David French and I debate polarization, secession, and the filibuster
Sept. 21, 2020•Episode #363
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The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

Author: Erik Larson
ISBN 13: 978-0385348737
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers an intimate chronicle of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz—an inspiring portrait of courage and leadership in a time of unprecedented crisis “One of [Erik Larson’s] best books yet . . . perfectly timed for the moment.”— Time • “A bravura performance by one of America’s greatest storytellers.”—NPR NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Time • Vogue • NPR • The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • The Globe & Mail • Fortune • Bloomberg • New York Post • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews • LibraryReads • PopMatters On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile , Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people “the art of being fearless.” It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it’s also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill’s prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports—some released only recently—Larson provides a new lens on London’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents’ wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela’s illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill’s “Secret Circle,” to whom he turns in the hardest moments. The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today’s political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when, in the face of unrelenting horror, Churchill’s eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together.
Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)

Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)

Author: Frank Herbert
ISBN 13: 978-0441013593
• DUNE: PART TWO • THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE Directed by Denis Villeneuve, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, based on the novel Dune by Frank Herbert • Starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Léa Seydoux, with Stellan Skarsgård, with Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem Frank Herbert’s classic masterpiece—a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides—who would become known as Muad'Dib—and of a great family's ambition to bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
The Federalist Papers (Dover Thrift Editions: American History)

The Federalist Papers (Dover Thrift Editions: American History)

Authors: James Madison , Alexander Hamilton , John Jay
ISBN 13: 978-0486496368
Understand the Constitution —this compilation of eighty-five articles explains and defends the ideals behind the highest form of law in the United States of America. An excellent reference book for students, lawyers, politicians, and those with an interest in the foundation of U.S. government and law. The Federalist Papers were composed of essays written by three of the Constitution's framers and ratifiers: Alexander Hamilton , the first Secretary of the Treasury; John Jay , the first Chief Justice of the United States; and James Madison , father of the Constitution, author of the Bill of Rights, and fourth President of the United States. The series was published anonymously under the pen name "Publius," in New York newspapers during the years 1787 and 1788 to persuade undecided New York state voters to ratify the new Constitution of the United States. Considered a keystone of American democracy, some of the more famous articles dealt with: Dangers from foreign arms and influence; dangers from dissensions between the states. The Union as a safeguard against domestic faction and insurrection . The need for a federal government able to raise revenues through taxation . The power of Congress to regulate the election of members; the creation of an electoral college . The power of the Senate to sit as a court for Impeachments ; the objectives and powers of the judiciary . An enduring classic of political philosophy and a milestone in political science, Thomas Jefferson hailed The Federalist Papers as the best commentary ever written about the principles of government. Dover publishes an incredible variety of classic nonfiction including speeches, histories, biographies, quotations, philosophies, essays, important documents, and more.
by @zachbellay