History and Natural History Reviews
We've seen a resurgence of interest in books that explore historical topics. You'll find reviews of our picks here. I've included the broad category of Natural History here as well.
Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World
Pulitzer-Prize winning author David Maraniss looks at how the first commercially televised Olympic Games did much more than entertain an international audience.
Pulitzer-Prize winning author David Maraniss looks at how the first commercially televised Olympic Games did much more than entertain an international audience.
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner
Winner of the 2007 National Book Award for Nonfiction, 'Legacy of Ashes' uncovers here why nearly every CIA Director has left the agency in worse shape than when he found it; and how these profound failures jeopardize our national security.
Winner of the 2007 National Book Award for Nonfiction, 'Legacy of Ashes' uncovers here why nearly every CIA Director has left the agency in worse shape than when he found it; and how these profound failures jeopardize our national security.
The Long March by Sun Shuyun
Seventy years after Communist China's historical march took place, Sun Shuyun set out to discover the true history behind the legend.
Seventy years after Communist China's historical march took place, Sun Shuyun set out to discover the true history behind the legend.
A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz
Journalist and author Tony Horwitz sets out to fill in woeful gaps in our national memory of the settling of the United States.
Journalist and author Tony Horwitz sets out to fill in woeful gaps in our national memory of the settling of the United States.
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
What if, by plague or divine rapture, the entire human race disappeared from the planet? What would happen to the Earth?
What if, by plague or divine rapture, the entire human race disappeared from the planet? What would happen to the Earth?
Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs
In this updated version of the classic of popular Egyptology, Barbara Mertz reveals herself to be the perfect guide to ancient Egypt for the student, the layman, and those who plan to visit or have visited the Nile Valley.
In this updated version of the classic of popular Egyptology, Barbara Mertz reveals herself to be the perfect guide to ancient Egypt for the student, the layman, and those who plan to visit or have visited the Nile Valley.
Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations
Cartographia is a magnificent, lavishly illustrated bound collection of more than two hundred maps from around the world and throughout time.
Cartographia is a magnificent, lavishly illustrated bound collection of more than two hundred maps from around the world and throughout time.
Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Laurence Bergreen
The first fully authoritative biography of one of the most enchanting figures in world history.
The first fully authoritative biography of one of the most enchanting figures in world history.
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
Johnson's account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London - and how the solution revolutionized the way we think about disease, cities, science, and the modern world.
Johnson's account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London - and how the solution revolutionized the way we think about disease, cities, science, and the modern world.
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain
Maryanne Wolf explains how we taught our brain to read only a few thousand years ago and how each of us does so today.
Maryanne Wolf explains how we taught our brain to read only a few thousand years ago and how each of us does so today.
The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France
A leading historian of the French Revolution, presents a radically different account of bloody last years of the French Revolution.
A leading historian of the French Revolution, presents a radically different account of bloody last years of the French Revolution.
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death
John Kelly's narrative account of the medieval plague, the Black Death, from its beginnings in Central Asia to its journey through the cities of Europe.
John Kelly's narrative account of the medieval plague, the Black Death, from its beginnings in Central Asia to its journey through the cities of Europe.
The Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks
Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805 in which William Eaton set out to overthrow the government of Tripoli.
Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805 in which William Eaton set out to overthrow the government of Tripoli.
Queen Emma and the Vikings by Harriet O'Brien
Emma, one of England's most remarkable queens, made her mark on a nation beset by Viking raiders at the end of the Dark Ages, a period often neglected by conventional history.
Emma, one of England's most remarkable queens, made her mark on a nation beset by Viking raiders at the end of the Dark Ages, a period often neglected by conventional history.
Why Birds Sing by David Rothenberg
Why Birds Sing is a lyric exploration of bird song that blends the latest scientific research with a deep understanding of musical beauty and form.
Why Birds Sing is a lyric exploration of bird song that blends the latest scientific research with a deep understanding of musical beauty and form.
The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins
Loosely based on the form of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, The Ancestor's Tale takes us modern humans back through four billion years of life on our planet.
Loosely based on the form of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, The Ancestor's Tale takes us modern humans back through four billion years of life on our planet.
Birth of the Chess Queen by Marilyn Yalom
Everyone knows that the queen is the most powerful piece in chess, but few people know that the game existed for five hundred years without her.
Everyone knows that the queen is the most powerful piece in chess, but few people know that the game existed for five hundred years without her.
The River at the Center of the World by Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester's "The River at the Center of the World," has a premise both simple and audacious: Winchester travels the length of the Yangtze river from Shanghai, where it meets the sea, up to its source in Tibet, and as he traces the river back to its source, he also travels backwards in time.
Simon Winchester's "The River at the Center of the World," has a premise both simple and audacious: Winchester travels the length of the Yangtze river from Shanghai, where it meets the sea, up to its source in Tibet, and as he traces the river back to its source, he also travels backwards in time.
Rats by Robert Sullivan
With a notebook and night-vision gear, Robert Sullivan sits in a New York streamlike flow of garbage becoming one with the rat. Sullivan, a modern-day Thoreau, spends a year plunging the depths of New York's burgeoning rat populations.
With a notebook and night-vision gear, Robert Sullivan sits in a New York streamlike flow of garbage becoming one with the rat. Sullivan, a modern-day Thoreau, spends a year plunging the depths of New York's burgeoning rat populations.
The Road to Delphi: The Life and Afterlife of Oracles by Michael Wood
Cultures of all epochs have consulted oracles in times of need. "The Road to Delphi: The Life and Afterlife of Oracles" by Michael Wood explores the enduring popularity of oracles and examines how they are interpreted and why. Taking examples from literature and history, from the oracles at Delphi to those in Macbeth, and further still to the works of Kafka and Bob Dylan, Michael Wood uses storytelling and commentary to provide an account of humanity’s faith in signs.
Cultures of all epochs have consulted oracles in times of need. "The Road to Delphi: The Life and Afterlife of Oracles" by Michael Wood explores the enduring popularity of oracles and examines how they are interpreted and why. Taking examples from literature and history, from the oracles at Delphi to those in Macbeth, and further still to the works of Kafka and Bob Dylan, Michael Wood uses storytelling and commentary to provide an account of humanity’s faith in signs.
Khrushchev: The Man and His Era by William Taubman
Nikita Khrushchev was one of the most important political figures of the twentieth century. Ruler of the Soviet Union during the first decade after Stalin's death, Khrushchev left a contradictory stamp on his country and on the world. Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, William Taubman's Khrushchev: The Man and His Era is the definitive work about a definitive figure.
Nikita Khrushchev was one of the most important political figures of the twentieth century. Ruler of the Soviet Union during the first decade after Stalin's death, Khrushchev left a contradictory stamp on his country and on the world. Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, William Taubman's Khrushchev: The Man and His Era is the definitive work about a definitive figure.
The Turk by Tom Standage
In 1769, a Hungarian nobleman attended a conjuring show at the court of the empress of Austria-Hungary. Unimpressed by the performance, he declared he could do better himself. He did not disappoint; he returned to the court the following spring with a mechanical man, fashioned from wood, powered by clockwork, dressed in a stylish Turkish costume—and capable of playing chess.
In 1769, a Hungarian nobleman attended a conjuring show at the court of the empress of Austria-Hungary. Unimpressed by the performance, he declared he could do better himself. He did not disappoint; he returned to the court the following spring with a mechanical man, fashioned from wood, powered by clockwork, dressed in a stylish Turkish costume—and capable of playing chess.
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven tells the story of two fundamentalist Mormon brothers who took their faith to the ultimate extreme. It explores the horrific murder of the wife and child of Ron and Dan Lafferty’s younger brother as well as the frightening aspect of Mormon fundamentalism.
Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven tells the story of two fundamentalist Mormon brothers who took their faith to the ultimate extreme. It explores the horrific murder of the wife and child of Ron and Dan Lafferty’s younger brother as well as the frightening aspect of Mormon fundamentalism.
Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen
In Over the Edge of the World, an engaging account of Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, Laurence Bergreen draws the early sixteenth century with so much seethingly lifelike detail that the reader is drawn into the story even as Magellan himself remains something of an enigma.
In Over the Edge of the World, an engaging account of Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, Laurence Bergreen draws the early sixteenth century with so much seethingly lifelike detail that the reader is drawn into the story even as Magellan himself remains something of an enigma.
Amsterdam by Geert Mak
Dutch writer Geert Mak depicts the lives of early Amsterdammers and traces the city's progress from a small town of merchants, sailors, farmers, and fishermen to a thriving metropolis.
Dutch writer Geert Mak depicts the lives of early Amsterdammers and traces the city's progress from a small town of merchants, sailors, farmers, and fishermen to a thriving metropolis.