Germany 1945: From War to Peace

By Richard Bessel

A chronicle of Germany's transformation during a pivotal year describes the devastation from the war's final battles, the death marches and acts of vengeance suffered by ordinary citizens, and the first postwar year's burgeoning social, economic, and political cultures.

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Hunting Eichmann

By Neal Bascomb

Based on groundbreaking new information and featuring never-before-published surveillance photographs, a narrative of the pursuit and capture of Adolf Eichmann recounts how the Nazi managed to slip out of the country and build a new life in Argentina while an international manhunt spent fifteen years tracking him down and bringing him to justice.

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As You Were: To War and Back With the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard

By Christian Davenport

A Washington Post reporter chronicles the military duties of five National Guard soldiers throughout their tours of duty in Iraq, documenting their sudden call-ups, combat experiences, and efforts to reacclimate to civilian life upon their returns.

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Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45

By Max Hastings

A chronicle of the final year in the Pacific war offers portraits of key figures in the efforts to defeat Japan and discusses such topics as the road to Allied victory, Japan's war against China, and the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat

By Bob Drury and Tom Clavin

Offers the story of the courageous mission of 234 Marines of Fox Company who found themselves surrounded and greatly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near Chosin Reservoir, the incredible steps they took to fend them off for five nights, and the major losses they suffered in their desperate struggle before finally being relieved.

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Sea of Dangers: Captain Cook and His Rivals in the South Pacific

By Geoffrey Blainey


Captain James Cook has long been enshrined in the pantheon of British naval heroes. Cook had been a highly successful sailor during the French and Indian War, but his fame rests primarily upon his epic explorations across the South Pacific. In 1769 Cook and his crew left England on his initial voyage in the small ship, Endeavour. The ostensible purpose was to observe the transit of Venus. There were also military implications, as traditional rival France was also active in the South Pacific. At the same time, a French ship captained by Jean de Surville left India to explore the same area. While the two expeditions never met, they inadvertently shadowed each other. Blainey, an Australian historian, masterfully recounts these twin voyages in an absorbing, exciting saga. His narrative has a curious duality, as the vast expanse of the Pacific is contrasted with the cramped conditions aboard ships. An excellent work of popular history that recounts the exploits of men who dramatically expanded our knowledge of the globe.

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Kissinger: 1973, the Crucial Year

By Alistair Horne

A portrait of the controversial presidential advisor during a critical year in his career covers a wide range of topics from the signing of the pact to end the war in Vietnam and his appointment as secretary of state to his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Watergate scandal.

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A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel

By Allis Radosh and Ronald Radosh

A dramatic account of the thirty-third president's controversial decision to recognize the state of Israel offers insight into the complicated issues affecting his declaration as well as the new state's fledging friendship with America, in an account that draws on previously untapped archival sources to chronicle the events leading to the decision and how it set the stage for subsequent Middle East policy.

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The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy

By Tom Chaffin

An account of the legendary submarine and its legacy reconstructs the events of its successful 1864 attack on the USS Housatonic and subsequent sinking, the sub's recovery in 1995 after numerous attempts, and the myths attributed to its final hours.

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A More Unbending Battle: The Harlem Hellfighter's Struggle for Freedom in WWI and Equality at Home

By Peter N. Nelson

The subjects of A More Unbending Battle: The Harlem Hellfighter's Struggle for Freedom in WWI and Equality at Home also had a dramatic impact on the history of war. They were the members of the U.S. 369th Infantry, the first African-American regiment to serve in World War I, better known as the Harlem Hellfighters. Author Peter Nelson relates that these men distinguished themselves from most other black soldiers, who were relegated to supply duties, and earned a chance to fight in the trenches in Europe. But they were unable to overcome their country's segregationist tendencies, and fought with the French and not with white U.S. soldiers. Despite this slight, the Harlem Hellfighters served with distinction and became one of the most feared fighting units in the war.

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