Showing results by author "Doug West" in All Categories

A “long-shot” or “underdog” would best describe the former governor of Tennessee, James Knox Polk, who had lost two reelection bids and now sought his party’s vice-presidential nomination. Events unfolded rapidly at the Democratic convention in the warm summer of 1844. James Polk had hoped to be his party’s choice as front runner Martin Van Buren’s vice presidential nominee going into the fall general election. Seven ballots into the nomination process the convention was hopelessly deadlocked, then Polk’s friends began spreading the word that “Young Hickory” was Andrew ...

Do you want to learn about Dolley Madison but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this short and concise book “Dolley Madison: First Lady of the United States: A Short Biography” is for you!! During Dolley Madison’s long and productive life, she had many interesting adventures and made many contributions to the young American republic, including the following: One of the “founding mothers” of the United States of America, Acted as hostess for several government functions for President Thomas Jefferson, Helped resolve the diplomatic “Merry Affair” ...

This book is a story of Miss Cannon's trip to Spain and Italy in 1893 where she visits some of the major cathedrals, mosques, and palaces in Spain. Miss Cannon also journeys to Italy to visit the childhood home of Christopher Columbus. Her book was used at the massive 1893 World's Fair held in Chicago as a promotional booklet for the Blair Camera Company.

Born into a wealthy family from New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered political life as a member of the Democratic Party and rose to prominence quickly due to his strong leadership skills, money, and family connections. --During his first term as president of the United States, he introduced his “New Deal” domestic agenda to stem the tide of the growing national economic depression sweeping the country. -- He managed to win a wide base of popular support thanks to his policies aimed at helping the most vulnerable American citizens, from poor farmers to jobless urban professionals....

John Tyler holds the distinction of being the first president to take office due to the death of a sitting president. Tyler was thrust into office on the death of President William Henry Harrison in 1841 after being vice president for only a month. He was at home in Richmond when he got word of Harrison’s death. Immediately he rushed to Washington, D.C., to be embroiled in a Constitutional crisis over the secession of power. -- The Whig Political Party had chosen Tyler as Harrison’s running mate in the election of 1840, primarily because he was from the very populous state of Virginia ...

Do you want to learn about William Penn but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this is the short and concise book for you! Some of the interesting accomplishments of William Penn covered in the book are: An early convert to the Society of Friends or Quaker religion. Wrote several books and pamphlets promoting his faith. One of the original proprietors of the colony of West Jersey. Was granted a large tract of land in North America from King Charles II of England. In 1681 established the proprietary colony of Pennsylvania in North America. Promoted the new colony of...

Jimmy Carter’s political career peaked in 1977 when he became the 39th president of the United States. During his time in the Oval Office, he was confronted with a battered economy, soaring oil prices, American hostages in Iran, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A Democrat and Baptist from rural Georgia, Carter served at the US Naval Academy as a naval officer and received several military awards, such as the American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, China Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal. He was a very successful peanut farmer before engaging in politics...

His was one of the great American stories. Born into a privileged New England family, George H. W. Bush joined the navy on his eighteenth birthday, and at age twenty, he was shot down on a combat mission over the Pacific. He married young, started a family, and resisted pressure to become a Wall Street banker, instead, striking out for the adventurous world of the Texas oil patch. Over the course of three decades, Bush would rise through the political ranks from the chairmanship of his county Republican Party to serve as congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, head of the Republican ...

Do you want to learn about Caroline Herschel but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this short and concise book “The Astronomer Caroline Herschel: A Short Biography” is for you!! During Caroline Herschel’s long and productive life, she had many interesting adventures and made many contributions to the science of astronomy, including the following: Was an accomplished vocal performer, Assisted her brother, William Herschel, with astronomical observations, Discovered eight comets, Discovered several nebulae, Was the first paid female astronomer in history, ...

Do you want to learn about the astronomer Tycho Brahe but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this is the short and concise book for you! Some of the interesting accomplishments of Tycho Brahe covered in the book are: Developed a series of accurate astronomical instruments predating the invention of the telescope. Developed the Tychonic system of the Solar System were the Moon orbits the Earth and the planets orbit the Sun, erroneously he determined the Sun orbited the Earth. From his observations of the supernovae of 1572, he refuted the belief of the ancient Greek...

A fierce personality with an iron will, Andrew Jackson was an important statesman who left a historic mark on the expansion and consolidation of the United States. Known among both his friends and his enemies as “Old Hickory,” after the hardwood tree, he rose to fame during the War of 1812, where his victories revealed the tenacity and courage that would later transform him into one of the most influential and controversial American presidents. Andrew Jackson was a self-made man who was born on the frontier and grew up to become one of Tennessee’s first and most important political ...

In the movies we often see a scientist portrayed as a quiet and pious man or woman dressed in a white lab coat engrossed in deep thought. This image surely fits some; however, not the twentieth-century New Zealander Ernest Rutherford, or Lord Rutherford as he would be known later in life. He was born into a large family living in the frontier country of New Zealand with the nearest town thirteen miles away by horseback. This young man would earn a scholarship and travel to Great Britain to study at the world-famous Cambridge University. There this boisterous country boy would come into his ...

Bill Clinton knew at an early age that he wanted to be in politics. Over time, his dream would become reality as he moved up the political ranks to become the 42nd President of the United States. During his college years, starting at Georgetown, then at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, and completing his law degree at Yale, Bill Clinton proved to be a quick study. While at Yale, he met his future wife, Hillary Rodham, who would become his closest adviser. As a member of the Democratic Party, he began his political career in Arkansas, where he was elected as attorney general and later governor. ...

Mike Pence is an American politician who has been serving as the fiftieth governor of Indiana since January 2013. He is currently the vice president-elect of the United States and will take office in January 2017, entering history as the forty-eighth vice president of the United States. In 2008, Esquire magazine included Pence on its list of the ten best members of the Congress, after Pence had positioned himself among conservatives as an ideologue with strong principles. He was considered a viable Republican candidate for the presidential elections of 2008 and 2012. In September 2010, ...

Do you want to learn about William Herschel but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this short and concise book “The Astronomer William Herschel: A Short Biography” is for you!! During William Herschel’s long and productive life, he had many interesting adventures and made many contributions to the science of astronomy, including the following: Discovered the planet Uranus, Observed and catalogued hundreds of double stars, Observed and cataloged some 2,500 nebulae, Personal astronomer to King George III of Great Britain, Trained his sister Caroline Herschel as...