Books with author A. Axelrod

A journey of exploration through history’s great decisions and those who had the courage to make them. In brief, compelling, and inspiring vignettes, bestselling historian Alan Axelrod pinpoints and investigates the make-or-break event in the lives and careers of some of history’s most significant figures. Axelrod reexamines history by revealing the answer to the fascinating question of why the people who made history made their choices—and conveys the resonance of those choices today. The 46 profiles range from ancient times to the present day and include Cleopatra’s decision to rescue Egypt; Washington’s decision to cross the Delaware and win; Gandhi’s decision to prevail against the British Empire without bloodshed; Truman’s decision to drop the A-bomb and end WW II; Rosa Parks decision to sit in for civil rights; Boris Yeltsin’s decision to embrace a new world order; and Flight 93’s decision to take a stand against terror. Alan Axelrod is the prolific author of over 60 books on subjects covering history, business, and management, including the bestsellers Patton on Leadership; Elizabeth I, CEO; and What Every American Should Know About American History: 200 Events That Shaped the Nation (with Charles Phillips). He has spoken at management and leadership seminars around the country, and has served as consultant to companies and institutions including Siemens AG and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has appeared on MSNBC, The Discovery Channel, CNN, Fox, and numerous radio news and talk programs, including NPR. Axelrod and his work have been featured in BusinessWeek, Fortune, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan., and many newspapers, including USA Today.

The American Revolution was a war, but it was also a time, a span of history, in which some people fought, but most just lived. They thought, acted, worked, raised families, worshipped, built, sold, bought, and tried to live as best they could in a time of hope, anxiety, despair, loss, gain, and, above all, disruption. In the Time of the Revolution is a popular, single-volume history of the American Revolution, 1775 to 1783, an intensely active, exciting, and critical span of time in North America. It began with a lopsided skirmish at Lexington, Massachusetts, culminated militarily in a major amphibious campaign mounted by a large Franco-American army against British army and naval forces at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781, and then passed through two more years of desultory combat and cruel fights between diehard Loyalists and vengeful Patriots before ending in the Treaty of Paris. During these eight years in an America that was a collection of young towns on the edge of a vast wilderness, the break-up with the mother country was the central fact of life.

Young readers learn and interact with the story of America’s war for independence through the epic paintings of America’s foremost historical artist, Mort KünstlerFor the first title in this series, Künstler’s paintings bring history to life with vivid, high-action portrayals of the primary events that won Americans their freedom from Britain: the Boston Tea Party, the Siege of Yorktown, Paul Revere’s ride, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The epic artworks faithfully chronicle these moments from history and encourage children to look again and again for special details—from the number of stars on George Washington’s flag to the style of a soldier’s uniform. Together with text by award-winning historian Alan Axelrod, these brilliantly explicit paintings engage a young reader’s attention and introduce them to American history through the visual arts.

Now in paperback!Military Book Club® Main Selection History Book Club® Featured Alternate*The battle that transformed a group of commonsoldiers into the modern-day Marine CorpsMiracle at Belleau Wood begins in June 1918 at Les Mare Farm in France with just 200 U.S. marines, who spilled their blood to prevail against impossible odds, resisting an overwhelming German force of thousands and turned the battle back against the enemy, saved Paris, saved France, and saved the Allied hope of victory. Called “the Gettysburg of the Great War” by many at the time, it rescued America and its allies from almost certain defeat. This book tells the riveting story of the modern marines as America’s fiercest and most effective warriors, the world’s preeminent fighting elite. Miracle at Belleau Wood is the story of an epoch-making battle--a battle that elevated the Corps to legendary status and forever burned them into the American imagination. Praise for Miracle at Belleau Wood “Axelrod brings us back vividly to the shocking casualties of ‘the war to end all wars.’”—Bing West, author of No True Glory, former Assistant Secretary of Defense “Alan Axelrod has perfectly captured the embodiment of U.S. Marines and their unparalleled Esprit de Corps. . . . A must read!”—Jay Kopelman, author of the best-selling From Baghdad with Love “Axelrod is one of America’s great military historians. He’s done it this time with riveting non-stop action that reads like the best of Hemingway’s frontline reports plus the Marine Corps novels of W.E.B. Griffin. Axelrod pushes you right into the action, onto the battlefield, and never lets up.”—Paul B. Farrell, JD, PhD, syndicated columnist for Dow Jones’s MarketWatch, former Staff Sergeant in the US Marine Corps Praise for Patton: A Biography“Like Patton at his best: polished, precise, and persuasive.”—Kirkus Reviews

In brief, compelling, and inspiring vignettes, bestselling historian Alan Axelrod pinpoints and investigates the make-or-break event in the lives and careers of some of history’s most significant figures. Axelrod reexamines history by revealing the answer to the fascinating question of why the people who made history made their choices—and conveys the resonance of those choices today. The 46 profiles range from ancient times to the present day and include Cleopatra’s decision to rescue Egypt; Washington’s decision to cross the Delaware and win; Gandhi’s decision to prevail against the British Empire without bloodshed; Truman’s decision to drop the A-bomb and end WW II; Rosa Parks decision to sit in for civil rights; Boris Yeltsin’s decision to embrace a new world order; and Flight 93’s decision to take a stand against terror.

“Kate Axelrod’s atmospheric, intense book captures perfectly the heady feeling of being on the edge of adulthood, when the abstract concept of ‘love’ starts to have real and sometimes terrifying meaning and consequences.” – Emily Gould, author of Friendship “THE LAW OF LOVING OTHERS . . .Hours after Emma returns home from boarding school, she realizes that her mom is suffering from a schizophrenic break. Suddenly, Emma’s entire childhood and identity is called into question. COULD NOT BE DISCOVERED BY REASON, Desperate for answers, Emma turns to her boyfriend, Daniel. Will he love her even if she goes crazy too? But it’s the lonely, brooding boy Emma meets while visiting her mother at the hospital who really understands Emma. Phil encourages Emma’s reckless need for hurt and pain in the face of all this change and she is soon caught in a complicated spiral of loss and mistrust.BECAUSE IT IS UNREASONABLE.” In the span of just one winter break, Emma’s relationships alter forever and she is forced to see the wisdom in a line from Anna Karenina: “The law of loving others could not be discovered by reason, because it is unreasonable.” A beautifully grounded coming-of-age novel, THE LAW OF LOVING OTHERS demands that the reader accept the main character, Emma, for who she is, while also creating deep sympathy for all that she is going through.