The Library of Congress, in association outside publishers, has recently published nine new books, including the first six titles in a new series, "Women Who Dare." Library publications are available in bookstores nationwide and in the Library of Congress Sales Shop, Washington, DC 20540-4985. Credit card orders are taken at (888) 682-3557. Online orders can be placed at www.loc.gov/shop/.
The American Civil War: 365 Days
By Margaret E. Wagner,
in association with Harry N. Abrams Inc.
753 pages, hardcover, $29.95
Lavishly illustrated with more than 500 images from the Library's incomparable Civil War collections, "The American Civil War: 365 Days" includes photographs by Mathew Brady, lithographs, battlefield drawings, political cartoons and music covers; recruitment, political and theatrical posters; an image of the contents of Lincoln's pockets on the night he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre; illustrated letters and Lincoln's handwritten Gettysburg Address.
The text is structured in 12 broad themes: "Irrepressible Conflict," "Gathering Momentum," "War in the East," "Wartime Politics," "War on the Water," "Fighting for Freedom," "Turning Points," "Army Life," "War in West," "Behind the Lines," "Valor and Sacrifice," and "An Uneasy Peace."
The main text and images within each month pertain to the theme introduced on the first day of the month. The 365 daily entries at the bottom of each left-hand page comprise a separate running diary of noteworthy Civil War-related events.
Women Who Dare Series
In association with Pomegranate Communications
64 pages, 40 illustrations (each title), $12.95
The "Women Who Dare" series celebrates the lives of women who have changed the course of American history through their courage and spirit, often in the face of overwhelming obstacles. The first six titles are "Eleanor Roosevelt" by Anjelina Michelle Keating, "Helen Keller" by Aimee Hess, "Amelia Earhart" by Susan Reyburn, "Women of the Civil War" by Michelle A. Krowl, "Women of the Suffrage Movement" by Janice E. Ruth and Evelyn Sinclair and "Women of the Civil Rights Movement" by Linda Barrett Osborne.
Taken as a whole, these works span the pre-Civil War days, when women first demanded the right to vote, through the years of the civil rights movement, when brave women took to the streets. The series also surveys individual women—some famous, others less well known—whose actions paved the ways for future generations.
My Dear President: Letters Between Presidents and Their Wives
Compiled and edited by Gerard Gawalt in association with Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
352 pages, hardcover, $17.95
"My Dear President: Letters Between Presidents and Their Wives" is the latest in a long list of Library of Congress publications featuring treasures from the personal papers of America's presidents.
Through 184 letters, telegrams and cables, "My Dear President" offers an intimate look into the private lives of American presidents and their wives—from George and Martha Washington, to Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton—during courtship and marriage, in times of joy and times of sorrow, in wartime and in peace.
The Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress holds the papers of 23 American presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, comprising some 2 million manuscripts. The Library's digital initiative is making the papers of four U.S. presidents—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln—available free of charge on the Library's Web site at memory.loc.gov.
Also available on the Library's Web site are selected items from 54 presidential inaugurations from George Washington to George W. Bush and portraits of presidents and first ladies from George and Martha Washington to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Irving Fine: An American Composer in His Time
By Phillip Ramey, in association with Pendragon Press
334-page hardcover, $32
The life and music of American composer Irving Fine (1914-1962) are examined in a new biography by author, composer and pianist Phillip Ramey.
Born in Boston, Fine's musical growth stemmed from not only his musical and creative intellect but also his personal and professional relationships with Aaron Copland and four other "Boston School" composers—Leonard Bernstein, Lukas Foss, Harold Shapero and Arthur Berger. The uniqueness of these relationships, with their interpersonal and creative camaraderie, makes a moving and compelling story of the beginnings of truly American music.
Photographs and other materials in the Music Division's Irving Fine Collection and companion Web site (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ifhtml/) served as a resource for the biography. The book is also based on the reminiscences of the composer's family, friends and professional colleagues and includes never-before-seen images of Fine from his youth to a few days before his death.
