The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941

Roger Moorhouse (Get this book)
Placing the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact squarely at the center of Soviet-German belligerence before the outbreak of World War II. English historian Moorhouse finds that the Hitler-Stalin nonaggression pact of August 1939-with its "secret protocol" to carve up Poland and the Baltic states-is not well-understood in the West and is still rationalized by "communist apologists" today. Moorhouse offers a thorough delineation of the characters involved, as well as the extraordinary contortions each side exercised in order to justify the malevolent agreement. A well-researched work offering new understanding of the pact's pertinence to this day.--Kirkus

Founders as Fathers: The Private Lives and Politics of the American Revolutionaries

Lorri Glover (Get this book)
A superb new perspective on America's Founding Fathers. Glover explores the family lives of five remarkable Virginia planter-patriarchs who helped shaped the rebellion against England, commanded the Continental Army and led the early continental governments. At a time when fatherhood entailed responsibility for the well-being of their communities, their relatives and the social order, these dutiful gentry fathers ran their plantations, mastered their slaves and served in political office. Writing with authority, she traces the often overlooked private lives of elite men who preferred the joys of plantation life ("our own Vine and our own fig tree") but deemed their revolutionary cause "a parental obligation." Well-written and immensely rewarding, this important book will appeal to both scholars and general readers.--Kirkus