David O Stewart

A fascinating and illuminating account of how George Washington became the dominant force in the creation of the United States of America, from award-winning author David O. Stewart "An outstanding biography . . . George Washington] has a narrative drive such a life deserves."--The Wall Street Journal Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history. In his midtwenties, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego. But by his midforties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his midfifties, he was unanimously elected the nation's first president. How did Washington emerge from the wilderness to become the central founder of the United States of America? In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O. Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master politician--and America's most essential leader. From Virginia's House of Burgesses, where Washington mastered the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his management of local government as a justice of the Fairfax County Court to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service, earned trust, and built bridges. The lessons in leadership he absorbed along the way would be invaluable during the early years of the republic as he fought to unify the new nation.

A Country Doctor and Ex-Ballplayer Save "The Bambino" from Thugs, the Baseball Commissioner, and Himself in the Historical Fiction Novel, The Babe Ruth Conspiracy, from Author David O. Stewart --New York City, 1920-21-- In 1920, Babe Ruth--larger than life on the ball field and off--is enjoying a record-breaking season in his first year as a New York Yankee when his 1918 World Series win falls under suspicion of being "fixed." Then rumors start that his silent movie, Headin' Home, was bankrolled by the top aide to gambling kingpin, Arnold Rothstein. Ruth turns to Speed Cook--a professional ballplayer before the game was segregated and who now promotes Negro baseball--for help. If anyone knows the dirty underbelly of America's favorite pastime, it's Cook. Cook enlists the help of a long-time friend, Dr. Jamie Fraser, whose new wife, Eliza, coproduced the Babe's silent film. While Cook, Fraser, and Eliza dig for the truth, protecting the oftentimes-reckless Ruth from thugs and the new baseball commissioner proves even more dangerous when they come face-to-face with hidden power-hitters who are playing for keeps. Publisher's Note: The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series will be enjoyed by fans of American history and period mystery novels. Free of graphic sex and with some mild profanity, this series can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. "Within these pages, he ushers us into the randy, gritty, wanton world of Babe Ruth, just arrived in New York from Boston, where he would power the Yankees--hell, the whole damn city--for the next decade. It is a world filled with molls and toughs, crooked pols and bootleggers, gamblers and righteous cops, not to mention Stewart's beloved characters, Speed Cook, the wise head and former Negro Leaguer, and Dr. Jamie Fraser, who have teamed up before in previous fictions. The texture of the city is rendered with precision and believability. When Stewart describes the new impediment at the corner of 42nd and Fifth Avenue, the city's first traffic tower, a reader can see the snarl of horse-drawn wagons, bicycles, pedestrians and oh so many automobiles--"machines" in the argot of the Twenties--clogging the street. Even the Babe had to stop for that. The book is full of such knowing details like the Thomas splint, an invention of World War I medicine, that saves Jamie Fraser's daughter from losing her leg. Larger-than-life Ruth is made palpable through a mosaic of small but unassailable images. Ruth, resplendent in a red satin dressing gown worn over a pair of green and white diamond pajamas, earns "a low whistle" from Cook when he is admitted to the Babe's sumptuous apartment in the Ansonia Hotel. It earns something more important from the reader: a belief in narrative plausibility and in the characters that inhabit it. So, when Stewart writes of the Babe that getting angry at him was a waste of time, "like losing your temper at a thunderstorm," you know he knows what he's talking about. The book is grand. Just like the Babe." Jane Leavy, Author of The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series The Lincoln Deception The Paris Deception The Babe Ruth Deception

A Country Doctor and Ex-Ballplayer Save "The Bambino" from Thugs, the Baseball Commissioner, and Himself in the Historical Fiction Novel, The Babe Ruth Conspiracy, from Author David O. Stewart --New York City, 1920-21-- In 1920, Babe Ruth--larger than life on the ball field and off--is enjoying a record-breaking season in his first year as a New York Yankee when his 1918 World Series win falls under suspicion of being "fixed." Then rumors start that his silent movie, Headin' Home, was bankrolled by the top aide to gambling kingpin, Arnold Rothstein. Ruth turns to Speed Cook--a professional ballplayer before the game was segregated and who now promotes Negro baseball--for help. If anyone knows the dirty underbelly of America's favorite pastime, it's Cook. Cook enlists the help of a long-time friend, Dr. Jamie Fraser, whose new wife, Eliza, coproduced the Babe's silent film. While Cook, Fraser, and Eliza dig for the truth, protecting the oftentimes-reckless Ruth from thugs and the new baseball commissioner proves even more dangerous when they come face-to-face with hidden power-hitters who are playing for keeps. Publisher's Note: The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series will be enjoyed by fans of American history and period mystery novels. Free of graphic sex and with some mild profanity, this series can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. "Within these pages, he ushers us into the randy, gritty, wanton world of Babe Ruth, just arrived in New York from Boston, where he would power the Yankees--hell, the whole damn city--for the next decade. It is a world filled with molls and toughs, crooked pols and bootleggers, gamblers and righteous cops, not to mention Stewart's beloved characters, Speed Cook, the wise head and former Negro Leaguer, and Dr. Jamie Fraser, who have teamed up before in previous fictions. The texture of the city is rendered with precision and believability. When Stewart describes the new impediment at the corner of 42nd and Fifth Avenue, the city's first traffic tower, a reader can see the snarl of horse-drawn wagons, bicycles, pedestrians and oh so many automobiles--"machines" in the argot of the Twenties--clogging the street. Even the Babe had to stop for that. The book is full of such knowing details like the Thomas splint, an invention of World War I medicine, that saves Jamie Fraser's daughter from losing her leg. Larger-than-life Ruth is made palpable through a mosaic of small but unassailable images. Ruth, resplendent in a red satin dressing gown worn over a pair of green and white diamond pajamas, earns "a low whistle" from Cook when he is admitted to the Babe's sumptuous apartment in the Ansonia Hotel. It earns something more important from the reader: a belief in narrative plausibility and in the characters that inhabit it. So, when Stewart writes of the Babe that getting angry at him was a waste of time, "like losing your temper at a thunderstorm," you know he knows what he's talking about. The book is grand. Just like the Babe." Jane Leavy, Author of The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series The Lincoln Deception The Paris Deception The Babe Ruth Deception

A fascinating and illuminating account of how George Washington became the single most dominant force in the creation of the United States of America, from award-winning author David O. Stewart Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history. In his midtwenties, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego. But by his midforties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his midfifties, he was unanimously elected the nation's first president. How did Washington emerge from the wilderness to become the central founder of the United States of America? In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O. Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master politician--and America's most essential leader. From Virginia's House of Burgesses, where Washington learned the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his management of local government as a justice of the Fairfax County Court to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service, earned trust, and built bridges. The lessons in leadership he absorbed along the way would be invaluable during the early years of the republic as he fought to unify the new nation.

Unlikely Friends Unite to Save a Wrongly Accused American Soldier and a Fragile Treaty of Peace in The Historical Mystery, The Paris Deception, from Author David O. Stewart --1919-1920, Paris and Berlin-- In the wake of The Great War, the city of Paris unites in jubilant celebration at the arrival of United States President, Woodrow Wilson. But amidst the prospect of peace, Parisians are dying as the Spanish influenza reaches epidemic proportions. An expert on the deadly illnesses, Dr. Major Jamie Fraser, is called in to advise the president's own doctor on how best to avoid the deadly disease and discovers, despite Wilson's robust appearance, the man is frailer than most realize. While trying to determine the source of Wilson's maladies, Fraser encounters a man he has not seen for nearly twenty years: Speed Cook--ex-professional ball player and now advocate for Negro rights. Cook is also desperate to save his son Joshua, an army sergeant wrongly accused of desertion. Pledging to help Cook, Fraser approaches Allen Dulles, an American spy, who is also Wilson's close aide. Soon Cook and Fraser's quest intersects with dramatic events when the French premier, Georges Clemenceau, narrowly survives an assassination attempt, and the Paris Peace Convergence begins to unravel. When the precarious German government balks at the grim terms of the peace treaty, Cook and Fraser discover that to save Joshua, they must find a way to preserve the fragile treaty, which may be the only barrier standing between Europe and another brutal war. Publisher's Note: The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series will be enjoyed by fans of American history and period mystery novels. Free of graphic sex and with some mild profanity, this series can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. "Another terrific Fraser and Cook mystery...The book's fun part is its name game, as familiar historic figures mingle with made-up characters. ...The story line's dangling threads braid a tight, clever finish, worthy of a vintage spy caper or 007's own playbook." Washington Post, November 18, 2015 "Stewart deftly depicts the mood of an era and the colorful figures who shaped it." Publishers Weekly, September 2015 "This fast-paced novel combines suspense and history in this fictional narrative about the Paris Peace Conference and President Wilson's ailing health..." Fox 11 News, Green Bay, WI, February 2017 "Stewart moves characters from The Lincoln Deception to the period just after the end of WWI. The historical details and interaction with famous figures make for an intriguing read." RT Book Reviews, September 2015 "The post-armistice negotiations provide a fascinating look at the jockeying for power among countries who are ostensibly allies." Historical Novel Society, November 2, 2015 The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series The Lincoln Deception The Paris Deception The Babe Ruth Deception

"A taut, suspenseful, terrifically well-researched historical thriller about the greatest crime of the 19th Century." William Martin, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Lincoln Letter and Bound for Gold. In 1900, former Congressman John Bingham tells his doctor, Jamie Fraser, about a terrible secret he learned thirty-five years ago while prosecuting John Wilkes Booth's co-conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln--a secret that could destroy the republic. Then Bingham dies before revealing what he knows. Obsessed with discovering Bingham's secret, Fraser encounters aspiring newspaper publisher Speed Cook--the last black man to play baseball in the big leagues. Navigating perilous social norms designed to separate blacks and whites, they set out to unravel the truth. While dodging race riots, kidnappers, and muggers, elusive clues reveal an alliance between the nation's foremost cotton tycoon--with connections to a Northern pro-Confederacy faction--and the last general of the Confederate Army. Now face-to-face with the treacherous pair, Fraser and Cook must survive long enough to expose the deception thrust upon the entire nation. Publisherʼs Note: The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series will be enjoyed by fans of American history and period mystery novels. Free of graphic sex and with some mild profanity, this series can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. "...more than enough to satisfy any reader of historical whodunits...its conclusion has a wry double edge that Lincoln himself would have appreciated."--Washington Post "...a rip-snorting tale about those involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. What secret did Union prosecutor John Bingham carry to the grave...did the conspiracy involve more than John Wilkes Booth?"--Frank J. Williams, Founding Chair of The Lincoln Forum and retired Chief Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court "The Lincoln Deception is a superb melding of fact, mystery, and imaginary 'what-ifsʼ that blow open the conspiracy shrouds surrounding the murder of a president."--GateHouse News Service "David O. Stewart dramatically reopens the file on the Lincoln assassination conspiracy with a nail-biting, historically grounded page-turner. Where the facts end and the fiction begins will inspire plenty of debate. Meanwhile, enjoy this for the terrific read Stewart provides."--Harold Holzer The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series The Lincoln Deception The Paris Deception The Babe Ruth Deception

"A taut, suspenseful, terrifically well-researched historical thriller about the greatest crime of the 19th Century." William Martin, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Lincoln Letter and Bound for Gold. In 1900, former Congressman John Bingham tells his doctor, Jamie Fraser, about a terrible secret he learned thirty-five years ago while prosecuting John Wilkes Booth's co-conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln--a secret that could destroy the republic. Then Bingham dies before revealing what he knows. Obsessed with discovering Bingham's secret, Fraser encounters aspiring newspaper publisher Speed Cook--the last black man to play baseball in the big leagues. Navigating perilous social norms designed to separate blacks and whites, they set out to unravel the truth. While dodging race riots, kidnappers, and muggers, elusive clues reveal an alliance between the nation's foremost cotton tycoon--with connections to a Northern pro-Confederacy faction--and the last general of the Confederate Army. Now face-to-face with the treacherous pair, Fraser and Cook must survive long enough to expose the deception thrust upon the entire nation. Publisherʼs Note: The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series will be enjoyed by fans of American history and period mystery novels. Free of graphic sex and with some mild profanity, this series can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. "...more than enough to satisfy any reader of historical whodunits...its conclusion has a wry double edge that Lincoln himself would have appreciated."--Washington Post "...a rip-snorting tale about those involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. What secret did Union prosecutor John Bingham carry to the grave...did the conspiracy involve more than John Wilkes Booth?"--Frank J. Williams, Founding Chair of The Lincoln Forum and retired Chief Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court "The Lincoln Deception is a superb melding of fact, mystery, and imaginary 'what-ifsʼ that blow open the conspiracy shrouds surrounding the murder of a president."--GateHouse News Service "David O. Stewart dramatically reopens the file on the Lincoln assassination conspiracy with a nail-biting, historically grounded page-turner. Where the facts end and the fiction begins will inspire plenty of debate. Meanwhile, enjoy this for the terrific read Stewart provides."--Harold Holzer The Fraser and Cook Historical Mystery Series The Lincoln Deception The Paris Deception The Babe Ruth Deception

Historian David O. Stewart restores James Madison to his proper place as the most significant Founding Father and framer of the new nation: "A fascinating look at how one unlikely figure managed to help guide...a precarious confederation of reluctant states to a self-governing republic that has prospered for more than two centuries" (Richmond Times-Dispatch). Short, plain, balding, neither soldier nor orator, low on charisma and high on intelligence, James Madison cared more about achieving results than taking the credit. Forming key partnerships with Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, and his wife Dolley, Madison achieved his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic. It was Madison who led the drive for the Constitutional Convention and pressed for an effective new government as his patron George Washington lent the effort legitimacy; Madison who wrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton to secure the Constitution's ratification; Madison who joined Thomas Jefferson to found the nation's first political party and move the nation toward broad democratic principles; Madison, with James Monroe, who guided the new nation through its first war in 1812, and who handed the reins of government to the last of the Founders. But it was his final partnership that allowed Madison to escape his natural shyness and reach the greatest heights. Dolley was the woman he married in middle age and who presided over both him and an enlivened White House. This partnership was a love story, a unique one that sustained Madison through his political rise, his presidency, and a fruitful retirement. In Madison's Gift, David O. Stewart's "insights are illuminating....He weaves vivid, sometimes poignant details throughout the grand sweep of historical events. He brings early history alive in a way that offers today's readers perspective" (Christian Science Monitor).

In this vivid and brilliant biography, David Stewart describes Aaron Burr, the third vice president, as a daring and perhaps deluded figure who shook the nation's foundations in its earliest, most vulnerable decade. In this vivid and brilliant biography, David O. Stewart portrays Aaron Burr, the third vice president, as a daring and perhaps deluded figure who shook the nation's foundations in its earliest, most vulnerable decade. Stewart's vivid account of Burr's tumultuous life offers a rare and eye-opening description of the brand-new nation struggling to define itself.

Historian and Constitution expert David O. Stewart recaps the landmark impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. "The fullest recounting we have of the high politics of that immediate post-Civil War period...Stewart's graceful style and storytelling ability make for a good read." --The Washington Post In 1868 Congress impeached President Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, the man who had succeeded the murdered Lincoln, bringing the nation to the brink of a second civil war. Enraged to see the freed slaves abandoned to brutal violence at the hands of their former owners, distraught that former rebels threatened to regain control of Southern state governments, and disgusted by Johnson's brawling political style, congressional Republicans seized on a legal technicality as the basis for impeachment -- whether Johnson had the legal right to fire his own secretary of war, Edwin Stanton. The fiery but mortally ill Congressman Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania led the impeachment drive, abetted behind the scenes by the military hero and president-in-waiting, General Ulysses S. Grant. The Senate trial featured the most brilliant lawyers of the day, along with some of the least scrupulous, while leading political fixers maneuvered in dark corners to save Johnson's presidency with political deals, promises of patronage jobs, and even cash bribes. Johnson escaped conviction by a single vote. David Stewart, the author of the highly acclaimed The Summer of 1787, the bestselling account of the writing of the Constitution, challenges the traditional version of this pivotal moment in American history. Rather than seeing Johnson as Abraham Lincoln's political heir, Stewart explains how the Tennessean squandered Lincoln's political legacy of equality and fairness and helped force the freed slaves into a brutal form of agricultural peonage across the South. When the clash between Congress and president threatened to tear the nation apart, the impeachment process substituted legal combat for violent confrontation. Both sides struggled to inject meaning into the baffling requirement that a president be removed only for "high crimes and misdemeanors," while employing devious courtroom gambits, backstairs spies, and soaring rhetoric. When the dust finally settled, the impeachment process had allowed passions to cool sufficiently for the nation to survive the bitter crisis.

The Summer of 1787 takes us into the sweltering room in which the founding fathers struggled for four months to produce the Constitution: the flawed but enduring document that would define the nation--then and now. George Washington presided, James Madison kept the notes, Benjamin Franklin offered wisdom and humor at crucial times. The Summer of 1787 traces the struggles within the Philadelphia Convention as the delegates hammered out the charter for the world's first constitutional democracy. Relying on the words of the delegates themselves to explore the Convention's sharp conflicts and hard bargaining, David O. Stewart lays out the passions and contradictions of the, often, painful process of writing the Constitution. It was a desperate balancing act. Revolutionary principles required that the people have power, but could the people be trusted? Would a stronger central government leave room for the states? Would the small states accept a Congress in which seats were allotted according to population rather than to each sovereign state? And what of slavery? The supercharged debates over America's original sin led to the most creative and most disappointing political deals of the Convention. The room was crowded with colorful and passionate characters, some known--Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, Edmund Randolph--and others largely forgotten. At different points during that sultry summer, more than half of the delegates threatened to walk out, and some actually did, but Washington's quiet leadership and the delegates' inspired compromises held the Convention together. In a country continually arguing over the document's original intent, it is fascinating to watch these powerful characters struggle toward consensus--often reluctantly--to write a flawed but living and breathing document that could evolve with the nation.