Xenophon records the history of the Peloponnesian War beginning in 411 with the final years of the struggle between Athens and Sparta for mastery of Greece. His tales are portraits of democracy in crisis; of military dominance; of fratricidal strife; of the beginning of the slow, inexorable decline of the culture-that of Homer, and the Greek philosophers and tragedians-whose legacy serves as a foundation for the democratic values of the West.

The European “discovery” and conquest of America was one of the most cataclysmic events in history, leading to the wholesale destruction of millions of people and hundreds of flourishing societies. As far as history books are concerned, Native Americans have been secondary to an essentially Euro-American story. Now, James Wilson presents a rigorously authoritative, beautifully written, comprehensive history that—as Richard Gott wrote in the London Literary Review—“places the ‘Nati...

Her Little Majesty is a fresh and fascinating portrait of the diminutive monarch who ruled the vast British empire for over 60 years. Award-winning biographer and historian, Carolly Erickson, transports you behind the walls of Buckingham Palace to introduce you to the quirky, loveable Queen Victoria-revealed only to her closest associates. Emotionally deprived, inadequately educated, and socially isolated for much of her life, young Victoria felt ill-prepared to ascend the throne. But the ...

Noted biographer Jean Strouse has won the Bancroft Prize and received fellowships from the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowments for the Humanities and Arts. Her work has appeared in major magazines including The New Yorker and Newsweek. In Morgan, she creates the first complete portrait of a man who defined American commerce and banking. Contemporaries described J. Pierpoint Morgan as "the financial Moses of the New World." He was also called "a beefy, red-faced, thic...

The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling biography of America’s founding father and second president that was the basis for the acclaimed HBO series, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become t...

The Pulitzer Prize–winning biography of Harry S. Truman, whose presidency included momentous events from the atomic bombing of Japan to the outbreak of the Cold War and the Korean War, told by America’s beloved and distinguished historian.The life of Harry S. Truman is one of the greatest of American stories, filled with vivid characters—Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Wallace Truman, George Marshall, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Acheson—and dramati...

In lively, absorbing prose that rivals the finest literary fiction, prize-winning historian Carolly Erickson recreates the life of the notorious Tudor king, Henry VIII. In his youth as a charming national hero, his reign as a monstrous king, and his final days as a tottering old man, Erickson draws a thoroughly convincing portrait of one of English history's most notorious characters.

In this authoritative and engrossing full-scale biography, Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of Einstein and Steve Jobs, shows how the most fascinating of America's founders helped define our national character.Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us, the one who seems made of flesh rather than marble. In a sweeping narrative that follows Franklin’s life from Boston to Philadelphia to London and Paris and back, Walter Isaacson c...

Joshua Slocum was the first man ever to sail around the world single-handedly. He completed his voyage in 1895, without radio and modern technology, when native pirates roamed the seas. It makes for an exciting tale-all 46,000 miles and three years of it.

LA Times Book Award winner and expert on the past and present Japan, Ian Buruma examines the transformation of a country. Following Japan's history from its opening to the West in 1853 to its hosting of the 1964 Olympics, Buruma focuses on how figures such as Commodore Matthew Perry, Douglas MacArthur, and Emperor Mitsushito helped shape this complex country.

Few leadership titles have been written on the lives of women. Alan Axelrod, noted historian and business management expert, reveals how Elizabeth I overcame daunting obstacles to win intense loyalty and lead England to greatness.The queen’s long reign offers lessons on: developing a leadership attitude and image enhanced by personal dynamism; becoming an effective coach and mentor skilled at nurturing creativity; manipulating others—subtly and ethically—and knowing and anticipatin...

A National Book Award winner, Martin E. Marty is a University of Chicago Professor Emeritus, Lutheran minister, and prolific writer on history, culture, and theology. In his comprehensive yet concise The Christian World, Marty outlines the life and teachings of Christ and details how his followers spread the gospel to the world. "An effective combination of erudition and accessibility."-Kirkus Reviews