Atkinson brings the same engaging narrative style and excellent researcher's eye for the telling detail to the American Revolution as he did for his masterly WW2/Europe trilogy. (And as a longtime citizen of Concord and history fan I'm a demanding audience!)
Gary
Visually stunning and beautifully designed, this comprehensive history of the city begins with its geological origins (under 4,000 feet of ice in the last Ice Age), through the periods before European colonization, 250 years as the most important city in North America, through the present day. Many of the maps and illustrations are original for this volume, and the text represents the contributions of 40 historians, scholars and experts. It is that rare item, an indispensable reference book that is informative and gorgeous at the same time.
David
So much of what seemed chaotic about American history and especially contemporary American politics snapped into clarity for me when I read this book. Kendi’s ideas absolutely changed the way I understand our current crisis, as well as the forces of racism and antiracism that have shaped our culture and society.
Josh
The final title of Hamilton’s 3-volume biography of FDR as commander-in-chief is a triumph. Compulsively readable yet with a masterful command of his source material, Hamilton gives us a fresh and detailed view of the last two dramatic years of FDR’s life from the wartime summit in Tehran, through the landings at D-Day, his election to a fourth term and the dying president’s final Big Three conference at Yalta.
Dale
From the queen of The Netherlands to the Earl of Suffolk, Paratroopers to civilians turned underground rebels, traitors to double agents, the victories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies of the resistance during WW2.
John
Sea People is a fascinating historical and anthropological detective story about the peoples that settled the wide expanse of Pacific islands we today call Polynesia. It’s a book as much about how we’ve learned their story as well as the epic itself of how these lands were populated.
Dale
A stunning, intimate examination of lives led by black women during the early 20th century who dared to strive for more than white society allowed them to be. Between the stark history, beauty of the prose, and determination of the subjects, this book left me speechless.
Stacey
A deep dive into the unsolved murders of the Irish Troubles, with detailed portraits of both the killers and their victims. It was the oral history archive at Boston College that provided much of the evidence to bring all the threads of the story together.
Sarah
A bullseye that is more than worth your time. This carefully crafted book nails the astonishing personal story and clearly explains layers of U.S. history and movements. For ages 12 to 112.
Molly
Such was the ongoing intellectual ferment of the City of Light that even in the squalid Depression decade an extraordinary cast of characters lived singular lives and created exciting things, in spite of - or perhaps stimulated by - the gathering geopolitical dread...
Gary
