Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/08/2011
ISBN-13: 9780061719516
ISBN-10: 006171951X

Author Edward Dolnick (The Forger's Spell) brings the 17th century to life in this look at the personal and religious ideas of its greatest scientific thinkers (Kepler, Galileo, Newton, and Leibniz). God as "clock-maker" of the universe was central to their worldview, and spiritual curiosity (as much as intellectualism) inspired their efforts to observe, record, and understand the world's innermost workings. Discoveries in astronomy, mathematics, and physics are transformed into a "colorful, entertainingly written and nicely paced" (Kirkus) story of individuals whose ideas changed the world. If you liked Richard Holmes' study of science and culture in Age of Wonder, don't miss this!

Publisher: Crown Publishers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/08/2011
ISBN-13: 9780307591401
ISBN-10: 0307591409

BBC documentarian P.L. Firstbrook traces President Obama's African roots back 500 years to the Luo tribe in a fascinating tour of Kenyan history. This surprisingly substantive treat excels in its portrayals of the Luo tribe's daily life; the tribe's eventual migration from Sudan to Kenya; and Kenya's transition from British to independent rule. New personal insights into the President are limited to brief speculation linking his politically outspoken father's (accidental?) death with those of assassinated Luo dissidents. Although readers interested in Obama's life story will prefer his own Dreams of My Father, fans of African cultural and/or political histories will be very impressed.

Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/25/2011
ISBN-13: 9780385532945
ISBN-10: 0385532946

In a follow-up to his bestseller The Next 100 Years, author and geopolitical guru George Friedman narrows his perceptive gaze to the next ten years. Provocatively observing that America calls itself a democratic republic when its global actions are those of an empire, he argues that we cannot continue hoping to enjoy the benefits of both roles while selectively ignoring their respective costs and responsibilities. Friedman delivers eagle-eyed insight into how and why events of the coming decade will irrevocably shape global, military, and political affairs for the whole century to come.

Publisher: Bantam Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/25/2011
ISBN-13: 9780553806700
ISBN-10: 055380670X

Neptune's Inferno plunges readers into the U.S. Navy's grueling WWII fight to wrest Guadalcanal from Japanese hands. Naval gunners delivered and met deadly fire in close-range, ship-to-ship conflicts; their efforts resulted--after months of brutal conflict--in a remarkable U.S. victory. Interviews with veterans and new primary sources contribute "an almost Homeric quality to the men who met on the sea in steel titans," in this essential history of the U.S. Navy in WWII. The author's other two works are also must-reads on the topic: Ship of Ghosts and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/30/2008
ISBN-13: 9780307335975
ISBN-10: 0307335976

The "Ghost Mountain Boys" of the 32nd Infantry division lacked combat training, basic supplies, and back-up when they were dropped on New Guinea's southern edge and ordered to march overland to push Japanese forces out of Buna, on the far coast. During their 42-day trek, 10,000 died; the majority succumbed to hideous tropical diseases borne in rancid water or septic mud, and complicated by a lack of medical supplies. Despite grisly hardships, the soldiers miraculously attained their goal. Fans of the author's earlier Alaskan adventure The Final Frontiersman will find this grimmer fare. For WWII history buffs, however, it offers a meaningful glimpse into one of the war's lesser-known ordeals.

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Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/09/2009
ISBN-13: 9780374272609
ISBN-10: 0374272603

Thousands of American and Filipino POWs died during the notorious Bataan Death March, victims of atrocious Japanese brutalities. Both comprehensive and nuanced, this unflinching account describes how foot-soldiers (on both sides) paid the ultimate price for decisions made at the highest levels of command. The story of Montana-born American POW Ben Steele provides a moving focal point: his raw, post-war drawings depict the hell that Bataan's survivors endured for another four years in Japanese prison camps. Hampton Sides' Ghost Soldiers is highly recommended as a daring epilogue detailing a desperate rescue mission that finally saved those few remaining POWs.

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Publisher: Harper
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/01/2008
ISBN-13: 9780060598679
ISBN-10: 0060598670

Sherman's (in)famous march cut a swath of death and needless destruction through Civil War Georgia--or did it? This stunningly detailed day-by-day examination of that trek busts cherished myths from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. Don't fear its length--drawing upon first-hand personal letters and diaries of the period, it reads like an engrossing novel (think Alice Randall's The Wind Done Gone, or The Blue and the Gray TV miniseries). The author's clear-eyed, engaging summaries of both Northern and Southern perspectives make it well worth the journey. Hard-core Civil War buffs will especially appreciate daily maps of the march, which accompany the text.

First Chapter  Table of Contents  

Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/01/2005
ISBN-13: 9780061086861
ISBN-10: 006108686X

Napoleon's ill-advised attempt to conquer Moscow during the harsh winter of 1812-1813 fascinatingly illustrates the saying that "how one responds to defeat is as important as how one handles victory." Readers will thrill to historical personalities (like Russian field officer Mikhail Kutozov and Napoleon's daring albeit inadequate Marshall--and brother-in-law--Joachim Murat) as they gain insight into chance events and strategic choices that led to the French army's cold, starving, and dispirited traipse back home. Impeccable research, thoughtful analysis, and engaging writing make this a contender for "best recent study [of the subject] in English" (Publishers Weekly.)

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