Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II

Keith Lowe. A breathtaking, numbing account of the physical and moral desolation that plagued Europe in the late 1940s. Drawing on recently opened Eastern European archives, Lowe presents a searing and comprehensive view of postwar Europe that calls into question the very nature of World War II. Lowe writes with measured objectivity, honoring the victims of atrocity and understanding the causes of, but refusing to excuse, the violence directed by freed victims against their former oppressors. Authoritative but never dry, stripping away soothing myths of national unity and victimhood, this is a painful but necessary historical task superbly done.--Kirkus

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The Bride and the Dowry: Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians in the Aftermath of the June 1967 War

Avi. Raz. A scouring academic investigation of the fallout from the Six-Day War. Raz delivers a compelling study of Israeli intransigence and deception after the huge territory gains it made in June 1967 by seizing the West Bank and Arab Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Raz shows an Israeli government riven by indecision and plurality of opinion, Palestinians in shock and despair, King Hussein hanging on to the survival of his reign and grasping at some kind of honorable settlement, and the Palestinian guerrilla resistance gathering force in the wings. A scrupulously researched work likely to open deep old wounds.--Kirkus

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Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy

Murphy, Paul Thomas. Though the book is focused on the attempted assassinations of Victoria, Murphy also shows how those misguided men strengthened both the queen and the empire. It's great fun to see the trail of the author's research as he includes the politics, crises and sensational crimes that went along with each incident. The pages slip by in this well-written new take on Victoria and her times. Murphy's detailed rendering sheds entirely new light on the queen's strengths and her many weaknesses.--Kirkus

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Final Victory: FDR's Extraordinary World War II Presidential Campaign

Stanley Weintraub. With news accounts and political cartoons, Weintraub paints a vivid portrait of the public mood and of FDR literally willing himself to victory with a relatively unknown running mate, Harry Truman. Roosevelt juggled both the sputtering national economy and the wartime effort with equal parts savvy and grit, only to succumb to longstanding medical ailments soon after his inauguration. Historically satisfying, bringing the events to life with telling anecdotes (like Trumanas terrifying, prescient anightmare that Roosevelt had died and he, Harry S. Truman, was now presidenta), Weintraub's book portrays a political icon determined to make his mark on America and the world in the twilight of his life.--Publisher'sWeekly

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The Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death

Jill Lepore. A sharp, illuminating history of ideas showing how America has wrestled with birth, childhood, work, marriage, old age and death. Brilliantly written and engaging throughout, the latest from New Yorker staff writer Lepore is about how American society reacts to change. A superb examination of the never-ending effort to enhance life, as well as the commensurate refusal to ever let it go.--Kirkus

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Swarns, Rachel L. *Starred Review* New York Times reporter Swarns traces the threads, some not previously known to Michelle Obama herself, to ties to black, white, Native American, and multiracial family members. Drawing on two years of research, including interviews with two elderly womenone black, the other white, Swarns presents the complicated story of race in the U.S. through the prism of one family's history. A completely fascinating look at the complex ancestry of one amily, African Americans, and all Americans.--(Booklist)

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George Washington's Military Genius

Dave R. Palmer. Palmer, historian and former superintendent of West Point, makes a convincing case that America is free, united, and governed by civilians because of Washingtonas strategic foresight and tactical brilliance. Reviewing his generalship, Palmer maintains that Washington was aggressive and imaginative, willing to take risks but always aware of his ultimate goal. This is a relentlessly admiring portrait, but Palmer has a critical historianas eye for 18th-century war and politics, avoids uncritical worship of our founding fathers, and enjoys the advantage of a subject who was genuinely admirable.--Publisher's Weekly

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The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future

Cha, Victor. An eye-opening view of the closed, repressive dictatorship of North Korea. Cha aims to get at some of the pressing questions since Kim Jong-il's death and the succession of the utterly unknown younger son, Kim Jong-un--e.g., what happened to this once-vigorous dictatorship, and why does the populace do nothing about it? The author looks closely at the Kim family, the terrible economic decisions that plunged the country into poverty, the shocking gulag system, its paranoid nuclear proliferation program and the tenuous relations with South Korea. A useful, pertinent work for understanding the human story behind the headlines.--Kirkus

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Into Dust and Fire: Five Young Americans Who Went First to Fight the Nazi Army

Rachel Cox. A multifaceted, moving story of five American Ivy League students who committed themselves to fight alongside the British in the spring of 1941. Journalist Cox, the relative of one of the recruits, pieces together this extraordinary story of five patriotic young students at Dartmouth and Harvard who bucked the official U.S. decision to remain out of the war while the Nazis were conquering Europe and offered themselves as volunteers for the King's Royal Rifle Corps. A unique take on the war, from the point of view of the young, idealistic and foolhardy. --Kirkus

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