Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/12/2011
ISBN-13: 9780805074604
ISBN-10: 0805074600

The author of Natasha's Dance brings to life the only international war among European powers in the century before WWI. The Crimean War (1853-1856) arose from long-standing religious conflicts, imperial rivalries, and simmering regional conflicts: allied troops of France, Britain, Sardinia, and the waning Ottoman Empire arrayed themselves against a Russian Army attempting to seize Ottoman territories. Tremendous valor (the work of Florence Nightingale) and horrific strategic errors (the Charge of the Light Brigade) distinguished this bloody, complex conflict. The effects of this near-forgotten war still resonate from Europe to Iran, Afghanistan, and Jerusalem. Trevor Royle's Crimea and Peter Duckers' The Crimean War at Sea are also highly recommended on the topic.

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Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/12/2011
ISBN-13: 9780374227340
ISBN-10: 0374227349

The Origins of Political Order (volume one of two) unveils a "magisterial history of state" (Publishers Weekly). Acclaimed political theorist Francis Fukuyama contends that primitive tribal cultures developed political systems responsive to societal needs: adaptive systems persisted longest, eventually becoming institutions from which our modern nation states evolved. Superbly chosen examples of state formation (including China, India, and diverse Middle-Eastern regions) affirm the global scope of this "wide ranging and frequently provocative" (Booklist) study. Readers interested in history's big sociopolitical questions (think Thomas Paine's Common Sense or Machiavelli's The Prince) will find big answers here, drawn from modern studies in anthropology, macroeconomics, legal history, and more.

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Publisher: Scribner
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/05/2011
ISBN-13: 9781416596509
ISBN-10: 141659650X

New York Times journalist Jim Rasenberger relies on newly released CIA documents to sharpen our hazy memories about an epic hall-of-shame moment from American history. In 1961, the U.S. backed a wildly unsuccessful, poorly-kept "secret" invasion of Cuba in order to eliminate Fidel Castro. From rampant intelligence leaks to President JFK's dubious role in events, even 50 years later the ugly truths of "Operation Pluto" (the debacle's codename) still negatively affect America's international reputation for integrity. Readers who liked Howard Jones's Bay of Pigs will find this an equally "important, engrossing" (Library Journal) account of events.

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Publisher: Harper
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/26/2011
ISBN-13: 9780061988349
ISBN-10: 0061988340

Lost in Shangri-la blends riveting WWII history with a true adventure tale worthy of cinematic treatment. A transport plane with 24 U.S. military personnel on a sightseeing excursion crashes in the deadly jungles of uncharted Dutch New Guinea--home to cannibalistic tribes and monitored by deadly Japanese snipers. Only three survive the crash: WAC Margaret Hastings, suffering terrible burns; the young lieutenant John McCollom, whose twin brother was also killed; and Kenneth Decker, a sergeant with severe head injuries. Unexpected flashes of humor leaven this "immensely readable" (Kirkus Reviews) story, highly recommended for readers who found Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken too grim.

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July 4th is America's Independence Day, but why wait? June marks many landmarks in the history of American liberty, from Congress's adoption of the Stars and Stripes flag in 1777 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Pursue the topic with one of these great books!

Publisher: Basic Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/07/2008
ISBN-13: 9780465039173
ISBN-10: 0465039170

The First Amendment formalized an idea of personal liberty central to America's national character: freedom of speech. Questions about the appropriate limits to that right have shaped American history ever since: Eugene Debs delivered a pro-Socialist speech in June, 1918 (and was later charged and convicted); in June of 1964, California university students petitioned their right to engage in campus protests under the First Amendment rights (they were successful). Author Anthony Lewis, a former New York Times columnist and First Amendment scholar, describes many moments like these in a stirring, passionately informed look at how free speech in America has evolved, bringing readers up to speed on issues from hate speech to freedom of the press.

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Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/19/2010
ISBN-13: 9780684868547
ISBN-10: 0684868547

The icons of the young American republic who famously gathered to write the Constitution throughout Philadelphia's long hot summer of 1787 found they'd jumped from the frying pan into the fire when delegates took the Convention's work back to their respective states. Local men esteemed within their communities were chosen to serve their state's congress--and did so with a sense of personal duty to the friends, family, and neighbors who sent them there. Drawing from U.S. founders' letters and speeches, a leading historian of the American Revolution describes fierce debates among those little-known, passionately sincere "Main Street" patriots from whom--or despite whom--the Constitution eventually received the "grassroots blessing" (Booklist) of ratification in 1788.

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Publisher: Bloomsbury Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/01/2008
ISBN-13: 9781596913646
ISBN-10: 1596913649

At a Boston rally against forced busing in 1976, Stanley Forman captured a snapshot of America's historic struggles with both race and patriotic identity when he photographed a white man (fury in his face and posture) charging at two black men with a weapon--the American flag, brandished like a spear. Historian Louis P. Masur analyzes the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo with an art historian's eye for the cultural history it reveals. His insights into racism, the flag as icon of American values, and the visceral effect of photographic art of this type produce a "gem of a book" (Publishers Weekly) that will certainly engage history readers interested in modern race relations and/or photojournalism. Michael Patrick MacDonald's All Souls: A Family from Southie offers more traditional history about the events behind the image.

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Publisher: Ecco
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/01/2009
ISBN-13: 9780060539238
ISBN-10: 0060539232

Historian and cultural essayist Simon Schama examines the 2008 U.S. presidential election as a positive reclamation of American ideals, a gauge indicating current issues of national concern, and a potential indicator of America's future development. Smoothly moving from contemporary reportage to "fluent, richly literate history" (Publishers Weekly), this lively narrative identifies broad topics of relevance--statecraft, national identity, ethnic pluralism, and resource consumption--and illustrates each with apt historical vignettes. On the whole, Schama's forecast is positive, and readers seeking a genial historical vantage point from which to consider America's future will enjoy this immensely; those who prefer a more in-depth critical focus may enjoy either George Friedman's The Next Decade or The Next 100 Years, which treat similar concerns on a more global scale.

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Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/13/2009
ISBN-13: 9780812970388
ISBN-10: 0812970381

American history scholar and author Thomas J. Sugrue rejects the common depiction of America's civil rights struggle as a "Southern" issue. Unlike segregation in the South, which was mandated by law, segregation in the North persisted as a function of accepted (if unspoken and/or unrecognized) social norms that were arguably all the more difficult to overcome. Sugrue's treatment of African-American activists who mobilized in larger organizations during the 1950s-60s is particularly important, delineating the complex reforming of new groups (like the NAACP) from older, now lesser-known ones (The National Negro Congress). Sweet Land of Liberty's "unparalleled scope and fresh focus" (Publishers Weekly) should pique the interest of many Southern history buffs and readers interested in modern race relations.

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