This "perceptive" and "satisfying" biography of George Washington by an award-winning historian "deserves a place on every American's bookshelf" ( The New York Times Book Review).James Thomas Flexner's masterful four-volume biography of America's first president, which received a special Pulitzer Prize citation and a National Book Award for its concluding installment, is the definitive chronicle of Washington's life and a...

"The best, the liveliest and most illuminating" account of Rockefeller, Morgan, and the other men who seized American economic power after the Civil War ( The New Republic).John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, E. H. Harriman, Jay Gould, Henry Clay Frick . . . their names carry a powerful historical ring, still echoing today in the countless institutions that are part of their legacy, from universities to museums to bank...

The New York Times–bestselling history of the first half of the twentieth century—five decades that transformed America—from the author of Only Yesterday.During the first fifty years of the twentieth century, the United States saw two world wars, a devastating economic depression, and more social, political, and economic changes than in any other five-decade period before. Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor of Harper's magazine, recount...

The definitive Tolkien companion—an indispensable guide to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and more, from the author of The Road to Middle-earth.This "highly erudite celebration and exploration of Tolkien's works [is] enormous fun," declared the Houston Chronicle, and Tom Shippey, a prominent medievalist and scholar of fantasy, "deepens your understanding" without "making you forget your initial, purely instinctive response to Middle-e...

Discover the Surprising History of Ordinary Things"Emily magically weaves a vibrant history of simple everyday objects we often take for granted. The Story Behind will surprise and delight..." ─Deana Marie, Creator & Host of the Twisted Philly podcast#1 Best Seller in Trivia & Fun Facts, Art History, Design History & Criticism, Reference, Decorative Arts & Design, and History of Technology

**Look for Dan Abrams and David Fisher’s new book, Kennedy’s Avenger: Assassination, Conspiracy, and the Forgotten Trial of Jack Ruby.*NOW A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*****“An expert, extremely detailed account of John Adams’ finest hour.”—**Kirkus Reviews**Honoring the 250th Anniversary of the Boston MassacreThe** New York Times bestselling author of Lincoln’s ...

An incisive, groundbreaking book that examines how a biological concept of race is a myth that promotes inequality in a supposedly "post-racial" era.Though the Human Genome Project proved that human beings are not naturally divided by race, the emerging fields of personalized medicine, reproductive technologies, genetic genealogy, and DNA databanks are attempting to resuscitate race as a biological category written in our genes.This groundbreaking book by l...

Look for Dan Abrams and David Fisher’s new book, Kennedy’s Avenger: Assassination, Conspiracy, and the Forgotten Trial of Jack Ruby.THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER2020 Audie Finalist—History/BiographyA Mental Floss Book to Read in Summer 2019**“Gripping.… Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense is a must-read.” —NPRA President on Trial. A Reputation at St...

By the award-winning author of Dog Company: a historic account of a Revolutionary War unit's "tactical acumen and human drama . . . combat writing at its best" ( The Wall Street Journal).In August 1776, little over a month after the Continental Congress had formally declared independence from Britain, the revolution was on the verge of a disastrous end. General George Washington found his troops outmanned and outmaneuvered at the Battle of Brookly...

From the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War comes “a historical spellbinder” (The Christian Science Monitor) about a trio of political giants in nineteenth-century America—and their battle to complete the unfinished work of the Founding Fathers and decide the future of our democracy.In the early 1800s, three young men strode onto the national stage, elected to Congress at a moment when the Fo...

"Our most provocative scholar of American power " reveals the forces behind the assassination of JFK—and their continuing influence over our world (David Talbot, Salon) .On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Shortly after, Oswald himself was killed. These events led many to believe there was a far greater plan at work, with a secret cabal of powerful men manipulatin...

" 1960 aims to take us deeper into the campaign than Theodore White's famous The Making of the President, 1960. And it does."— Chicago Sun-TimesThis is award-winning historian David Pietrusza's hard-edged account of the 1960 presidential campaign, the election that ultimately gave America "Camelot" and its tragic aftermath. It is the story of the bare-knuckle politics of the primaries; the party conventions' backroom dealings; the unpreced...