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Best Nonfiction of 2012: History (page 2)

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Cover art for ON THE EVE
NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Star ON THE EVE: THE JEWS OF EUROPE BEFORE THE SECOND WORLD WAR
by Bernard Wasserstein
"A wide-ranging, marvelously complete overview of a diverse, teeming civilization poised for ruin."
A bright, hard glimpse at the final thriving days of European Jewry and the first edges of its unraveling. Read full book review >
Cover art for POWER, INC.
NONFICTION
Released: March 6, 2012
Kirkus Star POWER, INC.: THE EPIC RIVALRY BETWEEN BIG BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT--AND THE RECKONING THAT LIES AHEAD
by David Rothkopf
"Rothkopf delivers a lively, accessible treatment of a multifaceted, complex subject."
Rothkopf (Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They are Making, 2009, etc.) uses a wide-angle lens to examine the relation between public and private power. Read full book review >
Cover art for FREEDOM'S CAP
NONFICTION
Released: March 6, 2012
Kirkus Star FREEDOM'S CAP: THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL AND THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR
by Guy Gugliotta
"Impressive research underlies a well-told story that's simultaneously depressing (what a nasty species we are) and inspiring (what a wonderful species we are)."
Partisan bickering, back-stabbing rivalries, xenophobia, character assassination, political moves that would make Machiavelli blush--no, not Washington circa 2011, but the Washington Capitol in the 1850s. Read full book review >
Cover art for SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, SHIELD OF FAITH
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 28, 2012
Kirkus Star SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, SHIELD OF FAITH: RELIGION IN AMERICAN WAR AND DIPLOMACY
by Andrew Preston
"A frank, exhaustive, marvelously readable study."
A sharp, clear, deeply researched examination of the consistent application of the founding religious principles to American foreign policy, from the colonists' sense of a Protestant exceptionalism to President Barack Obama's "Good Niebuhr Policy." Read full book review >
Cover art for RED PLENTY
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Star RED PLENTY
by Francis Spufford
"A highly creative, illuminating, genre-resisting history."
The strange, sad, hilarious story of the Soviet Union's blind pursuit of a Communist paradise, told through a mix of history and fiction, using both to get to the truth. Read full book review >
Cover art for HAITI
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 3, 2012
HAITI: THE AFTERSHOCKS OF HISTORY
by Laurent Dubois
"A profound demonstration of what needs to be recognized, reconciled and forgiven if current crises are to be overcome."
A vigorous retelling of Haiti's history intended to revive the promise of the world's first black-led republic. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE PARTNERSHIP
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 3, 2012
Kirkus Star THE PARTNERSHIP: FIVE COLD WARRIORS AND THEIR QUEST TO BAN THE BOMB
by Philip Taubman
"Will the partnership prevail? Stay tuned, but hope for the best--for, they warn, "[i]f urgent steps are not taken to rein in nuclear weapons...a catastrophic attack is virtually inevitable.""
Timely portrait of an alliance, seemingly unlikely, of former Cold War mavens now committed to nuclear disarmament. Read full book review >