P. G. Wodehouse - "Psmith in the City"

Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne - "Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, V11"

Ella Wheeler Wilcox - "Poems of Cheer"

James Allen - "As A Man Thinketh"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses

V >> Various >> U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses




We shall support vigorously the principle that no country has the right
to impose its will or rule on another by force.

We shall continue, in this era of negotiation, to work for the
limitation of nuclear arms, and to reduce the danger of confrontation
between the great powers.

We shall do our share in defending peace and freedom in the world. But
we shall expect others to do their share.

The time has passed when America will make every other nation's conflict
our own, or make every other nation's future our responsibility, or
presume to tell the people of other nations how to manage their own
affairs.

Just as we respect the right of each nation to determine its own future,
we also recognize the responsibility of each nation to secure its own
future.

Just as America's role is indispensable in preserving the world's peace,
so is each nation's role indispensable in preserving its own peace.

Together with the rest of the world, let us resolve to move forward from
the beginnings we have made. Let us continue to bring down the walls of
hostility which have divided the world for too long, and to build in
their place bridges of understanding--so that despite profound
differences between systems of government, the people of the world can
be friends.

Let us build a structure of peace in the world in which the weak are as
safe as the strong--in which each respects the right of the other to
live by a different system--in which those who would influence others
will do so by the strength of their ideas, and not by the force of their
arms.

Let us accept that high responsibility not as a burden, but
gladly--gladly because the chance to build such a peace is the noblest
endeavor in which a nation can engage; gladly, also, because only if we
act greatly in meeting our responsibilities abroad will we remain a
great Nation, and only if we remain a great Nation will we act greatly
in meeting our challenges at home.

We have the chance today to do more than ever before in our history to
make life better in America--to ensure better education, better health,
better housing, better transportation, a cleaner environment--to restore
respect for law, to make our communities more livable--and to insure the
God-given right of every American to full and equal opportunity.

Because the range of our needs is so great--because the reach of our
opportunities is so great--let us be bold in our determination to meet
those needs in new ways.

Just as building a structure of peace abroad has required turning away
from old policies that failed, so building a new era of progress at home
requires turning away from old policies that have failed.

Abroad, the shift from old policies to new has not been a retreat from
our responsibilities, but a better way to peace.

And at home, the shift from old policies to new will not be a retreat
from our responsibilities, but a better way to progress.

Abroad and at home, the key to those new responsibilities lies in the
placing and the division of responsibility. We have lived too long with
the consequences of attempting to gather all power and responsibility in
Washington.

Abroad and at home, the time has come to turn away from the
condescending policies of paternalism--of "Washington knows best."

A person can be expected to act responsibly only if he has
responsibility. This is human nature. So let us encourage individuals at
home and nations abroad to do more for themselves, to decide more for
themselves. Let us locate responsibility in more places. Let us measure
what we will do for others by what they will do for themselves.

That is why today I offer no promise of a purely governmental solution
for every problem. We have lived too long with that false promise. In
trusting too much in government, we have asked of it more than it can
deliver. This leads only to inflated expectations, to reduced individual
effort, and to a disappointment and frustration that erode confidence
both in what government can do and in what people can do.

Government must learn to take less from people so that people can do
more for themselves.

Let us remember that America was built not by government, but by
people--not by welfare, but by work--not by shirking responsibility, but
by seeking responsibility.

In our own lives, let each of us ask--not just what will government do
for me, but what can I do for myself?

In the challenges we face together, let each of us ask--not just how can
government help, but how can I help?

Your National Government has a great and vital role to play. And I
pledge to you that where this Government should act, we will act boldly
and we will lead boldly. But just as important is the role that each and
every one of us must play, as an individual and as a member of his own
community.

From this day forward, let each of us make a solemn commitment in his
own heart: to bear his responsibility, to do his part, to live his
ideals--so that together, we can see the dawn of a new age of progress
for America, and together, as we celebrate our 200th anniversary as a
nation, we can do so proud in the fulfillment of our promise to
ourselves and to the world.

As America's longest and most difficult war comes to an end, let us
again learn to debate our differences with civility and decency. And let
each of us reach out for that one precious quality government cannot
provide--a new level of respect for the rights and feelings of one
another, a new level of respect for the individual human dignity which
is the cherished birthright of every American.

Above all else, the time has come for us to renew our faith in ourselves
and in America.

In recent years, that faith has been challenged.

Our children have been taught to be ashamed of their country, ashamed of
their parents, ashamed of America's record at home and of its role in
the world.

At every turn, we have been beset by those who find everything wrong
with America and little that is right. But I am confident that this will
not be the judgment of history on these remarkable times in which we are
privileged to live.

America's record in this century has been unparalleled in the world's
history for its responsibility, for its generosity, for its creativity
and for its progress.

Let us be proud that our system has produced and provided more freedom
and more abundance, more widely shared, than any other system in the
history of the world.

Let us be proud that in each of the four wars in which we have been
engaged in this century, including the one we are now bringing to an
end, we have fought not for our selfish advantage, but to help others
resist aggression.

Let us be proud that by our bold, new initiatives, and by our
steadfastness for peace with honor, we have made a break-through toward
creating in the world what the world has not known before--a structure
of peace that can last, not merely for our time, but for generations to
come.

We are embarking here today on an era that presents challenges great as
those any nation, or any generation, has ever faced.

We shall answer to God, to history, and to our conscience for the way in
which we use these years.

As I stand in this place, so hallowed by history, I think of others who
have stood here before me. I think of the dreams they had for America,
and I think of how each recognized that he needed help far beyond
himself in order to make those dreams come true.

Today, I ask your prayers that in the years ahead I may have God's help
in making decisions that are right for America, and I pray for your help
so that together we may be worthy of our challenge.

Let us pledge together to make these next four years the best four years
in America's history, so that on its 200th birthday America will be as
young and as vital as when it began, and as bright a beacon of hope for
all the world.

Let us go forward from here confident in hope, strong in our faith in
one another, sustained by our faith in God who created us, and striving
always to serve His purpose.


***

Jimmy Carter
Inaugural Address
Thursday, January 20, 1977

FOR myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he
has done to heal our land.

In this outward and physical ceremony we attest once again to the inner
and spiritual strength of our Nation. As my high school teacher, Miss
Julia Coleman, used to say: "We must adjust to changing times and still
hold to unchanging principles."

Here before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first
President, in 1789, and I have just taken the oath of office on the
Bible my mother gave me a few years ago, opened to a timeless admonition
from the ancient prophet Micah:

"He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with thy God." (Micah 6:8)

This inauguration ceremony marks a new beginning, a new dedication
within our Government, and a new spirit among us all. A President may
sense and proclaim that new spirit, but only a people can provide it.

Two centuries ago our Nation's birth was a milestone in the long quest
for freedom, but the bold and brilliant dream which excited the founders
of this Nation still awaits its consummation. I have no new dream to set
forth today, but rather urge a fresh faith in the old dream.

Ours was the first society openly to define itself in terms of both
spirituality and of human liberty. It is that unique self-definition
which has given us an exceptional appeal, but it also imposes on us a
special obligation, to take on those moral duties which, when assumed,
seem invariably to be in our own best interests.

You have given me a great responsibility--to stay close to you, to be
worthy of you, and to exemplify what you are. Let us create together a
new national spirit of unity and trust. Your strength can compensate for
my weakness, and your wisdom can help to minimize my mistakes.

Let us learn together and laugh together and work together and pray
together, confident that in the end we will triumph together in the
right.

The American dream endures. We must once again have full faith in our
country--and in one another. I believe America can be better. We can be
even stronger than before.

Let our recent mistakes bring a resurgent commitment to the basic
principles of our Nation, for we know that if we despise our own
government we have no future. We recall in special times when we have
stood briefly, but magnificently, united. In those times no prize was
beyond our grasp.

But we cannot dwell upon remembered glory. We cannot afford to drift. We
reject the prospect of failure or mediocrity or an inferior quality of
life for any person. Our Government must at the same time be both
competent and compassionate.

We have already found a high degree of personal liberty, and we are now
struggling to enhance equality of opportunity. Our commitment to human
rights must be absolute, our laws fair, our natural beauty preserved;
the powerful must not persecute the weak, and human dignity must be
enhanced.

We have learned that "more" is not necessarily "better," that even our
great Nation has its recognized limits, and that we can neither answer
all questions nor solve all problems. We cannot afford to do everything,
nor can we afford to lack boldness as we meet the future. So, together,
in a spirit of individual sacrifice for the common good, we must simply
do our best.

Our Nation can be strong abroad only if it is strong at home. And we
know that the best way to enhance freedom in other lands is to
demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy of emulation.

To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others. We will not behave
in foreign places so as to violate our rules and standards here at home,
for we know that the trust which our Nation earns is essential to our
strength.

The world itself is now dominated by a new spirit. Peoples more numerous
and more politically aware are craving and now demanding their place in
the sun--not just for the benefit of their own physical condition, but
for basic human rights.

The passion for freedom is on the rise. Tapping this new spirit, there
can be no nobler nor more ambitious task for America to undertake on
this day of a new beginning than to help shape a just and peaceful world
that is truly humane.

We are a strong nation, and we will maintain strength so sufficient that
it need not be proven in combat--a quiet strength based not merely on
the size of an arsenal, but on the nobility of ideas.

We will be ever vigilant and never vulnerable, and we will fight our
wars against poverty, ignorance, and injustice--for those are the
enemies against which our forces can be honorably marshaled.

We are a purely idealistic Nation, but let no one confuse our idealism
with weakness.

Because we are free we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom
elsewhere. Our moral sense dictates a clearcut preference for these
societies which share with us an abiding respect for individual human
rights. We do not seek to intimidate, but it is clear that a world which
others can dominate with impunity would be inhospitable to decency and a
threat to the well-being of all people.

The world is still engaged in a massive armaments race designed to
ensure continuing equivalent strength among potential adversaries. We
pledge perseverance and wisdom in our efforts to limit the world's
armaments to those necessary for each nation's own domestic safety. And
we will move this year a step toward ultimate goal--the elimination of
all nuclear weapons from this Earth. We urge all other people to join
us, for success can mean life instead of death.

Within us, the people of the United States, there is evident a serious
and purposeful rekindling of confidence. And I join in the hope that
when my time as your President has ended, people might say this about
our Nation:

- that we had remembered the words of Micah and renewed our search for
humility, mercy, and justice;

- that we had torn down the barriers that separated those of different
race and region and religion, and where there had been mistrust, built
unity, with a respect for diversity;

- that we had found productive work for those able to perform it;

- that we had strengthened the American family, which is the basis of
our society;

- that we had ensured respect for the law, and equal treatment under
the law, for the weak and the powerful, for the rich and the poor;

- and that we had enabled our people to be proud of their own
Government once again.

I would hope that the nations of the world might say that we had built a
lasting peace, built not on weapons of war but on international policies
which reflect our own most precious values.

These are not just my goals, and they will not be my accomplishments,
but the affirmation of our Nation's continuing moral strength and our
belief in an undiminished, ever-expanding American dream.


***

Ronald Reagan
First Inaugural Address
Tuesday, January 20, 1981

Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush,
Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw,
and my fellow citizens: To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and
most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a
commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for
in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two
centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the
eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as
normal is nothing less than a miracle.

Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to
carry on this tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition
process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people
pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual
liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your
people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the
bulwark of our Republic.

The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are
confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer
from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our
national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift,
and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It
threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.

Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human
misery and personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair
return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful
achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.

But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public
spending. For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging
our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of
the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous
social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but
for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that
collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?

We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no
misunderstanding--we are going to begin to act, beginning today.

The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They
will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They
will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have
had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last
and greatest bastion of freedom.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.

From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has
become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an
elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if
no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has
the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of
government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be
equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.

We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a
special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no
sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses
political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our
food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our
children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick--professionals,
industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers. They
are, in short, "We the people," this breed called Americans.

Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous,
growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with
no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to
work means putting all Americans back to work. Ending inflation means
freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. All must
share in the productive work of this "new beginning" and all must share
in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play
which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong
and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.

So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a
government--not the other way around. And this makes us special among
the nations of the Earth. Our Government has no power except that
granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of
government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the
governed.

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal
establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the
powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the
States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal
Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal
Government.

Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do
away with government. It is, rather, to make it work--work with us, not
over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and
must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not
stifle it.

If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so
much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in
this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a
greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity
of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any
other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high,
but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.

It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are
proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result
from unnecessary and excessive growth of government. It is time for us
to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small
dreams. We are not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an
inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no
matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do
nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin
an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage,
and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope.

We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we are in
a time when there are no heroes just don't know where to look. You can
see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a
handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the
world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter--and they are on both
sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves
and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity.
They are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and
whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and
education. Their patriotism is quiet but deep. Their values sustain our
national life.

I have used the words "they" and "their" in speaking of these heroes. I
could say "you" and "your" because I am addressing the heroes of whom I
speak--you, the citizens of this blessed land. Your dreams, your hopes,
your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this
administration, so help me God.

We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup.
How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving
them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and
provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal
in fact and not just in theory?

Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an
unequivocal and emphatic "yes." To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did
not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over
the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.

In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have
slowed our economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed
at restoring the balance between the various levels of government.
Progress may be slow--measured in inches and feet, not miles--but we
will progress. Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get
government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax
burden. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles,
there will be no compromise.

On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been
one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren,
President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans,
"Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of.... On you depend
the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon
which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act
worthy of yourselves."

Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of
ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty
for ourselves, our children and our children's children.

And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as
having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the
exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have
freedom.

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen
our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We
will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial
relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their
sovereignty, for our own sovereignty is not for sale.

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they
will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American
people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not
surrender for it--now or ever.