Tower : an epic history of the Tower of London

Nigel R. Jones. Historian and journalist Jones enlightens and delights in this history of the London Tower. The author begins with tales of William the Conquerer, whose "motte-and-bailey" forts could be erected "within a week." The buildings surrounding the White Tower served not only as royal pomp, but also as the armory, where blacksmiths forged swords, fletchers made arrows and weaponry was stored, including gunpowder. A historian's history that deserves pride of place in every library.--Kirkus

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Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World

Evan Thomas. The beatification of President Dwight Eisenhower continues in this keen character study. Often viewed as trustworthy but bland, Eisenhower didn't let on what was really roiling behind the comforting exterior, as Thomas effectively argues in this chronological look at his presidency. Thomas ably demonstrates how operating through indirection became Ike's effective peacekeeping strategy. An astute, thoroughly engaging portrayal.--Kirkus

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Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing, and Dying: The Secret World War II Transcripts of German POWs

Sonke Neitzel. A trove of transcripts of bugged recordings providing specific, startling evidence that German soldiers in World War II were not just following orders. Neitzel and Welzer pore over two stores of documents from the British and American national archives, numbering some 150,000 pages in all, of transcripts from recordings of German prisoners of war secretly made in various holding facilities. The authors layer on commentary that sometimes threatens to bury the soldiers' stories in a gray cloak of academese, but the point remains: These German soldiers were utterly normal, for all the atrocities they committed, men who killed simply "because it's their job." Unique--and essential to any understanding of German mentalites in the Hitler era.--Kirkus

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Lincoln's Hundred Days: The Emancipation Proclamation and the War for the Union

Louis P. Masur. There have been many recent fine books on the Emancipation Proclamation and its role in recasting the character of the country. Masur does not engage that literature so much as extend it with a lucid and learned account of the process whereby Lincoln moved toward emancipation, and once so committed, made it the lodestar of the Union. This is now the best work on the proclamation. As its sesquicentennial looms (January 2013), all persons wanting to understand the contingency of freedom should read this book.--Library Journal

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Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country--And Why They Can't Make Peace

Patrick Tyler. A scathing look at the belligerent mindset of Israel's elite, from David Ben-Gurion to Benjamin Netanyahu. Since its founding in opposition to Arab hostility, Israel remains "in thrall of an original martial impulse," writes former Washington Post and New York Times journalist Tyler. Tyler ably demonstrates how a culture of preemptive warfare and covert subversion is isolating Israel and alienating it from its founding as a progressive and humanistic state.

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Just Plain Dick: Richard Nixon's Checkers Speech and the "Rocking, Socking" Election of 1952

Kevin Mattson.  Nixon's September 1952 "Checkers Speech"--so called because he referred to his family's dog in an effort to prove his credentials as a common man--was watched by 60 million people. Mattson offers a detailed, behind-the-scenes account of the political maneuvering leading up to that speech, in which Nixon decided to come clean about a slush fund scandal while maligning his political opponents for a "cover-up" of similar transgressions. Mattson's excellent book is a timely companion to the current election season.--Library Journal and Kirkus

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War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865

James M. McPherson. Pulitzer and Lincoln Prize winner McPherson displays his massive knowledge of the Civil War, this time specifically concerning the naval battles. The Union Navy far outnumbered the Confederate, but it was still much too small to effectively blockade the coastline from Chesapeake Bay to Texas. In addition, the forces were required to patrol in the rivers, which were so vital to transportation. While the navies may not be on the top of the list for most Civil War enthusiasts, this is a solid contribution to Civil War scholarship.--Kirkus

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Who Stole the American Dream?

Hedrick Smith. Remarkably comprehensive and coherent analysis of and prescriptions for America's contemporary economic malaise by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Smith. "Over the past three decades," writes the author, "we have become Two Americas." We have arrived at a new Gilded Age, where "gross inequality of income and wealth" have become endemic. Not flawless, but one of the best recent analyses of the contemporary woes of American economics and politics.--Kirkus

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Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam

Fredrik Logevall. Placing the Vietnam War in a global context, Logevall concludes that it was not an unavoidable quagmire. This deeply researched narrative by arguably the leading authority on Vietnam diplomacy untangles four decades of complicated foreign policy and includes fascinating stories of the U.S., Vietnamese, French, and British leaders who held conferences, forged treaties, and endured the consequences. Highly recommended for all serious readers of the Vietnam War; essential for scholars of the era.--Library Journal

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