Alice L. George

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn became a national star. That morning at Cape Canaveral, the small-town boy from Ohio took his place atop a rocket and soared into space. He became celebrated in all corners of the world as not just the first American to orbit the Earth, but as the first space traveler to take the human race with him. Refusing to let that dramatic day define his life, he went on to become a four-term US senator—and returned to space at the age of seventy-seven. The Last American Hero is a stunning examination of the layers that formed the man: a hero of the Cold War, a two-time astronaut, a veteran senator, a devoted husband and father, and much more. At a time when an increasingly cynical world needs heroes, John Glenn’s aura burns brightly in American memory.

Old City Philadelphia is the heart of the City of Brotherly Love, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution written. From the Delaware Indians and early Swedish settlers to the artisans and craftspeople who lived along Elfreth's Alley-the oldest residential street in the United States-this town represented the backbone of the new nation until the city's priorities shifted. As change buffeted the city and the nation, Old City Philadelphia resisted passing into oblivion and recreated itself as a place committed to tradition, craftsmanship, and history that is a resident's, and visitor's, delight.