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The Founding Fathers have been hailed for centuries as shining examples of men who put aside their own agendas to found a nation. But behind the scenes, there were more petty fights and fraught relationships than signatures on the Declaration of Independence. From the violent brawl between Roger Griswold and Matthew Lyon in the halls of Congress, to George Washington's battle against his slave Harry Washington, these less-discussed clashes bring to light the unpredictable and volatile nature of a constantly changing nation.

Few Americans know that the Revolutionary War did not begin with the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 but over a year earlier in April 1775. Now historian Derek Beck draws on previously unpublished documents to tell the full story of the war before American independence-from both sides. Spanning the years 1773-1776, this sweeps readers from the Boston Tea Party to the halls of Parliament-where Ben Franklin was almost run out of England for pleading on behalf of the colonies-to the fateful Expedition to Concord that resulted in the shot heard round the world.

In the summer of 1804, two of America's most eminent statesmen squared off, pistols raised, on a bluff along the Hudson River. That two such men would risk not only their lives but the stability of the young country they helped forge is almost beyond comprehension. Yet we know that it happened. The question is why. In War of Two, John Sedgwick explores the long-standing conflict between Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr. A study in contrasts from birth, they had been compatriots, colleagues, and even friends. But above all they were rivals.

Bronx-born top turret-gunner Arthur Meyerowitz was on his second mission when he was shot down in 1943. He was one of only two men on the B-24 Liberator known as "Harmful Lil Armful" who escaped death or immediate capture on the ground. After fleeing the wreck, Arthur knocked on the door of an isolated farmhouse, whose owners hastily took him in. Fortunately, his hosts not only despised the Nazis but had a tight connection to the French resistance group Morhange and its founder, Marcel Taillandier.

The long continuous period from 1914 to1949, was unprecedented in human history-an extraordinarily dramatic, often traumatic, and endlessly fascinating period of upheaval and transformation. This new volume in the Penguin History of Europe series offers comprehensive coverage of this tumultuous era.

In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. Norse netsuke, each face individual, each full of quirks, the Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Harry played Wizard's Chess with them in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Housed at the British Museum, they are among its most visited and beloved objects. Questions abounded: Who carved them? Where?

Less than three months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and inflamed the nation, President Roosevelt signed an executive order declaring parts of four western states to be a war zone operating under military rule. The U.S. Army immediately began rounding up thousands of Japanese-Americans, sometimes giving them less than 24 hours to vacate their houses and farms. For the rest of the war, these victims of war hysteria were imprisoned in primitive camps.

From her first flight at 15, Jackie Moggridge was hooked on flying. However, with the outbreak of World War II, Jackie's training was cut short. Determined to fly, she joined the ATA. Ferrying aircraft from factory to frontline was dangerous work, but Jackie excelled. She ferried more than 1500 aircraft during the war, more than any other ATA pilot, male or female. Spitfire Girl tells Jackie's remarkable story, in her own words. This is the memoir of the remarkable Jackie Moggridge: female pilot, Spitfire expert, and pioneer.

This New York Times best-seller is the compelling chronicle of a nation during a time of incredible change. With detail and drama, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author expertly reveals the importance of the Roosevelt White House in the great destiny of the United States. Ultimately, she creates an intimate portrait of the Roosevelts, fusing their human vitality with the monumental scale of domestic and foreign affairs during the Second World War.

The tumult and opulence of England's Regency era burst from the pages in this work of literary nonfiction by acclaimed author Carolly Erickson. When dementia forces King George III to vacate his throne, the kingdom slips into a decade marked with excess, scandal, and riots. King George has suffered bouts of mental instability before, but in 1810 he shows no signs of recovering. Public and government business halts as word of his condition leaks out. Hoping to control the crisis, Parliament appoints the king's unpopular son Prince George IV as Regent or caretaker.