The Founders Curse

How James Monroe's relationships impacted the rise, fall, and rebirth of political parties in the early American republic. From the Revolutionary War to his death in 1831, James Monroe's life was dominated by partisan politics. Monroe—not uniquely among the American founders—hated political parties, even writing that he "always considered their existence as the curse of the country." Yet his career saw the rise, fall, and rebirth of American political parties. In The Founders' Curse, historian Brook Poston tells the story of Monroe's decision to help create the Jeffersonian Republican party, his efforts to destroy the Federalists and eliminate the need for parties, and the role he played in their rebirth as various parties developed after the battle to succeed his presidency in 1824. For a time, Monroe succeeded in his goal to eliminate parties: during his presidency, he intentionally made appointments designed to lessen partisanship and took tours of the nation that brought the country together. Monroe developed relationships with every major political figure of the first half-century of American history, spanning two different generations—yet all his relationships were defined by political parties. In the end, Poston explains how Monroe's successes in eliminating political parties ultimately brought them back with a vengeance under Andrew Jackson's presidency, thus laying the foundations of the modern two-party system of the American government.

John can't help that his last name is Brown or that he is a farmer. It's not his fault that his only shoes are work boots, and that his wardrobe consists of overalls and thin T-shirts. Even if Father and Mother are strict and detached, at least he has his eleven sisters and Widow McNeally on his side. He thought he was okay with it all, really! However, something made him trip that bully of a classmate at the museum, making him number one on the goon's hit-list. During the ensuing hunt, those blasted boots caused him to break a priceless statue, freeing a girl named Diana, who had been trapped in stone for centuries. His choices from that moment forward turn his life upside-down. Should he have turned Diana over to the authorities instead of sneaking her home and hiding her in the loft of his barn? Maybe. Should he have told his parents instead of Widow McNeally and two of his sisters? Possibly. Should he have run the other way when Diana showed him the things she can do with her mind and the amulet of crystals around her neck? No one would blame him if he did. Instead, he allows himself to be pulled deeper and deeper into Diana's world, doing crazy things like breaking into an insane asylum, traveling through waterfalls, confronting a Fourteenth-Century warrior, battling an old hag, and, worst of all, lying to his parents. That's a lot to deal with for a sheltered fourteen-year-old farm boy. Travel with John and Diana and a diverse cast of characters through an adventure of discovery, loss, and rebirth as friendships are forged and old debts are revisited in this tale where "mind over matter" has a whole new meaning.

A Washington Post Bestseller Three Principles for Managing—and Avoiding—the Problems of Growth Why is profitable growth so hard to achieve and sustain? Most executives manage their companies as if the solution to that problem lies in the external environment: find an attractive market, formulate the right strategy, win new customers. But when Bain & Company’s Chris Zook and James Allen, authors of the bestselling Profit from the Core, researched this question, they found that when companies fail to achieve their growth targets, 90 percent of the time the root causes are internal, not external—increasing distance from the front lines, loss of accountability, proliferating processes and bureaucracy, to name only a few. What’s more, companies experience a set of predictable internal crises, at predictable stages, as they grow. Even for healthy companies, these crises, if not managed properly, stifle the ability to grow further—and can actively lead to decline. The key insight from Zook and Allen’s research is that managing these choke points requires a “founder’s mentality”—behaviors typically embodied by a bold, ambitious founder—to restore speed, focus, and connection to customers: • An insurgent’s clear mission and purpose • An unambiguous owner mindset • A relentless obsession with the front line Based on the authors’ decade-long study of companies in more than forty countries, The Founder’s Mentality demonstrates the strong relationship between these three traits in companies of all kinds—not just start-ups—and their ability to sustain performance. Through rich analysis and inspiring examples, this book shows how any leader—not only a founder—can instill and leverage a founder’s mentality throughout their organization and find lasting, profitable growth.

From New York Times bestselling historian H. W. Brands comes the riveting story of how, in nineteenth-century America, a new set of political giants battled to complete the unfinished work of the Founding Fathers and decide the future of our democracy In the early 1800s, three young men strode onto the national stage, elected to Congress at a moment when the Founding Fathers were beginning to retire to their farms. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, a champion orator known for his eloquence, spoke for the North and its business class. Henry Clay of Kentucky, as dashing as he was ambitious, embodied the hopes of the rising West. South Carolina's John Calhoun, with piercing eyes and an even more piercing intellect, defended the South and slavery. Together these heirs of Washington, Jefferson and Adams took the country to war, battled one another for the presidency and set themselves the task of finishing the work the Founders had left undone. Their rise was marked by dramatic duels, fierce debates, scandal and political betrayal. Yet each in his own way sought to remedy the two glaring flaws in the Constitution: its refusal to specify where authority ultimately rested, with the states or the nation, and its unwillingness to address the essential incompatibility of republicanism and slavery. They wrestled with these issues for four decades, arguing bitterly and hammering out political compromises that held the Union together, but only just. Then, in 1850, when California moved to join the Union as a free state, "the immortal trio" had one last chance to save the country from the real risk of civil war. But, by that point, they had never been further apart. Thrillingly and authoritatively, H. W. Brands narrates an epic American rivalry and the little-known drama of the dangerous early years of our democracy.

The truth revealed--and PC myths shattered--about the Founding Fathers. Tom Brokaw labeled the World War II generation the "Greatest Generation," but he was wrong. That honor belongs to the Founders--the men who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for the cause of liberty and independence, and who established the United States. This was a generation without equal, and it deserves to be rescued from the politically correct textbooks, teachers, and professors who want to dismiss the Founders as a cadre of dead, white, sexist, slave-holding males. Now, a clear-sighted conservative historian, Dr. Brion McClanahan, does just that. In The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers, he profiles Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and other important Founders; traces the key issues of the day and shows how they dealt with them; and in the process details the Founders' deep faith, commitment to the cause of independence, impeccable character, and visionary political ideals. Even better, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers proves that the Founders had a better understanding of the problems we face today than do our own members of Congress. McClanahan shows that if you want real and relevant insights into the issues of banking, war powers, executive authority, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, states' rights, gun control, judicial activism, trade, and taxes, you'd be better served reading the Founders than you would be watching congressional debates on C-SPAN or reading the New York Times. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers is a vital guide to restoring a sane, sober, Constitutional sense of responsibility to today's public debates.

An award-winning CEO and communications expert shows how authentic leadership eliminates the need for the shortcuts that sabotage success. “Fake it till you make it” just doesn't work—at least not long enough to build a sustainable business. Driven to succeed under constant pressure, entrepreneurs and business leaders alike can be tempted to exaggerate their strengths, minimize weaknesses, and bend the truth. Through the twin lenses of running her own national public relations firm and advising thousands of executives for a quarter-century, Sabrina Horn revisits the core of leadership; defines authentic, reality-based business integrity; and shows readers how to attain and maintain it. With firsthand accounts of sticky situations and painful mistakes, Horn lays out workable strategies, frameworks, and mental maps to help leaders gain the clarity of thought necessary to make sound business decisions, even when there are no right answers. In her straightforward, no-nonsense style, she shares the power of humility and empathy, mentorship and self-assessment, and a strong core value system to build a leader's confidence and resilience. Horn's fake-free advice will empower readers to disarm fear, organize risk, manage setbacks and crises, deal with losing and loneliness, and create a culture and brand designed for long-term success.

For centuries, Shaded Falls has been a sanctuary for supernatural creatures. Vampires and werewolves have lived in harmony alongside humans. But the magic that has protected the falls is fading, and a new threat has arrived in town. What had once been a safe haven for vampires and weres has become the epicenter for the battle of good versus evil.

The supernatural world is at war and Shaded Falls is the battleground. What had once been a safe haven for vampires and weres has become the epicenter for the battle of good versus evil.

Family firms are to be found in every sector of commercial activity. Commitment, family values and pride in the business are typically their special strengths, yet they also face major challenges in reconciling the needs of the business with those of the family. Drawing on the author's extensive experience of working with and advising some of the world's most successful business families, this new and updated edition of Family Enterprises: The Essentials explains the pitfalls, tensions and competing demands that destroy too many family businesses. These problems can be avoided, and Peter Leach reveals the techniques and strategies needed to do so. Running a successful family business is always a huge challenge, but this book offers real insight and guidance on how to keep both business and family united and buoyant.

"A definitive look at the origin of PayPal and its founding team--including Elon Musk, Amy Rowe Klement, Peter Thiel, Julie Anderson, Max Levchin, Reid Hoffman, and many others whose stories have never been shared. They have defined the modern world. This experience defined them"--