A critique of intellectuals explains an important social phenomenon--how the thinkers of a society mold that society by shaping public opinion, which in turn affects the development of official policy.

When President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed the country's most visible Black man, Booker T. Washington, into his circle of counselors in 1901, the two confronted a shocking and violent wave of racist outrage. In the previous decade, Jim Crow laws had legalized discrimination in the South, eroding social and economic gains for former slaves. Lynching was on the rise, and Black Americans faced new barriers to voting. Slavery had been abolished, but if...

In this book the author transports readers to the dawn of the Renaissance and chronicles the life of an intrepid book lover who rescued the Roman philosophical text On the Nature of Things from certain oblivion. In this work he has crafted both a work of history and a story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it. Nearly six hundred...

"From the author of 1491--the best-selling study of the pre-Columbian Americas--a deeply engaging new history that explores the most momentous biological event since the death of the dinosaurs. More than 200 million years ago, geological forces split apart the continents. Isolated from each other, the two halves of the world developed totally different suites of plants and animals. Columbus's voyages brought them back together--and marked the beginning...

Influence and persuasion aren't just abstract concepts of interest exclusive to psychologists and sociologists. Rather, they're a fundamental part of your everyday life. Whether you realize it or not, you're constantly surrounded by people and groups trying to influence the way you think, act, and feel. Now, in Influence: Mastering Life's Most Powerful Skill, discover everything you need to tap into the hidden powers of influence and persuasion--and...

Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas, offers a challenge to his church. Can he bring about significant change? Should he? Garry Wills argues that changes have been the evidence of life in the Catholic Church. It has often changed, sometimes with bad consequences, more often with good--good enough to make it perdure. In this brilliant and incisive study, he gives seven examples of deep and serious changes that have taken...

"Flocabulary ... is a dynamic new tool for teaching and learning. Now teens can hip-hop their way to history success! Featuring an audio CD with ... original, educational, and cutting-edge music, this latest entry in the innovative Flocabulary series turns U.S. history ... into an enjoyable experience"--Publisher web site.

Dr. Robert Cialdini explains the psychology of why people say "yes"--And how to apply these understandings. You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader -- and how to defend yourself against them.

In this blockbuster follow-up to the "New York Times"-bestseller "The Roots of Obama's Rage," D'Souza reveals how President Obama's recent actions prove his anti-colonialist roots and predicts how much worse America will be if President Obama wins a second term.