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Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now
by Evan OsnosA concise, brilliant, and trenchant examination of Democratic Nominee Joseph R. Biden Jr.&’s lifelong quest for the presidency by National Book Award winner Evan Osnos, adapted from nearly a decade of his reporting for The New Yorker.Former vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr. has been called both the luckiest man and the unluckiest—fortunate to have sustained a fifty-year political career that reached the White House, but also marked by deep personal losses and disappointments that he has suffered. Yet even as Biden&’s life has been shaped by drama, it has also been powered by a willingness, rare at the top ranks of politics, to confront his shortcomings, errors, and reversals of fortune. As he says, &“Failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable.&” His trials have forged in him a deep empathy for others in hardship—an essential quality as he addresses Americans in the nation&’s most dire hour in decades. Blending up-close journalism and broader context, Evan Osnos, who won the National Book Award in 2014, draws on his work for The New Yorker to capture the characters and meaning of an extraordinary presidential election. It is based on lengthy interviews with Biden and on revealing conversations with more than a hundred others, including President Barack Obama, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and a range of progressive activists, advisers, opponents, and Biden family members. This portrayal illuminates Biden&’s long and eventful career in the Senate, his eight years as Obama&’s vice president, his sojourn in the political wilderness after being passed over for Hillary Clinton in 2016, his decision to challenge Donald Trump for the presidency, and his choice of Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. Osnos ponders the difficulties Biden will face if elected and weighs how political circumstances, and changes in the candidate&’s thinking, have altered his positions. In this nuanced portrait, Biden emerges as flawed, yet resolute, and tempered by the flame of tragedy—a man who just may be uncannily suited for his moment in history.
Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption
by Jules Witcover"When I got knocked down by guys bigger than me . . . [my mother] sent me back out and demanded that I bloody their nose so I could walk down the street the next day."—Joe BidenIn this, the first definitive biography of Vice President Joe Biden, renowned journalist Jules Witcover examines the fascinating life of a man who, with his tenacity, outspokenness, and charming smile, has shaped Washington politics for the past forty years and who now serves as the forty-seventh vice president of the United States.Raised in the working-class towns of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, and with lackluster grades in school and no particular goals other than to play sports or, fleetingly, to become a priest, Biden shocked the nation in 1972 when he became one of the youngest elected senators in U.S. history. From that point forward, he carved a legacy for himself as one of the most respected legislators in the country. Biden's record in Congress was impressive. He chaired three Senate committees, confronted Slobodan Miloševic head-on as a war criminal, and conducted the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court justices. After voting for the 2002 Senate resolution to use force in Iraq, he later called for its repeal and became an outspoken critic of the conduct of the war.Yet for all of Biden's achievements in the Senate, his life has been filled with tragedy and countless challenges. Within two months of being elected in 1972, Biden lost his wife, Neilia, and his young daughter in a tragic accident—a loss that brought him to the nadir of despair and shook his resolve to stay in politics. And even after Biden vowed to continue his career, his tenure was marked by two brain aneurysms and career-threatening verbal gaffes. Then, after being considered among the front-runners in the 1988 Democratic presidential primaries, Biden was accused of plagiarism for a speech he made at the Iowa State Fair. He dropped out of the race to the sounds of Washington pundits chattering that the presidency would never be his. Through it all, Biden survived and ran—and eventually dropped out—again in the 2008 primaries. But even with this defeat, Barack Obama recognized Biden's vast experience in domestic and foreign affairs, and selected him to be his running mate.Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption is based on exhaustive research by one of Washington's most prolific journalists. In drawing on numerous exclusive interviews with Biden's confidants and family members, as well as President Obama and Vice President Biden, Witcover has gone beyond conventional biography to track the forces that have shaped a man who, with his plainspoken style and inspiring life story, has resonated with millions of Americans and whose work is now influencing the Obama-Biden administration and shaping America.
Joe Biden: A Little Golden Book Biography (Little Golden Book)
by Shana CoreyHelp your little one dream big with a Little Golden Book biography all about President Joe Biden! The perfect introduction to nonfiction for preschoolers!This Little Golden Book about Joe Biden--who overcame stuttering, served as Vice President under Barack Obama, and was elected the 46th President of the United States--is an inspiring read-aloud for young girls and boys. Look for Little Golden Book biographies about these other inspiring people: Kamala HarrisMisty CopelandFrida KahloRuth Bader GinsburgDolly PartonBetty WhiteJackie RobinsonMartin Luther King Jr.George WashingtonAbraham LincolnJohnny Appleseed
The Joe Biden Way: How to Become a Bold and Empathic Leader
by Jeffrey A. KramesDiscover what sets leaders like President Biden apart from the rest In The Joe Biden Way: How to Become a Bold and Empathic Leader, bestselling author and leadership expert Jeffrey Krames provides readers with leadership secrets gleaned from one of the most transformative and successful presidents in modern times: Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. In this book, the author sets out 7 lessons in inspiring leadership that have helped the 46th President of the United States carry his powerful message to the White House and deliver it to hundreds of millions of people. You’ll learn how to: Lead with empathy and demonstrate you understand what your followers are experiencing Set a single priority and focus on it with laser precision Learn to execute on your goals and back your words with meaningful action Build on and cultivate your strengths and values Lead diverse groups of people and inspire them to share a common goal Perfect for executives, managers, and other business leaders, The Joe Biden Way is a must-read resource for anyone who strives to unlock the best in their followers and colleagues and discover what sets great leaders apart from the rest of the pack.
Joe Black: More than a Dodger
by Martha Jo Black Chuck SchoffnerHe was told that the color of his skin would keep him out of the big leagues, but Joe Black worked his way up through the Negro League and the Cuban League. He burst into the Majors in 1952 when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the face of segregation, verbal harassment, and even death threats, Joe Black rose to the top of his game; he earned National League Rookie of the Year and became the first African American pitcher to win a World Series game. With the same tenacity he showed in his baseball career, Black became the first African American vice president of a transportation corporation when he went to work for Greyhound. In this first-ever biography of Joe Black, his daughter Martha Jo Black tells the story not only of a baseball great who broke through the color line, but also of the father she knew and loved.
Joe Dallesandro: Warhol Superstar, Underground Film Icon, Actor
by Michael FergusonNorman Mailer punched him, Tennessee Williams had a crush on him, Annie Liebovitz immortalized him on the cover of Rolling Stone, Lou Reed sang about him, and, in 1982, he was named one of the ten most photogenic men in the world by famed photographer Francesco Scavullo. Now Joe Dallesandro, the sexy, enigmatic superstar of the '60s and '70s underground film movement, at long last talks -- in detail -- about his life and career.
Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil
by Jerome CharynAs the New York Yankees' star centerfielder from 1936 to 1951, Joe DiMaggio is enshrined in America's memory as the epitome in sports of grace, dignity, and that ineffable quality called "class." But his career after retirement, starting with his nine-month marriage to Marilyn Monroe, was far less auspicious. Writers like Gay Talese and Richard Ben Cramer have painted the private DiMaggio as cruel or self-centered. Now, Jerome Charyn restores the image of this American icon, looking at DiMaggio's life in a more sympathetic light. DiMaggio was a man of extremes, superbly talented on the field but privately insecure, passive, and dysfunctional. He never understood that for Monroe, on her own complex and tragic journey, marriage was a career move; he remained passionately committed to her throughout his life. He allowed himself to be turned into a sports memorabilia money machine. In the end, unable to define any role for himself other than "Greatest Living Ballplayer," he became trapped in "a horrible kind of minutia. "But where others have seen little that was human behind that minutia, Charyn in Joe DiMaggio presents the tragedy of one of American sports' greatest figures.
Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life
by Richard Ben CramerJoe DiMaggio was, at every turn, one man we could look at who made us feel good.In the hard-knuckled thirties, he was the immigrant boy who made it big—and spurred the New York Yankees to a new era of dynasty. He was Broadway Joe, the icon of elegance, the man who wooed and won Marilyn Monroe—the most beautiful girl America could dream up.Joe DiMaggio was a mirror of our best self. And he was also the loneliest hero we ever had.In this groundbreaking biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer presents a shocking portrait of a complicated, enigmatic life. The story that DiMaggio never wanted told, tells of his grace—and greed; his dignity, pride—and hidden shame. It is a story that sweeps through the twentieth century, bringing to light not just America's national game, but the birth (and the price) of modern national celebrity.
Joe Dolan: The Official Biography
by Ronan CaseyGrowing up in poor circumstances in the midlands town of Mullingar might seem an unlikely start for a musical superstar, but that's exactly the journey Joe Dolan travelled in his amazing life. Not only that, Joe never forgot his roots and loved Mullingar to the day he died.From losing his father at a tragically young age, to his bold decision while still a teenager to throw in a good job and pursue his dream of playing music for a living, to early stardom with The Drifters and conquering the USSR, to his later re-emergence for a new generation of fans as the iconic Man in the White Suit - the amazing, mad, bad and funny stories behind the legendary career will be told for the first time.It is a colourful, life-affirming, revealing and hugely entertaining biography that is a fitting tribute to such a beloved performer.
Joe Doupe: Bedside Physiologist
by Terence MooreIn 1946, Winnipeg’s struggling medical student received an injection of new life when scientist and army doctor Joe Doupe came home from the war. He assembled the school’s first research group and in 1949, took over the physiology department. Doupe soon blended science and clinical teaching, objecting to their seperation in the curriculum, which was usual at that time. He required Winnipeg medical students of the 1950s and early 1960s to take a critical look at the scientific knowledge they relied on and in their methods of scientific inquiry. From his student days Doupe was considered argumentative, forever asking colleagues, superiors or students why they believed what they took for granted. The outcome was a generation of Manitoba medical students with a perceptive and sceptical attitude towards both textbook knowledge and new medical discoveries. Doupe also showed that Winnipeg’s medical students, though small and distant from the great medical centres, could become a first-rate teaching and research establishment; in doing so he became one of Canada’s most distinguished medical educators.
Joe Falls: 50 Years of Sports Writing and I Still Can't Tell the Difference Between a Slider and a Curve
by Joe FallsIn his very first trip to the ballpark, Joe Falls watched Lou Gehrig slam two home runs against the Philadelphia As. He's been in love with professional sports ever since. In this humerous and intellegent memoir, Falls reflects on over sixty years of writing with stories about all the greats from Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan, to Joe DiMaggio and more.
Joe Gould's Secret
by Joseph MitchellIn 1942 Joseph Mitchell published "Professor Sea Gull," a profile of Joe Gould, a bohemian writer he met in Greenwich Village. Gould claimed to be at work on a vast book called The Oral History of Our Time based on conversations with the poor and downtrodden of New York City. In 1964 Mitchell published a second essay about Gould, "Joe Gould's Secret." In the second piece he describes the later years of his relationship with Gould and reveals discoveries he made about Gould before his death.
Joe Gould's Secret (Modern Library)
by Joseph MitchellThe enduring cult classic by an icon of American journalism Acclaimed journalist and staff writer for the New Yorker Joseph Mitchell tells the story of Joe Gould, "an odd and penniless and unemployable little man who came to this city in 1916 and ducked and dodged and held on as hard as he could for over thirty-five years." Written originally as two separate profiles ("Professor Sea Gull" in 1942 and then "Joe Gould's Secret" twenty-two years later), the biography captures both Mitchell and Gould at their finest. Over a twenty-year association, as Mitchell learns more about Gould and his epic Oral History--a reputedly nine-million-word collection of philosophizing, wanderings, and hearsay that the supposed Harvard man Gould termed "the informal history of the shirt-sleeved multitude"--he uncovers a secret that adds even more eccentricities to the already unusual story of the local legend. This bounteous and elusive history, so esteemed that even Pound and Cummings discussed it in letters, would ultimately serve to unlock the "lost soul named Joe Gould." Mitchell's last major work before the writer's block that left him virtually silent for thirty-two years, Joe Gould's Secret captures one of American journalism's ascendant young masters at his peak and serves to mark an artist-subject relationship for the ages. "You pick someone so close that in fact you are writing about yourself," an aging Mitchell told the Washington Post four years before his death. "Talking to Joe Gould all those years he became me in a way, if you see what I mean." And as the reader comes to understand Gould's secret, Mitchell's words become all the more prescient. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Joseph Mitchell including rare images from the author's estate.
Joe Gould's Teeth
by Jill LeporeFrom New Yorker staff writer and Harvard historian Jill Lepore, the dark, spellbinding tale of her restless search for the long-lost, longest book ever written, a century-old manuscript called "The Oral History of Our Time." Joe Gould, a madman, believed he was the most brilliant historian of the twentieth century. So did some of his friends, a group of modernist writers and artists that included E. E. Cummings, Marianne Moore, William Carlos Williams, John Dos Passos, and Ezra Pound. Gould began his life's work before the First World War, announcing that he intended to write down nearly everything anyone ever said to him. "I am trying to preserve as much detail as I can about the normal life of every day people," he explained, because "as a rule, history does not deal with such small fry." By 1942, when The New Yorker published a profile of Gould written by the reporter Joseph Mitchell, Gould's manuscript had grown to more than nine million words. But when Gould died in 1957, in a mental hospital, the manuscript was nowhere to be found. Then, in 1964, in "Joe Gould's Secret," a second profile, Mitchell claimed that "The Oral History of Our Time" had been, all along, merely a figment of Gould's imagination. Lepore, unpersuaded, decided to find out. Joe Gould's Teeth is a Poe-like tale of detection, madness, and invention. Digging through archives all over the country, Lepore unearthed evidence that "The Oral History of Our Time" did in fact once exist. Relying on letters, scraps, and Gould's own diaries and notebooks--including volumes of his lost manuscript--Lepore argues that Joe Gould's real secret had to do with sex and the color line, with modernists' relationship to the Harlem Renaissance, and, above all, with Gould's terrifying obsession with the African American sculptor Augusta Savage. In ways that even Gould himself could not have imagined, what Gould wrote down really is a history of our time: unsettling and ferocious.From the Hardcover edition.
Joe Hill: A Biographical Novel
by Wallace StegnerBlending fact with fiction in this masterful historical novel, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Wallace Stegner retells the story of Joe Hill--the Wobbly bard who became the stuff of legend when, in 1915, he was executed for the alleged murder of a Salt Lake City businessman. Organizer, agitator, "Labor's Songster"--a rebel from the skin inwards, with an absolute faith in the One Big Union--Joe Hill fought tirelessly in the frequently violent battles between organized labor and industry. But though songs and stories still vaunt him, and his legend continues to inspire those who feel the injustices he fought against, Joe Hill may not have been a saintly crusader and may have been motivated by impulses darker than the search for justice. Joe Hill is a full-bodied portrait of both the man and the myth: from his entrance into the short-lived Industrial Workers of the World union, the most militant organization in the history of American labor, to his trial, imprisonment, and final martyrdom. His famous last words: "Don't waste time mourning. Organize."
Joe Louis: Hard Times Man
by Randy RobertsA &“humbling, inspiring . . . deeply emotional&” biography of the boxing legend who held the heavyweight world championship for more than eleven years (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Known as the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis defended his heavyweight title an astonishing twenty-five times. Through the 1930s, he got more column inches of newspaper coverage than President Roosevelt. At a time when the boxing ring was the only venue where black and white could meet on equal terms, Louis embodied Black America&’s hope for dignity and equality. And in 1938, his politically charged defeat of German boxer Max Schmeling made Louis a national hero on the world stage. Through meticulous research and first-hand interviews, acclaimed biographer Randy Roberts presents a complete portrait of Louis and his outsized impact on sport and country. Digging beneath the simplistic narratives of heroism and victimization, Roberts reveals an athlete who carefully managed his public image, and whose relationships with both the black and white communities—including his relationships with mobsters—were deeply complex. &“Roberts is a fine match with his subject. He supports with powerful evidence his contention that Louis&’s impact was enormous and profound.&” —The Boston Globe
Joe Rochefort's War
by Elliot Ward CarlsonThis is the first biography of Capt. Joe Rochefort, the Officer in Charge of Station Hypo the U.S. Navy's decrypt unit at Pearl Harbor and his key role in breaking the Imperial Japanese Navy's main code before the Battle of Midway. It brings together the disparate threads of Rochefort's life and career, beginning with his enlistment in the Naval Reserve in 1918 at age 17 (dropping out of high school and adding a year to his age). It chronicles his earliest days as a mustang (an officer who has risen from the ranks), his fortuitous posting to Washington, where he headed the Navy's codebreaking desk at age 25, then, in another unexpected twist, found himself assigned to Tokyo to learn Japanese.This biography records Rochefort's surprising love-hate relationship with cryptanalysis, his joyful exit from the field, his love of sea duty, his adventure-filled years in the '30s as the right-hand man to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, and his reluctant return to codebreaking in mid-1941 when he was ordered to head the Navy's decrypt unit at Pearl (Station Hypo).The book focuses on Rochefort's inspiring leadership of Hypo, recording first his frustrating months in late 1941 searching for Yamamoto's fleet, then capturing a guilt-ridden Rochefort in early 1942 mounting a redemptive effort to track that fleet after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor . It details his critical role in May 1942 when he and his team, against the bitter opposition of some top Navy brass, concluded Midway was Yamamoto's invasion target, making possible a victory regarded by many as the turning point in the Pacific War.The account also tells the story of Rochefort's ouster from Pearl, the result of the machinations of key officers in Washington, first to deny him the Distinguished Service Medal recommended by Admiral Nimitz, then to effect his removal as OIC of Hypo. The book reports his productive final years in the Navy when he supervises the building of a floating drydock on the West Coast, then, back in Washington, finds himself directing a planning body charged with doing spade work leading to the invasion of Japan.The Epilogue narrates the postwar effort waged by Rochefort's Hypo colleagues to obtain for him the DSM denied in 1942-a drive that pays off in 1986 when President Reagan awards him the medal posthumously at a White House ceremony attended by his daughter and son. It also explores Rochefort's legacy, primarily his pioneering role at Pearl in which, contrary to Washington's wishes, he reported directly to Commander in Chief, US Fleet, providing actionable intelligence without any delays and enabling codebreaking to play the key role it did in the Battle of Midway.Ultimately, this book is aimed at bringing Joe Rochefort to life as the irreverent, fiercely independent and consequential officer that he was. It assumes his career can't be understood without looking at his entire life. It seeks to capture the interplay of policy and personality, and the role played by politics and personal rifts at the highest levels of Navy power during a time of national crisis. This bio emerges as a history of the Navy's intelligence culture.
Joe Salsberg
by Gerald TulchinskyThis book follows the life and intellectual journey of Joseph Baruch Salsberg, a Polish-Jewish immigrant who became a major figure of the Ontario Left, a leading voice for human rights in the Ontario legislature, and an important journalist in the Jewish community. His life trajectory mirrored many of the most significant transformations in Canadian political and social life in the twentieth century.Award-winning historian Gerald Tulchinsky traces Salsberg's personal and professional journey - from his entrance into Toronto's oppressive garment industry at age 14, which led to his becoming active in emerging trade unions, to his rise through the ranks of the Communist Party of Canada and the Workers' Unity League. Detailing Salsberg's time as an influential Toronto alderman and member of the Ontario legislature, the book also examines his dramatic break with communism and his embrace of a new career in journalism.Tulchinsky employs historical sources not used before to explain how Salsberg's family life and surrounding religious and social milieu influenced his evolution as a Zionist, an important labour union leader, a member of the Communist Party of Canada, and a prominent member of Toronto's Jewish community.
Joe Simon: My Life in Comics
by Joe SimonIn his own words, this is the life of Joe Simon, one of the most important figures in comics history, and half of the famous creative team Simon and Kirby. Joe Simon co-created Captain America, and was the first editor in chief of Marvel Comics (where he hired Stan Lee for his first job in comics). Simon began his prolific career in the Great Depression, and this book recounts his journey to New York City, his first comic book work, his meeting with Jack Kirby, and the role comics played in wartime America. He remembers the near-death of the comics, and the scramble to survive. And he reveals what it was like to bring comics out of their infancy, as they became an American art form.
Joe Wilson and the Creation of Xerox
by Joel M. Podolny Anne M. Mulcahy Charles D. Ellis"Charley Ellis has written a magnificent portrait, capturing the indomitable spirit of Joe Wilson and his instinctive understanding of the need for and commercial usefulness of a transforming imaging technology. Joe Wilson and his extraordinary team, which I had the good fortune to first meet in 1960, epitomized the wonderful observation of George Bernard Shaw who said, 'Some look at things that are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were and ask why not?'Xerox and xerography are not only a part of our vocabulary, but part of our everyday life. Charley Ellis gives the reader a poignant understanding of just how this happened through the life, adventures, critical business decisions, and dreams of Joseph Wilson and a cadre of remarkable individuals.This book will surely join the library of memorable biographies that capture the building of America into a risk-tolerant, technologically sophisticated, idea-oriented society that thrives by understanding what Charles Darwin really said:'Survival will be neither to the strongest of the species, nor to the most intelligent, but to those most adaptable to change.'"--Frederick Frank, Vice Chairman, Lehman Brothers Inc.
Joel
by Gregg Lewis Joel SonnenbergAn inspiring story of tremendous tragedy and grief followed by the immense faith, hope and love of the Sonnenberg family. Its message is that no matter how tragic the circumstances in life, they can be overcome with a positive attitude and knowledge that God has a purpose for your life. With God's love and strong support from family and friends, people can survive, even thrive, through life's difficulties.
Joel
by Gregg Lewis Joel SonnenbergJoel Sonnenberg solo tenía dos años cuando un camión de dieciocho ruedas chocó contra el auto de su familia. En el infierno que siguió su cuerpo se quemó en más de un ochenta y cinco por ciento. Esta es su historia como solo él puede contarla. Experimente el mundo desde la perspectiva de Joel, mientras lo lleva a una travesía personal con más trama que una película de Hollywood. Su vida ha sido de grandes logros y sufrimientos. Prepárese para enamorarse de este joven llamado Joel.
Joel and Ethan Coen (Contemporary Film Directors)
by R. Barton PalmerWith landmark films such as Fargo, O Brother Where art Thou?, Blood Simple, and Raising Arizona, the Coen brothers have achieved both critical and commercial success. Proving the existence of a viable market for "small" films that are also intellectually rewarding, their work has exploded generic conventions amid rich webs of transtextual references. R. Barton Palmer argues that the Coen oeuvre forms a central element in what might be called postmodernist filmmaking. Mixing high and low cultural sources and blurring genres like noir and comedy, the use of pastiche and anti-realist elements in films such as The Hudsucker Proxy and Barton Fink clearly fit the postmodernist paradigm. Palmer argues that for a full understanding of the Coen brothers' unique position within film culture, it is important to see how they have developed a new type of text within general postmodernist practice that Palmer terms commercial/independent. Analyzing their substantial body of work from this "generic" framework is the central focus of this book.
Joel Barlow: American Citizen in a Revolutionary World
by Richard Buel Jr.Poet, republican, diplomat, and entrepreneur, Joel Barlow filled many roles and registered impressive accomplishments. In the first biography of this fascinating figure in decades, Richard Buel Jr. recounts the life of a man more intimately connected to the Age of Revolution than perhaps any other American.Barlow was a citizen of the revolutionary world, and his adventures throughout the United States and Europe during both the American and French Revolutions are numerous and notorious. From writing his epic poem, The Vision of Columbus, to plotting a republican revolution in Britain to negotiating the release of American sailors taken captive by Barbary pirates, Joel Barlow personified the true spirit of the tumultuous times in which he lived.No one witnessed more climactic events or interacted with more significant people than Joel Barlow. It was his unique vision, his unfailing belief in republicanism, and his entrepreneurial spirit that drove Barlow to pursue the revolutionary ideal in a way more emblematic of the age than the lives of many of its prominent heroes.Buel is a knowledgeable guide, and in telling Barlow’s story he explores the cultural landscape of the early American republic and engages the broader themes of the Age of Revolution. Few books explore in such a comprehensive fashion the political, economic, ideological, diplomatic, and technological dimensions of this defining moment in world history.
Joel Barlow: American Citizen in a Revolutionary World
by Richard . Buel Jr.An in-depth look at the life and times of the early American poet and polemicist.Poet, republican, diplomat, and entrepreneur, Joel Barlow filled many roles and registered impressive accomplishments. In the first biography of this fascinating figure in decades, Richard Buel Jr. recounts the life of a man more intimately connected to the Age of Revolution than perhaps any other American.Barlow was a citizen of the revolutionary world, and his adventures throughout the United States and Europe during both the American and French Revolutions are numerous and notorious. From writing his epic poem, The Vision of Columbus, to plotting a republican revolution in Britain to negotiating the release of American sailors taken captive by Barbary pirates, Joel Barlow personified the true spirit of the tumultuous times in which he lived.No one witnessed more climactic events or interacted with more significant people than Joel Barlow. His unique vision, his unfailing belief in republicanism, and his entrepreneurial spirit drove him to pursue the revolutionary ideal in a way more emblematic of the age than the lives of many of its prominent heroes.In telling Barlow’s story, Buel explores the cultural landscape of the early American republic and engages the broader themes of the Age of Revolution. Few books explore in such a comprehensive fashion the political, economic, ideological, diplomatic, and technological dimensions of this defining moment in world history.“No earlier biographer has given nearly as detailed and rich a portrait of Barlow’s perhaps singularly expansive role in the cultural life, commerce, politics, and intrigue of the age of revolution.” —TheGuardian (UK)