Thomas B Allen Books In Order

Murder in the Senate

When a U.S. Senator is found dead, Jeff Fitzgerald, the head of the Capitol Hill police is given seven days to solve the murder or have his career crushed, and finds himself coming up against some of the most ruthless individuals in the country.

We Americans

From our nation’s infancy, when colonists fought to establish a foothold on the edge of a vast and unexplored wilderness, through our brash youth when we grew and found our place in the world, to the brink of a new millennium, there’s always been something unmistakable about an American. It’s a unique and elusive essence, an attitude, a national character that comes in all colors, shapes, and sizes, speaks scores of languages, and encompas*ses a bewildering variety of cultures. In this lavish, superbly illustrated volume, more than a dozen distinguished contributors explore what makes us all so American: Who we are, where we’ve been, and where we may be going. A blue ribbon group of historians and writers, they can boast four Pulitzer Prizes and a number of best selling books. From Spencer Crew, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, to Time magazine’s Richard Schickel, they offer a wonderful panorama of our history and the forces that produced the country we live in today. More than 400 photographs and illustrations in both full color and black and white highlight the essays, including many rare and previously unpublished images from National Geographic’s extraordinary archives. Edwards Park chronicles the colonial years and the birth of a new nation; William H. Goetzmann traces the inexorable march of the 19th century, from pioneers’ covered wagons to nation spanning railroads; author William Least Heat Moon considers our love affair with the open road, from the horseless carriage to the superhighway; and media critic John Leonard contemplates television and the world it simultaneously reflects and shapes. Other essays look at the pivotal eras of our past, from the American Revolution to the Industrial Revolution to the cultural revolution we call the Sixties, and on the Internet culture of today. Visually stunning, eloquently informative, and endlessly fascinating, We Americans is at once an heirloom quality book and an important historical document.

Rickover

Hyman G. Rickover was not long removed from his Jewish roots in Poland when he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1922. After a respectable career spent mostly in unglamorous submarine and engineering billets, he took command of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear propulsion program and revived his career, being retired involuntarily some thirty years later in early 1982. He was not only the architect of the nuclear Navy but also its builder. In the process, he erected a network of power and influence that rivaled those who were elected to high office, and that protected him from them when his controversial methods became objectionable or, as critics would suggest, undermined the nation s vital interests. Authors Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar, whose full length biography of Rickover in manuscript in 1981 was consulted by the Reagan Administration during the decision to remove him from active duty, are eminently qualified to write an essential treatment on the controversial genius of Admiral Rickover.

World War II

Here is the authoritative and comprehensive reference work on the last world war, from an American perspective. Published in hardcover in the midst of the 50th anniversary of various aspects of World War II, this ambitious work includes over 2,000 entries on military actions and battles, weapons, people, politics, culture, and everyday life, enlivened by quotes from the leaders of the day. The result is a complete military and social history of the time.

The Blue and the Gray

‘The American Civil War April to April, Sumter to Appomattox, 1861 to 1865 pervades the national conscience…
. It makes a great story…
,’ writes Shelby Foote in his foreword to this volume. ‘I know of none since the Iliad that rivals it either in drama or in pathos…
.’ The Blue and the Gray tells that story, the epic of the first great modern conflict. In so doing, it raises issues still of urgent concern in many lands today: What unifies a diverse nation? What justifies the formation of a new one? What sustains democracy and law in the range of the guns? What peace can follow the loss of 600,000 lives? Six chapters cover the conflict chronologically. Key characters in the saga are examined in biographical sketches throughout the volume, and a picture and text portfolio on a major social or technological theme accompanies each chapter. The book features color illustrations by National Geographic photographer Sam Abell and text by Thomas B. Allen, formerly a Society staff editor and a specialist in military studies. A judicious selection of historical photographs, specially commissioned new maps, and maps from the Civil War era enrich the pages. While tracing the drama of the battlefield, The Blue and the Gray lets the reader meet individuals of the 1860s on both sides of the front lines. Their own words, eloquent or earthy, funny or pitiful or noble, express the ideals they lived by and died for as family members fought one another and the war toll became the highest in American history. With accompanying guidebook and map supplement, this volume is designed to show and explain why, in Robert Penn Warren’s words, ‘The Civil War is, for the American imagination, the great single event in our history,’ and why, in the opinion of Abraham Lincoln, it would affect ‘hope to the world for all future time.’

Possessed

‘The Exorcist’, a 1973 movie about a twelve year old girl Possessed by the Devil, frightened people more than any horror film ever did. Many moviegoers sought therapy to rid themselves of fears they could not explain. Psychiatrists coined the term ‘cinematic neurosis’ for patients who left the movie feeling a terrifying presence of demons. At the Washington premiere, a young woman stood outside the theater, trembling. ‘I come out here in the sunlight,’ she said, ‘and I see people’s eyes, and they frighten me.’Among the few moviegoers unmoved by the horror were two priests, Father William S. Bowdern and Father Walter Halloran, members of the Jesuit community at St. Louis University. ‘Billy came out shaking his head about the little girl bouncing on the bed and urinating on the crucifix,’ Halloran remembers. ‘He was kind of angry. ‘There is a good message that can be given by this thing,’ he said. The message was the fact that evil spirits operate in our world.’Bowdern and Halloran knew that the movie was fictional veneer masking a terrible reality. Night after night in March and April 1949, Bowdern had been an exorcist, with Halloran assisting. Bowdern fervently believed that he had driven a demon from a tormented soul. The victim had been a thirteen year old boy strangely lured to St. Louis from a Maryland suburb of Washington. Bowdern’s exorcism had been the inspiration for the movie. The true story of this possession, told in Possessed, is based on a diary kept by a Jesuit priest assisting Father Bowdern. The diary, the most complete account of an exorcism since the Middle Ages, is published for the first time in this revised edition of Possessed.

Climbing Kansas Mountains

On a hot summer afternoon when there’s nothing to do, Sam’s father says, ‘Sam, time you and I went to climb a Kansas mountain.’ When they climb to the top of one of the grain elevators full of wheat, they see the patchwork of beautiful fields that is the Midwest’s beauty. School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Full color.

Offerings At the Wall

Highlighting a selection of the thousands of objects left by visitors at the Vietnam Memorial each year, a moving book pays tribute to the Wall that is visited by millions every year and to those immortalized by it.

Codename Downfall

Revealing a secret World War II invasion plan that would have meant destruction worse than that caused by the atomic bombs, acclaimed military authors examine a plan code named Downfall that would have turned Japan into a wasteland.

Spy Book

The Spy Book uncovers the secrets and decodes the messages of the covert world of espionage. Over 2,000 entries on people, agencies, operations, and tools comprise this definitive work. Insiders Norman Polmar and Thomas Allen have unearthed files that have only recently been made available, including many from the KGB. This second edition includes the latest unveiled spies and situations, as well as new entries on the effects of espionage on literature, movies, television, and other media.

Shadows in the Sea

This is a black and white reproduction of the original edition including imperfections. These books have been a source of inspiration, joy and enlightenment to millions through the ages. Now they can be yours.

Encyclopedia of Espionage

A thoroughly researched reference volume about spies, their agencies, operations, & much more; with more than 2,000 entries & over 60 illustrations on the people, agencies, tools, & methods of spies & their secret world. This is the most comprehensive single volume published on the clandestine world of espionage, intelligence, & cryptography, including previously unavailable archives from the KGB & even famous spies from literature. There are also 27 ‘master entries’ that cover major spy rings, articles about major countries outlining national intelligence services & activities, & all categories of spy tradecraft. Chronology.

Animals of Africa

Animals of Africa captures the unique beauty of the African natural world in 200 full color photographs by four top wildlife photographers: Jim Brandenburg, Mitsuaki Iwago, Frans Lanting, and Michael Nichols. Against the backdrop of an exquisite landscape that ranges from desert scrub land to the savanna, the mountains, and rainforests, their extraordinary images feature the hunters, grazers, waterbirds, and strange menagerie of Madagascar’s isolated forgotten Eden. This exciting volume features up close images of fearsome lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas; the gentle grazers such as wildebeests, zebras, deer, gazelles, and giraffes; the giant untouchables such as elephants, rhinos, and cape buffalos; as well as birds from flamingoes to vultures, water animals such as hippos and crocodiles, and of course the chimps and great apes. Animals of Africa brings its wonder to the armchair traveler in dozens of striking images. These powerful photographs will deepen your appreciation of the natural world, of the fragility and balance of life, and also bring to light how imperative it is to preserve these African animals and the wildernesses in which they live.

America from Space

From the sprawling cities of California to Maine’s island flecked coast, from the glaciers of Alaska to the beaches of Florida, here is the United States as you have never seen it before. America from Space takes you into orbit over the United States. You see what Space Shuttle astronauts see when they aim their camera at their homeland. Here is America by night, a breathtaking view of the entire nation pulsating with lights marking cities and suburbs. Here are the Great Lakes, the mountains and cities, rivers and seashores each image a piece of the nation. Together they create a unique and fascinating portrait of the United States of America. Sections of this book include: Fire and Ice: Hawaii and Alaska The West Coast: from Washington to the Mexican border The West: the wild lands of deserts and canyon The Rockies: the backbone of the continent The Heartland: the grandeur of the Great Plains The Great Lakes: deep waters and fertile lands The Southland: Blue Ridge Mountains, New Orleans, Florida The Northeast Corridor: an urban swath along the coast. In Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin, stunning views are transformed into geological data: bright yellow marks an oil field, orange shows a mesa; red, purple and blue color irrigated field. In a flood region of Texas, varying blue and purple shades show what lands were under water. What the images show most of all is the beauty of the land and the seas that touch it. ‘Life is like landscape,’ Charles Lindbergh wrote after his historic solo flight across the Atlantic. ‘You live in the midst of it, but can describe it only from the vantage point of distance.’ Here is a new vantage point, a new way of seeing and understanding our country.

The Shark Almanac

Sharks have a reputation of being the most feared creatures of the sea, and in this fantastic book, we learn the myths and facts of these fascinating animals and that they aren’t as deadly as they seem. Of the more than 850 shark species, 80 percent either would not hurt people, or would rarely encounter them. Sharks and their kin skates and rays have remained essentially unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, and their very existence is now threatened by man and his fears. Thomas Allen takes us through the evolution of the shark, its folklore, its commercial uses, and gives us a detailed look at shark attacks where they happen, why, and how to protect yourself from them. He describes over one hundred shark species their behavior, appearance, size, and distribution and provides helpful scientific illustrations. He offers current information on scientific research including the recent studies on shark cartilage in cancer research, current population findings, and continuing conservation efforts. With over twenty five color photographs of familiar and unusual sharks, interesting and fact filled sidebars, and useful appendices, The Shark Almanac is a comprehensive overview and the perfect book for anyone interested in these amazing creatures.

The Washington Monument

The Washington Monument dominates not only the skyline of the nation’s capital but also the iconography of the country itself. From its conception the result of a Continental Congress that wanted to honor a reluctant general to its completion after nearly a century of stop and go planning and construction, the story of the Monument involves virtually every major political figure of America’s first century. Since the Monument’s dedication, its grounds have become a national font yard on which a host of historical events have unfolded a place where soldiers have assembled since the Civil War, where Vietnam War protesters gathered in the 1960s, and where the nation celebrates its independence each Fourth of July. The Washington Monument: It Stands for All offers a unique look at The Washington Monument, the worlds tallest freestanding masonry structure. It takes readers where visitors cannot go, depicting the 193 memorial stones that grace its internal walls and using cutaway drawings to explain its construction. From the political intrigue surrounding its construction to the dramatic events that have taken place in its shadow, no stone is left unturned in this comprehensive tribute to our national icon.

Shark Attacks

Here is an unflinching look at the terrifying phenomenon of Shark Attacks from the author of The Shark Almanac. The shark is so well adapted to its element that its existence on the planet actually predates trees. When people enter that element in increasing numbers, as they have in recent years, the results can be tragic and seemingly arbitrary. Author Tom Allen has carefully researched all known shark incidents from all over the world. The result is the most thorough and informative book to date on the phenomenon. Shark Attacks contains the harrowing personal stories of shark attack survivors, expert opinions from marine biologists, and the latest scientific studies of shark behavior. Allen’s fascinating analysis explains; Why so many attacks occur in water less than five feet deep Which species are killers What triggers an attack Behavior just before an attack Whether shark nets increase swimmer safety levels Environmental and seasonal conditions that contribute to an increase in attacks Why it is better to be below a shark than above it. This is a book for everyone who wants to read about the frightening reality of Shark Attacks and to understand the myths that surround this often misunderstood creature.

Remember Pearl Harbor

Compelling narrative laced with first person accounts from both American and Japanese survivors combines with dramatic archival images and a brief overview to paint a vivid portrait of what it was like to have witnessed, participated in, and lived through the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that infamous morning of December 7, 1941. Historical photos set the scene. This landmark volume will provide young readers with valuable insights into both the Japanese and American points of view and demonstrate why people on both sides feel the need to Remember Pearl Harbor.

George Washington, Spymaster

Now in paperback the award winning National Geographic book that presents the untold story of the invisible war behind the American Revolution. A riveting tale of intrigue, spies, counterspies and secret agents, George Washington, Spymasteris a unique and entertaining account of one of the most important chapters in our nation’s history. The compelling narrative reveals the surprising role played by the first commander in chief, General George Washington in the War of Independence. Follow the action as 1775 dawns, and Washington finds himself in serious trouble. At war with Britain, the world’s most powerful empire, his ragtag army possesses only a few muskets, some cannons, and no money. The Americans’ only hope is to wage an invisible war a war of spies, intelligence networks, and deception. Enter the shadowy world of double agents, covert operations, codes and ciphers a world so secret that America’s spymaster himself doesn’t know the identities of some of his agents. Meet members of the elusive Culper Ring, uncover a ‘mole’ in the Sons of Liberty, and see how invisible ink and even a clothesline are used to send secret messages. You can even use Washington’s own secret codebook, published here for the first time. Experience at close quarters the successes and failures of the Americans as they strive to outwit the British. Meet the chief of covert operations, one Benjamin Franklin, and several other surprising players in America’s secret war. Author Thomas B. Allen has sifted through dozens of historical documents and coded letters to uncover the facts about a time shrouded in secrets. Archival art, coupled with lively pen and ink sketches by children’s illustrator Cheryl Harness, detail all the action and adventure of this momentous tale. Like the highly acclaimed hardback, this little paperback is sure to have a big impact on the imagination of readers everywhere. From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Bonus Army

In the summer of 1932, at the height of the Depression, some forty five thousand veterans of World War I descended on Washington, D.C., from all over the country to demand the bonus promised them eight years earlier for their wartime service. They lived in shantytowns, white and black together, and for two months they protested and rallied for their cause an action that would have a profound effect on American history.

President Herbert Hoover, Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur, and others feared the protesters would turn violent after the Senate defeated the ‘bonus bill’ that the House had passed. On July 28, 1932, tanks rolled through the streets as MacArthur’s troops evicted the bonus marchers: Newspapers and newsreels showed graphic images of American soldiers driving out their former comrades in arms. Democratic candidate, Franklin Roosevelt, in a critical contest with Hoover, upon reading newspaper accounts of the eviction said to an adviser, ‘This will elect me,’ though bonus armies would plague him in each of his first three years.

Through seminal research, including interviews with the last surviving witnesses, Paul Dickson and Thomas B. Allen tell the full and dramatic story of The Bonus Army and of the many celebrated figures involved in it: Evalyn Walsh McLean, the owner of the hope diamond, sided with the marchers; Roy Wilkins saw the model for racial integration here; J. Edgar Hoover built his reputation against The Bonus Army radicals; a young Gore Vidal witnessed the crisis while John dos Passos, Sherwood Anderson, and Sinclair Lewis wrote about it. Dickson and Allen also recover the voices of ordinary men who dared tilt at powerful injustice, and who ultimately transformed the nation: The march inspired Congress to pass the G. I. Bill of Rights in 1944, one of the most important pieces of social legislation in our history, which in large part created America’s middle class. The Bonus Army is an epic story in the saga of our country.

Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent

It’s 1863. Harriet Tubman is facing one of the biggest and most dangerous challenges of her life. She has survived her master’s lash, escaped from slavery, and risked her life countless times to lead runaway slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Now she has a new role that of Union spy! The outcome of a secret night raid deep into Confederate territory depends on the accuracy of the intelligence she and other black spies have gathered. Success will mean freedom for hundreds of slaves. Failure will mean death by hanging. You are about to enter the undercover world of African American spies enslaved and free risking everything in the name of freedom. How were the Underground Railroad and slave songs used to pass secret messages? What were ‘contrabands’ and ‘Black Dispatches?’ What did Harriet have in common with the Secret Six and a maidservant in the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis? You’ll discover these answers and more as the action unfolds. Thomas B. Allen, author of the award winning George Washington, Spymaster, has sifted through military and intelligence archives, diaries, and little known memoirs from ex slaves to bring to light new facts about the role Harriet and other black spies played in helping the Union win the war. This detailed account combined with powerful archival images supplemented with woodcuts by Carla Bauer, maps, a time line, footnotes, and extensive quote sources make this incredibly detailed account an excellent resource for report writing as well as an exciting true life adventure.

Remember Valley Forge

Remember Valley Forge tells the ultimate survival story. Travel the trail of defeat that leads Washington’s ragtag army to seek winter refuge at Valley Forge. Read from a teenage soldier’s diary and a doctor’s gruesome accounts of disease, hunger, and cold. Learn of plots against Washington and spies who aid the enemy. Discover why farmers sell the British food as the Continental Army starves and a powerless Congress looks on. Learn the true story behind the amazing achievements of the ‘winter soldiers.’ A time line, archival images, maps, Web sites, source list, and index make this an excellent research tool for students.

Declassified

Culled from archives around the world, the 50 documents in Declassified illuminate the secret and often inaccessible stories of agents, espionage, and behind the scenes events that played critical roles in American history. Moving through time from Elizabethan England to the Cold War and beyond, noted author Tom Allen places each document in its historical and cultural context, sharing the quirky and little known truths behind state secrets and clandestine operations. Each of seven chapters centers on one particular theme: secrets of war, the art of the double cross, spy vs. spy, espionage accidents, and more. Through support and access provided by the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., this lively history contains never before published and hard to find documents printed from scans of the originals wherever possible. These include The Zimmerman Telegram, which led America into World War I; letters from Robert Hanssen to his Soviet spymaster, marking the start of his devastating career as a mole; and papers as recent as the Presidential Daily Brief that announced that Bin Laden was determined to strike the U.S. delivered in August 2001.

The public interest in state secrets and espionage has been piqued by our current international conflicts, and this engrossing book well priced and engagingly written for the general reader will definitely feed that fascination.

Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War

Thomas B. Allen’s expertise in military history and strategy is combined with Roger MacBride Allen s knowledge of technology to reveal a lesser known yet fascinating side of the 16th president of the United States. Their authoritative narrative reveals Lincoln as our nation s first hands on Commander in Chief, whose appreciation for the power of technology plays a critical role in the North s Civil War victory over the less developed South. Readers meet Lincoln as he exchanges vital telegraph messages with his generals in the field; we witness his inspection of new ship models at the Navy Yard; we view the president target shooting with the designer of a new kind of rifle; and we follow Lincoln, the man of action, as he leads a daring raid to recapture Norfolk, VA. The book s historic sweep also sets Abraham Lincoln in the context of his military era: we learn about the North s Anaconda Plan, the South s counter strategies, and how the concept of total war replaced the old Napoleonic way of fighting. Readers will come away with a rich sense of a leader who lived through one of the most exciting ages of technological and social change in America. With archival photographs, artwork, and maps, Mr. Lincoln s High Tech War brings alive a time when the railroad brought soldiers and to and from the battlefields, when hot air balloons were used for surveillance, and when ironclad warships revolutionized naval warfare. The Allens detailed study demonstrates why Lincoln s appreciation of the importance of technology, his understanding of the art of war, and his mastery of military strategy were key elements in the winning of the American Civil War.

Time Capsule: The Book of Record

The world’s first Time Capsule, filled with artifacts and documents that tell the story of 1930s America, was buried at the site of the 1939 1940 New York World’s Fair. Time Capsule II was buried ten feet away at the 1964 1965 Fair. Together, the two Time Capsules comprise a message to the future, meant to be opened by the people of the year 6939 A.D. But what if, by that date, all knowledge of the Fairs, of New York City, of the English language itself, has been lost in the mists of time? How were the Futurians to find this hidden trove of knowledge, or know what it contained? The simple but wildly ambitious answer: The Book of Record of the Time Capsule a treasure map in book form, intended to teach the Futurians our language, tell them who we were, and lead them to the buried treasure that awaits them. Time Capsule: The Book of Record precisely reproduces every page of the text typesetting and illustrations of the original Book of Record, and includes a brief but detailed history of the Time Capsules and the original Book of Record, brief biographies of the men who created The Book of Record, and a full index.

Tories

A Sweeping, Dramatic History of the Americans Who Chose to Side with the British in the Revolution The American Revolution was not simply a battle between independence minded colonists and the oppressive British. As Thomas B. Allen reminds us, it was also a savage and often deeply personal civil war, in which conflicting visions of America pitted neighbor against neighbor and Patriot against Tory on the battlefield, the village green, and even in church. In this outstanding and vital history, Allen tells the complete story of these other Americans, tracing their lives and experiences throughout the revolutionary period. New York City and Philadelphia were Tory strongholds through much of the war, and at times in the Carolinas and Georgia there were more trained and armed Tories than Redcoats. The Revolution also produced one of the greatest and least known migrations in Western history. More than 80,000 Tories left America, most of them relocating to Canada. John Adams once said that he feared there would never be a good history of the American Revolution because so many documents had left the country with the Tories. Based on documents in archives from Nova Scotia to London, Tories adds a fresh perspective to our knowledge of the Revolution and sheds an important new light on the little known figures whose lives were forever changed when they remained faithful to their mother country.