Since his speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama has captured attention as reporters, politicos, and ordinary citizens have wondered if he might be the nation's first black president. Chicago Tribune reporter Mendell argues that although Obama's rise to the national stage might seem unplanned, it is the outcome of a carefully calculated strategy by an ambitious man. Mendell...

Nadezhda Akinfova was enthusiastically loved by the Russian minister of foreign affairs, Prince A. M. Gorchakov. Moreover, Fedor Tiutchev devoted his verses to her; and then there's the story of her love for N. M. Leikhtenbersky, which was reflected in Tolstoy's novels 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina.' Now, unpublished confidential archival material has allowed the author to reconstruct the...

Ferdinand Schoerner was a General and later Field Marshal in the German Army during World War II. He was one of 27 people to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds and one of the youngest German generals. He was also known for his brutality.