Browsing: History

Authors

What You Have Heard Is True

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Carolyn Forché was 27 when a stranger appeared on her doorstep. In this National Book Award finalist, she recounts how that meeting set in motion a journey through El Salvador as the country hurtled towards civil war. “Astonishing, powerful, so important” (Margaret Atwood).

Actors

Grateful American

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“Gary Sinise writes as he lives… with American authenticity, purpose, and conviction” (Tom Hanks): The Academy Award–nominated actor of Forrest Gump shares how acting transformed his life — but why his true calling became helping members of the military. An inspiring New York Times bestseller!

20th Century

The Polar Bear Expedition

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During the last days of World War I, a group of US soldiers known as the Polar Bears waged a desperate campaign against the Red Army in the brutal Russian winter. “A wild ride through an American military campaign few know much about” (Booklist).

History

The Workshop and the World

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This “timely, sophisticated analysis of the plague of science denial” (Kirkus Reviews starred review) examines public perception of science across history through the lens of 10 key thinkers, from Galileo Galilei to Mary Shelley. “A masterpiece” (Publishers Weekly starred review).

17th Century

Nature’s Mutiny

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Witness the “Little Ice Age” in this thorough history that tracks the 17th-century climate crisis and its cataclysmic effect on European culture, politics, and more. “A sweeping story, embracing developments in economics and science, philosophy and exploration, religion and politics… Beautifully clear” (The New Yorker).

Biographies and Memoirs

A Woman of No Importance

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Meet an American woman who risked everything to aid the French Resistance in this riveting historical biography of socialite-turned-spy Virginia Hall. With over 9,500 five-star Goodreads ratings, this “excellent” NPR Best Book of 2019 “is as riveting as any thriller” (The New York Times Book Review).

American Civil War

Final Resting Place

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When his rival is arrested for murdering a local politician, young attorney Abraham Lincoln and his best friend, Joshua Speed, must race against time to unravel the mysterious case. “Putnam combines an historian’s understanding of character and context with a remarkable narrative drive” (Pulitzer Prize–winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin).