"In Cuba, the passing of Fidel Castro from this world and of Raúl Castro from power have raised urgent questions about the island's political future. In the United States, Barack Obama's opening to Cuba, the reversal of that policy during Donald Trump's administration, and Joseph Biden's apparent willingness to reinitiate open relations have made the nature of the historic relationship between the two nations a subject of debate once more. In both...

Ever since Fidel Castro assumed power in Cuba in 1959, Americans have obsessed about the nation ninety miles south of the Florida Keys. America's fixation on the tropical socialist republic has only grown over the years, fueled in part by successive waves of Cuban immigration and Castro's larger-than-life persona. Cubans are now a major ethnic group in Florida, and the exile community is so powerful that every American president has curried favor...

"A timely international thriller by the former deputy assistant secretary of state and bestselling author"-- "A timely international thriller by the former deputy assistant secretary of state and bestselling author. When four American sport fishermen stray into Cuban waters and are promptly arrested by Castro's navy, State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker finds himself called in to negotiate their release. But the more Ryker digs in to the situation,...

Jones provides a concise, incisive, and dramatic account of President Eisenhower's disastrous attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. He deftly examines the train of missteps and self-deceptions that led to the invasion of U.S.-trained exiles at the Bay of Pigs.

"No other single volume on native plants has such comprehensive horticultural coverage as Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening & Conservation. Nearly seven hundred species of native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, and wildflowers from the northeastern quarter of the United States and all of eastern Canada are included. Of course, the natural ranges of many of the plants extend beyond this area, and the book is an essential resource...

"In the 20th century, the U.S. government's effort to contain communism resulted in several disastrous conflicts: Vietnam, Cuba, Korea. Violence in Indonesia, and then interconnected slaughters across Latin America, arguably had a bigger hand in shaping today's world, but have been widely overlooked for one important reason: the secret CIA interventions were successful. In 1965, nearly one million unarmed civilians were killed in Indonesia with active...

Recounts the accomplishments of President Obama during his eight years in office, considering his major successes and how he was able to govern while facing both racial hostility and unrealistic expectations. "Barack Obama was once an unlikely candidate, but his successful campaign for the White House made him a worldwide sensation and a transformative figure even before he was inaugurated. Elected as the Iraq War and the Great Recession had discouraged...