History

The Arms of Krupp

6/6/2011
Stefan Zidaru

A truly historical book, The Arms of Krupp, written by William Manchester, relates the history of the Krupp family, the company owners of the largest gun factory in Germany. The book starts, of course, by relating the short story of the first Krupp who started his business around the 16th century and continues in a very accurate and well documented manner.

Four Queens, The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe

11/8/2010
Carissa Shuman

In Four Queens, The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe, Nancy Goldstone tells the story of four girls that, though not of humble birth, were by no means royalty. Somehow the parents and uncles of these young ladies were able to finagle either royal marriages or marriages that led to royalty.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars
ASIN: 
0143113259

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America

10/30/2010
Jennifer L. Thompson
By Timothy Egan

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America is 324 pages written by Timothy Egan. The book is painstakingly pieced together from historical archives and other recorded accounts of the true story, and retold in something of a fictional but true-to-life storytelling style. It is written in a past tense, informational and yet personal tone - telling a story - as if it’s relaying the real-life experiences of the characters. A few pages of photographs from the times give its characters life.

The Color of Lightning

8/10/2009
Angela Garner McCabe
A reminder of the dark side of human nature.

The year is 1863, and the 'War Between the States' has ended, sending many freed slaves away from their homes in the South. Such is the case of Britt Johnson and his family in the novel 'The Color of Lightning,' by best-selling author Paulette Jiles.

Britt Johnson and family move from Kentucky to Texas, leaving their shackled pasts behind, only to find themselves in the midst of another war. They become caught between the Comanche and Kiowa and the 'civilized' men who try to take away Indian lands and oppress the native people and change their culture.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

Soul Catcher

10/28/2008
Alexandra Perich
This historical fiction deals with the issues of the slave trade, and the unlikely interracial love between a slave catcher and a slave.

Michael White's Soul Catcher is a fascinating historical novel that is sure to entice readers. It is the perfect book if you love historical fiction, documentaries, anything Civil War related, or old gun blazing, western-type tales.

Augustus Cain is a man with a regrettable past, a present without prospect or good fortune, and an uncertain future, spoiled by the loss of his most prized possession: a horse that has been his working companion for years. He is also a self-destructive man with the ability to track people who don't want to be found.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage

9/2/2008
J. M. Cornwell
Far above common historical fare.

The Lincolns: An intimate look at Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln.

A great deal is known and has been written about Abraham Lincoln's humble beginnings, his business failures, his presidency and his death. Until now, no one has put together the history of Lincoln and Mary Todd's courtship and marriage or peered behind the historical mystique into the heart of this famous couple's devotion.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

Now the Hell Will Start

9/2/2008
Laureen Gibson Gilroy
World War II from an African-American soldier's perspective.



In Now the Hell Will Start, Brendan I. Koerner writes about World War II from an African-American soldier's perspective. The book reads like a novel as it follows Herman Perry from the Jim Crow South into a segregated military. He fights in Europe, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and in the forgotten theater of WWII, China-Burma-India.

Perry was drafted into the Army, assigned to an engineering battalion and trained to build airstrips.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

Chronicle in Stone

9/4/2007
Kate Padilla
A timely read, and instructive, as Albania seeks membership in NATO and the European Union.

Ruled by the Ottomans for five centuries until 1913, besieged during World War II, and then locked up for forty years by hardcore Stalinist leader Enver Hoxha, Albania, Europe's only Muslim county, nearly evaporated from the map until the early 1990s.

Now it is wide open. Yet few still visit. Last year I was among the few and found a country lost in time. Women still wear traditional clothes and horse-drawn carts share space on newly paved roads. Along the Adriatic Sea, thousands of crumbling concrete defense bunkers remain, a stubborn legacy of Hoxha's paranoia.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

The Handy History Answer Book

6/28/2007
Susie Kopecky
The answer to almost all of your historical questions.

Who was Leif Ericsson? What exactly happened with the Hindenburg? What is the difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution? Rebecca Nelson's book is a truly handy and convenient book of answers to some of those questions that seem to just go unanswered. By separating her guidebook into sections such as 'Eras and Their Historical Highlights,' 'Exploration & Migration,' 'Government, Law & Politics,' 'Philosophy, Science & Invention,' and 'Religion,' Nelson is able to connect significant events and philosophies together on a logical basis.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.50Stars
ASIN: 
157859068

Profiles in Courage

6/27/2007
Susie Kopecky
8 men and the way they shaped United States history while maintaining integrity.

President John F. Kennedy's historical account of some of the United States' most significant architects of democracy is a fascinating and highly enjoyable read. The Pulitzer Prize-winning book profiles eight United States senators who made important and nonpartisan decisions during their respective tenures. What each man shares in common in this book is a sense of right and wrong, tenacity in the pursuit of helping his fellow man, and integrity. Senators profiled include Daniel Webster, Sam Houston, Thomas Hart Benton and Robert Taft.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars
ASIN: 
60955449
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