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History Books Roundup: Reliving the Past

In many ways, history defines us. When we can examine where we have been, we often can see a path to the future. Whether we’re reading books about battles and wars, political and personal triumphs and failures, or tales of places and moments that were significant, stories built on history give us a chance to assess the past with a new perspective. In this monthly Bookreporter.com feature, we take a look at some of the hardcover and paperback releases in the history genre that we think will be of interest to our readers.

October 2016

October's roundup of History titles includes Beth Macy's TRUEVINE, the true story of two African-American brothers who were kidnapped and displayed as circus freaks, and whose mother endured a 28-year struggle to get them back; INDESTRUCTIBLE by John R. Bruning, the remarkable World World II story of a renegade American pilot who fights against all odds to rescue his family --- imprisoned by the Japanese --- and revolutionizes modern warfare along the way; BEATLES '66, Steve Turner's riveting look at the transformative year in the lives and careers of the legendary group whose groundbreaking legacy would forever change music and popular culture; and EINSTEIN'S GREATEST MISTAKE, an intimate biography from David Bodanis that touches on the romances and rivalries of the celebrated physicist, as much as on his scientific goals.

September 2016

September's roundup of History titles includes KILLING THE RISING SUN, the new book in Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard's Killing series, in which the authors recount "how America vanquished World War II Japan"; Candice Millard's HERO OF THE EMPIRE, a thrilling narrative of Winston Churchill's extraordinary and little-known exploits during the Boer War; PEARL HARBOR, Craig Nelson's gripping and definitive account of the event that changed 20th-century America, published in time for the 75th anniversary; GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SECRET SPY WAR by John A. Nagy, the untold story of how George Washington took a disorderly, ill-equipped rabble and defeated the best trained and best equipped army of its day in the Revolutionary War; and THE BIRTH OF A NATION, the official tie-in to the highly acclaimed film of the same name, which surveys the history and legacy of Nat Turner, the leader of one of the most renowned slave rebellions on American soil, while also exploring his relevance to contemporary dialogues on race relations.

August 2016

August's roundup of History titles includes AMERICAN HEIRESS, Jeffrey Toobin's definitive account of the kidnapping, crimes and trial of Patty Hearst, which defined an insane era in American history; A SQUARE MEAL by Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe, an in-depth exploration of the greatest food crisis the nation has ever faced --- the Great Depression --- and how it transformed America’s culinary culture; THE BOOK, in which Keith Houston follows the development of writing, printing, the art of illustrations and binding to show how we have moved from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the hardcovers and paperbacks of today; and Brian McGinty's THE REST I WILL KILL, a surprising work of narrative history and detection that illuminates one of the most daring --- and long-forgotten --- heroes of the Civil War: William Tillman, an African-American sailor who was born a free man.

July 2016

July's roundup of History titles includes three books that focus on the Kennedys (BOBBY KENNEDY: The Making of a Liberal Icon, KICK: The True Story of JFK's Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth and VENDETTA: Bobby Kennedy Versus Jimmy Hoffa); THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE by Thomas Harding, a groundbreaking and revelatory new history of Germany, told over a tumultuous century through the story of a small wooden house; Bill Yenne's WHEN TIGERS RULED THE SKY, an in-depth account of the legendary World War II combat group, the Flying Tigers; and THE REAL PETER PAN, Piers Dudgeon's examination of the fascinating and complex relationships among Peter Pan's creator, J.M. Barrie, and the family of boys who inspired his work.

June 2016

June's roundup of History titles includes COMMANDER IN CHIEF, the sequel to Nigel Hamilton's THE MANTLE OF COMMAND, which recounts the astonishing story of FDR's year-long, defining battle with Churchill, as World War II raged in Africa and Italy; NEVER A DULL MOMENT, David Hepworth's rollicking look at 1971 --- the busiest, most innovative and resonant year of the '70s, defined by the musical arrival of such stars as David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Joni Mitchell; DOUGLAS MacARTHUR: AMERICAN WARRIOR by Pulitzer Prize finalist Arthur Herman, the definitive biography of the visionary general who led American forces through three wars and foresaw his nation’s great geopolitical shift toward the Pacific Rim; and HOW THE POST OFFICE CREATED AMERICA, Winifred Gallagher's examination of the postal service's surprising role in our country's political, social, economic and physical development.

May 2016

May's roundup of History titles includes FIVE PRESIDENTS, in which Secret Service agent Clint Hill reflects on his 17 years protecting the most powerful office in the nation, walking alongside Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford; VALIANT AMBITION by Nathaniel Philbrick, a surprising account of the middle years of the American Revolution, and the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold; THE ROMANOVS: 1613-1918, Simon Sebag Montefiore’s gripping chronicle that reveals the secret world of the Romanovs' unlimited power and ruthless empire-building; PAPER, Mark Kurlansky's definitive history of paper and the astonishing ways it has shaped today’s world; and DRIVE!, a revelatory new history of the birth of the automobile from Lawrence Goldstone, who tells the fascinating story of how the internal combustion engine, a “theory looking for an application,” evolved into an innovation that would change history.

April 2016

April's roundup of History titles includes Nathalia Holt's RISE OF THE ROCKET GIRLS, the riveting true story of an elite group of young women who, with only pencil, paper and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design, helped bring about the first American satellites, and made the exploration of the solar system possible; THE NATURALIST, Darrin Lunde's captivating new account of how Theodore Roosevelt’s lifelong passion for the natural world set the stage for America’s wildlife conservation movement and determined his legacy as a founding father of today’s museum naturalism; BRILLIANT BEACONS, an epic history from Eric Jay Dolin that traces the evolution of America's lighthouse system from its earliest days, highlighting the political, military and technological battles fought to illuminate the nation's hardscrabble coastlines; and TEXAS RANGER by John Boessenecker, the first biography to tell the full story of Frank Hamer, the lawman who killed Bonnie and Clyde.

March 2016

March's roundup of History titles includes RIGHTFUL HERITAGE, in which Douglas Brinkley chronicles FDR's essential yet under-sung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of America’s public lands; David Reid's THE BRAZEN AGE, an unparalleled look at the extraordinarily rich culture and turbulent politics of New York City between the years 1945 and 1950; STEALING GAMES, in which Maury Klein explains how the 1911 New York Giants (a team that stole an astonishing 347 bases, a record that still stands more than a century later) embodied a rapidly changing America on the cusp of a faster, more frenetic pace of life; and THE PAPER TRAIL by Alexander Monro, a sweeping and richly detailed history that tells the fascinating story of how paper --- the simple Chinese invention of 2,000 years ago --- wrapped itself around our world.

February 2016

February's roundup of History titles includes WEST OF EDEN, a mesmerizing oral history of Hollywood and Los Angeles from Jean Stein, the author of the contemporary classic EDIE; THE FIRST CONGRESS by Fergus M. Bordewich, which tells the dramatic story of the two remarkable years when George Washington, James Madison and their dedicated colleagues struggled to successfully create our government, an achievement that has lasted to the present day; THE BLACK CALHOUNS, in which Gail Lumet Buckley --- the daughter of actress Lena Horne --- delves deep into her family history, detailing the experiences of an extraordinary African-American family from Civil War to Civil Rights; and Patricia Bell-Scott's THE FIREBRAND AND THE FIRST LADY, which details the story of how a brilliant writer-turned-activist, granddaughter of a mulatto slave, and the first lady of the United States, whose ancestry gave her membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution, forged an enduring friendship that changed each of their lives and helped to alter the course of race and racism in America.

January 2016

January's roundup of History titles includes THE LOST TUDOR PRINCESS by Alison Weir, the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I; THE DEFENDER by Ethan Michaeli, a revelatory narrative of race in America that brings to life the reporters who braved lynch mobs and policemen’s clubs to do their jobs; THEIR PROMISED LAND, Ian Buruma’s account of his grandparents’ enduring love through the terror and separation of two world wars; and James P. Duffy's WAR AT THE END OF THE WORLD, a harrowing account of an epic, yet nearly forgotten, battle of World War II --- General Douglas MacArthur's four-year assault on the Pacific War's most hostile battleground: the mountainous, jungle-cloaked island of New Guinea.