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