James W Baker

Today, the Mayflower II—the replica of the 1620 ship that brought the Pilgrims to America and launched a nation—is visited by some 2.6 million tourists annually and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But there is much more to the replica’s story than meets the eye. In fact, the origins of Project Mayflower began in the 1950s not with an American, but with a British World War II veteran named Warwick Charlton who had what seemed an impossible dream: build an historically accurate replica, sail her across the Atlantic, and present the finished product as a thank you to his country’s wartime ally. What Charlton didn’t know was that the son of a powerful New England financier had the same idea. Henry (“Harry”) Hornblower II wanted a replica just as badly, though for a somewhat less altruistic reason: as a tourist attraction for a new museum he was building in Massachusetts, soon to be known as Plimouth Plantation, where the original Mayflower had landed centuries before. Despite different personal motives, Charlton and Hornblower agreed to join forces when they met by chance in 1955. Charlton would be responsible for financing, construction, and the vessel’s safe passage across the Atlantic, while Hornblower promised mooring, maintenance, and exhibition. Neither man could imagine what would happen next. Project Mayflower recounts the never-before-told story of a grand adventure, from the origins of the idea, through the financial and political influences that nearly scuttled the ship, and the challenges of building an accurate replica based on a single known mention: William Bradford’s reference in Of Plimoth Plantation describing his craft simply as “180 tons of burden.” From there, Stone traces the Mayflower II’s dramatic seven-week ocean voyage from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the skilled hands of Alan Villiers and a crew of thirty-three bold men, and finishes by exploring the legacy of praise for the achievement, the skullduggery to tarnish the reputation of the project’s creator, and finally the Mayflower II’s lasting—and ongoing—impact on America.

In this, the first in-depth study of the most American of holidays, James Baker sweeps away lingering myths and misconceptions to show how this celebration day was born and grew to be an essential part of our national spirit. Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday opens with an overview of the popular mythos of the holiday before discussing its possible religious and cultural precedents. This classic Yankee holiday is examined in historical and contemporary detail that embraces everything from proclamations, sermons, and local and regional traditions to family reunions, turkey dinners, and recipes. Thanksgiving's evolving face is illustrated with charming and often revealing period prints that chart our changing attitudes: the influence of Victorian sentiment in Thanksgiving's development, Progressive utilitarianism, intellectual "debunking," patriotic wartime reclamation, and 1960s-era protest. Thanksgiving remains controversial up to the present day, as Mayflower descendants, Native Americans, and commercial exploiters compete for the American public's opinion of the holiday's contemporary significance and its future status. This is an intelligent and illuminating introduction to a beloved holiday and a fascinating cultural history of America and Americana.

EDITORIAL REVIEW: On the first anniversary of the murder of Lehman, Joseph Tibman, a 20-year veteran and senior investment banker, reveals in plain English, the people and forces that share responsibility for this catastrophe. His shattering account is told as only a true Lehman insider's account could be told, by someone who spent two decades at the firm. Writing under pseudonym, Joseph Tibman, the author explains the feud that erupted, soon after the death of the last Lehman Family CEO, between the two "houses" of Lehman--the investment bankers and the sales and trading group. He provides the most detailed account on record of the rise of Dick Fuld from junior trader to CEO who rose above his legendary inarticulateness nickname just once, but profoundly, at the seminal, game-changing moment of the 9/11 attacks. The Murder of Lehman Brothers is the story of greed run amok. The story is told in the words of someone who was there when Lehman, post 9/11, became the firm that always outperformed; someone who was a witness to what a small handful of people inside Lehman did to crush it with the assistance of misguided, inept politicians and a dysfunctional, antiquated regulatory infrastructure. The Murder of Lehman Brothers is not only for those who earn their livings (or used to) working in the financial markets. It is written simply for anyone who wants to understand the perfect storm of screw-ups that has led to the current crisis. It is a primer that explains why action must be taken to ensure no one is ever again in a position to dismantle the system or bet the bank, bringing down major institutions and threatening the entire global economy.