Liberty


Book Description

From a Newbery Honor author, a white boy and black girl bond in World War II Louisiana as they rescue a dog in this “practically perfect” historical novel (Kirkus Reviews). With his dad serving in World War II in Europe, and his sister working at the Higgins Boat factory to support the war effort, Fish Elliot fights off loneliness. That is, when he’s not fending off his annoying neighbor, Olympia, who has a knack for messing up Fish’s inventions. But when his latest invention leads Fish to Liberty, a beautiful stray dog who needs a home, he and Olympia work together to rescue her. His growing friendship with Olympia, who is African American, is not the norm in 1940s New Orleans. But as they work together to save Liberty, he finds his perceptions of the world—of race and war, family and friendship—transformed. “Larson . . . creates an engaging story that is rich in historical details. She purposefully captures both the fear and the hope in a world torn by war as well as the simple love of a boy for his dog. Practically perfect.” —Kirkus Reviews “A slice-of-life tale for historical fiction fans and animal lovers alike.” —School Library Journal




The Liberty Girls


Book Description

***THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE COMPELLING LIBERTY GIRLS SERIES. Perfect for fans of Nancy Revell, Elaine Everest, Nadine Dorries and Mr Selfridge.*** March, 1942: new mother Alice Milwood is itching to return to her job as a shop assistant at Liberty’s. Despite her husband still being missing in action, Alice is determined to give baby Arthur the best possible start. She soon settles back into the rhythm of life on the shop floor, and the Liberty Girls rally to help keep everything on an even keel. But when the American GIs start swarming into London, there are more complications to come. And each of the Liberty Girls has their own impossible storm to weather. As they each fight their battles on the home front, only their close friendship will give them the strength they need to carry on.




War and Liberty


Book Description

Award-winning author Stone has created an in-depth examination of how constitutional rights have fared under the current president, and reveals how the government has suppressed civil liberties in times of war throughout American history.




In the Cause of Liberty


Book Description

In this remarkable collection, ten premier scholars of nineteenth-century America address the epochal impact of the Civil War by examining the conflict in terms of three Americas—antebellum, wartime, and postbellum nations. Moreover, they recognize the critical role in this transformative era of three groups of Americans—white northerners, white southerners, and African Americans in the North and South. Through these differing and sometimes competing perspectives, the contributors address crucial ongoing controversies at the epicenter of the cultural, political, and intellectual history of this decisive period in American history. Coeditors William J. Cooper, Jr., and John M. McCardell, Jr., introduce the collection, which contains essays by the foremost Civil War scholars of our time: James M. McPherson considers the general import of the war; Peter S. Onuf and Christa Dierksheide examine how patriotic southerners reconciled slavery with the American Revolutionaries’ faith in the new nation’s progressive role in world history; Sean Wilentz attempts to settle the long-standing debate over the reasons for southern secession; and Richard Carwardine identifies the key wartime contributors to the nation’s sociopolitical transformation and the redefinition of its ideals. George C. Rable explores the complicated ways in which southerners adopted and interpreted the terms “rebel” and “patriot,” and Chandra Manning finds three distinct understandings of the relationship between race and nationalism among Confederate soldiers, black Union soldiers, and white Union soldiers. The final three pieces address how the country dealt with the meaning of the war and its memory: Nina Silber discusses the variety of ways we continue to remember the war and the Union victory; W. Fitzhugh Brundage tackles the complexity of Confederate commemoration; and David W. Blight examines the complicated African American legacy of the war. In conclusion, McCardell suggests the challenges and rewards of using three perspectives for studying this critical period in American history. Presented originally at the “In the Cause of Liberty” symposium hosted by The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar in Richmond, Virginia, these incisive essays by the most respected and admired scholars in the field are certain to shape historical debate for years to come.




Liberty Lady


Book Description

LIBERTY LADY is the true story of a WWII bomber and its crew forced to land in neutral Sweden during the Eighth Air Force's first large-scale daylight bombing raid on Berlin. 1st Lt. Herman Allen was interned and began working for his country's espionage agency, the OSS, with instructions to befriend a businessman suspected of selling secrets to the Germans. Soon Herman fell in love with a beautiful Swedish-American secretary working for the OSS, their courtship unfolding amid the glamour and intrigue of wartime Stockholm. As Swedish newspapers trumpeted one of the biggest spy scandals of the war, two of the main protagonists walked down the aisle in a storybook wedding presided over by the nephew of the King of Sweden.




Perilous Times


Book Description

Geoffrey Stone's Perilous Times incisively investigates how the First Amendment and other civil liberties have been compromised in America during wartime. Stone delineates the consistent suppression of free speech in six historical periods from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the Vietnam War, and ends with a coda that examines the state of civil liberties in the Bush era. Full of fresh legal and historical insight, Perilous Times magisterially presents a dramatic cast of characters who influenced the course of history over a two-hundred-year period: from the presidents—Adams, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt, and Nixon—to the Supreme Court justices—Taney, Holmes, Brandeis, Black, and Warren—to the resisters—Clement Vallandingham, Emma Goldman, Fred Korematsu, and David Dellinger. Filled with dozens of rare photographs, posters, and historical illustrations, Perilous Times is resonant in its call for a new approach in our response to grave crises.




Christmas at Liberty's


Book Description

The first novel in the Liberty Girls series will be loved by fans of Elaine Everest, Nancy Revell and Mr Selfridge. ‘A wonderful, uplifting story of friendship and courage. Characters that you can't help falling in love with! This new saga series will surely touch the hearts of saga readers everywhere’ Nancy Revell, author of the Shipyard Girls series 'A Liberty treasure chest of silks, satin, lace and ribbons with gritty wartime passion at its very core. A gem!' - Daisy Styles, author of the Bomb Girls series 'I loved the warmth of the friendship between Mary and her friends and the wonderful world of Liberty’s. It’s a page turner of a book with twists and turns than make you keep on reading to find out what happens next.' - Rosie Hendry, author of the East End Angels series ___________________ September, 1941: Mary arrives in war-torn London nursing a broken heart and a painful secret. When she is offered her dream post as an assistant in the fabric department at Liberty store, she knows this is the fresh start she needs. Amid the store’s vibrant prints and sumptuous interiors, Mary finds a new family who can help her to heal. But not everyone will give Mary such a warm welcome, and the trauma of her past will soon catch up with her. As Mary and the Liberty Girls endure the heartache and uncertainty of war, it will take a steady heart to keep the magic of Christmas alive. ___________________ It's only the first book in the Liberty Girls series, but fans are already falling in love: 'By far one of the best books I've read in a long time' 'The perfect story for historical and saga fiction fans... I cannot wait for the next book in this exciting new series!' 'Utterly brilliant... I was so impressed by this and felt completely involved in the story and characters!' 'heartwarming and inspiring... I look forward to reading more' 'I really enjoyed this story... this was a real festive treat for me! ... The author really transports you back to London during World War II in the book and you feel at times as though you are there with the characters.' 'Joyous. Charming. Uplifting... a wonderful new series that is packed with charm and warmth... these women lift their chins, put on a brave face and put the show on the road.' 'a wonderful, magical book that I absolutely loved... The staff are a wonderful team... the lovely sense of togetherness that the staff had was fabulous to read about' 'Christmas At Liberty's is a must-read for all who love the saga genre and for all who are looking to be part of something that is special and something that just glows with goodness and integrity' 'The story develops at a great pace that allows the reader to understand more about the characters and their lives so that they start to feel like old friends' 'The girls from Liberty’s had plenty of ups and downs before Christmas arrived, but I felt every emotional moment with them.'




Liberty's War


Book Description

In the dark days of World War II, merchant mariners made heroic contributions to the eventual Allied victory and suffered tremendous casualties in so doing. Among these were the engineers who toiled deep in the bowels of the ship and suffered appalling casualties. After the war, engineering personnel were unlikely to talk about their experiences, let alone write them down. These modest and self-effacing men were more comfortable in a world of turbines and pistons, so they seldom brought their stories forward. Liberty’s War sets out to explore the experiences of one such engineer, Herman Melton, from his time as a cadet at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy through his experiences at sea as a third assistant engineer. Melton’s story is representative of the thousands of Merchant Marine engineers who served on board Liberty ships during the war. Like many young Americans, he sought to do his part, and in 1942 he obtained an appointment to the newly created U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. After graduating from the academy in 1944, he shipped out to the Pacific Theatre, surviving the sinking of his Liberty ship, the SS Antoine Saugrain, and its top-secret cargo.




Taking Leave, Taking Liberties


Book Description

American soldiers overseas during World War II were famously said to be “overpaid, oversexed, and over here.” But the assaults, rapes, and other brutal acts didn’t only happen elsewhere, far away from a home front depicted as safe and unscathed by the “good war.” To the contrary, millions of American and Allied troops regularly poured into ports like New York and Los Angeles while on leave. Euphemistically called “friendly invasions,” these crowds of men then forced civilians to contend with the same kinds of crime and sexual assault unfolding in places like Britain, France, and Australia. With unsettling clarity, Aaron Hiltner reveals what American troops really did on the home front. While GIs are imagined to have spent much of the war in Europe or the Pacific, before the run-up to D-Day in the spring of 1944 as many as 75% of soldiers were stationed in US port cities, including more than three million who moved through New York City. In these cities, largely uncontrolled soldiers sought and found alcohol and sex, and the civilians living there—women in particular—were not safe from the violence fomented by these de facto occupying armies. Troops brought their pocketbooks and demand for “dangerous fun” to both red-light districts and city centers, creating a new geography of vice that challenged local police, politicians, and civilians. Military authorities, focused above all else on the war effort, invoked written and unwritten legal codes to grant troops near immunity to civil policing and prosecution. The dangerous reality of life on the home front was well known at the time—even if it has subsequently been buried beneath nostalgia for the “greatest generation.” Drawing on previously unseen military archival records, Hiltner recovers a mostly forgotten chapter of World War II history, demonstrating that the war’s ill effects were felt all over—including by those supposedly safe back home.




Habeas Corpus in Wartime


Book Description

This book is the most comprehensive account of the role of habeas corpus in wartime ever written. It draws on a wealth of untapped resources to shed light on the political and legal understanding of habeas corpus that has unfolded over the course of Anglo-American history. The book traces the roots of the habeas privilege enshrined in the United States Constitution to England and then carries the story forward to document the profound influence of English law on early American law. It then takes the story forward to document the understanding of the privilege and the role of suspension over the course of American history.




Recent Books