Books about Persico from Amazon.com

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was arguably the greatest figure of the twentieth century. While FDR’s official circle was predominantly male, it was his relationships with women–particularly with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd–that most vividly bring to light the human being beneath this towering statesman. It is no coincidence that Rutherfurd was with Roosevelt the day he died in Warm Springs, Georgia, along with two other close women companions. In Franklin and Lucy, acclaimed author and historian Joseph E. Persico explores FDR’s romance with Lucy Rutherfurd, which was far deeper and lasted much longer than was previously acknowledged. Persico’s provocative conclusions about their relationship are informed by a revealing range of sources, including never-before-published letters and documents from Lucy Rutherfurd’s estate that attest to the intensity and scope of the affair.

FDR’s connection with Lucy also creates an opportunity for Persico to take a more penetrating look at the other women in FDR’s life. We come to see more clearly how FDR’s infidelity as a husband contributed to Eleanor’s eventual transformation from a repressed Victorian to perhaps the greatest American woman of her century; how the shaping hand of FDR’s strong-willed mother helped to imbue him with the resolve to overcome personal and public adversity throughout his life; and how other women around FDR, including his “surrogate spouse,” Missy LeHand, and his close confidante, the obscure Margaret “Daisy” Suckley, completed the world that he inhabited.

Franklin and Lucy is an extraordinary look at the private life of a leader who continues to fascinate scholars and the general public alike. In focusing on Lucy Rutherfurd and the myriad women who mattered to Roosevelt, Persico paints a more intimate portrait than we have heretofore had of this enigmatic giant of American history..
Price: $12.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"A GREAT AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY . . . AN ENDEARING AND WELL-WRITTEN BOOK."
--The New York Times Book Review
Colin Powell is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born in Harlem to immigrant parents from Jamaica. He knew the rough life of the streets. He overcame a barely average start at school. Then he joined the Army. The rest is history--Vietnam, the Pentagon, Panama, Desert Storm--but a history that until now has been known only on the surface. Here, for the first time, Colin Powell himself tells us how it happened, in a memoir distinguished by a heartfelt love of country and family, warm good humor, and a soldier's directness.
MY AMERICAN JOURNEY is the powerful story of a life well lived and well told. It is also a view from the mountaintop of the political landscape of America. At a time when Americans feel disenchanted with their leaders, General Powell's passionate views on family, personal responsibility, and, in his own words, "the greatness of America and the opportunities it offers" inspire hope and present a blueprint for the future. An utterly absorbing account, it is history with a vision.
"The stirring, only-in-America story of one determined man's journey from the South Bronx to directing the mightiest of military forces . . . Fascinating."--The Washington Post Book World
"Eloquent."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"PROFOUND AND MOVING . . . . Must reading for anyone who wants to reaffirm his faith in the promise of America."
--Jack Kemp
The Wall Street Journal
"A book that is much like its subject--articulate, confident, impressive, but unpretentious and witty. . . . Whether you are a political junkie, a military buff, or just interested in a good story, MY AMERICAN JOURNEY is a book well worth reading."
--San Diego Union Tribune
"Colin Powell's candid, introspective autobiography is a joy for all with an appetite for well-written political and social commentary."
--The Detroit News


From the Paperback edition..
Price: $9.27 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Glass Kiln Casting from Wardell Publications fused art glass presents artist and instructor Jayne Persico, a quintessential guide to kiln casting with project instructions featuring glass frit, sheet glass and re useable casting molds. Jayne Persico brings her fresh and timeless style to the art of Glass Kiln Casting. This inspirational yet thoroughly practical guide presents lush photographs of beautifully finished pieces that will capture the imagination. The clear and simple instructions will enable fusers of any skill level to achieve amazing 3 dimensional creations. Glass Kiln Casting is an 80 page book offering more than 260 color photographs in 12 chapters that will inspire dozens of exceptional projects. The opening chapter features invaluable information covering frit casting molds, tools, equipment and kilns, plus an in depth yet simple approach to working with digital kiln controllers. This book is sure to become a studio favorite that fusers of all levels will refer to time and again. Jayne will take you by the hand and her writing style guides crafters through the frit casting process. She will show you how to make frit cast jewelry, plates and bowls with amazing results that will impress everyone who views your creations..
Price: $15.06 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Nuremburg trials remain, after nearly a half a century, the benchmark for judging international crimes. Using new sources--ground-breaking research in the papers of the Nuremburg prison psychiatrist and commandant, the letters and journals of the prisoners, and accounts of the judges and prosecutors as they struggled through each day making compromises and steeling their convictions--Joseph Persico retells the story of Nuremburg, combining sweeping history with psychological insight. Here are brilliant, chilling portraits of the Nazi warlords and riveting descriptions of the tensions between law and vengeance, between East and West, and of the friction already present in the early stages of the Cold War..
Price: $7.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Despite all that has already been written on Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Persico has uncovered a hitherto overlooked dimension of FDR's wartime leadership: his involvement in intelligence and espionage operations.

Roosevelt's Secret War is crowded with remarkable revelations:
-FDR wanted to bomb Tokyo before Pearl Harbor
-A defector from Hitler's inner circle reported directly to the Oval Office
-Roosevelt knew before any other world leader of Hitler's plan to invade Russia
-Roosevelt and Churchill concealed a disaster costing hundreds of British soldiers' lives in order to protect Ultra, the British codebreaking secret
-An unwitting Japanese diplomat provided the President with a direct pipeline into Hitler's councils


Roosevelt's Secret War also describes how much FDR had been told--before the Holocaust--about the coming fate of Europe's Jews. And Persico also provides a definitive answer to the perennial question Did FDR know in advance about the attack on Pearl Harbor?

By temperament and character, no American president was better suited for secret warfare than FDR. He manipulated, compartmentalized, dissembled, and misled, demonstrating a spymaster's talent for intrigue. He once remarked, "I never let my right hand know what my left hand does." Not only did Roosevelt create America's first central intelligence agency, the OSS, under "Wild Bill" Donovan, but he ran spy rings directly from the Oval Office, enlisting well-placed socialite friends.

FDR was also spied against. Roosevelt's Secret War presents evidence that the Soviet Union had a source inside the Roosevelt White House; that British agents fed FDR total fabrications to draw the United States into war; and that Roosevelt, by yielding to Churchill's demand that British scientists be allowed to work on the Manhattan Project, enabled the secrets of the bomb to be stolen. And these are only a few of the scores of revelations in this constantly surprising story of Roosevelt's hidden role in World War II.


From the Hardcover edition..
Price: $7.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Innovative Adornments from Wardell Publications fused art glass presents artist and instructor Jayne Persico revealing important techniques for new students while providing enhanced instruction, practical guidance, motivational hints and refreshers for established jewelry crafters. Jayne has been creating art glass masterpieces since 1972 and has practical experience in a wide range of methods and traditions. The techniques presented in Innovative Adornments have been tried, tested and enjoyed in her workshops for more than 20 years in the USA and Internationally. Innovative Adornments is her way of sharing many important techniques with new students while providing inspirtaional guidance and motivation for established crafters. Jewelry making is the perfect place to get started on the glass fusing process. Kiln working is very forgiving on this smaller scale allowing crafters to gain experience and confidence while building a solid foundation for progressing to new levels. Experienced fusers will find Innovative Adornments a resource to enhance their options by adding a new creative outlet for their craft. This how to instruction format allows any crafter to follow along at their own pace, on their schedule, and in the comfort of their own creative environment..
Price: $15.24 [Notify me when price goes down.]

November 11, 1918. The final hours pulsate with tension as every man in the trenches hopes to escape the melancholy distinction of being the last to die in World War I. The Allied generals knew the fighting would end precisely at 11:00 A.M, yet in the final hours they flung men against an already beaten Germany. The result? Eleven thousand casualties suffered–more than during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Why? Allied commanders wanted to punish the enemy to the very last moment and career officers saw a fast-fading chance for glory and promotion.

Joseph E. Persico puts the reader in the trenches with the forgotten and the famous–among the latter, Corporal Adolf Hitler, Captain Harry Truman, and Colonels Douglas MacArthur and George Patton. Mainly, he follows ordinary soldiers’ lives, illuminating their fate as the end approaches. Persico sets the last day of the war in historic context with a gripping reprise of all that led up to it, from the 1914 assassination of the Austrian archduke, Franz Ferdinand, which ignited the war, to the raw racism black doughboys endured except when ordered to advance and die in the war’s last hour. Persico recounts the war’s bloody climax in a cinematic style that evokes All Quiet on the Western Front, Grand Illusion, and Paths of Glory.

The pointless fighting on the last day of the war is the perfect metaphor for the four years that preceded it, years of senseless slaughter for hollow purposes. This book is sure to become the definitive history of the end of a conflict Winston Churchill called “the hardest, cruelest, and least-rewarded of all the wars that have been fought.”



From the Hardcover edition..
Price: $9.52 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Kiln Formed Bracelets from Wardell Publications fused art glass introduces bestselling author Jayne Persico step by step instructions to create your own kiln formed 3 dimensional glass masterpieces. Artist and instructor Jayne Persico, unlocks the mysteries behind the creation of 3 dimensional art glass bracelets in her new book Kiln Formed Bracelets. Jayne is the originator of the specialized techniques and tools for this unique kiln forming process and now readers will benefit from her experience as she reveals her secrets using action photos and easy to understand instructions. Jayne first book Innovative Adornments offered an introduction to fused glass and wire jewelry techniques and this new book builds on the strength of that foundation. This 80 page book offers 13 chapters covering tools, sizing, preparation, bracelet forming, adjustments, embossing, cane fabrication, pattern bar making, plus much more. You will find tips and expert advice scattered throughout the book to clarify specific concepts that will help the reader achieve the best results. These bracelets are beautiful and intriguing and they offer glass fusers and jewelry makers a delightful way to expand their skills and amaze their clients and friends..
Price: $15.28 [Notify me when price goes down.]