NONFICTION
Released: June 25, 2013
"Adams presents Davis warts and all, as a callous, scheming tycoon who amassed a fortune and then did an about-face and behaved with honesty, responsibility and generosity as he transformed archaeology from glorified grave robbing to a science. "
Long before Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb, Theodore Davis (1837–1915) was the driving force in the exploration of the Valley of the Kings. Adams vividly portrays the unlikely robber baron who set the standards for archaeology.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: June 25, 2013
"Dennison provides a capable series of portraits, but those searching for a richer analysis of Roman culture and government during this era should read Adrian Goldsworthy or Michael Grant."
Roman historian Suetonius wrote
The Twelve Caesars in the second century, and many subsequent writers have appropriated the title. In this latest example, British journalist Dennison (
Livia, Empress of Rome, 2011, etc.) summarizes Suetonius and other ancients (Pliny, Tacitus, Cassius Dio, Josephus) as well as scholars today, who often quarrel with their interpretations.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: June 25, 2013
"Even Civil War buffs should find this graphic adaptation engaging, provocative and deftly nuanced."
Where the format might lead some readers to anticipate a simplified primer, this second collaboration by Hennessey and McConnell (
The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, 2008) again finds them probing the implications of history through incisive analysis and compelling art.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: June 25, 2013
"A somewhat overwritten eye-opener about medical advances achieved on the backs of society's weakest members."
The harrowing story of the exploitation of institutionalized children in American medical research.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: June 25, 2013
"Do we care if a professionally successful person is a psychological mess? Not, it seems, if we get out of it a great smartphone or a well-organized library. Kendall delivers a mostly engaging history of a handful of America's "obsessive innovators.""
Kendall (Associate Fellow/Trumbull College, Yale Univ.;
The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture, 2010, etc.) returns with a collection of minibiographies of obsessive personalities who transformed American life.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: June 25, 2013
"The author's wit and biting analysis render this a most readable study."
What first appears to be a narrowly academic profile of two rival scholars amplifies into a trenchant, engaging study of the postwar split between the New Left and Western liberalism.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: June 28, 2013
"Prior to his career in government service, Cannon (who died at 93 in 2011) spent years as a journalist, and that training shows in this smoothly readable account."
An advisor to President Gerald Ford (1913–2006) pens an admiring biography of America's most anomalous and, possibly, most underrated chief executive.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: July 1, 2013
"A nicely crafted biography that also offers Civil War buffs an unusual ambulance-wagon view of the great conflict."
NONFICTION
Released: July 1, 2013
"An elucidating study by a Charleston historian who sees the shadow of nullification still looming."
A tenacious chronicle of the pernicious construction of South Carolina's slave-driven political orthodoxy.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: July 2, 2013
"A fascinating and moving piece of American history and a meditation on the cost of entertainment and human progress."
Daly (
The Book of Mychal, 2009) tells the story of the infamous 1903 execution of Topsy, a man-killing circus elephant.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: July 2, 2013
"An invaluable contribution to understanding the mentality of extremist conservatism and its supporters."
Prompted by the rise of the modern-day tea party, Conner writes of her experiences as the child of leaders in the radical right-wing John Birch Society.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: July 8, 2013
"Nicely drawn portraits by an authoritative historian."
An intriguing new angle to Franklin Roosevelt's foreign policy leading up to and during World War II.
Read full book review >