Obama, Barack: - Applewood Books, publishers of America's living past, was founded in 1976. Since then, the company has published over 5,000 works, of which they've sold many millions of individual copies. Applewood's mission is to build a picture of America and American culture through primary sources. Among Applewood's best-selling titles are the "Books of American Wisdom" which include reprints of important American documents, essays, speeches, and poems.