Small Wars, Faraway Places: Global Insurrection and the Making of the Modern World, 1945-1965

Michael Burleigh (Get this book)
Acclaimed historian Burleigh returns with a feisty review of two decades of decolonialization. This was "a crucial transitional era in which power tangibly passed from European capitals to the 'World Capital on the Potomac.'"Entertaining, informative and refreshingly devoid of partisan advocacy, Burleigh offers a persuasive explanation of how America assumed the mantle of policeman of the developing world.--Kirkus

A Concise History of the Arabs

John McHugo (Get this book)
A sympathetic, methodical distillation of Arab history that tries to get at the roots of the current East-West dysfunction. British Arabist, lawyer and researcher McHugo refutes Bernard Lewis' claim of a "clash of civilizations," bemoaning the notion as emerging from prejudice and misunderstanding of the original meanings of the terms jihad and crusade. The author includes maps and a glossary of Arabic terms. Purposeful, insightful and tremendously useful, complete with an excellent bibliographic essay.--Kirkus

A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid

John Romer (Get this book)
The first volume of a necessarily lengthy history of ancient Egypt from a well-known archaeologist. Romer's explanation of the earliest years of Egyptian civilization is impressive in the amount of information gleaned from a minimum of evidence. Fascinating reading with abundant illustrations. Romer's long experience and practical, fresh outlook bring this civilization to life.--Kirkus

Ecstatic Nation: Confidence, Crisis, and Compromise, 1848-1877

Brenda Wineapple (Get this book)
A sweeping look at the Civil War in the context of its social, cultural and intellectual climate. Wineapple begins with a bang: the death of John Quincy Adams on the House floor, after decades of fighting to end slavery. From there, she takes up the narrative of some 50 years of turbulent American history, full of grand schemes, bitter conflicts, brilliant characters and unforgettable stories. The author effectively draws in all the currents of the time, from popular culture and polemical journalism to the grand literary monuments. Best of all, she brings it together in a compelling narrative that will enlighten readers new to the material and thoroughly entertain those familiar with it. History on the grand scale, orchestrated by a virtuoso.--Kirkus

Alexandria: The Last Nights of Cleopatra

Peter Stothard (Get this book)
A thoroughly enjoyable combination of history, autobiography, travel and general musings about Alexandria. Cleopatra was the last of her line; her oft-told story of intrigue, lust and no small amount of genius now has deeper background. There is no way to trace the steps of Caesar or Marc Antony as they wooed her. The great library burned down, and the lighthouse is at the bottom of the sea, as are most of the buildings of old Alexandria. Stothard's journey through prep school, public school, Oxford and Fleet Street is the curious history of his attempts at fully grasping Cleopatra's story. It is a joy to watch the classically trained mind assemble the story. Don't try to categorize this book; just read it and let it flow over you.--Kirkus

JFK's Last Hundred Days: The Transformation of a Man and the Emergence of a Great President

Thurston Clarke (Get this book)
Do President Kennedy's final 100 days offer hints about what sort of leader (and man) he might have become? Author-historian Clarke thinks they do. Clarke vividly portrays the welter of issues a U.S. president juggles. In foreign policy, the test-ban treaty, Vietnam, and Cuba were central, but Kennedy also aimed to reframe long-term relationships with the USSR, China, Europe, and Latin America. On the home front, civil rights was clearly dominant, but, during these days, Kennedy was pressing Congress to pass the stimulus tax cut and immigration reform as well as the civil rights bill and working with advisors and cabinet members on what would become Medicare and the War on Poverty. A fascinating analysis of what was . . . and what might have been.--Booklist

Brothers at War: The Unending Conflict in Korea

Sheila Miyoshi Jager (Get this book)
Jager provides a well-grounded understanding of the evolution of the paranoid, isolated North Korean state as it emerged from Soviet protection and attempted to enforce its legitimacy across the entire peninsula by waging war on the South. The lessons of the Korean War were acute, if not always heeded, resulting in the lack of a clear victory, the militarization of American society in the forms of a large standing army and huge defense expenditures, and the newfound confidence of China, which spooked both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. An authoritative record of the divided Korean peninsula to go alongside Victor Cha's The Impossible State.--Kirkus

America 1933: The Great Depression, Lorena Hickok, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Shaping of the New Deal

Michael Golay (Get this book)
Historian Golay has mined the thousands of letters between Associated Press reporter Lorena Hickock (1893-1968) and Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), as well as Hickok's reports, to present an unexpectedly horrific picture of America during a terrible time. Even at the time, many counseled patience and denounced government aid as socialistic, but few readers of this gripping, painful account of third-world-level poverty and despair will agree that it is the natural order.--Kirkus

The Norman Conquest: The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England

Marc Morris (Get this book)
The story of William the Conqueror's invasion of England is hardly new, but the situations that prompted it on both sides of the English Channel have never been told in so much depth. A historian who specializes in the Middle Ages, especially that period's monarchies and aristocracy, Morris takes thoroughness to new heights as he compares all the available sources in this valuable text. The author includes useful maps, an expansive genealogical tree and extensive notes. A thoroughly enjoyable book from a historian's historian who can write for the masses.--Kirkus