Izzy Mendelssohn, a modern day blues man who dreams of playing the big gig at Wembley, has got music in his genes. Or has he? His cab-driver cum philosopher Dad is determined to trace the family genealogy back to the great composer himself. Bu...

"The world of the Founding Fathers was also a postrevolutionary society, in whose streets people of all social classes jostled in festivals and parades that expressed a vibrant popular politics. Simon Newman's book is as lively as the tumultuous ...