Unlike other barnyard animals, which pull plows, give eggs or milk, or grow wool, a pig produces only one thing: meat. Incredibly efficient at converting almost any organic matter into nourishing, delectable protein, swine are nothing short of a gastronomic godsend-yet their flesh is banned in many cultures, and the animals themselves are maligned as filthy, lazy brutes.As historian Mark Essig reveals in Lesser Beasts, swine have such a bad reputation for precisely the sam...

An “impressive” (Wall Street Journal) exposé of twenty-first century individuals and companies who have become obscenely rich from the resource trade in AfricaAfrica is the world’s poorest continent and, arguably, its richest. In The Looting Machine, Tom Burgis takes readers on a gripping journey into the world of the magnates and militiamen, the despots and jet-setting executives who gorge on Africa’s vast stocks of oil, gas, metals, and precious...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Within the origin of one of the world’s most iconic superheroes hides a fascinating family story—and a crucial history of feminism in the twentieth-century.“Everything you might want in a page-turner…skeletons in the closet, a believe-it-or-not weirdness in its biographical details, and something else that secretly powers even the most “serious” feminist history—fun.” —Entertainment WeeklyThe Secret Histor...

A revelatory account of how African Independence was systematically undermined by the United States."Fascinating information, original research, and bold ideas." —NPR**"A triumph of archival research." —**JacobinIn 1958 in Accra, Ghana, the Hands Off Africa conference brought together the leading figures of African independence in a public show of political strength and purpose. The charismatic Kwame Nkruma...

An essential reference for all game designers, this 1938 classic is “a fascinating account of ‘man the player’ and the contribution of play to civilization” (Harper’s).In this classic evaluation of play that has become a “must-read” for those in game design, Dutch philosopher Johan Huizinga defines play as the central activity in flourishing societies. Like civilization, play requires structure and participants willing to create within limits. Starting wit...

One of The New Yorker's "Best Books of the Year" * A Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize Finalist"Authoritative. . . . [Reynolds's] contribution to our understanding of the rise of American intelligence is unparalleled." —Journal of Intelligence History“The most thorough and detailed history available on the origins of U.S. intelligence.” —Michael Morell, former Deputy Director and Acting Director, CIAHistorian and former CIA officer Nicholas Reynolds, the New Yor...

A “supremely entertaining” (The New Yorker) exploration of who gets to record the world’s history—from Julius Caesar to William Shakespeare to Ken Burns—and how their biases influence our understanding about the past.There are many stories we can spin about previous ages, but which accounts get told? And by whom? Is there even such a thing as “objective” history? In this “witty, wise, and elegant” (The Spectator),...

The Katyn Massacre of 22,000 Polish prisoners of war is a crime to which there are no witnessesWINNER OF THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZECommitted in utmost secrecy in April–May 1940 by the NKVD on the direct orders of Joseph Stalin, for nearly fifty years the Soviet regime succeeded in maintaining the fiction that Katyn was a Nazi atrocity, their story unchallenged by Western govern...

Shortlisted for the 2021 Porchlight Business Book Awards, Current Events & Public AffairsThe Wall Street Journal technology columnist reveals the fascinating story behind the misleadingly simple phrase shoppers take for granted—“Arriving Today”—in this eye-opening investigation into the new rules of online commerce, transportation, and supply chain management.We are at a tipping point in retail history. While consumers are profitin...

**LONGLISTED FOR THE ALCS "GOLD DAGGER" AWARD FOR NON-FICTION CRIME WRITINGUncover the story behind the death of renowned diplomat and UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld in this true story of spies and intrigue surrounding one of the most enduring unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.**On September 17, 1961, Dag Hammarskjöld boarded a Douglas DC6 propeller plane on the sweltering tarmac of the airport in Leopoldville, the capital of the Congo. Hours later, he woul...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAfter a decade abroad, the National Book Award*–* and Pulitzer Prize*–*winning writer Evan Osnos returns to three places he has lived in the United States—Greenwich, CT; Clarksburg, WV; and Chicago, IL—to illuminate the origins of America’s political fury.Evan Osnos moved to Washington, D.C., in 2013 after a decade away from the United States, first...

"Hype is the best kind of nonfiction: juicy, sharp, savage and wildly entertaining, with a celebrity behaving badly on every page. What more could you want?” -Cat Marnell, ***New York Times-***bestselling author of How to Murder Your LifeFrom former Vice journalist and executive producer of hit Netflix documentary Fyre co...