A memoir of family history, personal identity, and WWII Vienna—a "well-researched, intimate, evocative look at some of the 20th century's foulest days" ( Kirkus).In autumn 1942, Anna Goldenberg's great-grandparents and one of their sons are deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Hans, their elder son, survives by hiding in an apartment in the middle of Nazi-controlled Vienna. But this is no Anne Frank-like existence; teenage Hans passes time in...

In autumn 1942, Anna Goldenberg’s great-grandparents and one of their sons are deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Hans, their elder son, survives by hiding in an apartment in the middle of Nazi-controlled Vienna. But this is no Anne Frank-like existence; teenage Hans passes time in the municipal library and buys standing-room tickets to the Vienna State Opera. Hans never sees his family again. Goldenberg reconstructs this unique story in magnificent reportage. She also port...

A medieval historian examines what we really know about the man who was "Merlin the Magician" and his impact on Britain.The historical Merlin was no rough magician: he was a learned figure from the cutting edge of medieval science and adept in astrology, cosmology, prophecy, and natural magic, as well as being a seer and a proto-alchemist. His powers were convincingly real—and useful, for they helped to add credibility to the "long-lost" history of Britain which fi...

For the first time, legendary DEA operatives Steve Murphy and Javier F. Peña tell the true story of how they helped put an end to one of the world’s most infamous narco-terrorists in Manhunters: How We Took Down Pablo Escobar—the subject of the hit Netflix series, Narcos.Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s brutal Medellín Cartel was responsible for trafficking tons of cocaine to North America and Europe in the 1980s and ’90s. The nation became a w...

Delve into the fascinating world of dirt in this history of culture, cleanliness, and our evolving perceptions of what is and isn’t gross.In this engaging and often humorous study of life’s imperfections, public health and hygiene authority Terence McLaughlin dissects our attitudes toward the filth that has accompanied society throughout human history. According to him, “dirt” is a matter of opinion.Cultural attitudes about everything from factory smoke to personal hygiene ...

A History of the Burger, From Conception to PerfectionA World History of Burgers: Do you know what the first burger chain was? That Taco Bell was originally known as Bell Burger—and was founded in the same city as McDonald's? Have you heard of the 1980s Burger Wars? All About the Burger covers all of these topics and more! Discover the food history you've been missing in this entertaining book.The Burger Journey of a Lifeti...

For many, the medieval world seems dark and foreign—a miraculous, brutal, and irrational time of superstition and strange relics. The pursuit of heretics, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the domination of the "Holy Land" come to mind. Yet the medieval world produced much that is part of our world today, including universities, the passion for Roman architecture and the emergence of the Gothic style, pilgrimage, the emergence of capitalism, and female saints.This new narrative hi...

How do cats land on their feet? Discover how this question stumped brilliant minds and how its answer helped solve other seemingly impossible puzzles.The question of how falling cats land on their feet has intrigued humans since at least the middle of the nineteenth century. In this playful and eye-opening history, physicist and cat parent Gregory Gbur explores how attempts to understand the cat-righting reflex have provided crucial insights into puzzles in mathema...

**The nearly forgotten story of the American Plan, a government program to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality—and how they fought back—told through the lens of one of its survivors“A consistently surprising page-turner . . . a brilliant study of the way social anxieties have historically congealed in state control over women’s bodies and behavior.”—New York Times Book Review**Nina McCall was one of many women unfairly imprisoned by the United States government t...

Focusing on Britain's peasants, shopkeepers, and other commoners, this history of the deadly Black Plague is a "local account of the countrywide calamity" (The Times).In this intimate history of the extraordinary Black Plague pandemic that swept through the British Isles in 1665, Evelyn Lord focuses on the plague's effects on smaller towns, where every death was a singular blow affecting the entire community.Lord's fascinating reconstruction of lif...

The long-awaited memoir of a trailblazer and role model who is telling her story for the first time.Eileen Collins was an aviation pioneer her entire career, from her crowning achievements as the first woman to command an American space mission as well as the first to pilot the space shuttle to her early years as one of the Air Force's first female pilots. She was in the first class of women to earn pilot's wings at Vance Air Force Base and was their first female i...

Bloomsbury presents Greed in the Gilded Age by William Elliott Hazelgrove, read by Cindy Piller.Greed in the Gilded Age is a Gatsby-esque tale of mystery, money, sex, and scandal.‘Millionaire’ had just entered the American lexicon and Cassie Chadwick was front page news, becoming a media sensation before mass media, even eclipsing President Roosevelt’s inauguration. Using these newspaper articles, Hazelgrove tells the story of one of the greatest cons in Am...