Though there are plenty of histories that capture the experiences of the Pilgrims once they landed in the New World (like Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower), this first book from a banker-turned-historian also looks at where the Pilgrims came from and what led them to emigrate to America. Based primarily on information from British archives, this book might be a little challenging for readers new to the topic, but those interested in the religious, political, and entrepreneurial aspects of the Plymouth Pilgrims (or Brownists) will receive a "well-executed, comprehensive overview" (Kirkus Reviews) of the settlers. For a look at the Massachusetts Puritans, who arrived a little later than the Plymouth Pilgrims, try Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates.

Turning his attention from microhistories of foodstuffs (Cod, Salt), bestselling historian Mark Kurlansky focuses on the small Dominican town of San Pedro de Macorís, which has produced some of Major League Baseball's great talents. (One out of every six Dominican MLB players has come from San Pedro, including Julio Franco and Sammy Sosa, who was tainted by the steroid scandal.) In the course of answering the question of why San Pedro has had such success in exporting baseball players, Kurlansky cites the influence of the sugar industry and MLB interest, as well as noting seamier aspects like exploitation and steroid usage. Baseball fans will enjoy this book, as will those interested in Dominican history and culture.

Before Cuba's revolution, Havana was a glittering city where stars like Eartha Kitt and Johnny Mathis performed in fancy hotels and casinos. Built by American gangsters (led by Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano), Havana's nightlife provided gamblers with a place to go and mobsters with a successful money-making scheme--provided they paid off Fulgencio Batista, Cuba's dictator. When Fidel Castro came to power, it was lights out for mob-owned Havana; for the story of Havana's underworld from glittery beginning to bubble-bursting end, try Havana Nocturne.

There are, of course, a plethora of accounts on the Cuban Missile Crisis; this one is notable for its access to Russian archives, which were opened only shortly before this book was first published in 1997. This means that the authors were able to determine and convey Moscow's understanding of Fidel Castro's position and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev's handling of the situation, as well as explore the better-known story of U.S. efforts. And despite the fact that we all know the outcome of the crisis, the chronologically reconstructed events nevertheless build tension. For a more recent book, there's Michael Dobbs' One Minute to Midnight.

"As smooth and refreshing as a well-made daiquiri," says The New York Times of this history of Cuba as seen through a bottle of the Bacardi family's famous rum. The book traces five generations of Bacardis, who served as business and political leaders who also fought for their country's independence and--after Fidel Castro came to power--for their own assets. It's an unusual take on Cuban history, and offers an intriguing look at business in Castro's dictatorship. For another read on a similar topic--a country's history through the eyes of a family-owned booze business--try Linda Himelstein's The King of Vodka, which explores Russia's Smirnov family.

This history of the Cuban Missile Crisis offers something a little different than most do--the perspective of a naval officer posted on one of the antisubmarine destroyers enforcing President Kennedy's blockade of Cuba. This same former officer also interviewed Soviet officers about those dangerous 13 days, and the tale he tells shows just how close the two sides came to nuclear engagement. With profiles of U.S. Comdr. Edward G. Kelley, the U.S.S. Blandy's commanding officer, Soviet Capt. Nikolai Shumkov, who led one of the four Soviet subs in Cuban waters, and Rear Adm. Leonid F. Rybalko in Moscow, this book offers a dramatic story that naval history fans will especially appreciate.

Having defined the upper class in his popular Bobos in Paradise, David Brooks moves on to the middle class in On Paradise Drive. Focusing more on the culture of suburbia than on the mobility of Americans as a whole, this social critique notes the pervasiveness of those things that make a suburb a suburb--the ubiquity of barbecue grills, supermoms, and suburban restaurant chains, among other things--but claims they're not as stereotypical as others would have you believe. Brooks also delves into the qualities that make Americans such consummate consumers. "Amusing and enlightening," says Kirkus Reviews.

Strongly opposed to suburbs that connect office parks, malls, and subdivisions solely by highways, the authors of this book--architects who specialize in designing mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly communities--give voice to a growing movement in North America that aims to put an end to suburban sprawl by returning to pre-World War II planning principles. First published in 2000, Suburban Nation continues in the New Urbanism vein that Jane Jacob's The Death and Life of Great American Cities helped begin. If you're curious about the downsides of suburbia and want to know more about ways to improve it, these two books are great places to begin.

Between 1890 and 1968, thousands of towns across the U.S. established themselves as "sundown towns"--places that, through the use of legal trickery as well as violence and intimidation, kept their populations exclusively white. In addition to a history of these practices, bestselling author James W. Loewen (Lies My Teacher Told Me) explains how this practice of racial exclusion still affects the populations of certain towns today--and may still be in effect. Though it's got a bit of an academic bent, this eye-opening book offers a comprehensive if alarming look at race relations and housing trends in the U.S.

In The Old Neighborhood, broadcast journalist and former host of NPR's "Talk of the Nation" Ray Suarez explores the changing world of American communities, in particular the migration of urban dwellers from the cities to the suburbs in the last 30 years of the 20th century. The consequences of this "flight" have shaped the politics and the social make-up of both cities and suburbs, and Suarez's arguments remain relevant even though the economic climate has changed since 1999, when he first published this book. Full of anecdotes from "the man on the street," this chronicle of urban flight touches on the role of churches, property tax abatements, and insurance companies, and offers "new insights into an old problem" (Booklist).