Following the end of the American Civil War, the country’s landscape transformed dramatically as it experienced economic growth, saw the emergence of various progressive social movements, and engaged as never before in international affairs. The drivers of these changes included presidents, political and business leaders, social activists, inventors, writers, and artists. This engaging volume examines the lives of many of the noteworthy individuals of the time—including Andrew Carnegie, Susan B. Anthony, and Theodore Roosevelt—and the lasting influence they have had over time.

From Marilyn to Mussolini, people captivate people. A&E's Biography, best-selling autobiographies, and biographical novels testify to the popularity of the genre. But where does one begin? Collected here are descriptions and evaluations of over 10,000 biographical works, including books of fact and fiction, biographies for young readers, and documentaries and movies, all based on the lives of over 500 historical figures from scientists and writers, to political and military leaders, to artists and musicians. Each entry includes a brief profile, autobiographical and primary sources, and recommended works. Short reviews describe the pertinent biographical works and offer insight into the qualities and special features of each title, helping readers to find the best biographical material available on hundreds of fascinating individuals.

One of the over-arching political questions of the last two centuries has been to understand how capitalism has managed to survive. The answer from those on the left has often focused on the State. While Marx predicted collapse and the rise of socialism, theorists of the State have focused on the process by which capitalism managed to escape its fate and endure against all odds. This book follows the development of modern State theory from Gramsci and Nicos Poulantzas, to Stuart Hall, Pierre Bourdieu, Erik Wright, and the recent writers Jules Boykoff, Naomi Klein and George Monbiot. This book provides the reader with a fresh interpretation of these very important ideas. It allows the reader to come face to face with the original texts with as little confusion as possible. This book will be of interest to senior undergraduates and graduate students in politics, sociology and cultural studies, as well as lay readers keen to gain the theoretical tools to understand what the State is up to in the 21st century. These theories are among the most elaborate and sophisticated political theories ever written, and they tell us much about our present political situation, and what may happen in the future.

Volume 17 of the Australian Dictionary of Biography contains 658 biographies of individuals who died between 1981 and 1990. The first of two volumes for the decade, it presents a colourful mosaic of twentieth-century Australian life. It contains biographies of well-known identities such as Sir Henry Bolte, Sir Robert Askin, Sir Reginald Ansett, Sir Macfarlane Burnet, Sir Raphael and Lady Cilento, Sir Arthur Coles, Robert Holmes-O-Court, Sir Warwick Fairfax, Sir Edmund Herring, Albert Facey, Donald Friend, Sir Roy Grounds, Sir Bernard Heinze and Sir Robert Helpmann. Eminent Australian women in the volume include Dame Elizabeth Couchman, Dame Kate Campbell, Dame Doris Fitton, Dame Zara Holt and Lady (Maie) Casey. Although many of the women achieved prominence in those professions conventionally regarded as the preserve of women, othersandmdash;such as Ruby Boye-Jones, coast-watcher; Ellen Cashman, union organiser; Elsie Chauvel, film-maker; Dorothy Crawford, radio producer; Ruth Dobson, diplomat; Mary Hodgkin, anthropologist; Margaret Kelly, restaurateur; and Patricia Jarrett, journalistandmdash;demonstrate that some women at least were breaking free of the constraints of traditional expectations. The lives of fifteen Indigenous Australians are included, as are those of a number of immigrants who fled from persecution in Europe to establish a new life in Australia.