"A rip-snortin' story of shipwreck, intrigue, horror, courage, risk, luck and will . . . The authors have brought the drama in the Chesapeake alive." — Publishers WeeklyThe English had long dreamed of colonizing America, especially after Sir Francis Drake brought home Spanish treasure and dramatic tales from his raids in the Caribbean. Ambitions of finding gold and planting a New World colony seemed within reach when in 1606 Thomas Smythe extended overseas...

The fierce battle over identity and patriotism within Cherokee culture that took place in the years surrounding the Trail of TearsThough the tragedy of the Trail of Tears is widely recognized today, the pervasive effects of the tribe's uprooting have never been examined in detail. Despite the Cherokees' efforts to assimilate with the dominant white culture—running their own newspaper, ratifying a constitution based on that of the United States—they were never able t...

**ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARA NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW  EDITORS' CHOICE PICK AND 2024 NOTABLE BOOKAN NPR FAVORITE READ OF 2024“Peri’s joint biography is a thrilling, haunting yarn of the sort that the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson himself became famous for—and couldn’t have written without his wife.” —The AtlanticThe extraordinary story of the creative and romantic partnership between Robert Louis Stev...

"Riveting.…This book is required reading for anyone with even a passing interest in World War II and the Pacific Theater." —Bob Carden, Boston GlobeSeven minutes past midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a firestorm that reached up to 2,800 degrees, liquefying asphalt and vaporizing thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 me...

The "utterly fascinating" untold story of Soviet Russia's global military mapping program—featuring many of the surprising maps that resulted (Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian).From 1950 to 1990, the Soviet Army conducted a global topographic mapping program, creating large-scale maps for much of the world that included a diversity of detail that would have supported a full range of military planning. For big cities like Ne...

The extraordinary career of George Catlett Marshall—America’s most distinguished soldier–statesman since George Washington—whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century.“I’ve read several biographies of Marshall, but I think [David] Roll’s may be the best of the bunch.”—Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review • “Powerful.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Enthrall...

Winner • Pulitzer Prize for HistoryWinner • Kirkus Prize for NonfictionFinalist • National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction)A New York Times Notable Book of the YearNamed one of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, NPR, Library Journal, and gCaptainBooklist Editors’ Choice (History)Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for ExcellenceIn this “cri de coeur abou...

**One of The New Yorker’s Best Books of the Year • Named one of the Most Memorable Music Books of the Year by No Depression: The Journal of Roots Music"Compelling.… [R]eveals [an instrument] intimately rooted in the African diaspora and capable of expressing flights of sorrow and joy." —David Yezzi, Wall Street JournalAn illuminating history of the banjo, revealing its origins at the crossroads of slavery, religion, and music.**In an extra...

'Fascinating . . . a riveting tour' MERLIN SHELDRAKE'Game of Thrones meets the Natural History Museum meets Grimm fairytales . . . fascinating, enthralling and definitely enchanting' CHRIS PACKHAM'Thrilling, wide-ranging and profound' CASPER HENDERSONThe hydra rears its many heads in a flurry of teeth and poisonous fumes. The cyborg lays waste to humanity with a ruthless, expressionless stare.

The revelatory true story of the long-forgotten POW camps for German soldiers erected in hundreds of small U.S. towns during World War II, and the secret Nazi killings that ensnared fifteen brave American POWs in a high-stakes showdown.“In the pantheon of American history, it’s very hard to find compelling, original stories, and even harder to find authors worthy of them. In The Fifteen, William Geroux delivers the goods.”—John U. Bacon, New Yo...

Meet the scientists uncovering the secrets of Earth's harshest environments – the polar regionsSHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY TRIVEDI SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2025AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR'Thrilling... This book is a reminder of how incredibly "cool" our planet can be, and how we must fight to protect it.' Nick MohammedFrigid, remote and inhospitable – the polar regions seem far ...

In this “first-rate work of historical research and storytelling” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), four sites of American history are revealed as places where truth was written over by oppressive fiction—with profound repercussions for politics past and present.Popular narratives of American history conceal as much as they reveal, presenting a national identity based on harvesting treasures that lay in wait for European colonization. In Whose Ruins