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This richly detailed biography of Andrew Jackson Donelson (1799-1871) sheds new light on the political and personal life of this nephew and namesake of Andrew Jackson. A scion of a pioneering Tennessee family, Donelson was a valued assistant and trusted confidant of the man who defined the Age of Jackson. One of those central but background figures of history, Donelson had a knack for being where important events were happening and knew many of the great figures of the age.

As his uncle's secretary, he weathered Old Hickory's tumultuous presidency, including the notorious "Petticoat War." Building his own political career, he served as US chargé d'affaires to the Republic of Texas, where he struggled against an enigmatic President Sam Houston, British and French intrigues, and the threat of war by Mexico, to achieve annexation. As minister to Prussia, Donelson enjoyed a ringside seat to the revolutions of 1848 and the first attempts at German unification. A firm Unionist in the mold of his uncle, Donelson denounced the secessionists at the Nashville Convention of 1850. He attempted as editor of the Washington Union to reunite the Democratic party, and, when he failed, he was nominated as Millard Fillmore's vice-presidential running mate on the Know-Nothing party ticket in 1856. He lived to see the Civil War wreck the Union he loved, devastate his farms, and take the lives of two of his sons.

Learn about the life of Anna Atkins, the pioneering photographer who combined art and science to create the first photographically illustrated book.

Step into the world of Anna Atkins (1799–1871), perhaps the world’s first female photographer and a pioneer of the medium. She lived an existence full of heartache and triumph, from her mother’s death when Atkins was an infant to her publication of multiple photographic books as an adult. After the passing of her mother, Atkins was raised primarily by her father and grandfather, who placed an emphasis on both her emotional and intellectual growth. As a result, she spent her life surrounded by some of the brightest minds of Victorian England during the Industrial Revolution.

Despite societal gender norms of the time, which typically limited women to a life within the home, Atkins gained the respect of the scientific community with her ambitious multivolume album Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, now recognized as the world’s first photographically illustrated book. Her cyanotypes, in addition to their scientific accuracy, lent artistic beauty to her publications, setting the stage for new uses of this experimental technology. In an era replete with state-of-the-art inventions and innovative ideas, Atkins pushed photography forward in its earliest days with courage, creativity, and brilliance.

Ages thirteen and up.

Please note that this title is sold and distributed in North America by ABRAMS, New York.