Acclaim for
FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE
An Indigo Best Book of the Year, 2013
Globe and Mail national bestseller
Vancouver Sun Best of the Shelf
“[Black] has written the most amazing book.”
—Rush Limbaugh
“Conrad Black has put together a study that is as bold and thought-provoking as it is trenchant and entertaining.”
—The Weekly Standard
“Unlike so many academic histories, every page of this book has the authentic touch of a historian who knows countless facts and figures by heart. When he mentions a warship, for example, you can be sure that he would be able to reel off all her vital statistics on demand.”
—National Review
“Black writes with boundless energy, graceful lucidity, considerable learning.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“Fascinating, richly detailed.”
—Vancouver Sun
“[A] sweeping dissertation on the rise of the United States as a dominant global superpower . . . . [Black is] a first-rate historian.”
—Toronto Star
“[Black’s] admiration for this country is on full display in this elegant survey of American history from the beginnings to the Obama administration, rendered in his distinctive rolling cadences. . . . Black’s section on the Civil War is a model of concision . . . he manages to illuminate aspects of the conduct of the war that are frequently overlooked.”
—The American Spectator
“A fascinating portrayal of greatness that follows America’s rise from a British colony to the leader of the free world in just 200 years.”
—Welland Tribune
“Conrad Black’s Flight of the Eagle . . . begs to be read by anyone who wants a candid—dare I say warts and all—look at U.S. history.”
—The Huffington Post
“[Black’s] enthusiasm is contagious, his erudition bracing, and his breadth of knowledge impressive.”
—PJ Media
“Arguably [Black’s] most ambitious work to date.”
—Q, CBC Radio One
Acclaim for
A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE
“[Conrad Black’s] candor on just about every conceivable topic is not only surprising but practically unprecedented.”
—Vanity Fair
“When a great writer is falsely imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit and decides to write a tell-all non-defensive account, the result is likely to be riveting. Conrad Black’s memoir does not disappoint.”
—Alan M. Dershowitz
“Conrad Black’s A Matter of Principle is a fascinating, erudite, and defiant prison memoir—must-read for lawyers, politicos, and gossips alike!”
—Margaret Atwood, on Twitter
“Authoritative and highly readable . . .”
—Andrew Roberts, The Daily Beast
“[A] gripping memoir of [Black’s] nightmarish trek through America’s justice system and business governance culture. . . . Black is a writer of great force and panache.”
—The New Criterion
“The former international media baron’s observations from prison are funny, poignant, touching, sympathetic (except for prison authorities) and beautifully chronicled.”
—Ottawa Citizen
“A remarkable work—unlike any of its kind that I’ve ever read. . . . Conrad seems to have total recall of everything, and he lays it out coherently and colourfully. . . . Precise, blunt, succinct. A fascinating book about the trial.”
—The Huffington Post
“[A Matter of Principle] is a brutally honest memoir of [Black’s] turbulent run-in with American injustice.”
—Irish Independent
“A big book by a big man. . . . A hard-eyed and detailed indictment of that legal system, from U.S. attorneys to our federal prisons.”
—The American Spectator
“A Matter of Principle is Conrad Black’s most personal and gripping book.”
—Troy Media
“A riveting memoir and a scathing account of a flawed justice system.”
—IndieBound
“A Matter of Principle is a laudable achievement.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE
ALSO BY CONRAD BLACK
Render Unto Caesar: The Life and Legacy of Maurice Duplessis
A Life in Progress
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom
Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full
A Matter of Principle
© 2013, 2014 by Conrad Black Capital Corporation
Preface © 2014 by Conrad Black Capital Corporation
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, New York, 10003.
First American edition published in 2013 by Encounter Books, an activity of Encounter for Culture and Education, Inc., a nonprofit, tax exempt corporation.
Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48 1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
First paperback edition published in 2014.
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGUED THE HARDCOVER EDITION AS FOLLOWS:
Black, Conrad.
Flight of the eagle: the grand strategies that brought America from colonial dependence to world leadership/Conrad Black.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59403-759-7 (ebook)
1. United States—Foreign relations. 2. Strategic culture—United States—History. 3. United States—Foreign relations administration. 4. Presidents—United States—History. I. Title.
E183.7.B57 2013
327.73—dc23
2012038962
Chapter 1: Wikimedia Commons, Source: http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/brush/ben.htm. Chapter 2: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division,