Birth History

WWII forever changed what it means to go to war. After putting down this book, you'll understand exactly why.

“A finely atmospheric debut…Christie’s novel is a worthy tribute to the technological revolution it reimagines, as well as a haunting elegy to the culture of print…One thinks of Donna Tartt’s obsessive accounts of furniture decoration in The Goldfinch or even Philip Roth’s lovingly...

From a New York Times bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist comes a bold reinterpretation of American history—just in time for the country’s 250th birthday. Whether it's 1776 or the era of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Arthur Herman argues that the United States has always been...

Historian and former CIA officer Nicholas Reynolds, the New York Times bestselling author of Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy, uncovers the definitive history of American intelligence during World War II, illuminating its key role in securing victory. “Need to Know is the most thorough and...

The National Hockey League saw the birth of a new dynasty in 1980. The New York Islanders had been an expansion franchise in 1972 in the New York City suburbs of Long Island. For years they played in the long shadow of the big-city New York Rangers and were considered the league’s laughingstock during their first season. Miraculously, eight years later, they were champions.

Can we crack the code to life itself? In the third volume in the Discovering Life’s Story series, scientists compete to decipher the genetic blueprint behind all life on earth. It’s the dawn of the twentieth century. Darwin has theorized that traits get passed down through generations, and...

In these two lectures about Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510) and the meaning behind two of his best-loved paintings, Angela introduces you to the esoteric worldview which flourished in the early centuries CE in cultural centres such as Alexandria in Egypt, and was reborn in Renaissance Europe.

A fearless primer on the feminism we need now: tactics for advancing reproductive justice, promoting intersectionality, and pushing back against patriarchal systems of oppression Too loud. Too shrill. Too far. Too much. Despite the systematic chipping away at our voices, autonomy, and rights...

In this compulsively-readable historical novel, from the author of the critically-acclaimed Two Sisters, comes the story of two young women—one in America’s Gilded Age, one in scrappy modern-day California—whose lives are linked by a single tragic afternoon in history. 1888: Elizabeth...

In the spirit of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank, the provocative and compelling story of one of the most fascinating and influential figures of the twentieth century: Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood—an indomitable woman who, more than any other, and at great personal cost...

In 1957, America turned its back on its earlier self and jumped headlong into the nation it has become today. From Sputnik and the beginning of the space race to Little Richard and the underappreciated influence of rock n' roll in bringing Blacks and Whites closer together, to President Eisenhower's Interstate Highway Act, which forever changed the landscape, 1957 represents the year when all of the energy and anxiety that had followed the end of World War II exploded.

Rebels in the Making is a narrative-driven history of how and why secession occurred. In this work, senior Civil War historian William L. Barney narrates the explosion of the sectional conflict into secession and civil war. Carefully examining the events in all 15 slave states and distinguishing the political circumstances in each, he argues that this was not a mass democratic movement but one led from above.

No historian has been able to capture so elegantly the factors influencing the formation of the state of Texas. Three-time winner of the Jefferson Davis Award, William C. Davis precisely describes the spirit of the times during this momentous period. The conflicts between Anglo Texans, native Tejanos, and Mexican officials that led to war come to life with invigorating detail.

In this comprehensive compendium of the best of John Lennon (written and narrated by author actor Geoffrey Giuliano), the real man is revealed. The absolutely perfect audio biography for every Beatles/Lennon fan, pop philosopher, historian, and all school and university systems. A must-have audiobook for everyone interested in the incredible life and times of the 20th century‘s greatest composer philosopher.

"How quickly everything in the world disintegrates. Everything but the loneliness of young women." So begins The Whitsun Daughters, a story of three girls in a small Midwestern town, narrated by the ghost of a young Irish immigrant who, over a century earlier, lived and loved on the same small...

Daniel Ames is an associate at Reed, Briggs, Portland's most prestigious law firm, earning more money than he ever imagined possible. When a charismatic civil litigator sues the firm's biggest client for manufacturing a drug that he claims causes unspeakable birth defects, Daniel is certain the...

John Adams told Thomas Jefferson that “history is to ascribe the American Revolution to Thomas Paine.” Thomas Edison called him “the equal of Washington in making American liberty possible.” He was a founder of both the United States and the French Revolution. He invented the phrase, “The United States of America.” He rose from abject poverty in working-class England to the highest levels of the era’s intellectual elite. And yet, by the end of his life, Thomas Paine was almost universally reviled.

In 1947, the Cold War came to Hollywood. Over nine tumultuous days in October, the House Un-American Activities Committee held a notorious round of hearings into alleged Communist subversion in the movie industry. The blowback was profound: the major studios pledged to never again employ a known Communist or unrepentant fellow traveler. The declaration marked the onset of the blacklist era, a time when political allegiances, real or suspected, determined employment opportunities in the entertainment industry. Hundreds of artists were shown the dooror had it shut in their faces.

From the National Book Award-winning author of Slaves in the Family, a riveting true life/true crime narrative of the partnership between the murderer who invented the movies and the robber baron who built the railroads. One hundred and thirty years ago Eadweard Muybridge invented stop-motion...

The concept of international trade was born in the ancient Mediterranean, which provided the perfect set of circumstances needed to produce an intricate trading system, whose influence can still be seen in present-day economic practices. The ancient Mediterranean was home to a diverse range of cultures and landscapes, encompassing deserts, forests, islands, and fertile plains.