Don't miss a moment of U.S. history! The United States is undergoing a period of intense political and social change. From the rise of the Tea Party, to social media's effect on American life and politics, this new edition fills in the gaps of this Nation's story. Award-winning political journalist and history writer Steve Wiegand guides you through the events that shaped our nation, from pre-Columbian civilizations to the 21st century. The explorers,...

A renowned cultural critic untangles the twisted history and future of racism through its most volatile word. The N Word reveals how the term "nigger" has both reflected and spread the scourge of bigotry in America over the four hundred years since it was first spoken on our shores. Asim pinpoints Thomas Jefferson as the source of our enduring image of the "nigger." In a seminal but now obscure essay, Jefferson marshaled a welter of pseudoscience...

In The Second Amendment, Michael Waldman traces the ongoing argument on gun rights from the Bill of Rights to the current day. Now, in The Fight to Vote, Waldman takes a succinct and comprehensive look at an even more crucial struggle: the past and present effort to define and defend government based on "the consent of the governed." From the writing of the Constitution, and at every step along the way, as Americans sought the right, others have fought...

Discusses the economic, social, and religious reasons why immigrants, predominantly from northern Europe, and then from eastern and southern Europe, came to the United States. Considers incidents of prejudice experienced by these immigrants as well as contributions made by those of immigrant background.

"From the beet fields of North Dakota to the National Forest campgrounds of California to Amazon's CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older Americans. Finding that social security comes up short, often underwater on mortgages, these invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in late-model RVs, travel trailers, and vans, forming...

Describes the author's experiences as a lifelong surfer, from his early years in Honolulu through his culturally sophisticated pursuits of perfect waves in some of the world's most exotic locales.

"Filled with specially commissioned color photography, watercolors, and fine art, Becoming a Gardener is a beautifully designed first-hand account of what it means to become a gardener. Catie Marron details her experience over eighteen months, documenting her studies, her triumphs, her mistakes, and everything in between while infusing it with the rich advice of a variety of writers over the years-everyone from Eleanor Peraenyi and Karel Capek to...

"A Place Called America takes the long view of the land's history from its earliest formation and inhabitants up through today. Meet those indigenous to the deserts, prairies, forests, and shores of the land called Turtle Island and their relatives who contributed to World War II and whose ideas founded the basis of the Constitution. Meet immigrant communities, who came to the land from all around the world-at different times and against all odds,...