Just Plain Dick: Richard Nixon's Checkers Speech and the "Rocking, Socking" Election of 1952

Kevin Mattson.  Nixon's September 1952 "Checkers Speech"--so called because he referred to his family's dog in an effort to prove his credentials as a common man--was watched by 60 million people. Mattson offers a detailed, behind-the-scenes account of the political maneuvering leading up to that speech, in which Nixon decided to come clean about a slush fund scandal while maligning his political opponents for a "cover-up" of similar transgressions. Mattson's excellent book is a timely companion to the current election season.--Library Journal and Kirkus

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War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865

James M. McPherson. Pulitzer and Lincoln Prize winner McPherson displays his massive knowledge of the Civil War, this time specifically concerning the naval battles. The Union Navy far outnumbered the Confederate, but it was still much too small to effectively blockade the coastline from Chesapeake Bay to Texas. In addition, the forces were required to patrol in the rivers, which were so vital to transportation. While the navies may not be on the top of the list for most Civil War enthusiasts, this is a solid contribution to Civil War scholarship.--Kirkus

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Who Stole the American Dream?

Hedrick Smith. Remarkably comprehensive and coherent analysis of and prescriptions for America's contemporary economic malaise by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Smith. "Over the past three decades," writes the author, "we have become Two Americas." We have arrived at a new Gilded Age, where "gross inequality of income and wealth" have become endemic. Not flawless, but one of the best recent analyses of the contemporary woes of American economics and politics.--Kirkus

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Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam

Fredrik Logevall. Placing the Vietnam War in a global context, Logevall concludes that it was not an unavoidable quagmire. This deeply researched narrative by arguably the leading authority on Vietnam diplomacy untangles four decades of complicated foreign policy and includes fascinating stories of the U.S., Vietnamese, French, and British leaders who held conferences, forged treaties, and endured the consequences. Highly recommended for all serious readers of the Vietnam War; essential for scholars of the era.--Library Journal

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The Graves Are Walking: The Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People

John Kelly. A fresh, fair look at the causes of the devastating Irish potato famine. While there already exists solid coverage of this tragic episode in history, Kelly provides a comprehensive exploration of the crisis in terms of the Irish demographic and geographical makeup, economic infrastructure, tenant-farming patterns, landowner manipulation and wrongheaded British relief policy. Roundly researched work with many poignant stories of misery and loss.--Kirkus

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Heretic Queen: Queen Elizabeth I and the Wars of Religion

Susan Ronald. Ronald sets the Elizabethan age within the context of the Catholic-Protestant wars of religion that flared across Europe throughout the latter half of the 16th century. She deftly pulls together a vast amount of historical research into a compelling narrative that is essential reading for anyone interested in the strife-torn world in which this most fascinating queen used both wits and diplomacy to safeguard her kingdom, despite almost insurmountable odds.--Publisher's Weekly

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The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire

Anthony Everitt. Unlike its decline and fall, Romeas rise enjoys no literary tradition, but this fine history will satisfy curious readers. After dutifully recounting the founding legends, historian Everitt introduces the Republic. Born, according to tradition, in 509 B.C.E., after the overthrow of a monarchy, the Republic was an oligarchy ruled by elected consuls and a nonelected Senate. Sensibly avoiding parallels with todayas geopolitics, Everitt delivers an often unsettling account of a stubbornly belligerent nation-state that became the Westas first superpower.

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American Empire: The Rise of a Global Power, the Democratic Revolution at Home 1945-2000

Joshua B. Freeman. A terrifically useful wide-lens survey of the United States in the last half of the 20th century. Freeman has full command of his vast material, fashioning a structured history that is both readably general and restrained of scholarly matter as well as nicely specific regarding meaty information. The author demonstrates how postwar economic growth helped spur the great process of democratization that placed America in the first rank among nations in terms of standard of living and basic rights for all citizens. Yet, along with the rise of consumerism, globalism and prosperity, the power shifted from the public to the private realm, specifically corporate. A liberal-minded but still evenhanded primer for all students of U.S. history.

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Yankee Come Home: On the Road from San Juan Hill to Guantanamo

William Craig. With a half-century of U.S. antagonism to Cuba's revolution as the back story, a freelancer visits the island nation to report on both its history and current situation. The author's lively history follows locale, not chronology, and he analyzes sugar politics, empire building and the blood-spattered history of slaves, Indians and Spaniards in the New World. We also learn about Cuban culture, including music, spirits, the real Che Guevara, pickpockets, drinking habits and much more. Craig beats his professional predecessors with his skilled and accessible personal journal and blunt history.--Kirkus

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