Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution

Nathaniel Philbrick. Philbrick will be a candidate for another award with this ingenious, bottom-up look at Boston from the time of the December 1773 Tea Party to the iconic June 1775 battle. Bunker Hill was the first and bloodiest engagement of the eight years of fighting that followed. A rewarding approach to a well-worn subject, rich in anecdotes, opinion, bloodshed and Byzantine political maneuvering.-- Kirkus

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The Enlightenment: And Why It Still Matters

Anthony Pagden. Pagden demonstrates the breadth and depth of his knowledge and his impeccable research of the period we refer to as the Enlightenment. Seeking to define men and their relationships with nature, and especially with each other, led to this scientific revolution; it was an intellectual process, a philosophical project and a social movement. Pagden impressively illustrates the significant discussions that took place as the scientists, historians and other intellectuals of the period tried to fathom man's nature and subject dogma to reason. A book that should be on every thinking person's shelf--the perfect primer for anyone interested in the development of Western civilization.--Kirkus

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The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia

Andrei Lankov. Examination of North Korea's misery-producing dictatorship, why it cannot last and how to replace it. A Russian historian who spent time in North Korea as an exchange student and lived through his own country's break with Soviet authoritarianism, Lankov (History/Koomkin Univ., Seoul; North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea, 2007, etc.) offers an astute look into the lethal absurdities of the North Korean regime, from the time of Great Leader Kim Il-sung to grandson Kim Jong-un. A well-reasoned survey by a scholar who excels at long-term thinking. --Kirkus

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Above the Din of War: Afghans Speak about Their Lives, Their Country, and Their Future-And Why America Should Listen

Peter Eichstaedt. Veteran journalist Eichstaedt delivers from Afghanistan a dismal report on that country's continued disintegration and decline and the failure of U.S. efforts to prevent it. Eichstaedt interviewed Afghans from all walks of life: government officials, Taliban leaders, shopkeepers, mullahs, would-be suicide bombers, victims of self-immolation and others. Heartbreaking and spellbinding dispatches from a country descending into madness.--Kirkus

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