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Best Nonfiction of 2012: History (page 4)

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Cover art for LINCOLN'S CODE
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 4, 2012
Kirkus Star LINCOLN'S CODE: THE LAWS OF WAR IN AMERICAN HISTORY
by John Fabian Witt
"Truly remarkable, composed with all the precision and insight you expect from a law professor, marked by all the elegance and sparkling readability you don't."
Artfully mixing law, history and sharp analysis, a Yale law professor examines the persistent struggle to reconcile justice and humanitarianism in America's conduct of war. Read full book review >
Cover art for WHEN AMERICA FIRST MET CHINA
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 10, 2012
Kirkus Star WHEN AMERICA FIRST MET CHINA: AN EXOTIC HISTORY OF TEA, DRUGS, AND MONEY IN THE AGE OF SAIL
by Eric Jay Dolin
"A rich, highly readable examination of the seeds of poppies, trade, greed, grandeur and an international partnership that remains uneasy and perilous."
The author of Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America (2010) returns with the story of America's first voyages to the Middle Kingdom, where Americans and Chinese looked at each other with wonder, alarm and calculation. Read full book review >
Cover art for CITY OF PROMISES
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 24, 2012
Kirkus Star CITY OF PROMISES: A HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN NEW YORK
by Deborah Dash Moore, edited by Howard B. Rock, Annie Polland, Daniel Soyer, Jeffrey S. Gurock, Diana Linden
"Such a large historical project could have easily descended into tedious and dry academia, but instead, all three volumes are briskly paced, well-researched and insightful. Aficionados of urban histories, in particular, will find much to enjoy."
This ambitious three-volume history, overseen by Moore (Judaic Studies and History/Univ. of Michigan; American Jewish Identity Politics, 2008, etc.), provides a lively, much-needed overview of the role that Jews have played in the history and success of the Big Apple, helping to transform it into "a city of promises, some fulfilled, some pending, some beckoning new generations." Read full book review >
Cover art for CONSIDER THE FORK
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 9, 2012
CONSIDER THE FORK: A HISTORY OF HOW WE COOK AND EAT
by Bee Wilson
"Rarely has a book with so much information been such an entertaining read."
From British food writer Wilson (Sandwich: A Global History, 2010, etc.), a savory survey of kitchen implements and their impact. Read full book review >
Cover art for ON POLITICS
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 22, 2012
Kirkus Star ON POLITICS: A HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT: FROM HERODOTUS TO THE PRESENT
by Alan Ryan
"Provocative, illuminating and entertaining--an exemplary work of philosophy and history whose author's deep learning is lightly worn."
An ambitious survey not of politics itself, but of the way Westerners have thought about politics for 2,500 years. Read full book review >
Cover art for RISE TO GREATNESS
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 30, 2012
RISE TO GREATNESS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND AMERICA'S MOST PERILOUS YEAR
by David Von Drehle
"A thoroughly engaging examination of the irreversible changes emerging from a year when the nation's very survival remained in doubt."
A historian zeroes in on the year Lincoln found his footing as president and set the country on a bold new course. Read full book review >