Above the Din of War: Afghans Speak about Their Lives, Their Country, and Their Future-And Why America Should Listen

Peter Eichstaedt. Veteran journalist Eichstaedt delivers from Afghanistan a dismal report on that country's continued disintegration and decline and the failure of U.S. efforts to prevent it. When U.S. and coalition forces entered Afghanistan in 2001 and defeated the brutal Taliban regime, hopes ran high for peace and prosperity. Neither, reports the author, has occurred. Rather, Afghanistan remains a country "crumbling at the edges and collapsing at its core." Heartbreaking and spellbinding dispatches from a country descending into madness.--Kirkus

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The Civil War in 50 Objects

Harold Holzer. This excellent collection of 50 Civil War artifacts is accompanied by beautifully written and incisive essays by acclaimed historian Holzer. Timed for publication to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the book's 50 artifacts have been well selected in an effort to emphasize the personal, human aspects of the conflict. For both Civil War buffs and general readers, this collection should be a treasure.--Booklist

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Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution

Nathaniel Philbrick. Philbrick will be a candidate for another award with this ingenious, bottom-up look at Boston from the time of the December 1773 Tea Party to the iconic June 1775 battle. Bunker Hill was the first and bloodiest engagement of the eight years of fighting that followed. A rewarding approach to a well-worn subject, rich in anecdotes, opinion, bloodshed and Byzantine political maneuvering.-- Kirkus

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The Enlightenment: And Why It Still Matters

Anthony Pagden. Pagden demonstrates the breadth and depth of his knowledge and his impeccable research of the period we refer to as the Enlightenment. Seeking to define men and their relationships with nature, and especially with each other, led to this scientific revolution; it was an intellectual process, a philosophical project and a social movement. Pagden impressively illustrates the significant discussions that took place as the scientists, historians and other intellectuals of the period tried to fathom man's nature and subject dogma to reason. A book that should be on every thinking person's shelf--the perfect primer for anyone interested in the development of Western civilization.--Kirkus

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The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia

Andrei Lankov. Examination of North Korea's misery-producing dictatorship, why it cannot last and how to replace it. A Russian historian who spent time in North Korea as an exchange student and lived through his own country's break with Soviet authoritarianism, Lankov (History/Koomkin Univ., Seoul; North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea, 2007, etc.) offers an astute look into the lethal absurdities of the North Korean regime, from the time of Great Leader Kim Il-sung to grandson Kim Jong-un. A well-reasoned survey by a scholar who excels at long-term thinking. --Kirkus

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Above the Din of War: Afghans Speak about Their Lives, Their Country, and Their Future-And Why America Should Listen

Peter Eichstaedt. Veteran journalist Eichstaedt delivers from Afghanistan a dismal report on that country's continued disintegration and decline and the failure of U.S. efforts to prevent it. Eichstaedt interviewed Afghans from all walks of life: government officials, Taliban leaders, shopkeepers, mullahs, would-be suicide bombers, victims of self-immolation and others. Heartbreaking and spellbinding dispatches from a country descending into madness.--Kirkus

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Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941

Lynne Olson. A fully fleshed-out portrait of the battle between the interventionists and isolationists in the 18 months leading up to Pearl Harbor. Former Baltimore Sun White House correspondent Olson looks closely at both sides of the U.S. debate about whether to support Britain against the onslaught of Nazi Germany or remain aloof from the European conflict, epitomized by the two prominent personalities of the respective camps, President Franklin Roosevelt and Charles Lindbergh.Throughout, Olson adroitly sifts through the many conflicting currents. A vivid, colorful evocation of a charged era.--Kirkus

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American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Bob Dotson. The longtime Today Show correspondent offers a collection of heartwarming stories about ordinary citizens, "people who live the values our country cherishes." The author mixes in a little autobiographical information, but he focuses on a succession of quiet achievers, people whose imagination, grit and goodness might otherwise have escaped the news, had he not gone in search of their stories. Many of the characters require more than the three or four pages Dotson allots them to make any lasting impression, but the sheer multitude of tales underscores his argument about an America chock-full of unassuming people whose lives enrich the nation.--Kirkus

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Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East

Rashid Khalidi. Extracting three episodes from a complex 35-year history, a distinguished Middle East scholar exposes America's unfitness to mediate between Israel and Palestine. Khalidi maintains that the U.S. and Isreal, "by far the most powerful actors in the Middle East," through successive administrations and a variety of key officials (Condoleezza Rice and Dennis Ross take a particular beating here), have conspired to deny Palestinians any semblance of self-determination. A stinging indictment of one-sided policymaking destined, if undisturbed, to result in even greater violence.--Kirkus

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