Lady Bird and Lyndon: The Hidden Story of a Marriage That Made a President

Caroli, Betty Boyd (Get this book)
A touching, sympathetic portrait of a successful marriage despite the agony and the stress, emphasizing Lady Bird Johnson's spectacular inner grit. As an accomplished biographer of several works on presidential wives, Caroli does an impressive job refuting the "doormat" reputation of a humiliated wife to a coarse, philandering Texan by underscoring the symbiotic relationship that mutually sustained the couple through their whole lives. Well done. An engaging dual biography of a most intriguing power couple.--Kirkus

The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin

Myers, Steven Lee (Get this book)
The reptilian, poker-faced former KGB agent, now Russian president seemingly for life, earns a fair, engaging treatment in the hands of New York Times journalist Myers. The author was based in Russia for some years during Vladimir Putin's rise to power, and he clearly knows his material and primary subject, which is very important in the tracking of this slippery conniver, who was in a good place to take power at President Boris Yeltsin's decline in 1999. The author ends with the haunting lyrics from a Great Patriotic War of 1953 song that was conveniently used for the appropriation of the Crimea. A highly effective portrait of a frighteningly powerful autocrat.--Kirkus

The End of Tsarist Russia: The March to World War I and Revolution

Lieven, Dominic (Get this book)
Fresh research at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow (since closed) yields an insightful new look at Russia's pivotal role in the making of World War I. In this massive yet palatable work of research, scholar Lieven, a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, and the British Academy, concentrates on Russian foreign policy as it maneuvered through shifting currents of "modern empire" and nationalism in the years leading up to Russia's entry in the war. The author emphasizes how the notion of imperialism was as pertinent within Europe as outside of it, namely in Austria's regard of Serbia as existing within its own orbit. The Russian empire's internal makeup was enormously complicated, and Lieven painstakingly walks readers through the important precursors—e.g., the revolution of 1905 and the Anglo-Russian entente of 1907—while introducing the key decision-makers. A Russian scholar opens up new, even startling historical connections.--Kirkus

Spain: The Center of the World 1519-1682

Goodwin, Robert (Get this book)
A bright, wide-ranging chronicle of the golden age of the Spanish empire. Though Goodwin denies that he has written a magisterial work filled with scholarly detail but rather a book for the "idle reader," it is a well-researched, intelligent, and easily understood history of the first global empire on Earth. The author divides the work into two sections: "Gold" deals with the historical, economic, and political history, and "Glitter" explores literary and artistic works. Any student of the Renaissance should read this excellent work showing Spain's enormous impact o n the arts and, with her vast American empire, the world.--Kirkus

North Korea Undercover: Inside the World's Most Secret State

Sweeney, John (Get this book)
In 2013, BBC reporter Sweeney traveled to North Korea, posing as a university professor on an eight-day tour with a group from the London School of Economics. Drawing on surreptitiously captured footage, the official tour video, firsthand experiences, and interviews, he constructed a documentary for BBC Panorama. In this enlightening, often irreverent companion volume, he goes into further detail about his time in the isolated country and how it evolved into its current state. One of Sweeney’s primary contentions is that “Kim Jong Un’s talk of nuclear war is a confidence trick... blinding us to a human rights tragedy on an immense scale.” This account is shocking and unsettling, but also darkly entertaining.--Publisher's Weekly

The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza

Blumenthal, Max (Get this book)
An alarming report on Israel's devastating 2014 attack on Gaza. In a narrative based on interviews with citizens, physicians, and others, the Blumenthal writes that the Israeli military "unleashed massive force against the civilian population," killing 2,200 people (mostly Palestinian civilians), wounding over 10,000, and destroying about 18,000 homes. Based on his observations and accounts from survivors, the author charges that the Israeli onslaught targeted Palestinian civilians rather than Hamas fighters. He claims that Israeli soldiers engaged in execution-style killings, deliberately destroyed Gaza City high-rise buildings housing dozens of local media organizations, used Palestinians as human shields, and attacked cemeteries as well as U.N. schools that served as refugee shelters. The war elevated the status of "fundamentalist warriors" in Israel and left a wake of "rage and spreading radicalism" that is c e rtain to bring more military conflict. Explosive, pull-no-punches reporting that is certain to stir controversy. --Kirkus

1920: The Year That Made the Decade Roar

Burns, Eric (Get this book)
In a fascinating work about a remarkable year, former NBC News correspondent Burns shows us what put the roar in the Roaring '20s.The end of World War I brought reactions in the form of anarchy, the birth of jazz, the first Ponzi scheme, Prohibition, women's suffrage and the birth of "mass media." Burns follows it all with verve. In this delightfully readable book, the author expertly shows how those affected by the Great War linked together, nourished each other and really did change the world.--Kirkus

American Warlords: How Roosevelt's High Command Led America to Victory in World War II

Jordan, Jonathan W. (Get this book)
Attorney Jordan delivers another page-turning chronicle of World War II. Small details and little-mentioned facts make this a highly informative look at four men in charge in Washington, D.C., during that time. Throughout, the author provides astute and clever portrayals of the leaders, including Churchill's pretense to his ancestor's abilities, Stalin's displays of compassion, and FDR's meddling in naval projects. Jordan's wonderful new insight into the leaders shows how lucky we were regarding Stimson's prescient warnings about nuclear war, Marshall's long-suffering, self-effacing loyalty, and King's rough-and-ready fighting abilities. In addition to World War II buffs, other readers will enjoy the intrigue, back-stabbing, action, and diplomacy in this well-written book.--Kirkus

The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia

Bradley, James (Get this book)
Best-selling author Bradley uncovers the 19th-century plan to create a "New China" and "Americanize Asia."The author clearly feels duped by American foreign policy since the debacle in Vietnam shamed his World War II father and destroyed his soldier brother. In this relentless critique of wrongheaded thinking by government officials who did not speak the Asian languages and had little hands-on experience, Bradley focuses especially on the foreign policy of the two Roosevelts. Bradley delivers a strenuous exposé about the initial building of the "rickety bridge of fellowship crossing the Pacific." --Kirkus

Lens of War: Exploring Iconic Photographs of the Civil War

Gallman, J. Matthew/ Gallagher, Gary W. (Get this book)
A pictorial guide to the changes in our historical views of the Civil War, curated by Gallman and Gallagher.Though these iconic photographs of the war were often included in scholarly works, the authors realized that few actually took the time to analyze the pictures themselves. This book opens a new page of considerations of the people, victims and ruins; the home front, slaves, women, guerrillas and "the Destructive War." A brilliant starting point for truly understanding the Civil War. As the authors point out, there is still much to explore. --Kirkus

Washington's Circle: The Creation of the President

Heidler, David S./ Heidler, Jeanne T. (Get this book)
An elegant study on the shaping of the first presidency through the excellent people he chose to serve with him. The Heidlers create a fully fleshed portrait of the first great Founder by comparison to and contrast with the many complicated personalities he had around him. Summoned out of his happy retirement in Mount Vernon to preside as the first president of the fledgling American government, because, in the compelling words of former aide Alexander Hamilton, "a citizen of so much consequence as yourself…has no option but to lend his services if called for," Washington was painfully aware of creating appropriate precedents. Moving the capital from New York to Philadelphia, quelling sectional differences and confronting the first foreign policy crisis with England, Washington relied on a host of other unsung colleagues, including Henry Knox, Edmund Randolph and Tobias Lear. A fluid work of historical research and engaging biography. --Kirkus

The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

Strauss, Barry (Get this book)
Master historian Strauss zeroes in on the few years surrounding Julius Caesar's assassination and delves into the strengths of the characters involved.The author traces five of the best sources: Nicolaus of Damascus, Plutarch, Suetonius, Cassius Dio and Appian. Everyone knows what happened on the ides of March, but Strauss goes deeper in his investigation of how Caesar had ill omens and decided not to attend the senate meeting he had called. It was Decimus, longtime supporter, friend and fellow diner the night before, who literally led Caesar by the hand into the senate. The author explains how Caesar's funeral was even more dramatic than Shakespeare's version—especially Mark Antony's eulogy. Once again, Strauss takes us deep into the psyche of ancient history in an exciting, twisted tale that is sure to please.--Kirkus

The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East

Eugene Rogan (Get this book)
Rogan corrects Western assumptions about the "sick man of Europe."In this well-researched, evenhanded treatment of the Ottomans' role in World War I, especially in its assessment of the Armenian genocide of 1918, the author delineates the urgent internal and external causes spurring the crumbling Turkish empire to seek a defensive alliance with Germany and counter Britain, France and Russia when war broke out in 1914. An illuminating work that offers new understanding to the troubled history of this key geopolitical region. --Kirkus

Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad

Foner, Eric (Get this book)
Drawing on previously untapped sources in an archive at Columbia University, Foner offers meticulous accounts of how abolitionists helped escaped slaves travel between the South to safety in upstate New York and Canada. A key figure Foner reveals is Sydney Howard Gay, an abolitionist newspaperman who recorded details of escapees, their movements in what later became known as the Underground Railroad, and efforts by abolitionists to raise funds to continue financing their campaign. Foner offers harrowing details of escape and powerful stories of those who risked their lives for freedom. He also details the growing frictions in a city that became embroiled in the secessionist debate as the Fugitive Slave Law and economic interests clashed with ideals about democracy and freedom. A sweeping, detailed look at an important enterprise in the history of U.S. resistance to slavery.--Booklist

American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity

Christian G. Appy (Get this book)
Analyzing public, political and cultural responses to the Vietnam War, Appy argues that the protracted conflict "shattered the central tenet of American national identity—the broad faith that the United States is a unique force for good in the world."Although he does not prove that belief in "American exceptionalism" was shattered, the author makes a strong case that the war continues to affect national identity. For generations who know the Vietnam War largely through movies and fiction, this well-informed and impassioned book is an antidote to forgetting and an appe a l to reassess America's place in the world.--Kirkus

Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War

Jordan, Brian Matthew (Get this book)
This Civil War history begins where most end, showing what happened to the men who fought to preserve the Union. Jordan's book is about the postwar tribulations of Billy Yank. While the civilian population had had enough of war, those who fought for the North were unwilling to forgive and forget, and they marched in Washington a few weeks after Robert E. Lee surrendered and Abraham Lincoln was murdered. Assiduously researched—half the volume is occupied by a bibliography and copious notes—his book is entirely founded on the words of those who fought, extracted from letters, recollections and reflections. The boys in blue who rallied around the flag are gone, but in Jordan's history, their words survive. A useful history of how "the terror of this unprecedented war long outlived the stacking of arms a t Appomattox."--Kirkus

Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890-1923

R.F. Foster (Get this book)
A bracing study of the rebels who secured Ireland's freedom from Britain nearly a century ago.When it comes to people who once lived and breathed, Foster, perhaps the pre-eminent student of Irish history working today, is no hagiographer. Moreover, he does not subscribe to the great man theory of history. As he writes here, by way of prelude, one of his interests is to show "how a revolutionary generation comes to be made, rather than born." Although Irish politics has been definitively sectarian, especially in its nationalist (or unionist) dimensions, the author observes that many of the first-generation rebels against British rule were Protestant; one, Alice Milligan, described herself as an "internal prisoner" of her family. Readable and provocative. Students of contemporary Irish history have few better guides than the sometimes-dyspeptic but refreshingly agenda-less Foster.--Kirkus

Chasing Gold: The Incredible Story of How the Nazis Stole Europe's Bullion

George M. Taber (Get this book)
The story of the Nazis' international bank robberies.After World War I, Germany was subject to huge reparations to the Allied victors. High unemployment, inflation and fierce anger over the nation's defeat generated political and social strife that fueled Hitler's rise to power. As former Time editor and reporter Taber shows in this crisp, well-documented history, lust for gold was integral to Hitler's military ambitions. Taber emphasizes that "the German war machine would have ground to a halt long before May 1945" without cooperation from Romania, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and Sweden for materiel, and especially from Swiss bankers, who eagerly sold the Nazis Swiss francs with which to pay for vital war products. A chilling tale vividly told.--Kirkus

Japan and the Shackles of the Past

R. Taggart Murphy (Get this book)
In this accessible, all-encompassing portrait, Murphy demystifies the nation that ended the 20th century with "some of the most dazzling business successes of all time." In part one, Murphy harks back to the establishment of the third-century imperial institution, then moves up to illustrate how the Tokugawa shogunate of the Edo period created a culture that "provided cover for the incubation of the modern Japanese state." In part two, Murphy explores the cultural mores that led to unsustainable career tracks for "permanent employees" and that barred educated women from the labor force. While the review of recent Japanese scandals such as the TEPCO coverup at Fukushima and of the scars of WWII is painfully familiar, Murphy sheds much light on Japan's current dependence upon the U.S. for maintenance of its political system and its future prospects, closing with an in-depth analysis of the current administration.

Waterloo Wellington, Napoleon, and the Battle That Saved Europe

Gordon Corrigan (Get this book)
Two centuries have not diminished the avalanche of books on this subject, but even history buffs familiar with the two generals and their epic 1815 encounter will not regret choosing this one. Corrigan delivers a gripping, nuts-and-bolts account of a clash whose first step does not occur until nearly 150 pages in. Until then, readers will encounter equally gripping biographies of three generals (Blucher, the Prussian commander, gets deserved equal billing) and a nation-by-nation review of early-19th-century European military recruitment, weapons, training, tactics and leadership. Corrigan dismisses the History Channel view of Waterloo as a stunning British victory against great odds. A superb addition to an overstuffed genre.--Kirkus

Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45

Peter Caddick-Adams (Get this book)
A comprehensive account of the bloodiest battle in American history. Caddick-Adams points out that beginning in 1943, Hitler stopped appearing in public, and his knowledge of the world was based solely on phone, radio and written reports. Announced in September 1944, a massive offensive was "irrational, counter-intuitive, even suicidal." It was less a counterattack than a "political game-changer that would shatter the coalition ranged against him" and prove to the nation that, despite the plot to remove him, he was still in control. Filling over 800 pages, Caddick-Adams casts a wide net, delving deep into the background, conduct, consequences and even historiography of this iconic battle, so even experienced military buffs will find plenty to ponder.--Kirkus