New History Books
From America’s most dangerous amusement park to the last years of World War II, check out the new history books we’ve added since July!
December 31, 2020
Check out the new history books we’ve added since July!
In this list:
- Unique and unusual
- True crime
- Civil rights
- Presidents and founders
- Military and war
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Unique and Unusual
Action Park
Fast Times, Wild Rides, And the Untold Story of America’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park
Andy Mulvihill
The outlandish, hilarious, terrifying, and almost impossible-to-believe story of the legendary, dangerous amusement park where millions were entertained and almost as many bruises were sustained, told through the eyes of the founder’s son.
Children of Ash and Elm
A History of The Vikings
Neil Price
A distinguished archaeologist with decades of expertise offers a full history of the Vikings—from arts and culture to politics and cosmology.
HRH
So Many Thoughts on Royal Style
Elizabeth Holmes
The veteran fashion journalist blends commentary, essays and photographs in an expansion of her award-winning Instagram series to reveal the political statements within the style, branding and positioning of prominent British royals.
Looking For Miss America
A Pageant’s 100-Year Quest to Define Womanhood
Margot Mifflin
A fast-paced narrative history of the Miss America pageant from its start as a shocking east coast bathing-beauty revue in 1921 to its recent rebirth as a swimsuit-free “scholarship competition.
Mill Town
Reckoning with What Remains
Kerri Arsenault
Traces the author’s working-class upbringing in a rural New England paper mill community among three generations who unwittingly contributed to environmental destruction and the catastrophic decline of the community’s economic, moral and emotional health.
A Most Beautiful Thing
The True Story of America’s First All-Black High School Rowing Team
Arshay Cooper
The moving true story of a group of young men growing up on Chicago’s West side who form the first all-black high school rowing team in the nation, and in doing so not only transform a sport, but their lives.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Calculated on A New and Improved Plan for The Year of Our Lord 2021
Yankee Publishing Incorporated
A compilation of practical advice and folklore features weather forecasts for the United States, planting tables, health remedies, horoscopes, recipes, games and puzzles, and other entertaining and useful information.
Shit, Actually
The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema
Lindy West
The best-selling author of Shrill reexamines iconic movies from the past 40 years to identify laugh-worthy plot holes and fictional misrepresentations in such esteemed blockbusters as Forrest Gump, The Lion King and Top Gun.
Stuff You Should Know
An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things
Josh Clark
From the duo behind the massively successful and award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know comes an unexpected look at things you thought you knew.
Three-Ring Circus
Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of The Lakers Dynasty
Jeff Pearlman
Tells the story of the Lakers dynasty from 1996 through 2004, when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal combined—and collided—to help bring the Lakers three straight championships and restore the franchise as a powerhouse.
Who Ate the First Oyster?
The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History
Cody Cassidy
Reveals the untold stories of the innovators, perpetrators and accidental participants in some of the most interesting “firsts” in history, from who wore the first pants to who rode the first horse.
True Crime
The Book of Atlantis Black
The Search for a Sister Gone Missing
Betsy Bonner
The author of Round Lake describes the abuse and mental illness her sister and she navigated in childhood and her investigation into social-media postings, emails and an unidentified death in Tijuana to reconstruct the last months of her sister’s life.
A Convenient Death
The Mysterious Demise of Jeffrey Epstein
Alana Goodman
Alana Goodman and Daniel Halper search for the truth of what really happened to Jeffrey Epstein. With access to Epstein’s victims and lawyers, to doctors, Wall Street insiders and law enforcement officers, they reveal the dirty secrets and sinister ties that may have driven someone in Epstein’s circle to take matters into their own hands.
The Last Book on the Left
Stories of Murder and Mayhem from History’s Most Notorious Serial Killers
Ben Kissel
A haunting and humorous deep-dive review of history’s most notorious and cold-blooded serial killers is presented by the creators of the award-winning podcast Last Podcast on the Left.
Ripped From the Headlines!
The Shocking True Stories Behind the Movies’ Most Memorable Crimes
Harold Schechter
In this collection of revelatory essays, true-crime historian Harold Schechter takes a fascinating trip down the crossroads of fact and fiction to reveal the sensational real-life stories that are more shocking, taboo, and fantastic than even the most imaginative screenwriter can dream up.
Unspeakable Acts
True Tales of Crime, Murder, Deceit, And Obsession
Sarah Weinman
Curated by the award-winning author of The Real Lolita, this anthology of recent true-crime tales includes Michelle Dean’s “Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter to Be Sick” and Pamela Colloff’s “The Reckoning.”
The Vapors
A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America’s Forgotten Capital of Vice
David Hill
Gangsters, gamblers, and gamines: all once flocked to America’s forgotten capital of vice, a place where small-town hustlers and bigtime high-rollers could make their fortunes, and hide from the law.
We Keep the Dead Close
A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence
Becky Cooper
Documents the unsolved 1969 murder of Harvard student Jane Britton, sharing insights into how the case was clouded by false rumors and the realities of gender inequality and institutional silence in period academic circles.
Civil Rights
American Rule
How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People
Jared Sexton
The political analyst and author of The Man They Wanted Me to Be challenges common views about America’s positive history of human rights, identifying patterns in subjugation and leadership corruption that sharply contrast with its mainstream beliefs about liberty.
The Black Cabinet
The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt
Jill Watts
Describes the group of African-Americans that joined the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression, forming the Black Cabinet, who worked to devise and recommend solutions to the exclusion and racism they faced as part of the New Deal.
Daughter of the Boycott
Carrying on a Montgomery Family’s Civil Rights Legacy
Karen Gray Houston
In a story of family in the pivotal years of the civil rights movement, an award-winning broadcast journalist reflects on how her father’s and uncle’s selfless actions changed the nation’s racial climate and opened doors for her and countless other African Americans.
Deep Delta Justice
A Black Teen, His Lawyer, and Their Groundbreaking Battle for Civil Rights in the South
Matthew Van Meter
Tells the story of a lawyer and his defendant, who together changed American law during the height of the Civil Rights era.
The Deviant’s War
The Homosexual vs. the United States of America
Eric Cervini
A biography of gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny.
South to Freedom
Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War
Alice L Baumgartner
The lesser-known story of how pre-American Civil War slaves escaped to freedom in the south, discussing Mexico’s abolishment of slavery in 1837 and the impact of Mexico’s antislavery policies on destabilizing practices in America.
Vanguard
How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All
Martha S. Jones
Examines the struggle of African American women to achieve equality and political power by examining the lives and work of black women, including Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Fannie Lou Hamer.
Wandering in Strange Lands
A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots
Morgan Jerkins
From an acclaimed cultural critic and the New York Times best-selling author of This Will Be My Undoing comes the story of her journey to understand her northern and southern roots, the Great Migration and the displacement of black people across America.
Presidents and Founders
Bag Man
The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up & Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House
Rachel Maddow
Documents the lesser-known scandals surrounding former Vice President Spiro Agnew, describing the massive bribery and extortion ring he operated and the efforts of three federal prosecutors to expose his activities before he could ascend to the presidency.
Compromised
Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump
Peter Strzok
The FBI veteran behind the Russia investigation draws on decades of experience hunting foreign agents in the United States to lay bare the threat posed by President Trump.
Dewey Defeats Truman
The 1948 Election and the Battle for America’s Soul
A. J. Baime
A look at the 1948 election pitting incumbent president Harry Trump against New York governor Thomas Dewey, which took place against momentous international events including the emerging Cold War.
Every Drop of Blood
The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln
Edward Achorn
Describes the story of Washington, D.C. on the day of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, revealing a distinct moment in time.
Exercise of Power
American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward in the Post-Cold War World
Robert M. Gates
The former Secretary of Defense and author of the best-selling Duty offers a candid, sweeping examination of American executive powers and how they have been exercised with positive and negative results by American Presidents throughout the post-Cold War era. Read by the author and George Newbern.
First Principles
What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country
Thomas E. Ricks
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Fiasco examines how the educations of America’s founders, and in particular their scholarly devotion to ancient Greek and Roman classics, informed the beliefs and ideals that shaped the nation’s constitution and government.
The Hardest Job in the World
The American Presidency
John Dickerson
The author writes about presidents in history—such as Washington, Lincoln, FDR and Eisenhower—and in contemporary times—from LBJ and Reagan to Bush, Obama, and Trump—to show how a complex job has been done, and why we need to reevaluate how we view the presidency, how we choose our presidents and what we expect from them once they are in office.
The Room Where it Happened
A White House Memoir
John Bolton
The former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump offers an inside look at the administration.
Sex with Presidents
The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust In the White House
Eleanor Herman
This look at the history of presidential sex lives examines the scandals that have rocked the White House and asks whether the qualities that drive a quest for the presidency also lend themselves to sexual misbehavior.
The Spymasters
How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future
Chris Whipple
The best-selling author of The Gatekeepers presents a behind-the-scenes tour of the inner workings of the CIA and how it often operates as an essential counterforce against presidents who would overstep the powers of the executive office.
Team of Five
The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump
Kate Andersen Brower
Goes beyond the White House to uncover what, exactly, comes after the presidency, offering a glimpse into the complex relationships of five former presidents and taking us inside the exclusive world of these powerful men and their families.
The Trump Century
How the President Changed the Course Of History Forever
Lou Dobbs
The Fox Business personality argues that Donald Trump has recreated the American economy and set the nation back on a path to prosperity through unconventional initiatives that will reverberate throughout the next century.
Where Law Ends
Inside the Mueller Investigation
Andrew Weissmann
Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, reveals what went on inside the investigation, from heated debates and painful deliberations to mistakes, challenges, and successes made by the team.
The World of Plymouth Plantation
Carla Gardina Pestana
On the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing and the establishment of Plymouth Plantation, Carla Gardina Pestana offers an intimate look at life in the settlement. Hardly the isolated outpost of myth, in Pestana’s telling Plymouth is revealed as a vibrant place of meeting, with strong connections to the seventeenth-century colonial world.
Military and War
Children of Ash and Elm
A History of the Vikings
Neil Price
A distinguished archaeologist with decades of expertise offers a full history of the Vikings—from arts and culture to politics and cosmology.
Countdown 1945
The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World
Chris Wallace
A Fox News Sunday anchor and a Pulitzer Prize-winning AP investigative journalist present a behind-the-scenes account of the secret meetings, global events, leadership decisions and civilian realities that led to the Hiroshima bombing.
Eat the Buddha
Life and Death in a Tibetan Town
Barbara Demick
An award-winning journalist presents a gripping portrait of modern Tibet told through the lives of ordinary people living in the throes of conflict as they lead the resistance against Chinese occupation.
Fallout
The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World
Lesley M. M. Blume
The author of Everybody Behaves Badly reveals the information suppression campaign that followed the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, detailing how reporter John Hersey saved millions of lives by exposing the bombings’ long-term radiation effects.
The Great Secret
The Classified World War II Disaster That Launched the War on Cancer
Jennet Conant
Traces how the 1943 Luftwaffe bombing of the Allied port of Bari and the ensuing military cover-up of a massive biotoxin spill led to discoveries about the toxin’s impact on the body and the development of the first chemotherapy drug.
Inge’s War
A German Woman’s Story of Family, Secrets, and Survival Under Hitler
Svenja O’Donnell
The award-winning Bloomberg UK political correspondent shares the long-secret story of her German grandmother, who endured the brutal Nazi regime and postwar years before the advancing Red Army separated her from the father of her baby.
The Last Million
Europe’s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War
David Nasaw
Documents the experiences of the Last Million concentration camp survivors, POWs, slave laborers and political prisoners after World War II who spent years as displaced refugees in unsupported, segregated and poorly converted buildings while the world’s nations refused shelter.
The Light of Days
The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos
Judy Batalion
Documents the essential World War II contributions of Jewish-Polish female resistance fighters, sharing the stories of courageous women who risked their lives to work against the Nazis as fighters, intelligence agents and saboteurs.
To Start a War
How the Bush Administration Took America Into Iraq
Robert Draper
The author of the best-selling Dead Certain examines the flawed decision-making process that went into the invasion of Iraq, citing the role of post-9/11 fear, intelligence failures and leader ideologies in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Twilight of the Gods
War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945
Ian W. Toll
Presents an account of the last year of World War II in the Pacific, offering narratives of combat from the air, at sea, and on the beaches as well as behind-the-scenes where discussions of strategy and diplomacy occurred.