History

How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City (Hardcover)

By Joan DeJean

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ISBN: 9781608195916

Availability: Out of Print

Published: Bloomsbury USA - March 4th, 2014

Author of ten books on the City of Light, Joan DeJean begins in the 17th Century and takes us though the dazzling history of how and why Paris became the most beautiful city in the world – full of stunning architecture, lavish parks, museums, boulevards, monuments – a city alive with adventure and excitement.

Nathan

A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome: Daily Life, Mysteries, and Curiosities (Paperback)

By Alberto Angela, Gregory Conti (Translated by)

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ISBN: 9781933372716

Availability: Out of Print

Published: Europa Editions - May 26th, 2009

Great pleasure for the history buff or curious general reader.  Angela picks a specific day at the height of the Roman Empire and follows various typical Romans through their day, illustrating how they dress, eat, etc.  Angela's easy conversational style belies what must be copious research.

Gary

The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret (Paperback)

By Catherine Bailey

$17.00

ISBN: 9780143124733

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Penguin Books - December 31st, 2013

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Downton Abbey this is not, yet neither is the mystery concealed in the gothic castle quite the horror story one expects.  Bailey does a magnificent research job in her quest to go through the copious amounts of never seen letters and material belonging locked away at Belvoir Castle in the early twentieth century and discover exactly what the then Duke of Rutland was trying to conceal.  The lengths this branch of the aristocracy were willing to go to in order to preserve their lineage is a tale of 'class obsession, hypocrisy and constipated emotion' and the narrative is peopled with fascinating characters capable of more depth and deception than Masterpiece Theatre often provides.

 

Susannah

Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs (Hardcover)

By Paul Koudounaris

$29.95

ISBN: 9780500251959

Availability: Available at Warehouse

Published: Thames & Hudson - October 8th, 2013

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Worth it for the pictures alone, scholar Koudounaris fleshes out a strange little corner of Catholic history- that of the skeletal remains of martyrs that were dressed and ornamented as a response by the Catholic Church to the Protestant Reformation. Read about the skeletons, what they meant to the communities that hosted them and how they ended up. Fascinating!

Marie

Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies (Paperback)

By Ben Macintyre

$17.00

ISBN: 9780307888778

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Broadway Books - May 14th, 2013

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Ben Macintyre’s latest history of WW2 espionage might be his best. The story of the six double agents and the spymasters who helped launch the D-Day invasion is a fascinating, harrowing and often funny page-turner you won’t forget. If you loved Agent Zigzag, Double Cross is a must-read, an unbelievable true story written in Macintyre’s characteristic entertaining and addictive style, with romance, tragedy and farce all rolled up together.

Marie

1775: A Good Year for Revolution (Paperback)

By Kevin Phillips

$20.00

ISBN: 9780143123996

Availability: Available at Warehouse

Published: Penguin Books - September 24th, 2013

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How and why did the farmers, hill people, city lawyers, wealthy plantation owners and other completely disparate peoples - some  of them extremely contrary - join the American revolution?  It's a complex, fascinating story, way beyond the handy school version, and Phillips has done a superb job of laying it all out.  A valuable addition to the ongoing historical record.

Gary

The Hub's Metropolis: Greater Boston's Development from Railroad Suburbs to Smart Growth (Hardcover)

By James C. O'Connell

$9.99

ISBN: 9780262018753

Availability: It's Complicated--Contact Us for More Info

Published: MIT Press - March 22nd, 2013

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Somerville rowhouses, huge building lots in Weston, stately homes along Comm. Ave. in Newton -- there's a reason for every aspect of the Boston area's built environment. Read about the accidental and deliberate design decisions that led to the region we know today, and then go see for yourself, using the walking tour suggestions throughout the book.

Sarah

Murder in the First-Class Carriage: The First Victorian Railway Killing (Paperback)

By Kate Colquhoun

$15.95

ISBN: 9781468300567

Availability: Hard to Find--Contact us for More Info

Published: Harry N. Abrams - April 30th, 2013

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A little Eric Larson, a little Conan Doyle and a lot of the real nuts and bolts of Victorian police procedure.

Gary

Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution (The American Revolution Series #1) (Hardcover)

By Nathaniel Philbrick

$32.95

ISBN: 9780670025442

Availability: Available at Warehouse

Published: Viking - April 30th, 2013

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Philbrick’s clear and entertaining prose brings an old story to life. Live with our patriots and marvel at their heroism and foibles. Washington, Warren, Knox, Bunker Hill, Breed’s Hill and Battle Road. Loyalists, Generals, Admirals, and mad King George. Boston occupied and under siege! Enjoy and marvel at the exploits as Philbrick enthralls us – again!

Jane Jacobs

The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China: A History (Paperback)

By David J. Silbey

$16.00

ISBN: 9780809030750

Availability: Available at Warehouse

Published: Hill and Wang - April 9th, 2013

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Culminating in 1900, the technologically superior European powers (and Japan) essentially helped themselves to rotting Qing Dynasty China, so arrogantly that a groundswell peasant army (surreptitiously supported by the Empress) finally attacked their crypto-colonizers, resulting in several battles, sieges and international diplomatic shenanigans. A great narrative of a major puzzle piece of the Great Game of empire and hegemony.

Gary