books: history - top sellers

books: history - top sellers

books:

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Naomi Klein

Picador, 2008

Essential Reading
Considering the global political climate and the way policy decisions are created these days (witness the latest "crisis" of the economic variety in the US, for one), this book ought to be required reading for pretty much anyone who can or will at some point cast a ...

The Forever War

Dexter Filkins

Knopf, 2008

Exceptional
Of the dozens of books written about the war in Iraq, along comes Dexter Filkins with a commentary on Iraq that blows the others away. Non-political and highly personal, Filkins goes after the day-to-day story that, through accumulation, delivers a report about the ...

The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008

Bob Woodward

Simon & Schuster, 2008

Recommended Reading
Our decision to go to war with Iraq needs to be understood by all of us. This book sheds much light on how we got into and managed the effort.

The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

Thomas L. Friedman

Picador, 2007

Your Guide to Capitalism in the 21st Century
This is a fantastic survey of modern globalization- its benefits, dangers, history, major players, affects for all the world's citizens.... mostly from an economic and social standpoint. Friedman covers the "Globalization 3.0" phenomenon, which, rooted in the Internet, ...

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin

Penguin (Non-Classics), 2007

3 cups = 5 stars
The book three cups of tea, is a story of monumental dedication and superhuman efforts to build schools for people who had no hope of education. An inspiring story for any age.

Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man

Dalton Fury

St. Martin's Press, 2008

An exceptional, superb, first hand account by the team leader of US Army Special Forces Detachment Delta
It is rare that readers are provided a first hand, accurate, contemporary, non politically constrained account of a major special operation by US Army Special Forces Detachment Delta. Many organizations claim the title, "special operations;" it takes more than a ...

The Post-American World

Fareed Zakaria

W. W. Norton, 2008

This is a highly informative source for coming to terms with the positive changes that globalization could and is bringing.
Fareed Zakaria has really given a great deal of thought to globalization and its larger meaning, and it is obvious for almost all to see. His thoughts on how the U.S., India, China, and Russia should interact are spot on. His use of statistics is pretty much a welcomed ...

Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency

Barton Gellman

Penguin Press HC, The, 2008

Angler
As a reader with advanced degrees in Political Science and Public Policy, and 20 years of employment in senior government service, this is the best expose with the required restraint and research that I have read in 30 years. A MASTERPIECE.

The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British

Sarah Lyall

W. W. Norton, 2008

A Fond But Caustic (And Hilarious) Look At The British
Sarah Lyall is an American journalist married to a British journalist. The Anglo Files is part memoir, part traveler's advisory, part hate mail, and part love affair. If that seems like a lot to pack into a 263 page book not including index, it would be in the hands ...

The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression

Amity Shlaes

Harper Perennial, 2008

Every American Should Read This Book
Amity Shlaes has written a timely and provocative book. As our presidential election nears, one can hear Republicans and Democrats alike arguing for more government action, more government-sponsored bailouts, more government intrusion into the market. As one ...

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Simon & Schuster, 2006

a fascinating read
Very interesting read using source material, in their own words, account. The characters are alive and believeable with the background of the election and civil war. The narrative is engrossing and I got lost in the book. It is a biography of the four people who ran ...

Night (Oprah's Book Club)

Elie Wiesel

Hill and Wang, 2006

Elie, a brave boy and a survivor
Night is a book that truly makes you think and feel. What happened to the Jewish people is devastatingly awful.My mom homeschools my siblings and they chose to listen to Night on audio tape. Everyone was enraptured in Elie's story wanting to know what happened to him. ...

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family

Annette Gordon-Reed

W. W. Norton, 2008

Extraordinary insights in early American history
Opening disclaimer: Annette Gordon-Reed is my faculty colleague at NY Law School, and I originally introduced her to Bob Weil, the editor at W.W. Norton who contracted with her to produce this book. As a result, I had an opportunity to read it in final galleys this ...

A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)

Howard Zinn

Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005

This should be required reading in our schools
Our country will never be able to live up to the lofty ideals of our founding documents unless we come to grips with the truth of how we got where we are. This book tells the truth about how the people on top have butchered and suppressed others in order to STAY on ...

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

Erik Larson

Vintage, 2004

Creepy-cool slasher history
Creepy-cool history of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, intertwined with the history of the serial killer H. H. Holmes who was operating at and around the Fair and may have accounted for anywhere from 9 (confirmed) to 50 (suspected) to even 200 (conjectured) murders. ...