{"title":"H. W. Brands","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the captivating world of H. W. Brands, a renowned author whose works illuminate the rich tapestry of American history. With a keen eye for detail and a narrative style that engages readers of all backgrounds, Brands delves deep into the events and characters that have shaped the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis books, such as \u003cem\u003eDreams of El Dorado\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eFounding Partisans\u003c\/em\u003e, are celebrated for their insightful exploration of key historical milestones and military events. These works not only inform but also invite readers to journey through time, offering a fresh perspective on the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you're a history buff or new to the subject, the H. W. Brands collection is sure to captivate with its blend of scholarly research and compelling storytelling. Immerse yourself in his masterful narratives and discover the defining moments that continue to inspire and intrigue.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"dreams-of-el-dorado","title":"Dreams of El Dorado","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the time he became president in 1801, Thomas Jefferson had already been looking westward for decades. He saw the country's population expanding and judged that America's territory must expand too, lest America become as crowded and conflict-prone as Europe. He started modestly, by seeking to purchase New Orleans from the French. Napoleon Bonaparte answered with a breathtaking proposal: would the Americans care to purchase all of Louisiana? Jefferson said yes and soon enough dispatched two explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to find a passage across the new territory to the Pacific.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eDreams of El Dorado\u003c\/i\u003e, the bestselling author H. W. Brands meticulously recounts the saga of America's rugged expansion into the western territories. This enthralling narrative begins with Lewis and Clark's intrepid expedition in the early 19th century and follows the waves of pioneers, settlers, and adventurers across the American frontier, culminating in the early 20th century. Brands brings to life a host of unforgettable characters—explorers, mountain men, cowboys, missionaries, and soldiers—each of whom played a critical role in the westward expansion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBrands skillfully navigates through iconic moments and locations that defined the epoch. He leads readers along the Oregon Trail, where countless families risked everything for a chance at a new life. He recounts the rise of John Jacob Astor's fur trading empire in the Pacific Northwest and takes us to Texas during its fiery revolution and to California in the gripping throes of the gold rush. The narrative reaches a dramatic climax at the Battle of Little Big Horn, detailing the fateful day of General Custer's defeat at the hands of the Native American leader Crazy Horse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNot all Americans who ventured west sought immense fortunes; many simply yearned for opportunities unavailable to them in the East. Their dreams propelled them to notable feats of courage and endurance, although these aspirations often led to violence against indigenous peoples, foreigners, and even fellow settlers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout \u003ci\u003eDreams of El Dorado\u003c\/i\u003e, Brands dispels longstanding myths and offers a fresh perspective on the American West. Commonly viewed as the last stronghold of rugged individualism, the West's history is interwoven with episodes of remarkable collectivism. While residents of the West often resented federal authority, it was precisely this power that facilitated the region's development. Though envisioned as an unspoiled Eden, the West experienced rapid exploitation and environmental degradation. Moreover, conflicts typically portrayed as whites against Native Americans often involved complex alliances and included diverse participants, such as black soldiers fighting alongside white troops.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe West was a land where fortunes were to be made, promising rewards for miners' persistence, cattlemen's courage, railroad entrepreneurs' enterprise, and bonanza farmers' audacity. However, as Brands compellingly argues, the dreams of finding El Dorado were just as elusive in the West as they had been in the East.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA sweeping, engrossing work of narrative history, \u003ci\u003eDreams of El Dorado\u003c\/i\u003e redefines our understanding of how the American nation was forged, presenting a captivating tale that balances heroism with the harsher realities of expansion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45711531442412,"sku":"9781541672529","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781541672529.jpg?v=1725975965"},{"product_id":"dreams-of-el-dorado-by-h-w-brands-9781541672543","title":"Dreams of El Dorado","description":"In \u003ci\u003eDreams of El Dorado\u003c\/i\u003e, H. W. Brands tells the thrilling, panoramic story of the settling of the American West, from Lewis and Clark's expedition in the early 19th century to the closing of the frontier by the early 20th. He introduces us to explorers, mountain men, cowboys, missionaries and soldiers, taking us from John Jacob Astor's fur trading campaign in Oregon to the Texas Revolution, from the California gold rush to the Oklahoma land rush. Throughout, Brands explores the contradictions of the West and explodes its longstanding myths. The West has been celebrated as the proving ground of American individualism; in reality, the West depended on collective action and federal largesse more than any other region. The West brought out the finest and the basest in those who ventured there, evoking both selfless heroism and unspeakable violence. Visons of great wealth drew generations of Americans westward, but El Dorado was never more elusive than in the West.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBalanced, authoritative, and masterfully told, \u003ci\u003eDreams of El Dorado\u003c\/i\u003e sets a new standard for histories of the American West.","brand":"Ingram Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45711564538092,"sku":"9781541672543","price":58.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781541672543.jpg?v=1725976026"},{"product_id":"founding-partisans-by-h-w-brands-9780593469033","title":"Founding Partisans","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H.W. Brands, comes a revelatory history of the shocking emergence of vicious political division at the birth of the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo the framers of the Constitution, political parties were a fatal threat to republican virtues. They had suffered the consequences of partisan politics in Britain before the American Revolution and wanted nothing similar for America. Yet parties emerged even before the Constitution was ratified, and they took firmer root in the following decade. In \u003cem\u003eFounding Partisans\u003c\/em\u003e, master historian H. W. Brands has crafted a fresh and lively narrative of the early years of the republic as the Founding Fathers fought one another with competing visions of what our nation would be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe first party, the Federalists, formed around Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, and their efforts to overthrow the Articles of Confederation and make the federal government more robust. Their opponents organized as the Antifederalists, who feared the corruption and encroachments on liberty that a strong central government would surely bring. The Antifederalists lost but regrouped under the new Constitution as the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, whose bruising contest against Federalist John Adams marked the climax of this turbulent chapter of American political history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe country's first years unfolded in a contentious spiral of ugly elections and blatant violations of the Constitution. Still, peaceful transfers of power continued, and the nascent country made its way towards global dominance, against all odds. \u003cem\u003eFounding Partisans\u003c\/em\u003e is a powerful reminder that fierce partisanship is a problem as old as the republic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Ingram Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46512435265772,"sku":"9780593469033","price":41.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/7680123482399.jpg?v=1748846554"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/h-w-brands.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}