Ambrose, Stephen E. Americans at War. Univ. Pr. of Mississippi 1997 [Our magazine review of this book will appear next year on our website, but we can tell you this book is a good read. It contains 15 essays on topics ranging from the Civil War campaign for Vicksburg to Custer to WW II to Vietnam to the Cold War, and finally, the book concludes with thoughts on war in the Twenty-First Century. One theme is clear in this fine collection -- individuals matter -- whether they be the leaders of men, or the common soldiers tasked to carry out the general's orders. Social historians beware, Ambrose shows the significance of "great men" on history, and in the case of these essays, the men chosen for discussion are Americans who changed the course of events during hot wars and cold wars.]
Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. Touchstone/Simon & Schuster 1997 [Publisher supplied info: From the bestselling author of D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II comes the definitive book on the most momentous expedition in American history--and one of the greatest adventure stories of all time. "An adventure filled with high romance and personal tragedy, involving the greatest expedition ever undertaken in the history of this country." -- Alexander Theroux, Chicago Tribune. Illustrations throughout. Originally published in 1996, this book may still be available in a hardcover edition.]
Axelrod, Alan. The Quotable Historian. McGraw-Hill Professional Publ. 2000 [Publisher supplied info: Each quotation in The Quotable Historian is chosen from the great histories as well as from the offhand comments of the great historians. Recorded history stretches back roughly 5,500 years, and The Quotable Historian covers much of this span, beginning with: Herodotus, Thuycidides and moving through the great Romans (Tacitus, Caesar, Polybius, Livy), the early Christian historians (including the authors of the Bible), and a host of medieval historians. The most popular nineteenth-century historians are quoted (Thomas Carlyle, Thomas Babbington Macaulay, H.H. Bancroft, Jules Michelet, and Frederick Jackson Turner) as well as fiction writers who double as historians (Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Charles Dickens). With the twentieth century, history becomes more specialized. Therefore, the Quotable Historian represents such specialties as African-American history, women's history, Native American history, the history of science, and military history, in addition to a host of modern popular historians, such as Barbara Tuchman, Teddy Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Shelby Foote, John Eisenhower, Alan Bullock, Henry Steele Commanger, Eric Foner, Richard Rhodes, and many others. While The Quotable Historian includes historians from all eras, it is arranged topically, offering some seventy-five headwords in period categories (such as the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and so on) as well as thematic categories ranging from Action and Adultery, to Beginnings and Endings, to Democracy, to Violence and War.]
Banks, Christopher P. Judicial Politics in the D.C. Circuit Court. Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr. 1999 [Banks looks at how an activist circuit court, which in its liberal days (the 1960s) led the way in making law protecting criminal defendents, eventually lost the power to hear "local" criminal appeals and instead evolved into a court where cases of administrative law predominate.]
Barry, John M. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America. Touchtone/Simon & Schuster 1998 [An award-winning history of America's greatest natural disaster. The river inundated the homes of over one million people and drove hundreds of thousands of blacks to the north. It helped make Huey Long governor while leading Herbert Hoover to the White House. This winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award and the Lillian Smith award has received many plaudits, a few which I have included below. "Extraordinary . . . stands not only as a powerful story of disaster but an accomplished and important social history, magisterial in its scope and fiercely dedicated to unearthing truth." -- T.H. Watkins, The New York Times Book Review. "This is the kind of history I love -- the brilliantly told story of the great Mississippi flood of 1927, a disaster for millions but the making of a future president and a turning point for the nation." -- Tom Wicker. "Who could imagine that so much of the American story could be told through the story of the great flood of 1927 -- and be told so dramatically?" -- Jay Tolson, The Wilson Quarterly. "A vastly entertaining book." -- Wendy Smith, Civilizations. "Gripping. . . . An extraordinary tale of greed, power politics, racial conflict and bureaucratic incompetence. . . . [A] momentous chronicle, which revises our understanding of the shaping of modern America." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review). ". . . the power of an epic. . . . A virtuoso piece of exposition." -- The New Yorker "A brilliant match of scholarship and investigative journalism." -- Jason Berry, Chicago Tribune.]
Batterberry, Michael & Ariane. On the Town in New York: The Landmark History of Eating, Drinking, and Entertainments from the American Revolution to the Food Revolution. Routledge 1999 [This is a social history of notable eating and drinking establishments and the celebrated clientele from 1776 to the present. Originally published to much acclaim in 1973, it has been updated for this 25th Anniversary Edition. Its coverage ranges from the "très haut to the très scummy." Notable folks and establishments include George Washington, the 1824 reception for Lafayette, the Grand Hotel, Delmonico's, The Waldorf, The Plaza, the Rainbow Room, Four Seasons, and Tavern on the Green. The book is well-illustrated, even including full-color plates. "Every revolution creates its chroniclers, its trumpeters, and its critics of the new order. The chroniclers of the modern food revolution are Michael and Ariane Batterberry, and now their classic book, On the Town in New York, is reissued with their updated commentary. This is good news for all who like to eat, drink and read about it." -- Gay Talese. "Scholarly, well-written, and extremely informative, [this book] will appeal to anyone interested in food and food history. Newly updated, this book has even more relevance today than when it was originally published in 1973." -- Jacques Pepin. "This 'Blue Plate Special' delivers the great taste of memories of New York City's food history. It's a beautifully organized menu from all around the town filled with the poetry of the sidewalks of New York." -- Joe Baum. ". . . great fun, an invaluable reference book." -- James Beard (1973). "The best book ever written on the subject." -- Craig Claiborne (1973).]
Bennett, William J., ed. Our Sacred Honor: Words of Advice from the Founders in Stories, Letters, Poems, and Speeches. Simon & Schuster 1997 [Bestselling author William Bennett returns with a solid selection from -- and commentary on -- the writings and speeches of America's founders. Bennett arrays the selections in seven sections: (I) Patriotism and Courage, (II) Love and Courtship, (III) Civility and Friendship, (IV) Education of the Head and Heart, (V) Industry and Frugality, (VI) Justice, and (VII) Piety. The selections range from the well known (e.g., Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and Patrick Henry's give Me LIberty or Give Me Death" speech) to overlooked but valuable thoughts from Benjamin Rush, Noah Webster, John Dickinson, George Mason, and James Wilson. Two thoughts quickly come from reading this superb work, first, how far our current leadership and citizenry has slipped from the ideals that animated the founding of this nation, and secondly, how important it is to reintroduce reading on themes of honor, integrity, courage, true love, and justice to the American people. This book makes an excellent means to help reinvigorate the fast disappearing virtues of the American polity.]
Bienkowski, Piotr, ed. The Art of Jordan: Treasures from an Ancient Land. [Queen Noor Al-Hussein, foreword] Alan Sutton Publ. (UK) 1996/(US) 1997 [A beautifully illustrated book, loaded with color photographs, Bienkowski and seven other contributors examine Jordan's cultural legacy. The book begins with a history and archaeology of Jordan, followed by chapters on sculpture, pottery-making, art and technology, mosaics, the evolution of writing from cuneiform to Arabic, traditional costume, and folk jewellery. "This fabulous book provides an accessible introduction to Jordan's rich heritage." -- The Good Book Guide.]
Bobrick, Benson. Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution. Simon & Schuster 1997 [This is a colorful account of the American victory which nicely brings together the military, political, and social dimensions of the conflict. ". . . a triumphant history of the American Revolution, written with lucidity and analytical savvy. It now stands as the most accessible single-volume narrative of the American Revolution available. A must read!" -- Douglas Brinkley, Director, The Eisenhower Center for American Studies. ". . . the book's strength lies in it many lesser-known details on the battlefield and beyond. . . . a highly impressive show of exhaustive research and engaging storytelling about the greatest of American legends." -- Publishers Weekly.]
Bolin, Inge. Rituals of Respect: The Secret of Survival in the High Peruvian Andes. Univ. of Texas Pr. 1998 ["Bolin makes this story accessible to a more general reader, with an almost novelistic eye for detail, and without sacrificing scholarly depth. . . . Both experts and lay readers can be pleased with the result." -- Johnny Payne, Northwestern University. This book is also published in a hardcover edition.]
Branch, Taylor. Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65. Simon & Schuster 1998
Brokaw, Tom. The Greatest Generation. Random House 1998 [Brokaw looks at average Americans whose generation survived the Great Depression, won WW II, and built modern America. This book has climbed to the top of bestseller lists everywhere.]
Brovkin, Vladimir N., ed. The Bolsheviks in Russian Society: The Revolution and the Civil Wars. Yale Univ. Pr. 1997
Bunson, Mattthew. Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic History. [Margaret Bunson, illus.] Our Sunday Visitor Pub. Div. 1995 [A wonderful single-volume reference work with 1,008 pages and a good index.]
Burbank, Jane & David L. Ransel, eds. Imperial Russia: New Histories for the Empire. [Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies] Indiana Univ. Pr. 1998 [Thirteen historians provide new and innovative essays on a range of topics relating to the Russian Empire from Peter the Great to the 1880s. Three essays examine issues of autocracy and the imperial family, while the next two chapters consider the imperial imagination, science, geography, and museums. Four contributions discuss the practice of empire, the uncertainty of the frontires, the peasants, the serf economy, and the Church and popular religion. The final three chapters examine an eighteenth-century Russian merchant family, freemasonry, and the Russian press in the Age of the Great Reforms. A hardcover edition was published simultaneously.]
Burstein, Andrew. America's Jubilee: How in 1826 a Generation Remembered Fifty Years of Independence. Knopf 2001 ["A colorful and panoramic portrait of the memories and prophecies swirling about at a truly propitious moment in American history." -- Joseph J. Ellis. ". . . a masterful feat--a colorful evocation of America in its fitieth year, and a provacative exploration of memory and mythmaking." -- Douglas L. Wilson. "An excellent work." -- Booklist (starred review).]
Byron, Robert. The Station: Athos: Treasures and Men. Phoenix Pr. (UK) 2000/Sterling (US) 2001 [This is a very observant account of Bryon's trip to Mount Athos. Byron was cultured travel writer with a great love for Byzantine civilization. This book was originally published in 1928. ". . . reveals a travel writer of sly urbane wit, with a sense of style and a refreshing vocabulary." -- Arnold Bennett, Evening Standard. "It is a volume that will bear reading again and again." -- Daily Telegraph.]
Carroll, Warren H. The Founding of Christendom. [A History of Christendom Series, vol. 1] Christendom College Pr. 1985 [This is the cloth edition. The book is also available in trade paperback.]
Carroll, Warren H. The Building of Christendom. [A History of Christendom Series, vol. 2] Christendom College Pr. 1985 [This is the cloth edition. The book is also available in trade paperback.]
Carroll, Warren H. The Glory of Christendom. [A History of Christendom Series, vol. 3] Christendom College Pr. 1985 [This is the cloth edition. It is also available from Amazon.com. The book is also available in trade paperback.]
Conquest, Robert. Reflections on a Ravaged Century. Norton 1999 [Publisher supplied info: In the philosophical tradition of George Orwell and Isaiah Berlin, Robert Conquest presents a brilliant work of history and meditation, one that examines the political ideologies that have corrupted the twentieth century and, in the process, sent millions to the slaughterhouse. The main responsibility for our century's cataclysms, Conquest maintains, lies not in impersonal economic or social forces--like revolutionary Marxism or German National Socialism--but in the distortions that polluted human minds with the detritus of absolutist ideas. Conquest finds the failure to understand these phenomena as epidemic in Western civic culture, which has so far--barely--prevailed. Whether discussing Kierkegaard or Koestler or the disasters posed by the new European Economic Union, Conquest has a remarkable ability to fuse literature and history, philosophy and prognostication, and presents here a grand synthesis of our century, seen through its most deeply flawed ideologies. "Conquest's answers are as plain as they are spirited. Transcending history, this book is a resolutely intelligent contribution to the culture wars that will stretch into the next century." -- Josef Joffe, The New York Times Book Review. "Robert Conquest tells us that he has resisted what George Orwell called 'the lure of the profound.' But he does not resist the lure of the wise and the true. We have no better analyst of the ideologies of totalitarianism and utopianism--totalitarian, often, because utopian--that have infested this 'ravaged century.' Conquest brings all his literary skill, wit, and learning to elucidate the most grotesque events of our time--perhaps, of all time." -- Gertrude Himmelfarb. "Robert Conquest is that rare prophet who has lived to see his work confirmed by history. Now he reflects on this tumultuous century with high intelligence and even temperament. Honor this man--and read his book." -- Fareed Zakaria. "I have acquired more from overhearing Robert Conquest than from teaching or attending entire courses, and learned more from disagreeing with him than from much blameless discourse with the respectable. He is, in himself and in his writing, a part of the education of our century." -- Christopher Hitchens. "Robert Conquest casts a cold eye on the turbulent end of the millennium, and suggests a way--an association of English-speaking nations--by which the new one may get off to a better start." -- Richard Brookhiser. "When the history of the twentieth century is written, there will be an honored place for Robert Conquest." -- Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. "A stimulating analysis of the role ideology has played in shaping our murderous century." -- Kirkus.]
Cordingly, David. Women Sailors and Sailors' Women: An Untold Maritime History. Random House 2001 [This is a history of women and the high seas in the Age of Sail by a former staff member of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. "[Ideal for] female adventure fans and the many devoted readers of Patrick O'Brian." -- Publishers Weekly.]
Cornell, Saul. The Other Founders: Anti-Federalism and the Dissenting Tradition in America, 1788-1828. Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture/Univ. of North Carolina Pr. 1999 ["A very detailed discussion of the specific ideas of those men who wrote in opposition to the Constitution. . . . The Anti-Federalists played an important role at a critical stage in nation building. We have not before had as comprehensive a reconstruction of the whole body of their thought and its immediate impact as Cornell gives us in the Other Founders." -- Joyce O. Appleby, University of California at Los Angeles. "A brilliant and unique book. Its special contribution lies in its explication of the connections between the institutional structures under which late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Americans lived and the political arguments they made in response to efforts to create and then empower the federal government. . . . Given the context that he so carefully paints, Cornell brings to life in a way no previous historian has done the rhetoric of Anti-Federalists and early nineteenth-century dissenters warning of the destruction of liberty." --William E. Nelson, New York University.]
Cornell, Vincent J. Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism. Univ. of Texas Pr. 1998 [This is a systematic history of Moroccan Sufism through the fifteeenth and sixteenth centuries. The author examines their doctrine with a special focus on sainthood. In premodern Moroccan Sufism, sainthood involved not only a closeness to the Divine presence ("walaya"), but also the exercise of worldly authority ("wilaya"). Given this, Cornell also examines the concept of sainthood in relation to social and political life. "This is the most significant study of the Sufi tradition in Islam to have appeared in the last two decades. . . . It equals in scope and significance Peter Brown's The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity." -- Dale F. Eichelman, Dartmouth College. This book is also published in a hardcover edition.]
Crankshaw, Edward. The Shadow of the Winter Palace: Russia's Drift to Revolution 1825-1917. Da Capo Pr. 2000 [This is a history of the tumultuous century prior to the Russian Revolution by the noted journalist who covered the Soviet Union for the London Observer. Crankshaw starts his account with the failed uprising in 1825 on the Senate Square in St. Petersburg which helped to ignite the 1917 revolution. Yet he discusses more than politics, such as the Golden Age of intellectual and artistic achievement that produced Dostoevski, Tolstoy, and Tchaikovski. It was originally published in 1976. "A beautifully written and immensely readable chronicle of Russia under the last four tsars . . . a splendid achievement." -- The Economist. "Crankshaw is a superbly literate historian. . . . His greatest forte is a sympathetic yet never mawkish insight into the psyche of the men on whom rested the burden of ruling the vast empire. His portrait of Nicholas I is a masterpiece." -- New York Times Book Review. ". . . jam-packed with information about the past and implications for the present." -- Atlantic.]
Cullen-DuPont, Kathryn. The Encyclopedia of Women's History in America. Da Capo 1998 [orig. 1996. I had started to read entries in this book with high expectations, but was quickly disappointed and did not bother to read further. For example, the entry on Janet Reno is a half-page long, but has one and one-half sentences about her nomination as Attorney General -- nothing else on her service in a cabinet level position. The Margaret Sanger entry is over a page long yet no mention is made of her advocacy of eugenics and what it meant in light of concurrent developments in Europe. Finally, when I saw the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion and the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws listed as "pro-life organizations," I gave up on this book.]
DeVoto, Bernard. Across the Wide Missouri. Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin 1998 [Originally published in 1947, DeVoto won the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize for this fine book. In it DeVoto recounts the climax and decline of the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade during the 1830s while vividly illustrating how it shaped the expansion of the American West. "One of the literary lions of his day." -- Stephen E. Ambrose. "DeVoto at his best, and when you say that, you have said a lot." -- New York Times.]
DeVoto, Bernard. The Course of Empire. [Wallace Stegner, intro.] Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin 1998 [Originally published in 1952, this book won the National Book Award. DeVoto covers 278 dramatic years of North American expansion, from Balboa's route to the Pacific through the early days of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. DeVoto is especially appreciative of the impact of geography in both encouraging and limiting continental expansion, and in shaping the borders of the emerging countries on the continent. "The whole story of the West as frontier, as dream and discovery, exploration and confrontation. . . [The Course of Empire is] monumental, massive, grandly conceived and beautifully controlled, a history of the West as imagination and reality and realization." -- Wallace Stegner. "A bright gem of American literature." -- The New Republic.]
Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico. [Hugh Thomas, new intro.] Da Capo Press 1996 [This is the great eyewitness history of Cortés and the conquest of Mexico. This particular edition was translated by A.P. Maudslay and originally published in 1956.]
Dilke, O.A.W. Greek and Roman Maps. Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr. 1998 [This book was originally published in 1985. "All this O. A. W. Dilke tells, along with much more that is peripherally related to maps: he explains at length the Roman technique of surveying land, reviews the various land and sea itineraries that have survived, and discusses the kinds of plans the ancients drew, from plans of cities to 'blueprints' of buildings. . . . He performs a useful service in bringing together this material, some of which has been available only in scattered scholarly journals." -- Lionel Casson, American Historical Review.]
Donaldson, Gary A. Truman Defeats Dewey. Univ. Pr. of Kentucky 2000 ["Although the story of Truman's triumph is well-known, Donaldson, thanks to his wide-ranging research into a variety of fresh primary and secondary materials, provides the readers with a detailed and clear account of how and why Truman won that election." -- William C. Berman, University of Toronto. "Donaldson . . . provides persuasive analyses of postwar politics, the tactics of contending political parties that marked the breakup of the old FDR New Deal coalition after WWII. . . . . Donaldson argues that the overconfident Dewey lost the election with his bland, boring campaign speeches as much as Truman won it in a close popular vote. An excellent history of a remarkable event in a tumultuous time in America." -- Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 1998. "A nitty-gritty political handbook to the issues of the election of 1948." -- Publishers Weekly. "Shows how the well-known split from the Democratic party of segregationist Dixiecrats and Communist sympathizers actually contributed to Truman's victory." -- Library Journal. Originally published by Kentucky in 1998, this book is still available in a hardcover edition.]
Druett, Joan. Hen Frigates: Wives of Merchant Captains Under Sail. Simon & Schuster 1998 ["Hen Frigates is a remarkable collage of interesting (and sometimes horrifying) stories about hardships a modern woman would find it almost impossible to endure, and displays of courage that astonished me. Strong women have not only recently been liberated, they seem to have been strong and accomplished under the old restrictions imposed upon the sex." -- Doris Grumbach. "Wonderful writing and research about American heroines of the sea." -- Hal Roth, author of Two Against Cape Horn. ". . . Joan Druett has created that rarest of books, a well-researched volume that is at the same time a hell of a good read. This is a glimpse into a long-gone era from a fresh point of view, the rare feminine perspective of the dangerous and thoroughly masculine world of the merchang sailing vessel. No stranger to the sea herself, Druett writes with authority. . . . a must for anyone who loves a glimpse into the humor, the sorrow, and the struggles and the triumphs of lives past." -- James L. Nelson, author of The Revolution at Sea series. ". . . an absolutely fascinating perspective on a rarely discussed aspect of life at sea in the nineteenth century." -- John Harland, author of Seasmanship in the Age of Sail. "Every page of this book has fascinating and freshly told news about nineteenth-century life on ships: the women, the men, the children; those who live on board and the passengers. An eye-opener, easier and more pleasant than most afternoon sails." -- David Hays, coauthor of My Old Man and the Sea.]
Drury, John. Painting the Word: Christian Paintings and Their Meanings. Yale Univ. Pr./National Gallery Publ. Ltd. 1999 [This is a beautiful book by the Anglican priest who is Dean of Christ Church, Oxford (a dual institution made up of an Oxford college and a cathedral). He examines Christian art from Piero della Francesca to Velázquez and finds their work has a universal quality with an intensity and meaning that resonated with viewers in the past -- and with us in the present. He has loaded his book with great works of art which are printed on heavy glossy paper. There are 170 illustrations, 151 of which are in color. And the price for this book is a bargain! "[This] is a wise, accessible, elegant, and beautiful book about Christian art. [It] presents dazzling color reproductions of masterpieces by Rembrandt, Raphael, Rubens, Velázquez, Piero della Francesca, Cézanne, and others, accompanied by a text that does not merely analyze and explain these pictures but also meditates upon them, and even encourages readers to inhabit them. Drury's introduction explains his project: 'This is a book about how Christian paintings convey their messages. It takes on whole paintings. It is not content with just picking symbols out of them for identification. Composition, color, contents (including architecture and landscape as well as figures) and the ways in which the paint itself is handled--all are treated as part and parcel of their religious meanings.' Drury justifies his critical approach by pointing out that these pictures come from a time when western civilization and Christianity were coterminous. . . . Drury expertly draws us into this world in light, straightforward language. (Many of the chapters in this book began as sermons.) 'Worship and looking at pictures require the same kind of attention,' Drury explains, 'a mixture of curiosity with a relaxed readiness to let things suggest themselves in their own good time.' Put this way, paying attention becomes a calling. And as Drury describes this calling, it is hard to imagine a higher one." -- Michael Joseph Gross, Amazon.com. "Drury's eye is not merely scrupulous in the notation of pictorial effects but fully and easily informed on spiritual and religious issues essential to the purposes for which the apintings were made. This is an unusual and elegant book." -- Frank Kermode.]
Durham, Edith. High Albania: A Victorian Traveller's Balkan Odyssey. [John Hodgson, new intro.] Phoenix Pr. (UK) 2000/Sterling (US) 2001 [This is a very colorful account of travel through the Balkans by a legendary late Victorian traveller. Durham spent much of her seven years in the Balkans in the difficult mountainous region of Northern Albania. This book was originally published in 1909.]
Ellis, Richard J. The Dark Side of the Left: Illiberal Egalitarianism in America. Univ. Pr. of Kansas 1998 [This is a fascinating look at the illiberalism of the left -- and the miseries it has inflicted -- by a self-described liberal. He examines egalitarian movements throughout American history from the radical abolitionists of the 1830s, to the illiberal utopianism of the Age of Reform, to the former Mr. Jane Fonda (oops, I mean Tom Hayden), the SDS, and the New Left, and continuing to the present -- radical feminism, Earth First! and radical enviromentalism. It's not a pretty picture as the obsessive drive to equality destroys other liberal goals, creates new orthodoxies, leads to elite contempt for the masses and an affinity for charismatic, authoritarian leaders. "A courageous book that examines how some of the illusions and mystiques of the radical left have become axioms in the academic world today." -- John Patrick Diggens. "I am impressed with the utter nerve of Ellis taking on so many sacred cows. . . . I can't imagine how anyone could make a better case. He piles evidence upon evidence while at the same time telling a very lively tale." -- Robert Booth Fowler. "The writing is crisp, the illustration and documentation thorough, and the whole 'shape' of the argument impressive. . . . A spledid book!" -- John L. Thomas. For a review of this book, click here.]
Everson, William K. American Silent Film. Da Capo 1998 [orig. 1978] [This book is considered by many film historians to be the key work on the silent films. ". . . the best modern survey of the silent period. Everson's virtue lies . . . in his feeling for grasp and synthesis, the almost tangible sense he conveys that he has seen and absorbed everything worth seeing, plus much that isn't, and is able to pass it all on in cogent form." -- New Republic. "Probably the most authoritative history of the silents now in print." -- John Barkham. "Few film historians have achieved as unique a reputation as William K. Everson. In matters of film research and scholarship, his is regarded today as the arbiter in questions relating to motion picture history." -- Lewis Jacobs, American Film, and author of The Rise of the American Film. ". . . is as fresh, honest, and invigorating as the best of the films it celebrates." -- Films in Review.]
Gates, Jr., Henry Louis. Wonders of the African World. Alfred A. Knopf 1999 [This is an oversized, lavishly-illustrated hardcover that looks at African civilzations over the centuries. "From Ethiopia to Nubia, from Swahili country to West Africa, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., takes us on a fascinating journey, teaching us about the great civilizations we do not know well enough and making us reconsider the Africa we thought we already understood." -- Reverend Jesse Jackson. "In a fascinating personal account, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., shows us the glories of Africa and explains why African Americans have for so long been both fascinated and repelled by the great continent." -- Marian Wright Edelman. "Wonders of the African World is a wonder. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has given us a Grand Tour of Africa's civilizations and his unique interpretation of Africa's meaning -- to African Americans and the world. This is a must-read." -- Julian Bond. "This is more than a book about Africa. It is a study in black America's profound ambivalence about our shared ancestral continent. Caught between a distaste for Africa within his own family and his abiding love for and fascination with Africa, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., traverses the continent with a keen eye, a brilliant mind, and an ambivalent heart." -- Ali A. Mazrui.]
Gheissari, Ali. Iranian Intellectuals in the 20th Century. Univ. of Texas Pr. 1998 ["This book is a distinguished piece of scholarship, well and clearly written, scientifically documented, and theoretically fair and exhaustive." -- Darius Rejali.]
Gilbert, Martin & Richard Gott. The Appeasers. Phoenix Pr. (UK) 2000/Sterling Publ. (US) 2001 [Gilbert and Gott examine Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement in his dealings with Hitler. They explain how the policy was developed, how it was carried out, and why the policy proved to be a mistake. This book was originally published in 1963. "Here is a remarkable book, admirably documented and most fairly presented." -- Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, Glasgow Herald. ". . . an extraordinary compilation of detailed facts." -- Michael Foot.]
Gillmeister, Heiner. Tennis: A Cultural History. New York Univ. Pr. 1998 [This book was originally published in 1990 with the title, Kulturgeschichte des Tennis. It is a fascinating history of tennis from the Middle Ages to the eve of World War I. The book is comprehensive and thoroughly documented. It is especially strong on the development of tennis in Germany. The author also debunks established myths about the history of the game, including those surrounding the invention of the Davis Cup. It is beautifully illustrated with 16 color plates (including beautiful miniatures from medieval books), and has 105 photos, diagrams, woodcuts and other illustrations. A comprehensive bibliography rounds out this oversized work. The book was originally published in English in 1997 by Leicester University Press. The hardcover edition is out of print. Try the Alibris link at the top of this page to find a copy.]
Graber, G.S. Caravans to Oblivion: The Armenian Genocide, 1915. John Wiley & Sons 1996
Grant, Michael. The World of Rome: The History of the Roman Empire from 133BC to AD217. [History of Civilization Series] Phoenix Pr. (UK) 2000/Sterling Publ. (US) 2001 [This book is a solid history of Rome when it was the world's dominant civilization. Grant breaks his study into four parts. The first is a historical sketch of the Roman Empire, the second a look at the state and society. It is followed by an examination of Roman religious and philosophical beliefs, and the final part of the book considers the great Latin writers and Roman sculpture, painting, and architecture. It features 64 plates, 45 illustrations, and 6 maps. This book was originally published in 1960.]
Grant, Robert & Joseph Katz. The Great Trials of the Twenties: The Watershed Decade in America's Courtrooms. Sarpedon 1999 [This is a fascinating book for anyone interested in American history or legal history. Grant and Katz have selected ten key trials that not only helped define a decade, but shaped America's future. The ten trials are a diverse lot involving Hollywood, the military, sports, science, anarchists, the Klan, gangsters, corrupt politicians, and more. As such, they touched on all aspects of American society and culture. More specifically, the chapters cover Sacco and Vanzetti, the Chicago "Black Sox," the comic actor "Fatty" Arbuckle, Al Capone, David C. Stephenson (a Klan leader), the Scopes ("Monkey") trial, Loeb-Leopold (brutal, brilliant killers defended by Clarence Darrow), Teapot Dome, Samuel Insull (massive securities fraud), and the dramatic court martial of the military aviator Billy Mitchell. The authors have written this book for a broad audience -- their writing style is clear and articulate, even on the legal issues involved in the trials. One doesn't have to be a lawyer to understand the cases. If you think the nineties have witnessed great trials, wait till you read this book. Many of the ninties trials look like fluff in comparison to those in which participants like Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan argued key issues that continue to affect us today. "Historians Grant and Katz . . . offer objective but dramatically narrated accounts of ten major trials that reflected the fierce crosswinds of change in the US in the tumultuous 20s. . . . [the] cases [are] ably recounted by the authors." -- Kirkus. "A detailed, lively and even-handed account. . . . What distinguishes this book are excerpts from trial testimony and the authors' discussions of historical developments such as sex in the cinema, teaching evolution in schools, and xenophobia. The book shows how each trial . . . still has significance in American culture. . . . The authors have done their research, and the book deserves a wide audience." -- Harry Charles, Attorney at Law, Library Journal. "In the scandal-prone 1920s, celebrity athletes, gangsters, politicians, movie stars and magnates found themselves defendants in marquee trials that fascinated the American public. . . . foreshadows infamous trials to come." -- Publishers Weekly. "The authors focus on 10 trials in the 1920s that reflected not only popular opinions and concerns but also the values and conflicts within the nation at the time." -- Booklist.]
Herman of Tournai. The Restoration of the Monastery of Saint Martin of Tournai. [Lynn Nelson, trans., intro., & notes] Catholic University of America Pr. 1996 [An intriguing, at times entertaining account, of life in Flanders in the late eleventh, early twelfth century by a monk and one-time abbot at St. Martin's. His stories are rich in color and cover a whole range of the human experience in the life of the restored monastary and its surrounding community. A web site has been constructed which supports this book with the original Latin text, maps, illustrations and other supporting materials. By putting all these collateral materials on a web site, they keep the cost of publishing this book reasonable. To visit this web site, click here.]
Hite, Katherine. When the Romance Ended: Leaders of the Chilean Left, 1968-1998. Columbia Univ. Pr. 2000 [This is a look at how the identity of the Chilean left has changed, or not changed over thirty years. Based on extensive interviews with leaders of the different left traditions, it also shows their self-perceptions. Some are involved in the rebuilding of Chile's democratic institutions, others are still clueless and roam about with foolish notions long proven noxious, e.g., Jorge Insunza of the Chilean Communist Party. In his interview with Hite he said, "I spent my exile in East Berlin from 1976 to 1980 and then in Moscow from 1981 to 1986. I would not be honest if I didn't tell you that my experiences in the German Democratic Republic reaffirmed my conviction as a communist [p.67]." As someone who visited the prison disguised as a country called the German Democratic Republic during those years, I can tell you just how far off-kilter such an absurdist statement is.]
Hubert, Maria, compiler. Christmas Around the World. Sutton Publ. 1998 [True to the tile, Hubert spans the globe to discuss Christmas traditions, legends, reminiscences, songs, poems, and recipes. She also spans time -- her anthology draws on the celebration of Christmas over the centuries. She divides her sixty pieces into five categories -- Seasonal Celebrations, Religious Ceremonies, Popular Traditions, Preparations and Victuals, Gift-giving and Receiving, plus she introduces the book with her own recollections of the holiday in postwar England. Some of the accounts include the first Christmas Crib of St. Francis, the story of the carol "Silent Night," the oldest celebrations (in Ethiopia), the holiday as celbrated by American presidents, and stories of Christmas in Australia, India, Nigeria, Brazil, Iceland, Ceylon, Russia, Syria, Japan, the South Pole, Canada, New Zealand, and most of the European counries. The book is well illustrated period engravings and photographs.]
Huston, James L. Securing the Fruits of Labor: The American Concept of Wealth Distribution, 1765-1900. Louisiana State Univ. Pr. 1998 ["A learned and original study that obliges us to reconsider the connections between Revolutionary and nineteenth-century America. Few books force us to think in such broad, basic terms." -- Robert Wiebe.]
Irons, Peter. A People's History of the Supreme Court. [Howard Zinn, foreword] Penguin 2000 [orig. 1999]
Kamen, Henry. Early Modern European Society. Routledge 2000 [Publisher supplied info: Surveys the sweeping changes affecting Europe from the end of the fifteenth century to the early decades of the eighteenth century. At a time when the concept of Europe itself was a nebulous idea, the book draws together common features of society from a range of different contexts throughout Europe, from Italy and Spain to Poland and Russia. Focusing on the two themes of the basic social structures of Europe over the period, and aspects of change in social attitudes, the author examines the significance of broad community-based norms and the development of social disciplines at all levels. Drawing on the great success of his earlier works, The Iron Century (1971) and European Society, 1500-1700, as well as a large number of other recent writings, Kamen includes discussion on: European identities, frontiers and language; leisure, work and migration; religion, ritual and witchcraft; the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie and the poor; gender roles, and social discipline and absolutism. Originally published in 19XX, this book is still available in a hardcover edition.]
Kamen, Henry. The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision. Yale Univ. Pr. 1999 [Finally, a balanced, accurate accounting of the Spanish Inquisition! The New York Times Book Review even named it a "Notable Book of 1998." "[This book is] the best general book on the Spanish Inquisition both for its range and its depth of information. . . . [Kamen] reaffirms his contention that an all-powerful, torture-mad Inquisition is largely a nineteenth-century myth." -- Richard L. Kagan, New York Times Book Review. "Kamen has written a fair and judicious account of the Inquisition, its political background, its techniques, its impact and its open questions. [He] has produced a mature and focused statement that will certainly challenge some of the shibboleths of Inquisition discussion." -- Jay Harris, Forward. "Kamen has fashioned an extensive survey that dispels some very old stereotypes. Without minimizing its disastrous effects on Spain's Jewish population, Kamen convincingly argues that the Inquisition was not as malevolent --- or active -- as its reputation." -- Publishers Weekly. Originally published in 1997, this book is still available in a hardcover edition.]
Kittrie, Nicholas N. & Eldon D. Wedlock, Jr., eds. The Tree of Liberty: A Documentary History of Rebellion and Political Crime in America: Volume 1: Colonial Era to World War II, Revised Edition. Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr. 1998 [This work is built around more than 400 documents that chronicle how challenges to the government and authority have shaped the nation's thought, history, and freedom. An introductory note places each document in its historical context. A concordence allows readers to trace the development of specific issues over time. It was originally published in 1986. "Far and away the most comprehensive and carefully selected sourcebook of its kind. The book should be indispensable to every student of law and history." -- Henry Steele Commager.]
Kittrie, Nicholas N. & Eldon D. Wedlock, Jr., eds. The Tree of Liberty: A Documentary History of Rebellion and Political Crime in America: Volume 2: Cold War to New World Order, Revised Edition. Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr. 1998 [This work is built around more than 400 documents that chronicle how challenges to the government and authority have shaped the nation's thought, history, and freedom. An introductory note places each document in its historical context. A concordence allows readers to trace the development of specific issues over time. It was originally published in 1986. "A book to be dipped into and used over and over again . . . a trove of information." -- Christian Scienec Monitor.]
Kranz, Gene. Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond. Berkley Books 2001 [This is the national bestseller by the former flight director for NASA made famous by the movie Apollo 13. It was originally published in 2000. "An important addition to the chronicles of America's early space program." -- The Baltimore Sun. "A rich, behind-the-scenes account of the experts who held the lives of America's first space explorers in their hands." -- The Houston Chronicle. "A story not of technology but of technique, a blow-by-blow account of heroic teams overcoming adversity. . . . No matter how many times you read the story fo the Apollo 11 landing, with computer alarms going off and only seconds of fuel left, it is a heart-stopper. Here, Kranz recalls it vividly." -- The Washington Post. "Kranz's account of the electrical fire that killed three Apollo astronauts is seared upon his memory, still, and is among the more moving passages of his anecdotal book. It begins his compelling, behind-the-scenes account of Apollo, what went wrong and how ground control fixed it; the triumph of Apollo 11 and the abortive but heroic Apollo 13; and the brilliance of the last missions that sounded, nonethelesss, a death knell for the glory days of NASA. . . . [Kranz's] vast experience and sincerety carry the day." -- Kirkus Review. "Kranz's account of that barely averted disaster [Apollo 13] evokes the adrenalined mood fo the flight controllers. . . . Plenty of books [and several films] have already tried to depict the space program's excitement; few of their creators had the first-person experience or the attention to detail Kranz has." -- Publishers Weekly. "Kranz takes you through each exciting chapter to the history of spaceflight." -- Jim Lovell.]
Lasby, Clarence G. Eisenhower's Heart Attack: How Ike Beat Heart Disease and Held on to the Presidency. Univ. Pr. of Kansas 1997 ["The research is staggering; the discoveries are startling; the writing is outstanding; the topic is much wider and more important than the title suggests. I give this book my full endorsement, meaning that I wish it had been available to me when I wrote my biography of Ike, because I would have used it intensively. It is eye-opening not only on the state of medicine in 1955 and the politics of medicine in 1955, but on Ike's character, actions, and personality" -- Stephen E. Ambrose. "This is a fascinating book -- a marvelous read and a real contribution to the Eisenhower literature." -- Fred I. Greenstein.]
Leiner, Frederick C. Millions for Defense: The Subscription Warships of 1798. Naval Institute Pr. 1999 "In the aftermath of the "XYZ Affair," America drifted towards war with France. Patriotic citizens (primarily merchants), alarmed by the seizure of American merchantmen by French warships and the lack of a U.S. navy, offered to help build warships by subscription. [This book] chronicles the frenzy of shipbuilding in ten ports with minimal governmental supervision. Leiner sets the stage for this activity, then discusses how it was carried out and by whom, what types of ships were constructed, what role they played in the Quasi-War, and what fates befell these vessels. The ships did factor in the conflict as Leiner observes, 'The subscription warships played a large role in the Quasi-War, convoying merchant ships, suppressing the French privateer menace, and occasionally fighting French ships.' This was a unique experiment in national defense and Leiner has a feel for the merchants and politicians, and the ten ships, that brings this intriguing era to life. Of the many books I read for this column, this was one of my favorites, for Leiner is a gifted writer, and he has through prodigious scholarship taught me a great deal about a fascinating period in American history." -- Fritz Heinzen, Paper Wars magazine. ". . . first rate--well researched, well written, and very welcome, as both a fascinating chapter in American naval history, and a fresh way of looking at the nation's crucial first decade. A fine book in every respect." -- David McCullough. ". . . s substantial contribution to the history of the early U.S. Navy. His research is impressive and his style makes the book accessible to a broad audience." -- William S. Dudley. ". . . a captivating account of a lost era of American history. With a grand gift for narrative, Leiner brings to life both the adventure and the tedium of naval warfare in the age of sail. With scrupulous scholarship, he retrieves for us the spirit of an America that is no more--an America where public-minded merchants built ships as veritable patriotic gifts to the nation instead of lobbying for lucrative contracts from the government." -- Michael Zuckerman.]
Lewis, Bernard. Cultures in Conflict: Christians, Muslims, and Jews, in the Age of Discovery. Oxford Univ. Pr. 1995 [A trade paper edition has recently come out.]
Ley, C.D. Portuguese Voyages 1498-1663: Tales from the Great Age of Discovery. Phoenix Pr. (UK)/Sterling (US) 2000 [This book was originally published in 1947.
Lukas, J. Anthony. Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America. Simon &Schuster 1997
MacMillan, Donald. Smoke Wars: Anaconda Copper, Montana Air Pollution, and the Courts, 1890-1920. [William L. Lang, intro.] Montana Historical Society Pr./Falcon Publ. 2000 [This is a look at the environmental battle around the copper mining and smelting communities of Butte and Anaconda, Montana. These communities now host the largest Superfund cleanup site in the US. "We need to read this. This bit of bare-knuckled environmental and political history . . . is alive, just as surely as the arsenic and sulphur compounds it describes still poison the Deer Lodge valley's soils and the water behind Milltown Dam." -- Richard Manning, environmental journalist and author.]
Mancini, Matthew J. On Dies, Get Another: Convict Leasing in the American South, 1866-1928. Univ. of South Carolina Pr. 1996 ["An important study of the rise, operation, and abandonment of convict leasing in the South from the end of the Civil War to the early twentieth century, detailing its political, cultural, and economic impacts. Based on extensive primary research, it provides a state-by-state examination of this means of labor control, one that became important to the southern adjustment to the end of slavery. It is essential reading for all concerned with southern history, black history, and the history of penal institutions." -- Stanley L. Engerman. "Anyone who calls himself a student/scholar of the 'New South,' the Post Reconstruction South, or the post-Civil War South will have to read this book." -- Mark T. Carleton.]
Marchione, Sister Margherita. Yours Is a Precious Witness: Memoirs of Jews and Catholics in Wartime Italy. Paulist Pr. 1997 ["This new book is fantastic and hits the bull'seye! Why did we have to wait fifty years?" -- Robert A. Graham, S.J., former editor of America and one of the editors of eleven volumes of Vatican documents. "Sr. Margherita does indeed offer a 'precious witness' to a story of Gospel love. The author has carefully combined solid historical research with fascinating anecdotal material to shed light on the generous and often sacrificial response of the Church to the horrendous plight of the Jews in Italy during the Holocaust." -- Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishop of New York. ". . . an important and seminal study, and it should be widely published." -- Thomas Yoseloff, Chairman, Associated University Presses. "I am happy to recommend this fine book. It tells a story that needs to be told and tells it well. This book will move, inspire, and challenge anyone who picks it up. It is must reading for general readers, teachers, and students, Jewish and Christian alike." -- Dr. Eugene J. Fisher, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, National Conference of Catholic Bishops. "Your work . . . is a testimony to the charity offered by the Church and Pope Pius XII, who demonstrated his love for justice and peace by a life of prayer, heroic sacrifice, and generosity. May it be a source of meditation for those who insist on misrepresenting the truth." -- Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of the Republic of Italy.]
Marszalek, John F. The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House. Louisiana State Univ. Pr. 2000 [Publisher supplied info: The Eaton Affair was "the" tabloid story of its time. Before the scandal was over, President Jackson's entire Cabinet resigned, duels were threatened, assassinations were attempted, and Jackson's first term was nearly a failure. In [this book] an award-winning author systematically tracks the escalation of events in a story that teems with conspiracy [and] slander. This book was originally published in 1997. ". . . both an amusing and cautionary tale. Parallels between it and those of Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky are far from exact, but all are useful reminders that political Washington ia above all else a snake pit." -- Washington Post. "Reading [this book] is like studying Mark Twain while going down the Mississippi River in a speedboat. So much has changed, so much hasn't." -- USA Today. "A highly readable, fast-paced, and engaging book. . . . It calls attention to the gap between the larger-than-life image of icons such as Jackson and the messy reality of their lives." -- Journal of American History. "What makes this story fascinating is not the commonplace tale of a woman wronged, but the great power wielded by women in early American as the ultimate arbiters of moral rectitude." -- Douglas A. Sylva, The New York Times Book Review. ". . . a vivid evocation of a dramatic episode that preoccupied and temporarily crippled the Jackson administration. . . . Marszalek's absorbing narrative illuminates how much, and how little, Washington and American society have changed. . . ." -- Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 1997.]
McConnell, Stuart. Glorious Contentment:The Grand Army of the Republic, 1865-1900. Univ. of North Carolina Pr. 1997 [orig. 1992. McConnell examines the largest of the Union Army veterans' organizations. A powerful political lobby, from its ranks came five postwar presidents. "Glorious Contentment is extremely well written and a worthwhile contribution to the historiography of Gilded Age politics and culture." -- Southern Historian.]
McCullough, David. Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914. Touchstone 1978
Miller, Donald L. City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America. Touchstone/Simon & Schuster 1997 [Publisher supplied info: Thoroughly researched and magnificently written. . . captures all the drama of Chicago's growth from a desolate fur-trading post in the 1830s to a metropolis that by 1890 rivaled New York City. "Brims with life, with people, surprises, and with stories--and stories within stories--all worth telling." -- David McCullough. (Unfortunately, the hardcover, originally published in 1996, is out-of-print.) Try the Alibris link at the top of this page to find a copy.]
Mitchell, Franklin D. Harry S. Truman and the News Media: Contentious Relations, Belated Respect. Univ. of Missouri Pr. 1998 [Mitchell chronicles how a once unpopular president, generally treated in a hostile manner by the news media (who predicted "Dewey Defeats Truman" in 1948), manged to overcome such hostility and achieve public approval and basically favorable press.]
Montgomery, Maureen E. Displaying Women: Spectacles of Leisure in Edith Wharton's New York. Routledge 1998 [Using numerous contemporary sources, including etiquette manuals, society papers and columns, letters, diaries, magazines and novels, Montgomery examines the custom and culture of New York "society" women in the years 1870-1920. I would be remiss if I don't mention the captivating cover art -- the contrasts of Japanese attire and art in the light with darker, more traditonally western attire/images in the background is a real eye-catcher. It is a painting from 1910 titled The New Necklace by William McGregor Paxton which hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. "The leisured world of society women in Edith Wharton's New York may have disappeared as completely as Schliemann's Troy or Imperial Rome, but it is brought vividly to life by Maureen Montgomery in this fascinating study of of a rigidly and artificially ordered culture that brought women curiously unexpected advantages as well as deadly drawbacks." -- Louis S. Auchincloss. "Finally! A study of the truly elite women of the turn of the century metropolis. . . ." -- Ellen Carol DuBois, UCLA.]
Mossinger, Rosemarie. Woodleaf Legacy: The Story of a California Gold Rush Town. Carl Mautz Publ. 1995 [Mossinger has done a commendable job tracing the history of the Woodleaf area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. She begins in 1760 with its origins as a village of the Maidu tribe named Pakan'yani and continues through the Gold rush, its years as a resort, and finally in its role as a camp operated by an international Christian organization. One of the most fascinating parts of the book is the chapter on the years 1875-1888 and the notorious gentleman stagecoach robber, Black Bart. Even a couple of the poems he left with the emptied express boxes are included in this book. For example:
I've labored long and hard for bread
For honor and for riches
But on my corns too long you've tred
You fine haired sons of b-----s.
Black Bart, the Po8
This oversized book is also very well-illustrated. "Many research experts manage to write up their findings in a style that is nearly as dry and uninteresting as the material that they are studying, but Rosemarie has the unique ability to get to the heart of her investigation in very human terms and then to express it in a most engaging and readable style. The author has included an excellent selection of old wood engravings, photographs, maps and her own pen-and-ink drawings." -- DeWitt Whistler Jayne, Professor Emeritus in Humanities, California State University, Sacramento.]
Mushabac, Jane & Angela Wigan. A Short and Remarkable History of New York City. Fordham Univ. Pr. 1999 [ "Finally, a short history of New York City, using the broad strokes of a simple chronology interspersed with social and cultural information. Fun!" -- Ric Burns. "This deft and delightful sprint through New York City's history is filled with key facts, remarkable curiosities, strong viewpoints and fabulous illustrations. The result is an irresistible compendium for Gotham mavens and newcomers alike." -- Phillip Lopate. "This year-by-year chronicle offers the reader a mix of delightful vignettes, fascinating information, and engaging illustrations. This is a feast for any New York history buff." -- Morris Dickstein. "Interesting fact-nuggets, beaded with lively commentaries and images, make for a handy, instructive, and entertaining time line of New York's history." -- Mike Wallace. This book was published simultaneously in a hardcover edition.]
Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Early Centuries. Knopf 1989 [The first volume of Norwich's massive history of Byzantine Empire.]
Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Apogee. Knopf 1992 [The second volume of Norwich's massive history of Byzantine Empire.]
Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. Knopf 1996 [The third, and concluding, volume of Norwich's massive history of Byzantine Empire.]
Norwich, John Julius. A Short History of Byzantium. Knopf 1997 [An abridgment of Norwich's massive three-volume history of Byzantine Empire. "If Byzantium is less familiar today than ancient Greece or the Roman Empire, that is no fault of John Julius Norwich. . . . In his shorter telling of the history between the founding of Constantinople in 330 and its fall in 1453, Lord Norwich has sacrificed none of the virtues of the longer work: lively narration and a taste for the eccentric anecdote and revelatory detail." -- Michael Anderson, The New York Times Book Review.]
Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe, 500-1453. [History of Civilization Series] Phoenix Pr. (UK) 2000/Sterling Publ. (US) 2001 [Obolensky offers a comprehensive historical account of the relations--political, diplomatic, ecclesiastical, economic and cultural--between the Byzantine Empire and the peoples of Eastern Europe. He shows how during the early Middle Ages there developed a community of nations which began to share a common cultural tradition. Obolensky calls this international community the "Byzantine Commonwealth." His work features 93 pictures and ten maps. This book was originally published in 1971.]
Oldenbourg, Zoe. The Crusades. [Anne Carter, trans.] Phoenix Pr. (UK)/Sterling Publ. (US) 2001 [This is a massive history (650 pages) of the three first Crusades, and Frankish Syria and the kingdom of Jerusalem up to the time of its conquest by Saladin. It was originally published in France in 1965 and was translated by Anne Carter.]
Our Favorite Toys. Acorn Media 1998 [NOTE: VHS Video. This is an enjoyable look back at the toys loved by baby boomers which became classics and are still popular today. Eight toys are the focus of this 52 minute tape -- Barbie Dolls, G.I. Joe, Slinky, Matchbox Cars, Etch-A-Sketch, Twister, Ant Farms, and Radio Flyer wagons. There is great period videotape of the toys in use, their commercials, plus the camera gets behind the scenes and visits the toys' developers and their factories. One finally gets to see what is inside the Etch-A-Sketch and how it works! Also impressive is the way Matchbox engineers study a car so as to make a precise duplicate. Daniel Stern (of The Wonder Years) is the narrator. Only available from Amazon.com.]
Parkman, Francis. The Francis Parkman Reader. [Samuel Eliot Morison, ed., intro. & notes] Da Capo Pr. 1998 [This is a collection of Parkman's writings on early North American colonial history edited by Morison that was originally published in 1955. "Compared with [Parkman's] writings, most other histories are as interesting as last week's newpaper." -- American Historical Review. "Parkman was one of the first literary giants of America and his writing still stands - vigorous, beautifully polished, with the crunch of feet on frozen snow, the acrid smell of camp fires, the fresh wind blowing through dark forests. He breathed life into history on a grand scale." -- Christian Science Monitor. "The combination of Parkman and Morison is an irresistible idea. It was probably a mandatory one too, for the difficulties of fairly representing Parkmans's great history in a single volume were so formidable that perhaps only Mr. Morison could have brought it off. He has done so triumphantly." -- Bernard DeVoto, New England Quarterly.]
Parry, Richard. Trial by Ice: The True Story of Murder and Survival on the 1871 Polaris Expedition. Ballantine 2001 ["Vivid. . . . Suspense builds as Parry describes the events leading up to [the] 'murder,' then climaxes in horrifying detail. . . . An enticing account." -- Publishers Weekly. "Drawing on government records, survivor accounts, and hisown knowledge of the Arctic, [Parry] delivers a harrowing narrative enlivened by prose that conveys the full force of nature bearing down on man. . . . An extraordinary real-life adventure of men battling the elements and themselves, told with ice-cold precision." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review).]
Pelikan, Jaroslav. Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture. Yale Univ. Pr. 1999 [Pelikan looks at the impact of Jesus on cultural, political, social, and economic history. This book was originally published in 1985 and for this edition it has a new preface by the author. "A rich and expansive description of Jesus' impact on the general history of culture. . . . Believers and skeptics alike will find it a sweeping visual and conceptual panorama." -- John Koenig, New York Times Book Review. "An enlightening and often dramatic story . . . as stimulating as it is informative." -- John Gross, New York Times. "There is every reason why this book should become a long-lasting bestseller. While Pelikan presents Jesus as a kind of universal cultural hero, his book is also a factual, informative history of Christianity, every chapter mirroring an age as it was drawn to Jesus, and illustrating the artistic, literary, and spiritual form that the attraction took. . . . A rare book." -- Thomas Molnar, National Review.]
Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. Penguin Books 2001 [This book was originally published in 2000. "As both a historical companion to Moby-Dick and perhaps the most thrilling sea tale of all time, [this book] speaks to the same issues of class, race and our relationship to nature that permeate the classic works of Melville." -- Tampa Tribune & Times. "[This book] brings a wrenching tale of death and destruction magnificently to life. In addition to being and incredibly gripping tale of survival, Philbrick's book is an amazingly intimate and detailed look at life aboard a nineteenth-century whaling ship. Much as Melville did in Moby-Dick, the author takes the reader and makes him part of the crew." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Reading of the disaster in Philbrick's book, you don't wonder why Melville was captivated by it: What happened to the Essex and its men is fodder for an adventure story as nerve-wracking as the ill-fated expeditions that make modern bestsellers like The Perfect Storm and Into Thin Air. It is suspensful, heartbreaking and sickening, rife with the kind of human folly and cultural hubris that allow readers to imagine how they would escape such a horrid fate, and make young novelists recklessly philosophical." -- L.A. Weekly. "A book that gets in your bones. . . . Philbrick has created and eerie thriller from a centuries-old tale." -- The New York Times.]
Pipes, Richard. Three "Whys" of the Russian Revolution. Vintage Books 1997 [orig. 1995.]
Ranger, Terence. Voices from the Rocks: Nature, Culture & History in the Matopos Hills of Zimbabwe. Indiana Univ. Pr. 1999 ["Terence Ranger's Revolt in Southern Rhodesia 1896-97 opened out decades of important debate about religion and violence in the early colonial encounter. This book is its challenging, much awaited sequel at the very cutting edge of postcolonial studies. Ranger brings us up to date, right to the stop press news. . . ." -- Richard Werbner. This book was simultaneously published in a hardcover edition and is available from Amazon.com.]
Rees, Nigel. Brewer's Quotations: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Casell (UK) 1997/Sterling (US) 1998 [Originally published in 1994, this book is a wonderful reference for determining who said, or did not say what. Rees, an authority on the popular use of language in slogans, clichés, idioms, and quotations, has great fun elaborating on where famous sayings really come from. Whether politicians, philosophers, generals, and writers of ancient times or Hollywood actors of the present, Rees separates fact from fiction, myth, legend, and fable. Before you quote someone you are sure uttered some statement or other, check it out first in this delightful work. The origins of the quote may just surprise you. As Rees himself quotes: "With just enough of learning to misquote." -- Lord Byron, "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers" (1809). "Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first misquoter of it." -- R.W. Emerson, "Letters and Social Aims" (1876), 'Quotations and Originality' (misquoted). "Misquotation is. . . the pride and privelage of the learned. A widely-read man never quotes accurately." -- Hesketh Pearson, "Common Misquotations" (1937). "Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted." -- ibid.]
Roland, Charles P. Louisiana Sugar Plantations During the Civil War. [John David Smith, new foreword] Louisiana State Univ. Pr. 1997 [orig. 1957. A look at how the Civil War nearly brought about the extinction of southern Louisiana's sugarcane industry. The tumultuous events following secession, including the blockade and later occupation by Union forces, combined with emancipation so reduced production that it took twenty-five years before it would be restored to its prewar level.]
Royster, Charles. The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company: A Story of George Washington's Time. Knopf 1999 [Publisher supplied info: In this absorbing narrative Charles Royster traces the rise and fall of the eighteenth-century transatlantic culture that was built on the insatiable demand in Europe for Virginia tobacco and the equally insatiable American demand for European manufactured goods. Moving from the plantations of Virginia and Antigua to the warehouses of London and Glasgow, from the Gold Coast of Africa to the valleys of the Allegheny Mountains, from the iron furnaces of southern Wales to the subscribers' room of Lloyd's of London, Royster gives us the story of the Dismal Swamp Company, a fantastically delusional enterprise that proposed draining and developing a vast morass along the Virginia-North Carolina border. He writes about the many schemers and dreamers (including George Washington, Robert "King" Carter, two William Byrds, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Robert Morris) who failed to amass their desired fortunes, and a few realists (Samuel Gist, Dr. Thomas Walker, and Anthony Bacon) who succeeded, but at the dire expense of others. And we see the breakdown of this culture and the transition to a more democratic, though similar, system after the Revolution. "Brilliantly conceived and brilliantly executed, rich in detail and broad in its implications, the book is one to be read with pure pleasure. It is also one to be treasured as a permanent addition to the literature of America's past." -- W. W. Abbot, Editor Emeritus of The Papers of George Washington. "Imagine Barbarians at the Gate with lace cuffs. Charles Royster's tale of eighteenth-century mischief among tobacco magnates on the colonial frontier reads better than most historical novels, full of gossip and wit and Royster's trademark exhaustive research. Let some of Virginia's 'First Families' start spinning in their graves!" -- Wilton Barnhardt. "Where George Washington failed, Charles Royster triumphs by reclaiming Virginia's Great Dismal Swamp in this extraordinary tale of transatlantic intrigue, commercial speculation, and revolution. Enormously captivating . . . a narrative of stunning breadth and imagination." -- A. Roger Ekirch. "His richly detailed, circuitous saga makes for dense, satisfying reading." -- Paul Hughes, Amazon.com. "a beautifully written and insightful evocation of the rich world of late-eighteenth- and very-early-nineteenth-century Virginia." -- Jack P. Greene. "Only a talent as original and creative as Charles Royster's could produce this magnificent book. His intricate, often hilarious narrative of the Dismal Swamp Company offers sobering insight into the curious commingling of greed and optimism, of exploitation and idealism, in George Washington's America." -- Drew R. McCoy.]
Russell, John Malcolm. From Nineveh to New York: The Strange Story of the Assyrian Reliefs in the Metropolitan Museum and the Hidden Masterpiece at Canford School. Yale Univ. Pr. [This is an amazing story presented in a beautiful book. Russell recounts Sir Austen Henry Layard's rediscovery of ancient Assyria and its fabled capital, Ninevah. The story is filled with imperialism, genius, romance, big-money auctions, the competition between curators and millionaires, etc. For some of the very positive reviews of this colorful story click on the Amazon.com link below. Yet let me emphasize how well Yale did producing this book. The oversized hardcover is filled with wonderful color and b&w photographs and illustrations.]
Scullard, Howard H. The Etruscan Cities and Rome. Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr. 1998 [The author examines the cities of Etruria, which was the leading civilization on the Italian peninsula before Rome rose to power. Although eventually defeated by the Romans, the Etruscans would have a significant influence on the development of Roman political and social institutions. The book is well illustrated with about with about 150 photographs, maps, and figures. This book was originally published in 1967."Scullard's command of scholarship and his ability to evaluate all types of evidence are combined with an exemplary clarity and language: this is an impressive and highly useful book. . . . Scullard moves with controlled ease through details of archaeological evidence, the vague references of literary sources and bits of linguistic data." -- Doris Taylor Bishop, Classical World. "Comprehensive, a helpful, sensible, and well aware of current discoveries and research. . . . Professor Scullard, with the help of 120 good plates, has had the excellent idea of treating [the cities] not only as a group but also as a number of distinct idiosyncratic units. His views on the eternally discussed major questions are always prudent." -- Times Literary Supplement. "A description of each site is enhanced by a plan and by photographs of the major remains of buildings, and finds, and works of art. Descriptions are correlated with available testimony of ancient writers. Thus the book is both a 'travel book' and a history of the individual cities." -- Inez Scott Ryberg, American Historical Review.]
Simpson, Brooks D. The Reconstruction Presidents. Univ. Pr. of Kansas 1998 ["A thoughtful reminder both of the limits of the possible in Reconstruction and of the need to expand the agenda of inquiry beyond the concept of race in the minds of the nation's presidents. Simpson has a fine sense of the politics of the age, an age where the demands of politics propelled policy making profoundly." -- Phillip Shaw Paludan. "A valuable and lively account of Reconstruction as a national policy problem. A very accessible perspective on a complicated, even intractable, episode in American history that highlights the differences in each man's policies and styles of leadership." -- Michael Perman.]
Simpson, Elizabeth. The Spoils of War: World War II and Its Aftermath: The Loss, Reappearance, and Recovery of Cultural Property. Abrams 1997 [Publisher supplied info: A vast amount of cultural property was displaced as a result of World War II. Paintings, sculpture, decorative art, archaeological artifacts, rare books and manuscripts, musical instruments and scores, religious objects, and memorabilia of every description were lost or stolen. This book explores the ongoing debate over these properties and their true ownership. 123 illustrations, 25 in color.]
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I. November 1916: The Red Wheel/Knot II. [H. T. Willetts, trans.] Farrar Straus & Giroux 1999 [The second work of a trilogy leading to the Russian Revolution, this book is the sequal to August 1914: The Red Wheel/Knot I. Here Solzhenitsyn covers the events between October 27 and November 17, 1916. "Cutting back and forth between the Russian frontlines, the fiercely divided Duma, an increasingly seditious peasantry, and various revolutionary groups, November 1916 masterfully re-creates the bubbling undercurrent of violence and cataclysmic change that would erupt in just a few short months. From Nicholas and Alexandra in St. Petersburg to Lenin in Switzerland, and a whole host of fictional characters in between, Solzhenitsyn brings the people, the problems, and the era to life." -- Margaret Prior, Amazon.com. ". . .an impressive accomplishment, and H.T. Willetts has ably translated it from the Russian. . . . ambitious, panoramic yet intimate, prodigiously researched, invested with a strong sense of verisimilitude. One senses that for the many dozens of characters who appear in Solzhenitsyn's 1,014 pages, November 1916 must actually have been something like the way it is described in this all-embracing book." -- Richard Bernstein, The New York Times. ". . . a marvelous tapestry of occurrences, both factual and fictitious, that conveys life in Russia during this period. He focuses on a number of well-developed characters involving all aspects of Russian life at this time, including the peasantry, intelligentsia, gentry revolutionaries, and soldiers at the front. These characters' lives intermingle with the lives of real historical personages, such as Tsar Nikolas and Tsarina Aleksandra, fiercely struggling to save the dynasty; politicians, arguing in the Duma; and Lenin, plotting revolution in Zurich. Through these intertangled lives, Solzhenitsyn presents a wonderfully epic portrayal of life in the very last vestiges of pre-revolutionary Russia. Despite the heady historical matter (for which the author himself apologizes!), this distinguished tome is a worthy sequel to its exciting predecessor its publication definitely qualifies a literary event." -- Michael Spinella, Booklist. "The Russian novel has always been packed with dogma, assertion, politics and ideology. . . . So, far from being a querulous eccentric, Solzhenitsyn is firmly situated in its mainstream." -- John Bayley, The New York Times Book Review.]
Spence, Jonathan D. The Chan's Great Continent: China in Western Minds. Norton 1998 [Publisher supplied info: China has transfixed the West since the earliest contacts between these civilizations. Now Jonathan Spence, our foremost historian of Chinese politics and culture, tells us, in his elegant new book, how the West has understood China over seven centuries. Ranging from Marco Polo's own depiction of China and the mighty Kublai in the 1270s to the China sightings of three twentieth-century writers of acknowledged genius -- Kafka, Borges, and Calvino -- Spence explores Western thought on China through a remarkable array of expression. Peopling Spence's account are Iberian adventurers, Jesuit missionaries, Enlightenment synthesizers, spinners of the dreamy cult of Chinoiserie, American observers such as Bret Harte and Mark Twain, and diplomats from Lord Macartney to Henry Kissinger. Their visions, alternately coarse and subtle, generous and vicious, outline the West's image as readily as they do China's. China has commanded the attention of the West for seven centuries, and here Spence once again compels our attention with his new history of China's presence in Western minds. "A veteran China watcher. . . Spence offers a unique perspective on the Celestial Empire, basing his book on material he presented as a series of Yale lectures (which were "expected to be scholarly enough to meet some basic academic requirements, but accessible to anyone"). . . . He posits that China fascinates people today as it has fascinated Westerners since we laid eyes on that mysterious land. In analyzing Western reactions to China from the thirteenth century to the present, reactions ranging from imaginative to stereotypical to informed, Spence pores over diplomatic reports, correspondence, travelogues, novels, drama, poetry, and film. . . . An edifying and engrossing book that discriminating readers will flock to." -- Brad Hooper, Booklist. "Mr. Spence tells the story well, whether moving deftly among his many subjects or unearthing great moments." -- William J. Dobson, The Wall Street Journal. "This slim and (because Spence hoped to avoid a catalogue effect) deliberately less-than-comprehensive volume skims across the material like a skipping stone. The Chan's Great Continent is an entertaining journey." -- Judith Shapiro, The Washington Post Book World. Also available from Amazon.com.]
Sterling, Dorothy, ed. Speak Out in Thunder Tones: Letters and Other Writings by Black Northerners, 1787-1865. Da Capo 1998 [Originally published in 1973, this book collects the letters, diaries, memoirs, speeches, poems, songs, newspaper articles, and official documents from both famous and lesser-known black Americans. (There are even advertisements, including one from a News Orleans black community newspaper in French looking for black volunteers for the Union army.) Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth are featured of course, but so are Paul Cuffe (owner of a fleet of merchant ships), James Forten (war veteran, inventor, and one of the wealthiest men in America), Phillis Wheatly (a poet), Ira Aldridge (a great Shakespearean actor), and many others from all walks of life, e.g., sailors, pioneers, mothers, and freed and fugitive slaves. On of my favorite pieces is a mathematical puzzle included in a rhyme written by noted astronomer and mathematician, Benjamin Banneker (p. 46). If all you know about black history is slavery, then this book is well worth your reading. "A valuable book. . . that should be read by anyone seeking an understanding of the roots of the African-American experience." -- Library Journal. "Completely absorbing. . . . records the courageous exhortation and the despairing lament of an early period in a long struggle yet to be resolved in the heart of America." -- Newsday. "This book reveals the intellectual effort, social/political action, and personal achievement generated by black communities in the North from shortly after the Revolution to the end of the Civil War. Scores of individuals, women as well as men, tell of the pains and pleasures of being free and black in a slave society." -- Ebony. Also available from Amazon.com.]
Suchlicki, Jaime. Cuba: From Columbus to Castro and Beyond, Fourth Edition. Brassey's 1997 [This is a revised and updated history of Cuba which now offers some speculation as to what Cuba may look like after Castro. Suchlicki also includes a fourteen-page annotated suggested reading list. "Readers of the fourth edition will find the work graced by a final chapter assessing the current status and future prospects of Fidel Castro that is in itself well worth the price of admission." -- Irving Louis Horowitz
Detailed and sophisticated, written in a vivid style (it reads like a novel), well-balanced and objective." -- Carmelo Mesa-Lago
"A readable and concise, but very thorough and scholarly, account of historical events in Cuba. . . . A very useful addition to the literature. . . ." -- Federico Gil. Also available from Amazon.com.]
Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico. Touchstone Books 1995 [orig. 1993. A superb, balanced account of the years 1519-1521 when two worlds collided.]
Thomas, Hugh. The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440-1870. Touchstone/Simon and Schuster 1998 [This is the trade paperback edition of the very well received, comprehensive, history of the Atlantic slave trade. Originally published in 1997, this book is still available in a hardcover edition from Amazon.com.]
Thomas, Hugh. World History: The Story of Mankind from Prehistory to the Present. HarperCollins 1996
Turner, Hy B. When Giants Ruled: The Story of Park Row, New York's Great Newspaper Street. [Communications and Media Studies Series, no. 2] Fordham Univ. Pr. 1999 [This work was simultaneously published in a hardcover edition and is available from Amazon.com.]
Van Vugt, William E. Britain to America: Mid-Nineteenth-Century Immigrants to the United States. [Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Centennial Series] Univ. of Illinois Press 1999 [The author looks at who came to America from Great Britain and why during the years 1820-1860. "Lucid and coherent. . . . Van Vugt offers a very perceptive picture of British immigration to the U.S. during the crucial years of early industrialization." -- Robert P. Swierenga. "The strength of Van Vugt's work lies in his assessment of the economic issues, the forces for migration, the settlement and work patterns in the United States, and especially the very interesting material he has on rural life in England and farmers in America. His book is especially important because he is writing about an immigrant group that has not received extensive coverage by historians." -- David Reimers. This book was simultaneously published in a hardcover edition and is available from Amazon.com.]
Zbarsky, Ilya. Lenin's Embalmers. [Samuel Hutchinson, contributor; Barbara Bray, trans.] Harvill Pr. 1999
Znamenski, Andrei A. Shamanism and Christianity: Native Encounters with Russian Orthodox Missions in Siberia and Alaska, 1820-1917. [Contributions to the Study of World History, no. 70] Greenwood Pr. 1999 [Znamenski looks at the interaction between Russian missionaries and the Chukchi and Altaians in Siberia, and between the missionaries and the Dena'ina Indians in Alaska. The Chukchi disregarded the missionary message, the Dena'ina embraced it, and the Altaians selectively borrowed from the Orthodox religion.]
Zoch, Paul A. Ancient Rome: An Introductory History. Univ. of Oklahoma Pr. 2000 [This book covers the history and mythology of Rome from its legendary beginnings with Aeneas up through the demise of the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 180). This is a basic, survey history that makes a good introduction for those new to Roman history. It tends to give more weight to the political and military aspects of these years. " . . . a concise, straightforward chronology of Roman history. . . . He effectively stresses both the political and the moral lessons we can learn from various episodes in Roman history, and he has a knack for breathing life into some of the more mundane topics in the classical period. . . . it will provide the general reader . . . with a basic knowledge of the key events, personalities, and forces that shaped the republic and the early empire." -- Jay Freeman, Booklist, August 19, 1998. "A story-filled narrative of ancient Rome, focusing on political and military history. . . . [A] good first book for readers wanting to make the acquaintance of these cultural ancestors." -- Houston Chronicle. Originally published by Oklahoma in 1998, this book is still available in a hardcover edition.]
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