In the same style as the New York Times Best-Selling Who Was? series, What Was? focuses on compelling historical events, great battles, protests, and discoveries. Learn about a pivotal time in American history and its momentous effects on civil rights in America in this enlightening title about Reconstruction. Reconstruction -- the period after the Civil War -- was meant to give newly freed Black people the same rights as white people. And indeed there were monumental changes once slavery ended -- thriving new Black communities, the first Black members in Congress, and a new sense of dignity for many Black Americans. But this time of hope didn’t last long and instead, a deeply segregated United States continued on for another hundred years. Find out what went wrong in this fascinating overview of a troubled time.

What Was Reconstruction?

What Was That?

What Is What Was, Richard Stern's fifth "orderly miscellany," is the first to meaningfully combine his fiction and nonfiction. Stories, such as the already well-known "My Ex, the Moral Philosopher," appear among portraits (of the sort Hugh Kenner praised as "almost the invention of a new genre"): Auden, Pound, Ellison, Terkel, W. C. Fields, Bertrand Russell, Walter Benjamin (in both essay and story), Jung and Freud, Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger. In the book's seven sections are analyses of the Wimbledon tennis tournament as an Anglification machine, of Silicon Valley at its shaky peak, of James and Dante as travel writers, a Lucretian look at today's cosmology, American fiction in detail and depth, a "thought experiment" for Clarence Thomas, a salvation scheme for Ross Perot, a semi-confession of the writer. The book contains but isn't philosophy, criticism, opinion, reportage, or autobiography (although the author says it is as much of this as he plans to write). There is a recurrent theme, the ways in which actuality is made and remade in description, argument and narration, fictional and nonfictional, but above all, What Is What Was is a provocative entertainment by a writer who, as Philip Roth once said, "knows as much as anyone writing American prose about family mischief, intellectual shenanigans, love blunders—and about writing American prose."

What Is What Was

Fitz-James O'Brien (1828-1862) was an author and is often considered one of the forerunners of today's Science Fiction. While he was in college he had shown an aptitude for writing verse, and two of his poems Loch Ine and Irish Castles were published in The Ballads of Ireland (1856). His earliest writings in the United States were contributed to the Lantern. Subsequently he wrote for the Home Journal, the New York Times, and the American Whig Review. His first important literary connection was with Harper's Magazine, and beginning in February, 1853, with The Two Skulls, he contributed more than sixty articles in prose and verse to that periodical. He likewise wrote for the New York Saturday Press and the Atlantic Monthly. To the latter he sent The Diamond Lens (1858) and The Wonder Smith (1859), which are unsurpassed as creations of the imagination, and are unique among short magazine stories. Amongst his other works are What Was It? (1889), My Wife's Tempter, The Child Who Loved a Grave, The Golden Ingot and The Wondersmith.

What Was It?, and My Wife's Tempter

Excerpt from What Was He? By his own power were all things made; By him supported all things stand He is the whole creation's head, And angels ﬂy at his command. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

What Was He? (Classic Reprint)

Behind-the-scenes anecdotes and first-person recollections from forty-nine diverse people illuminate their personal relationships with Ronald Reagan. What was Ronald Reagan like in private? How did he treat his children? How did he handle pressure? This collection of intimate remembrances of the late President's staffers, colleagues, and friends sheds new light on the life and career of the immortal "Gipper." See how Reagan used humor to disarm his most ardent critics and tenacious opponents. Marvel at his gift for persuading difficult, almost impossible to deal with legislators. Learn the untold story behind the secret plan hatched by former Air Force Secretary Thomas C. Reed and a handful of dedicated insiders to launch Reagan's first campaign for president of the United States in 1968. Many of author Curtis Patrick's interview subjects were members of Reagan's original 1966 campaign for governor of California. Some came aboard soon after the election and were appointed to fill key positions in the governor's cabinet and to head up state agencies and departments. For the most part, except in a few cases, these interviewees had never been recorded or published before. "Curtis, I not only like your book; I love it!" —Edwin Meese III, former US attorney general

Reagan: What Was He Really Like? Volume II

On October 29, 1929, life in the United States took a turn for the worst. The stock market – the system that controls money in America – plunged to a record low. But this event was only the beginning of many bad years to come. By the early 1930s, one out of three people was not working. People lost their jobs, their houses, or both and ended up in shantytowns called “Hoovervilles” named for the president at the time of the crash. By 1933, many banks had gone under. Though the U.S. has seen other times of struggle, the Great Depression remains one of the hardest and most widespread tragedies in American history. Now it is represented clearly and with 80 illustrations in our What Was…? series.

What Was the Great Depression?

On August 15, 1969, a music festival called "Woodstock" transformed one small dairy farm in upstate New York into a gathering place for over 400,000 young music fans. Concert-goers, called "hippies," traveled from all over the country to see their favorite musicians perform. Famous artists like The Grateful Dead played day and night in a celebration of peace, love, and happiness. Although Woodstock lasted only three days, the spirit of the festival has defined a generation and become a symbol of the "hippie life." American Association of University Women Award for Juvenile Literature 2016 Nominee.

What Was Woodstock?

Splash! This photo-guessing game challenges pre-readers to guess what something was before it got wet. The soggy, soaked, and soupy answers may be suprising!

What Was It Before It Got Wet?

A former escort, the billionaire CEO who loves her, and the family secrets keeping them apart… Italy isn’t what former entertainment executive Isabella Aconi had hoped. Her reunion with the man she’d thought was her father for her first eleven years has gone bust while her half-brother is plagued with problems of his own. Even though she’s given up her penthouse apartment and well paying job in Los Angeles, a gift from a friend means that she never has to work again. For the first time in her life, Isabella has to decide what she wants and go after it. What do you do when the world is your oyster, but you hate shellfish? Jake Wu’s plans to reunite with Isabella Aconi have gone bust. Buying the television network where she worked had seemed like a brilliant idea until she quit without two weeks’ notice. Now he faces his father’s wrath at having failed once again. The network he’d engineered buying is in trouble and he doesn’t know how to save it. When Isabella comes to Jake with a show idea that could turn the network around, he says yes. Thrown together for their common good, can they finally share the truth of their past and seek a better future together? WHAT WAS TRUE is a full-length contemporary novel from author JOLIE MOORE about secrets and lies and an unbreakable connection. It's the last and final book in the heart-wrenching UNDENIABLE billionaire romance trilogy. About Jolie Moore’s Crazy Beautiful Love Stories: If you love angsty, twisty-turney contemporary romance full of complicated heroines with secrets, strong heroes who fall hard, and a long winding road to happily ever after, then download a Jolie Moore book. Perfect for fans Colleen Hoover, Mia Sheridan, LJ Shen, Robinne Lee, and Devney Perry, and Emily Henry.

What Was True

What Was

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