by Diane AckermanIn war-torn Warsaw, a zookeeper and his wife refuse to surrender... Now a major motion picture starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl, Diane Ackerman's The Zookeeper's Wife is based on a remarkable true story of bravery and sanctuary during World War II. Perfect for fans of Lion and Hidden Figures. 'I can't imagine a better story or storyteller. The Zookeeper's Wife will touch every nerve you have' -Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything is Illuminated When Germany invades Poland, Luftwaffe bombers devastate Warsaw and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals killed, or stolen away to Berlin, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski begin smuggling Jews into the empty cages.As the war escalates Jan becomes increasingly involved in the anti-Nazi resistance. Ammunition is buried in the elephant enclosure and explosives stored in the animal hospital. Plans are prepared for what will become the Warsaw uprising. Through the ever-present fear of discovery, Antonina must keep her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and animal inhabitants - otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes - as Europe crumbles around them.Written with the narrative drive and emotional punch of a novel, The Zookeeper's Wife is a remarkable true story. It shows us the human and personal impact of war - of life in the Warsaw Ghetto, of fighting in the anti-Nazi resistance. But more than anything it is a story of decency and sacrifice triumphing over terror and oppression. What readers are saying about The Zookeeper's Wife: 'Beautifully and sensitively written - a must read''An adventure that inspires''Both horrifying and endearing on a scale I've not experienced in years''A story that will haunt you forever''Haunting, life affirming, sad, and inspiring'
Deliberation Day
by Bruce A. Ackerman James S. Fishkin"Bruce Ackerman and James S. Fishkin argue that Americans can revitalize their democracy and break the cycle of cynical media manipulation that is crippling public life. They propose a new national holiday - Deliberation Day - for each presidential election year. On this day people throughout the country will meet in public spaces and engage in structured debates about issues that divide the candidates in the upcoming presidential election. Deliberation Day is a bold new proposal, but it builds on a host of smaller experiments. Over the past decade, Fishkin has initiated Deliberative Polling events throughout the world that bring random and representative samples of voters together for discussion of key political issues. In these events, participants greatly increase their understanding of the issues and often change their minds on the best course of action. Deliberation Day is not merely a novel idea but a feasible reform. Ackerman and Fishkin consider the economic, organizational, and political questions raised by their proposal and explore its relationship to the larger ideals of liberal democracy. --BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Bush vs. Gore: The Question of Legitimacy
by Bruce A. AckermanThe Supreme Court's intervention in the 2000 election will shape American law and democracy long after George W. Bush has left the White House. This vitally important book brings together a broad range of preeminent legal scholars who address the larger questions raised by the Supreme Court's actions. Did the Court's decision violate the rule of law? Did it inaugurate an era of super-politicized jurisprudence? How should Bush v. Gore change the terms of debate over the next round of Supreme Court appointments? The contributors -- Bruce Ackerman, Jack Balkin, Guido Calabresi, Steven Calabresi, Owen Fiss, Charles Fried, Robert Post, Margaret Jane Radin, Jeffrey Rosen, Jed Rubenreid, Cass Sunstein, Laurence Tribe, and Mark Tushnet -- represent a broad political spectrum. Their reactions to the case are varied and surprising, filled with sparkling argument and spirited debate. This is a must-read book for thoughtful Americans everywhere.
The Perpetual Motion Machine: A Memoir
by Brittany AckermanA memoir exploring a young woman&’s troubled childhood, her bond with her older brother, and the toll of drugs and alcohol on their lives.Inspired by a brother&’s high school science project—a perpetual motion machine that could save the world—The Perpetual Motion Machine is a memoir in essays that attempts to save a sibling by depicting the visceral pain that accompanies longing for some past impossibility. The collection has been a science project in its study of memory, in the calculation and plotting of the moments that make up a childhood. The preparation has been &“in the field&” in that it is built upon the gathering of lived experience; the evidence is photo albums, family interviews, and anecdotes from friends. The project has been one giant experiment—to see if they can all make it out alive.&“Full of hard-won wisdom, beautifully written and deeply moving . . . an exquisite chronicle of family and trauma and hope and longing, and announces Brittany Ackerman as an exciting new voice in letters.&” —Alan Heathcock, author of VOLT and 40&“[An] instantly engaging and wildly engrossing memoir. . . . Her prose is accessible and affecting, and her family story is exquisite in its luminous detail and intimacy, full of heartbreak and humor.&” ―Davy Rothbart, author of My Heart is an Idiot, creator of FOUND Magazine, and contributor to This American Life&“Told in simple, spare language, Ackerman&’s story is powerful not only for the story it tells, but also for the eloquent silences and chronological ruptures that symbolize the painfully fractured nature of her life and that of her brother. A brief but poignant memoir.&” —Kirkus Reviews
Just Words: Lillian Hellman, Mary Mccarthy, and the Failure of Public Conversation in America
by Alan AckermanIn an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1980, the critic Mary McCarthy glibly remarked that every word author Lillian Hellman wrote was a lie, "including 'and' and 'the.'" Hellman immediately filed a libel suit, charging that McCarthy's comment was not a legitimate conversation on public issues but an attack on her reputation. This intriguing book offers a many-faceted examination of Hellman's infamous suit and explores what it tells us about tensions between privacy and self-expression, freedom and restraint in public language, and what can and cannot be said in public in America.
Hindoo Holiday
by J. R. Ackerley Eliot WeinbergerIn the 1920s, the young J. R. Ackerley spent several months in India as the personal secretary to the maharajah of a small Indian principality. In his journals, Ackerley recorded the Maharajah's fantastically eccentric habits and riddling conversations, and the odd shambling day-to-day life of his court. Hindoo Holiday is an intimate and very funny account of an exceedingly strange place, and one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century travel literature.
We Think The World of You
by J. R. Ackerley P. N. FurbankWe Think the World of You combines acute social realism and dark fantasy, and was described by J.R. Ackerley as "a fairy tale for adults." Frank, the narrator, is a middle-aged civil servant, intelligent, acerbic, self-righteous, angry. He is in love with Johnny, a young, married, working-class man with a sweetly easygoing nature. When Johnny is sent to prison for committing a petty theft, Frank gets caught up in a struggle with Johnny's wife and parents for access to him. Their struggle finds a strange focus in Johnny's dog--a beautiful but neglected German shepherd named Evie. And it is she, in the end, who becomes the improbable and undeniable guardian of Frank's inner world.
Kathy Acker: and Other Conversations (The Last Interview Series)
by Kathy AckerKathy Acker was a punk-rock counter-cultural icon, and innovator of the literary underground. The interviews collected here span her amazing, uncompromising, and often misunderstood 30-year career.From Acker's earliest interviews--filled with playful, evasive, and counter-intuitive responses--to the last interview before her death where she reflects on the state of American literature, these interviews capture the writer at her funny and surprising best. Another highlight includes Acker's 1997 interview with the Spice Girls on the forces of pop and feminism (which reads as if it could have been conducted with a new generation of pop star in 2018).
Gold Is Where You Find It: An Alaskan Family's Adventures
by Gail AckelsWhy would a young high-middle class family trade the good life for a tiny one-room cabin in Alaska's wilderness? It began from a simple dream to go off and live a simpler and less complicated life. That dream set them on a course to Gold Dust Creek to become gold miners to the utter shock of family and friends. Had they gone mad? Where was the sanity in risking all for a dream that might never come true and going from Riches to Rags? Beginning from scratch, with no clue about gold mining, this courageous family ventured out, taking it a step at a time without ever knowing what to expect. There were many bumps in the road and obstacle in their path. Somehow it all worked out and reality became bigger than life and bigger even than they dared to dream. Within eleven years they made history in Alaska, developing the most advanced technology in the gold mining industry. This is the story of how they did it. Experience some of their harrowing moments with bears, armed intruders, and Mother Nature's fury, as well as hilarious encounters with nature's cute and clever critters in Alaska's awesome wilderness.
Homo Irrealis
by André AcimanEL NUEVO LIBRO DEL AUTOR DE LLÁMAME POR TU NOMBRE Y LEJOS DE EGIPTO, GANADOR DEL WHITING AWARD Y EL LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD, TRADUCIDO A 38 IDIOMAS Y ACLAMADO POR LA CRÍTICA Y LOS LECTORES ¿Cuánto de nosotros se borra con el paso del tiempo? ¿Cuánto se queda en los lugares amados? ¿Puede uno regresar a un lugar que nunca existió más allá de su mente? En Homo irrealis, André Aciman nos invita a acompañarlo al territorio de sus recuerdos en un viaje por lugares queridos como Alejandría, Roma, París, San Petersburgo o Nueva York, habitados por las presencias fantasmales de artistas y escritores amados. De la mano de Proust, Freud, Cavafis, Pessoa, Rohmer, Sebald y muchos más, el autor explora el tiempo irrealis: el del hombre que podría haber sido y no fue, todo lo que podría haber pasado y no pasó, pero que aún podría pasar y está en un limbo entre la fantasía y la realidad. Unasmemorias en forma de ensayos en las que el autor de Lejos de Egipto y de Llámame por tu nombre revisita el pasado y el presente, el anhelo y el deseo, en un intento de comprender la veta nostálgica que se cierne sobre su persona y sobre casi toda su obra. La crítica ha dicho:«Si Proust no hubiera existido, el señor Aciman lo habría inventado».Richard Bernstein, The New York Times «Recuerda a los escritos de W. G. Sebald y de Fernando Pessoa, y transmite con gracia y perspicacia su anhelo de capturar el yomirando al yo que es en ese momento. Un libro brillante de un escritor que nunca decepciona».Kirkus Reviews «Uno de los mejores ensayistas de los últimos cien años».Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Review of Books «Una exploración de lo irreal diabólicamente compleja y reveladora. Los ensayos que discuten lo irreal en la obra de sus artistas más admirados, como el tríptico de ensayos sobre el cineasta Eric Rohmer, que casi se pueden leer como cartas de amor, hacen que este libro se eleve a nuevas alturas».The Irish Times «Un lento paseo por capitales fascinantes, un tierno recuerdo de viejas y raras películas, una fresca contemplación de los gigantes literarios modernistas: así podríamos describir el material de la nueva colección de ensayos de André Aciman, pero no su magia. [...] Este libro encarna, de manera inteligente y conmovedora, a su creador en toda su realidad».The Boston Globe«Estos ensayos me devolvieron a la vida, como hace la buena literatura».Sukada Tatke, The Rumpus «Una nueva colección de ensayos brillante y cautivadora [...]: felicidad pura».David Mikics, Tablet «Leer a André Aciman es como enamorarse».Xavi Ayén, La Vanguardia«Un maestro de la sensualidad y los detalles exquisitos».Sagrario Fernández-Prieto, La Razón
Another Good Dog: One Family And Fifty Foster Dogs
by Cara Sue AchterbergA warm and entertaining memoir about what happens when you foster fifty dogs in less than two years—and how the dogs save you as much as you save them. When Cara felt her teenaged children slipping away and saw an empty nest on the horizon, she decided the best way to fill that void was with dogs—lots of them—and so her foster journey began. In 2015, her Pennsylvania farm became a haven for Operation Paws for Homes. There were the nine puppies at once, which arrived with less than a day’s notice; a heart- worm positive dog; a deeply traumatized stray pup from Iraq; and countless others who just needed a gentle touch and a warm place to sleep. Operation Paws for Homes rescues dogs from high-kill shelters in the rural south and shuttles them north to foster homes like Cara’s on the way to their forever homes. What started as a search for a good dog, led to an epiphany that there wasn’t just one that could ll the hole left in her heart from her children gaining independence—she could save dozens along the way. The stories of these remarkable dogs— including an eighty-pound bloodhound who sang arias for the neighbors—and the joy they bring to Cara and her family (along with a few chewed sofa cushions) fill the pages of this touching and inspiring new book that reveals the wonderful rewards of fostering. When asked how she can possibly say goodbye to that many loveable pups, Cara says, “If I don’t give this one away, I can’t possibly save another.” Filled with humanity and hope, Another Good Dog will take the reader on an journey of smiles, laughs, and tears—and lead us to wonder how many other good dogs are out there and what we can do to help.
One Hundred Dogs and Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and A Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues
by Cara Sue AchterbergA challenging foster dog invites an experienced foster mama to explore where the endless stream of unwanted dogs is coming from and how it will ever end.After welcoming her one hundredth foster dog (and her puppies), Cara grabs her best friend, fills a van with donations, and heads south to discover what is really happening in the rural shelters where her foster dogs originate. What she discovers will break her heart and compel her to share the story of heroes and villains and plenty of good dogs, in the hope of changing this world. Cara fosters her most challenging dog yet and she and her husband are pushed to the brink of what they will do to save a dog. Cara wonders why the need seems endless. She hatches a plan to head south on a Thelma & Louise-style road trip. Each stop exposes more of the realities of rural animal shelters. The hopelessness seems unsurmountable until they discover one shelter, deep in South Carolina that has found the answers and is truly a &‘no-kill&’ shelter. One Hundred Dogs and Counting will introduce the reader to many good dogs, but also to inspirational people sacrificing personal lives and fortunes to save deserving animals. It will offer not just the entertaining stories of plenty of loveable good dogs, but the real problem of unwanted animals in our rural shelters, and how the reader can be part of the solution.
Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln
by Edward AchornThis vividly rendered Civil War history presents “a lively guided tour of Washington during the 24 hours or so around Lincoln’s swearing-in” (Adam Goodheart, Washington Post).By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had left intractable wounds on the nation. Tens of thousands crowded Washington’s Capitol grounds that day to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term—and witness what was perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history. Lincoln stunned the nation by arguing that both sides had been wrong, and that the war’s unimaginable horrors might have been God’s just verdict on the national sin of slavery.In Every Drop of Blood, Edward Achorn reveals the nation’s capital on that momentous day—with its mud, sewage, and saloons, its prostitutes, spies, reporters, social-climbing spouses and power-hungry politicians. Swirling around the complex figure of Lincoln, a host of characters are brought to life, from grievously wounded Union colonel Selden Connor to the embarrassingly drunk new vice president, Andrew Johnson, to poet-journalist Walt Whitman; from soldiers’ advocate Clara Barton and African American leader Frederick Douglass to conflicted actor John Wilkes Booth.In indelible scenes, Achorn captures the frenzy and division in the nation’s capital at this crucial moment in America’s history. His story offers new understanding of our great national crisis, and echoes down the decades to resonate in our own time.
Fifty-Nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, & the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had
by Edward Achorn"First-class narrative history that can stand with everything Steven Ambrose wrote. . . . Achorn's description of the utter insanity that was barehanded baseball is vivid and alive." —Boston Globe“A beautifully written, meticulously researched story about a bygone baseball era that even die-hard fans will find foreign, and about a pitcher who might have been the greatest of all time.” — Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer prize-winning historianIn 1884 Providence Grays pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn won an astounding fifty-nine games—more than anyone in major-league history ever had before, or has since. He then went on to win all three games of baseball's first World Series.Fifty-nine in '84 tells the dramatic story not only of that amazing feat of grit but also of big-league baseball two decades after the Civil War—a brutal, bloody sport played barehanded, the profession of uneducated, hard-drinking men who thought little of cheating outrageously or maiming an opponent to win.Wonderfully entertaining, Fifty-nine in '84 is an indelible portrait of a legendary player and a fascinating, little-known era of the national pastime.
Memorias de Lo Poyo de 1954 a 1958 y de 1967 a 1976
by Santi Achón<P>Nosotros hubiésemos superado a cualquier programa televisivo de supervivencia. Mis padres buscaron una mejor vida para ellos y, cómo no, para nosotros, sus hijos. <P>El resultado era una incógnita, pero los diferentes destinos y vivencias propiciaron el aprendizaje, las aventuras y los valores de la siguiente generación. <P> Los recuerdos son inevitables; te acompañan toda la vida y hacen que no olvides a quienes participaron en ellos. <P>Mientras escribes, van fluyendo junto con las emociones. Mientras escribes los vuelves a vivir y, entonces, a veces lloras, otras ríes.
Let the World See You: How to Be Real in a World Full of Fakes
by Sam AchoNFL linebacker, speaker, podcaster, and humanitarian Sam Acho gives a blueprint for taking off our masks and living lives of genuine authenticity.Most of us hide. We play small and don't live up to our full potential. Sam Acho was one of those people. As an NFL linebacker, for example, he earned his MBA but told no one because he was afraid of what people might think if they found out that he cared about things that weren't "normal" for his profession. After many years of hiding himself, the person he had become had no connection to the real Sam. Only when he lost a friend and a mentor did he realize he was doing it all wrong--just like many us do, when we try to become someone we're not. All the while, we ignore the unique gifts and talents and personality we truly possess.But there is another way of living: Let the world see you. Your quirks, your passions, and your inner desires were not given to you by accident. And the world needs your gifts.In Let the World See You, Sam Acho shares lessons from his own life as well as stories from others to reveal how you can overcome your fears and discover your true selves. Being the real you pays big. No one else has what you have. No one else can share what you share. Let the World See You helps crack the shell of people who are in hiding and reveals the benefits of a lifestyle lived on purpose.
Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man
by Emmanuel AchoIn Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, the author takes on all the questions, large and small, insensitive and taboo, many white Americans are afraid to ask―yet which all Americans need the answers to, now more than ever. With the same open-hearted generosity that has made his video series a phenomenon, the author explains the vital core of such fraught concepts as white privilege, cultural appropriation, and “reverse racism.” In his own words, he provides a space of compassion and understanding in a discussion that can lack both. He asks only for the reader’s curiosity―but along the way, he will galvanize all of us to join the antiracist fight.
The Diary of Anne Clifford 1616-1619: A Critical Edition (Routledge Revivals)
by Katherine O. AchesonOriginally published in 1995, this book contains a full version of The Diary of Anne Clifford, alongisde an introduction and textual notes. Anne Clifford left one of the most extensive autobiographical records of the seventeenth century and, it was first published, this edition was the first critical edition of any of her works.
Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department
by Dean AchesonIn these memoirs by the former Secretary of State, Dean Acheson sees himself as having been "present at the creation" of the American century. Acheson's policies were praised by many and damned by others, including Joseph McCarthy.<P><P> Pulitzer Prize Winner
Robert N. Butler, MD: Visionary of Healthy Aging
by W. Andrew AchenbaumRobert Neil Butler (1927–2010) was a scholar, psychiatrist, and Pulitzer Prize–winning author who revolutionized the way the world thinks about aging and the elderly. One of the first psychiatrists to engage with older men and women outside of institutional settings, Butler coined the term "ageism" to draw attention to discrimination against older adults and spent a lifetime working to improve their status, medical treatment, and care.Early in his career, Butler seized on the positive features of late-life development—aspects he documented in his pathbreaking research on "healthy aging" at the National Institutes of Health and in private practice. He set the nation's age-based health care agenda and research priorities as founding director of the National Institute on Aging and by creating the first interprofessional, interdisciplinary department of geriatrics at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital. In the final two decades of his career, Butler created a global alliance of scientists, educators, practitioners, politicians, journalists, and advocates through the International Longevity Center. A scholar who knew Butler personally and professionally, W. Andrew Achenbaum follows this pioneer's significant contributions to the concept of healthy aging and the notion that aging is not synonymous with physical and mental decline. Emphasizing the progressive aspects of Butler's approach and insight, Achenbaum affirms the ongoing relevance of his work to gerontology, geriatrics, medicine, social work, and related fields.
The Grand Idea: George Washington's Potomac and the Race to the West
by Joel AchenbachHow the nation expanded as a result of Washington's work and ideas.