Wealth of Ideas

The remarkable documentary collections of the Hoover Institution Archives are for the first time showcased for the reading public, in the form of a large-format book of illustrations and accompanying text. Drawing upon the Hoover institution's vast trove of rare historical documents and artifacts, this book tells the story of the institution and its treasures, and of its evolving role in the history of Stanford University. The result is a visually attractive, engagingly written, and altogether thought-provoking book that also stands as a work of quality scholarship. The subject matter is epic in scale, covering the great wars, revolutions, political and intellectual movements, and personalities of the twentieth century. The impressive cast of characters includes many of the most influential figures of the age, among them Woodrow Wilson and Lev Trotsky, Friedrich von Hayek and Jane Addams, Kari Popper and Teddy Rousevelt, Chiang Kai-shek and Boris Pasternak, and Werner Heisenberg and John Maynard Keynes. The book includes nearly 300 illustrations, including political posters, photographs, film stills, original artwork, and typed and holograph public and private manuscripts, letters, and diaries.