History of the Americas Books
WW Norton & Co The Ambiguous Iroquois Empie The Covenant Chain Confederation of Indian Tribes with English Colonies
Book SynopsisWinner of the Distinguished Book Award of the Society of Colonial Wars.Trade Review"A learned and lively new history of the Iroquois to 1744 . . . [that] stands by itself as a very important book. . . . [It] surely must now be the definite history of the Iroquois in their era of triumph and the first stages of decline." -- Ronald Sanders, author of Lost Tribes and Promised Lands
£22.80
W. W. Norton & Company Present at the Creation
Book SynopsisWinner of the Pulitzer Prize With deft portraits of many world figures, Dean Acheson analyzes the processes of policy making, the necessity for decision, and the role of power and initiative in matters of state.Trade Review"The passing decades confirm Dean Acheson's place as the clearest thinking, most effective Secretary of State of the twentieth century. As a writer he has no equal since Thomas Jefferson first occupied the office in the eighteenth century." -- Gaddis Smith, Yale University
£39.42
WW Norton & Co The Contours of American History
Book SynopsisA very good book indeed.... It is quietly reasoned, beautifully ordered, and spirited as hell.... [It] is not a book for children, nostalgic or otherwise.-Loren Baritz, The Nation
£22.79
WW Norton & Co Everybody Says Freedom A History of the Civil
Book Synopsis“Filled with beautiful music, glorious lyrics, and the soul of one of the most important historical and social revolutions of our history.” —Judy Collins
£15.99
WW Norton & Co We Say No
Book SynopsisThe title of We Say No is drawn from a speech delivered by Eduardo Galeano in support of democracy in Chile in 1988.
£10.99
WW Norton & Co Arnt I a Woman
Book Synopsis"One of those rare books that quickly became the standard work in its field." —Anne Firor Scott, Duke UniversityTrade Review"Told with human sympathy and professional skill…Ar'n't I a Woman? moves well beyond mere revisionism; it is as important as it is overdue." -- James Oakes, author of Freedom National"This small but important book should be read by everyone interested in the subjects of freedom and equality. Which means most of us." -- Kirkus Reviews
£13.29
WW Norton & Co The New Radicalism in America 18891963 The Intellectual as a Social Type
Book SynopsisExtraordinarily creative . . . an important and engrossing contribution to a complex and elusive subject.-Newsweek
£21.38
WW Norton & Co Thirteen Days A Memoir of the Cuban Missile
Book Synopsis"A minor classic in its laconic, spare, compelling evocation by a participant of the shifting moods and maneuvers of the most dangerous moment in human history." —Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.Trade Review"As a principle figure in resolving the crisis Robert Kennedy brings to it extraordinary authority, with his own insights, perspectives and very important revelations of the decision-making process at the highest level, on the brink of nuclear holocaust." -- David Schoenbrun - New York Times Book Review"This is valuable not only as a record of the operations of the Administration during the great facedown, but as an instance of responsible brinkmanship." -- Kirkus Reviews
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Firewall The IranContra Conspiracy and Coverup
Book SynopsisIn its chilling and unsparing revelations, Firewall is the definitive account of the most dangerous breach of presidential authority since Watergate.Trade Review"Not simply an important public accounting of an egregiously misconceived policy, but a cautionary tale of power." -- August Richard Norton - Boston Globe"We would never have known the truth about Iran-Contra without the tenacious seven-year struggle by the independent counsel in the affair, Lawrence Walsh, to get to the bottom of it…Of first-rate historical importance." -- Doug Ireland - The Nation
£35.62
WW Norton & Co In Search of the Racial Frontier African Americans in the American West 15281990
Book SynopsisAn enthralling work that will be essential reading for years to come. -David Nicholson, Washington PostTrade Review"[Rich] in scope and scholarly detail?it will certainly stand as the definitive work on the subject for some time to come." -- James A. Miller - Boston Globe"[B]y far the most complete general history of blacks in the West." -- Scott L. Malcolmson - Newsday"Those looking for a solid overview of the African-American presence in our region would do well to let Quintard Taylor be their guide." -- John C. Walter - Seattle Times"An absorbing chronicle." -- Publishers Weekly
£22.32
WW Norton & Co Minnesota A History 0 States and the Nation
Book SynopsisA comprehensive history of a state thought by many to be the most livable.
£19.95
WW Norton & Co Lexington and Concord
Book Synopsis
£17.06
WW Norton & Co Women of the West Life on the American Frontier
Book Synopsis“An authentic, refreshing and even inspiring view of life on the frontier.” —San Francisco ChronicleTrade Review"Anyone interested in American history should read [this]." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer"The focus on minority women gives this overview . . . a human appeal rarely touched in most history books of the westward expansion." -- Kansas City Star"An elegant connective narrative and 150 remarkable photographs put . . . the [nineteenth] century’s history in more realistic perspective." -- Los Angeles Times"Handled with a very human touch throughout." -- Seattle Times
£18.99
WW Norton & Co The Cruelest Miles The Heroic Story of Dogs and
Book Synopsis"A stirring tale of survival, thanks to man's best friend." —Seattle TimesTrade Review"A classic tale of man against nature." -- Sara Wheeler - New York Times Book Review"Quite literally a cliff hanger." -- Emily Carter - Minneapolis Star Tribune"Stirring passages detailing the rigors of dogsledding, the bond between man and beast, and the importance of a good lead dog make for irresistible Jack London kind of stuff." -- David Stress - Seattle Weekly"Sequence by sequence the Salisburys have written not only about a race but also about our Alaskan history and the hardy people who first came, both Native and non-Native, to make our history so rich." -- Velma Wallis, author of Two Old Women"A scrupulously researched, cleanly written account that makes for a rollicking good adventure." -- Alice King - Entertainment Weekly"This a moving story, superbly researched and deftly told." -- Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Lincolns Avengers
Book SynopsisDid the federal government mete out justice or revenge in response to Lincoln's assassination?
£11.39
WW Norton & Co Men of the West
Book Synopsis"A lively read, filled with wonderful quotes and photographs." --Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News
£17.99
WW Norton & Co When Affirmative Action Was White
Book SynopsisA groundbreaking work that exposes the twisted origins of affirmative action.Trade Review"A fresh, highly readable, first-rate history." -- Sanford D Horowitt - San Francisco Chronicle"A penetrating new analysis." -- Nick Kotz - New York Times Book Review"Ira Katznelson has made a major contribution to the affirmative action debate…[His] book makes as strong a case as I have ever seen for vigorous action to bring about equal opportunities for African-Americans." -- George M. Frederickson - New York Review of Books"A gem of a book." -- David Oshinsky - The Nation"Katznelson’s explosive analysis provides us with a new and painful understanding of how politics and race intersect." -- Henry Louis Gates Jr."When Affirmative Action Was White was one of the first books that helped me concretely understand how racism was embedded into federal policy." -- Clint Smith, author of Counting Descent
£13.29
WW Norton & Co Killing Custer
Book SynopsisThe classic account of Custer's Last Stand that shattered the myth of the Little Bighorn and rewrote history books.Trade Review"The Great Spirit must have created James Welch so that he could tell of the Little Bighorn from the viewpoint of the tribes that fought there." -- Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
£13.29
WW Norton & Co The Sea Captains Wife
Book SynopsisA finalist for the Lincoln Prize, The Sea Captain's Wife comes surprisingly, and movingly, alive (Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly).Trade Review"[Hodes] has done an extraordinary job of writing the story of an ordinary New England woman who was a prolific letter writer and who made unusual decisions for her time." -- Washington Post"Few researchers have the imagination or tenacity to reconstruct a lost life as carefully as Hodes has done…an absorbing account of a life reclaimed from obscurity." -- Times Literary Supplement"Eunice Richardson Stone Connolly’s life is a road map to learning about 19th-century America…Those who love books about history will revel in the book's detail." -- Cape Cod Times
£14.24
W. W. Norton & Company Billy the Kid
Book Synopsis"This might be the best Billy the Kid book to date." —Fritz Thompson, Albuquerque JournalTrade Review"Michael Wallis does a scrupulous and persuasive sifting of the evidence about Billy’s life and activities." -- Larry McMurtry - New York Review of Books"Michael Wallis’s Billy the Kid is the closest anyone has come to a definitive biography of the most mythical figure of the American frontier." -- Allen Barra - AmericanHeritage.com"Research became a pleasure reading Michael Wallis’s books about Pretty Boy Floyd and the Oklahoma oil barons for one of my novels. I couldn’t wait to read Wallis’s Billy the Kid, prompted by the author’s scholarship and readable style. Following Wallis’s search for the real Billy the Kid is a fascinating experience." -- Elmore Leonard"Wallis’s reconstruction of the Kid’s exploits is engrossing…Over the decades, countless books have been written about the infamous outlaw, and this is surely one of the best." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"In this objective, non-sensationalistic biography of legendary outlaw Billy the Kid, historian Wallis…painstakingly sifts fact from fiction." -- Kirkus Reviews"This well-written and engaging biography is aimed primarily at general readers interested in the West and provides a clear, concise, and reliable account of Billy; Wallis is careful not to make his story so complicated that it confuses readers." -- Library Journal
£21.84
WW Norton & Co Ronald Reagan Fate Freedom and the Making of
Book SynopsisAn important reassessment of the fortieth president, placing him in the pantheon with Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt.
£12.99
WW Norton & Co Standing at Armageddon
Book SynopsisA consistently engrossing, occasionally irreverent, always smoothly written history of America's painful entry into the modern age.Kirkus Reviews
£15.19
WW Norton & Co Mary Todd Lincoln
Book Synopsis"A striking success…the account of the White House years is absorbing, the account of Mary Lincoln's life as a widow utterly compelling." —New York TimesTrade Review"Beautifully crafted, entertaining as only the best biographies can be, and rich with superb insights and wonderful anecdotes about nineteenth-century family and domestic life, [this] is a complex and moving character study of a woman tragically out of step with her time and place." -- Chicago Tribune"This exciting and important book is a major contribution to Lincolniana. Absorbing and convincing, this is one of the few books that deserve to be called definitive." -- David Herbert Donald, author of Lincoln"A richly documented and sympathetic study." -- Publishers Weekly"In the thriving cottage industry of Lincoln studies Baker’s readable and sympathetic biography is easily the definitive account of the troubled former First Lady. Baker’s principal contribution is in recognizing Mary Todd Lincoln on her own terms." -- Library Journal
£17.63
WW Norton & Co For Liberty and Glory Washington Lafayette and
Book SynopsisGaines has a deft understanding of the Washington-Lafayette relationship ... [and] a knack for wielding substantial research with aplomb.-San Francisco Chronicle
£24.30
WW Norton & Co Our Lincoln
Book Synopsis"Exhilarating . . . strikes a balance between the personal and the abstract."—Edward Rothstein, New York TimesTrade Review"Each portrait is a reminder that Lincoln’s warm glow in history was a raging fire of controversy during his lifetime." -- Dallas Morning News
£18.90
WW Norton & Co The Hemingses of Monticello
Book SynopsisWinner of the Pulitzer Prize Winner of the National Book Award New York Times Bestseller #1 on Esquire's List of the 50 Best Biographies of All Time "[A] commanding and important book." —Jill Lepore, The New YorkerTrade Review"A sweeping, prodigiously researched biography." -- Motoko Rich - New York Times"A monumental and original book." -- Fergus Bordewich - Washington Post"A brilliant book…It marks the author as one of the most astute, insightful, and forthright historians of this generation." -- Edmund S. Morgan and Marie Morgan - New York Review of Books"[A] very important and powerfully argued history of the Hemings family…[Gordon-Reed] has the imagination and talent of an expert historian." -- Gordon S. Wood - The New Republic"This comprehensive biography of Hemings’s family before, during, and after their lives at Monticello belongs on the biography genre’s Mount Rushmore thanks to Gordon-Reed’s revelatory investigation and her stellar narration of history from a previously hidden perspective." -- Adam Morgan - Esquire"A riveting and compassionate family portrait that deserves to endure as a model of historical inquiry…stands dramatically apart for its searching intelligence and breadth of humane vision…We owe Annette Gordon-Reed tremendous thanks." -- Kirk Davis Swinehart - Chicago Tribune"The Hemingses of Monticello makes a powerful argument for the historical significance of the Hemings family not only for its engagement with a principal architect of the early Republic, but also for the ways the family embodies the complexities and contradictions of slavery in the United States. " -- James Smethurst - The Boston Globe"The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed, a historian and law professor, is a doorstop corrective to early American history, painting a composite portrait of a family that stood at the wellspring of the Jefferson, slave Sally Hemings, their children and kin fascinate and surprise. " -- Cleveland Plain Dealer"Because of Gordon-Reed, Hemings and her ancestors and descendants achieve full personhood. For that, the author deserves praise and lots of readers. " -- Minneapolis Star-Tribune"An epic saga of the Hemings family, whose bloodline has been mixed with that of Thomas Jefferson since our third president took slave Sally Hemings as a mistress. " -- Dallas Morning News"Gordon-Reed has pulled off an astonishing feat of historical re-creation, involving equal measures of painstaking archival detective work, creative historical imagination, and balanced judgment." -- François Furstenberg - Slate"As the title suggests, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family brings an entire family out of the historic shadows that have been cast across Jefferson’s famous Virginia home. The book succeeds on this score by showing how generations of Hemingses labored at Monticello. It offers a stunning illustration of the tragedy that slavery could wreak. " -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution"Hemings and her extended family receive a worthy biography. " -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch"The Hemingses of Monticello explores a thorny but important chapter in American history with distinction and clarity, offering a poignant, if also often ugly, chronicle of slavery, secrecy and family tension. " -- Ron Wynn - Bookpage
£20.44
WW Norton & Co Thomas Jefferson
Book SynopsisA seminal biography of Thomas Jefferson and a fascinating exploration of his relationship with Sally Hemings.Trade Review"Brilliant, provocative. . . . A biography no one interested in the man or his times should miss." -- Larry McMurtry - Washington Post Book World"A powerful and touching portrait. . . . Brodie has humanized Jefferson without in the least diminishing him." -- Wallace Stegner, author of Beyond the Hundredth Meridian
£21.59
WW Norton & Co Fur Fortune and Empire
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Starred Review. Who'd think you could write a history of the U.S. centered on three centuries of the trade in furs? Dolin has done so in this spirited tale...Dolin, author of the acclaimed Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, offers another good history well told." "Starred Review. The fascinating story of the fur trade, full of heroism, greed, violence and political conflict... riveting narrative ... A delightful history, reminding readers that while noble ideals led to the settling of the United States, the fur trade paid the bills." "Eric Jay Dolin-whose previous book, Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, was a deft blend of history, business and zoology-has produced a superb one-volume examination of an era when American ingenuity and its competitive spirit began to flourish... Dolin describes in marvelous detail...colorful figures of the American fur trades' western expansion... at last, we now have a book that properly accounts for America's rise as a fur-trade power." -- Michael Taube "Eric Jay Dolin, author of Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, now turns his keen eye on another fabled extractive enterprise in Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America. With impressive erudition and lively wit, Dolin charts the astonishing development and impact of this fashion-driven trade from its inception in the early 17th century to the late 1880s, by which time it had created legends and fortunes, fueled imperial expansion, irrevocably altered Native American existence and devastated entire species." -- Anna Mundow "Benjamin Franklin famously mused that the turkey might be a good symbol for the United States; we opted for the eagle instead. But a compelling case could be made for the beaver. In a sense, we owe the European settlement of the North American continent to that intrepid engineer of the animal world... [Dolin] brings together all the exhilarating and tragic aspects of the [fur] trade through the 19th century ... an absorbing and comprehensive ride through the trade's history." -- Anne Bartlett "Dolin ranks among the historian elite... It's impossible not to be drawn in by the cinematic sweep with which Dolin presents his story, with even the tiniest details accorded entertaining scrutiny. The nature of wampum, the teeth of beavers, the unfortunate introduction of guns and alcohol as barter items, the petty bickering between competing trading camps that all too often escalates into violence - there's wonder in every paragraph. Dolin clearly loves the material he's presenting, and he's excited to share it." -- Jeff Guinn "In Fur, Fortune, and Empire, Eric Jay Dolin ranges far and wide over land and sea, searching for the beating heart of a gargantuan industry touched by almost every aspect of human society and human nature: war, power, money, faith, desire and ambition... As in Leviathan, his highly praised book on U.S. whaling, he restores what most of us regard as an American institution to its rightful place on the international stage. The result is easily the finest tale of the trade in recent memory, a crisply written tale unburdened by excessive detail or homespun provincialism." -- Kirk David Swinehart "[A] comprehensive, well-researched, and chronological account... a compelling historical case study." "[M]eticulous and fascinating." "In his previous book, Leviathan, Dolin traced the evolution of American whalers from shoreside hunters to global sailors, as each generation was forced to travel farther and farther from Nantucket to find whales. His latest saga follows a similar drain-the-resource arc: When trappers wiped out the beaver in one region, they simply pushed west and exhausted the next. But Fur, Fortune, and Empire is no melancholy affair. The book bursts with colorful characters, venal corporations, and violent confrontations, all presented with sharp-eyed clarity in a narrative that clips right along." -- Bruce Barcott "The great virtue of the book is in its sweep... [Dolin's] ambition to tell the whole story of the American fur trade brings a depth of understanding to the economic driver the fur trade was that few other authors put forth... Ultimately, Fur, Fortune, and Empire is at once a sad and thrilling tale of the inevitable destruction of resources and cultures in the name of social evolution." -- Peter Sleeth "This is the story of the skinning of a continent... [Dolin] explains how the fur trade shaped the exploration, settlement and development of North America... interesting, well-researched book." -- Steve Raymond "[A] comprehensive study ... One of the biggest services Dolin provides in Fur, Fortune, and Empire is giving the fur trade its proper due, establishing how important it was to the nation as a whole and to the gateway to the West in particular." -- Dale Springer "A beaver might be a more fitting national symbol for America than a bald eagle, given the way the quest for that rodent's fur shaped this country's history, from its earliest colonial days to its Manifest Destiny westward drive and beyond... Packed with intriguing tidbits ... Fur, Fortune and Empire serves as a fur-focused refresher course on American history that will have readers reconsidering the powerful role the fur trade played in swaying in our nations history. The narrative of Fur, Fortune and Empire suggests that if you're proud to be an American, you can thank the beaver." -- Jenny Shank "Nobody writes about the link between American history and natural history with the scholarly grace of Eric Jay Dolin. Fur, Fortune, and Empire is a landmark study filled with a cast of eccentric Western-type characters...Not since the days of Francis Parkman has a historian analyzed the fur trade industry with such brilliance. Highly recommended!" -- Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History at Rice University, author of The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America "Eric Jay Dolin has crafted a stunning companion to his recent history of the American whaling industry, one that situates the sprawling pageant of American history-from the founding of Plymouth Colony to the conquest of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Plains-squarely within the saga of the North American fur trade. Focusing on the three-century chase for wealth in fur, this lively, balanced, and carefully researched account evokes an epic clash of empires from one end of the continent to the other. The book charts the rise and expansion of the American republic on the back of fur-bearing mammals and chronicles, along the way, a rogues' gallery of astonishingly vivid characters, from Henry Hudson himself and John Jacob Astor, down through Jedediah Smith, Joseph Walker, and Kit Carson. A wonderful and timely rendering of a heedless and bloody minded age." -- Ric Burns, documentary filmmaker "Eric Jay Dolin's brilliant account of our nation's fur trade is the best popular history ever written about one of America's most fascinating businesses. This engrossing and masterfully told story marches across a transcontinental stage populated by a host of history's most intriguing characters. Here is the pageant of America writ large!" -- James A. Hanson Ph.D., chief historian, Museum of the Fur Trade "Great story telling that weaves the commercial, environmental, and political threads of the history of the American fur trade into a wonderfully readable narrative... History writing of the highest order... It restores the central role of the American fur trade in understanding the development of the United States." -- Peter Drummey, Stephen T. Riley Librarian, Massachusetts Historical Society "Fur, Fortune, and Empire is a comprehensive, intensively researched, and eminently readable history of the North American fur trade, a crucial episode in explaining how the United States became a continental nation." -- Robert M. Utley, former Chief Historian of the National Park Service "Adventurers, charlatans, schemers, and activists abound ... The true stories Dolin spins rival anything Hollywood has come up with on the topic... entertaining and informative... Fur, Fortune, and Empire gives what it promises. It is an illuminating analysis of how the beaver and its fur-bearing colleagues became the true 'founding fathers' of North America." -- Dennis Rizzo
£14.24
WW Norton & Co The Fiery Trial Abraham Lincoln and American
Book Synopsis“A masterwork [by] the preeminent historian of the Civil War era.”—Boston GlobeTrade Review"Starred Review. Original and compelling...In the vast library on Lincoln, Foner's book stands out as the most sensible and sensitive reading of Lincoln's lifetime involvement with slavery and the most insightful assessment of Lincoln's-and indeed America's-imperative to move toward freedom lest it be lost. An essential work for all Americans." "Moving and rewarding... A master historian at work." -- David W. Blight "No one else has written about [Lincoln's] trajectory of change with such balance, fairness, depth of analysis, and lucid precision of language." -- James M. McPherson "Do we need another book on Lincoln? Yes, we do-if the book is by so richly informed a commentator as Eric Foner." -- David S. Reynolds "While many thousands of books deal with Lincoln and slavery, Eric Foner has written the definitive account of this crucial subject, illuminating in a highly original and profound way the interactions of race, slavery, public opinion, politics, and Lincoln's own character that led to the wholly improbable uncompensated emancipation of some four million slaves. Even seasoned historians will acquire fresh and new perspectives from reading The Fiery Trial." -- David Brion Davis, author of Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World
£14.24
WW Norton & Co David Crockett
Book Synopsis"Vivid, Comprehensible . . . cuts through decades of mythmaking." —Texas MonthlyTrade Review"Highly entertaining." -- Kate Tuttle - Boston Globe"Wallis understands the intriguing and mysterious element of American life and history." -- Stanley Crouch - New York Daily News"Read like fiction . . . enhanced by flowing prose in portraying a flawed but fascinating frontiersman." -- Publishers Weekly"Splendid . . . a readable and surprising biography." -- Allen Barra - Star Tribune
£14.24
WW Norton & Co Crazy Brave
Book SynopsisA “raw and honest” (Los Angeles Review of Books) memoir from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States.Trade Review"A saga about the survival of spirituality and creativity in the face of generations of racism, dispossession, and familial dysfunction…Fantastic, terrible and beautiful." -- Rebecca Steinitz - Boston Globe"Stirring…In her harrowing and ultimately hopeful story, Harjo allows the reader to know her intimately, and we are enriched by her honesty." -- Ms."A must-read for her fans and a fascinating door into her world for those new to her work." -- Elizabeth Wilkinson - Minneapolis Star Tribune"Gritty and mystical…Reads like a sacred prayer." -- San Francisco Chronicle"Exquisite…A must-read for anyone who appreciates the healing power of literature." -- Southwest"Blunt, moving…[Affirms and acclaims] the artistic impulse." -- Smithsonian"Dances into hard truth. [Harjo’s] fine crafting of words and deft braiding of mythic visions throughout the text almost—almost—draw you past the truth of her personal story. That story is harsh and scary, mystical and loving, and, ultimately, triumphant and healing." -- Indian Country"Joy Harjo has always been able to see with more than her eyes. Her writing is a testament to this gift. Her memoir honors her own journey as well as those who fell along the wayside. Her hero’s journey is a gift for all those struggling to make their way." -- Sandra Cisneros"Joy Harjo is a giant-hearted, gorgeous, and glorious gift to the world. Her belief in art, in spirit, is so powerful, it can’t help but spill over to us—lucky readers. Wildly passionate and honest as a hound, Crazy Brave invites us into a whole new way of seeing—deeper, less cluttered, and vastly more courageous than our own. It’s a book for people who want to re-fall in love with the world." -- Pam Houston
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Prairie Fever
Book Synopsis“A deeply researched and finely delivered look at what can best be described as a counterintuitive slice of American history.”—Washington PostTrade Review"A lost—and deeply weird—world . . . has been lovingly excavated and brought back to life. " -- Miranda Seymour - New York Times Book Review"Mr. Pagnamenta tells this story with verve and style. His love of tales of derring-do on the prairie matches his subjects . . . a constant delight. " -- Judith Flanders - Wall Street Journal"Astute, detached, droll, and elegantly put together . . . an exemplary cross-cultural study." -- Ben Downing - New Criterion"Something of the magic of the Great West — its big skies and great rivers and prairies filled with game — can be found in Peter Pagnamenta's compelling narrative of the mania for the prairie grasslands that swept British aristocrats in the middle of the 19th century. Grand solitary travelers came first and their tales of adventure brought scores and then hundreds of others — lords and younger sons needing a way to live and retired military officers and men hoping to get rich and sportsmen who wanted a grizzly and dreamers who imagined a ranching kingdom might end boredom once and for all. It's an extraordinary story, told in Prairie Fever with the kind of energy that makes you want to drop everything and go." -- Tom Powers, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and author of The Killing of Crazy Horse
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Freedom National The Destruction of Slavery in
Book SynopsisWinner of the Lincoln Prize "Oakes brilliantly succeeds in [clarifying] the aims of the war with a wholly new perspective." —David Brion Davis, New York Review of BooksTrade Review"In this brilliant new look at the destruction of slavery during the American Civil War, Oakes reveals how the U.S. abolitionist movement relied not only on high-minded moral suasion but also on the small-bore legalistic strategy of the Republican Party." -- Walter Russell Mead - Foreign Affairs"Oakes argues that Lincoln, from the moment of his inauguration, began using every political and military means at his disposal to wipe out slavery forever." -- Howell Raines - Washington Post"This remarkable book offers the best account ever written of the complex historical process known as emancipation. The story is dramatic and compelling, and no one interested in the American Civil War or the fate of slavery can afford to ignore it." -- Eric Foner, author of The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery"Freedom National provides the best account we have of the process of emancipation and the ultimate abolition of slavery, on the ground in the South and in the halls of power at Washington. It also makes clear that from the beginning, nearly all participants recognized that the central issue of the war was slavery and that its likely outcome was a new birth of freedom." -- James M. McPherson, author of War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861—1865"Brilliant in analysis and compelling in argument, this is now the book to read on how slavery died." -- Library Journal"A masterful piece of scholarship…A must-read book for anyone seeking a greater understanding of the complicated and politically charged nature of emancipation." -- Robert I. Girardi - Washington Independent Review of Books"An absorbing look at the complex process of emancipation and the forces behind the incentives and threats—and the war—that eventually led to the end of slavery in the U.S." -- Booklist
£14.24
WW Norton & Co Rose Kennedy The Life and Times of a Political
Book SynopsisAn unprecedented look at the life of Rose Kennedy reveals the private woman who became a political legend.Trade Review"Perry's engrossing biography allows us at last to understand Rose, thorns and all." -- The Mail on Sunday"...a superb biography..." -- TheBookbag.co.uk"Hugely compelling." -- The Herald
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Eleanor The Years Alone
Book SynopsisA New York Times Bestseller "Lash has reached the highest level of the biographer’s art…Astounding." —Wall Street JournalTrade Review"A remarkable achievement…as rich as [Lash's] understanding of the remarkable human being he celebrates." -- The New Yorker"Moving…Above all, [Lash] has conveyed with critical affection the essence of Eleanor Roosevelt." -- New York Times Book Review"The story Eleanor thought was over when her husband died…It is her capacity for love which shines through these pages." -- Los Angeles Times"Inspiring…Hers was a life which tells us that the human spirit is indomitable" -- Christian Science Monitor"Lash has succeeded in digging deeper, in portraying more richly, and in more profoundly stirring the reader's emotions with Eleanor alone." -- San Francisco Chronicle
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Our America
Book SynopsisRich and moving (The New York Times Book Review), here America's Hispanic past is presented with the characteristic insight and wit of a great historian.Trade Review"...clever, provocative and often very amusing 'Hispanic History'..." -- Literary Review"...a brilliant, difficult book...There is much to learn, however, and much also to ponder, in this fluent and vigorous plea for a more positive approach to the present and future role of a major group of US citizens." -- The Times Literary Supplement"Triumphantly rescues Hispanic America from obscurity." -- The Economist
£15.19
W. W. Norton & Company Right Star Rising A New Politics 19741980
Book SynopsisAn authoritative history of the right turn in American national politics during the Ford-Carter years.
£23.75
W. W. Norton & Company West of the Revolution
Book SynopsisThis panoramic account of 1776 chronicles the other revolutions unfolding that year across North America, far beyond the British colonies.Trade Review"Perceptive and original." -- Gerard Helferich - Wall Street Journal"[B]old and inclusive…a significant contribution to our understanding of this volatile and formative period in American history." -- Doug Kiel - Chicago Tribune"[A]s compelling and awful as a ghost story…[A] masterful portrait." -- Kate Tuttle - Boston Globe"A history more terrible than wondrous, a necessary counternarrative to our enlightened Revolution…Saunt stretches the scope of his history to provide context and background…He has created a sweeping narrative of noncolonial America in 1776. But he is at his most colorful when he finds individual stories, such as that of the Frenchman floating down the Arkansas River with ‘one severed head and the corpses of two of his companions.’" -- Carolyn Kellogg - Los Angeles Times"[A] panoramic view of North America…rife with fascinating facts." -- Jacob E. Osterhout - Newsweek"Brilliant." -- Michael Upchurch - Seattle Times"An engaging, original, and thought-provoking book on what was happening on the American continent in 1776 outside of our traditional line of sight. The result is a fascinating new look at the most familiar of years." -- Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America"A dramatic and compelling new take on the North America of 1776. With careful research and in evocative writing, Saunt brilliantly recovers the cultural diversity and many possibilities of a continent dominated by native peoples and coveted by several empires." -- Alan Taylor, author of The Internal Enemy
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Scorpions Sting
Book SynopsisA Washington Post Notable Work of NonfictionTrade Review"Offers the best explication of the long history by which Americans embraced the legitimacy of military emancipation, and it offers great insight into the debate over which took precedence: the natural right to property or the natural right to freedom." -- Ira Berlin - Washington Post"Beautifully argued and succeeds in telling us new things about a heavily explored topic." -- Mark M. Smith - Wall Street Journal"In The Scorpion’s Sting, Oakes surveys the legal doctrines that enabled President Abraham Lincoln to envision and then enact the Emancipation Proclamation…[It] will lead readers to reflect on the degree to which international law might hold significant implications for the American system of government." -- Walter Russell Mead - Foreign Affairs"A brilliant book that will force even the most veteran student of antebellum America to rethink previously held assumptions about emancipation." -- Erik J. Chaput - Providence Journal"In four swift, clear strokes, James Oakes has rewritten the history of emancipation in the United States." -- Allen C. Guelzo"If any reader still questions whether the Civil War was about slavery, this book overcomes all doubts." -- James McPherson"Incisive, imaginative, surprising, completely original—everything that one would expect from the most eminent historian of emancipation." -- Eric J. Sundquist"In clear prose and with searing insight, James Oakes recovers the moral urgency and strategic vision behind the Republican drive to undermine the slave system. A work of great depth and empathy." -- Alan Taylor
£15.68
WW Norton & Co Beale Street Dynasty
Book SynopsisThe dramatic rise and fall of Beale Street, the legendary Memphis thoroughfare that shook American culture.Trade Review"...a highly enjoyable account...The minute attention to detail suggests painstaking research, but a discreet and likeable authorial presence is maintained throughout." -- Times Literary Supplement"Adds a fascinating chapter to civil rights history." -- The New York Times Book Review"All aspects of this complex, fascinating history are told… with verve and vivid erudition." -- Tom Nolan - The Wall Street Journal
£13.29
WW Norton & Co Gateway to Freedom The Hidden History of the
Book SynopsisThe dramatic story of fugitive slaves and the antislavery activists who defied the law to help them reach freedom.Trade Review"Illuminating . . . an invaluable addition to our history." -- Kevin Baker - New York Times Book Review"Mandatory, and riveting, reading." -- Sam Roberts - New York Times"[A] detailed narrative . . . infused with the spirit of freedom." -- Bruce Watson - San Francisco Chronicle"Excellent . . . Mr. Foner, bringing to bear his well-honed research skills and his deep knowledge of slavery and race relations . . . vividly describes the key part that New York City played in the operations of the Underground Railroad . . . he merits high praise for contributing sold information and thoughtful analysis to the history of this shadowy, extensive network." -- David S. Reynolds - Wall Street Journal"Riveting . . . a visceral chronicle of defiance and sacrifice." -- Edward P. Jones - O Magazine"Bring[s] to bear the insights of a long and distinguished career writing about the Civil War and Reconstruction eras and a sharp sense of the ironies that involuntary servitude posed for a nation that proclaimed itself to be built on principles of liberty . . . highly readable." -- Michael D. Schaffer - Philadelphia Inquirer"A terrific and powerful story." -- Billy Heller - New York Post"Dramatic and compelling." -- David Hugh Smith - Christian Science Monitor"Suspense and drama on nearly every page. . . . The art of historical narrative at its very best." -- Jonah Raskin - Huffington Post"Eric Foner has won a place in the front rank of American historians with books that seem to vacuum up all available sources to produce bold new interpretations of the country’s reckoning with the big questions of slavery and freedom." -- Jennifer Schuessler - New York Times"Reminds us that history can be as stirring as the most gripping fiction." -- Wendy Smith - Los Angeles Times"Tells a story that will surprise most readers . . . Compelling." -- Adam Goodheart - The Atlantic"[Foner] carries the reader along, as if galloping through a valley of subterfuge and salvation that might also doom freedom at any time. Foner crucially delineates the profound challenge and existential risk that engulfed an interracial generation as the nation thundered toward dissolution, or Civil War." -- Kevin Lynch - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"Compelling . . . by turns scholarly and gripping." -- Alexander Nazaryan - Newsweek
£12.99
WW Norton & Co Buckley and Mailer The Difficult Friendship That
Book SynopsisA lively chronicle of the 1960s through the incredibly contentious and surprisingly close friendship of its two most colourful characters.Trade Review"Schultz's book is compelling and brilliant." -- Literary Review"Schultz's book is, among things, a very moving account of intellectual and political disappointment." -- Prospect"Kevin Schultz evidently had a lot of fun writing this exuberant, intelligent book, and so did I reading it." -- David Aaronovitch - The Times"A timely antidote to vacuous times... Brilliantly written and constructed, Schultz uses the friendship between these two unlikely protagonists to illuminate one of the most exciting – if turbulent – decades in modern American history: the 1960s." -- The Irish Times
£13.29
WW Norton & Co The War on Alcohol
Book SynopsisA ground-breaking history of Prohibition and a new creation story for the powerful American state.Trade Review"A focused and thought-provoking book." -- The Economist"McGirr’s ambitious book attempts to go beyond stereotypes of bootlegging, speakeasies and crime syndicates, and casts the 1920-1933 Prohibition era in a new light." -- Tony Barber, Best Books of 2016 - Financial Times
£13.29
WW Norton & Co Republic of Spin An Inside History of the
Book Synopsis“A brilliant, fast-moving narrative history of the leaders who have defined the modern American presidency.”—Bob WoodwardTrade Review"Greenberg is a terrific storyteller. . . . An education and an engrossing read." -- Christopher Buckley - National Interest"Fine, nuanced." -- Michael Beschloss - New York Times Book Review"Greenberg neatly weaves a history of public relations into his political tale." -- H. W. Brands - Washington Post"This essential book is going to wind up on every politico’s shelf." -- Matthew Cooper - Washingtonian"In Republic of Spin, David Greenberg opens a new and revealing window on the modern American presidency by showing how the effort to manipulate public opinion has long been a central obsession in the Oval Office. Vivid characters, some very famous and some obscure, bring this important story to life and enlighten us about what presidents can and cannot accomplish." -- Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Oath and The Nine"Anyone wishing to understand how our politics evolved from the era of Teddy Roosevelt’s bully pulpit to the exquisitely calibrated constructions of today’s publicists, pollsters, speechwriters, and snakes needs to read Republic of Spin. David Greenberg’s book is everything that a political history should be—vivid, comprehensive, and important." -- Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition"An utterly engrossing and deeply authoritative examination of spin and the American presidency—its origins, its vital role over the past century, its enduring importance. Greenberg’s elegant narrative brings this history vividly alive, as he weaves individual lives and broader societal forces into a major reassessment of modern American political culture. Spin has always been a part of politics, and it always will be; read this gem of a book to find out why that is, and what it means for our democracy." -- Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Embers of War
£14.24
WW Norton & Co The Great Departure
Book SynopsisA panoramic history of the vast migration of Eastern Europeans to the West by a recent winner of a MacArthur Fellowship.Trade Review"... vivid and meticulously researched work... The Great Departure offers a deep, multifaceted understanding of mass migration." -- Times Higher Education"...a perceptive history of migration and Eastern Europe…" -- The Economist"...timely, myth-busting chronicle…" -- Nature"... The Great Departure, an illuminating study of emigration from Eastern Europe to the US..." -- Financial Times
£15.19
WW Norton & Co Continental Divide A History of American
Book SynopsisA story of adventure and aspiration in the high peaks that makes a vivid case for the importance of mountains to American national identity.Trade Review"Packed with fascinating details ... comprehensive and inviting." -- Wall Street Journal "Maurice Isserman is the hidden jewel of mountaineering historians. He brings a scholar's eye to the wonder and passion of the sport. Continental Divide is a sweeping chronicle of what America contributed to an adventure long dominated by the Swiss and the British, the French, Poles, Germans, Austrians, and Italians...This is a story of mountains as dreams, of land as destiny, of summits as the pinnacles of all human desire." -- Wade Davis, National Geographic "Explorer for the Millennium" and author of Into the Silence "Continental Divide represents over 300 years of American climbing history in one epic volume...Maurice Isserman takes us on this journey with equal amounts of meticulously researched facts and understated humor, critical historical context and heartbreaking human stories-all of which make for a fascinating read." -- Bernadette McDonald, author of Freedom Climbers and Brotherhood of the Rope "A thrilling and nuanced history that expands our view of exploration, revealing how mountain adventures have transformed America." -- Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan, authors of Buried in the Sky
£14.24
WW Norton & Co The Politicians and the Egalitarians
Book SynopsisAn eminent historian reminds us of the commanding role party politics has played in America's enduring struggle against economic inequality.Trade Review"Wilentz sets forth a provocative idea that may provide vital perspective to the politics of this very year." -- The Boston Globe"A shrewd and engaging assessment of the variable American tradition of egalitarianism... scrupulously detailed, elegantly written, incisively argued, and effectively combative." -- Philip Roth
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Revolution on the Hudson New York City and the
Book SynopsisThe riveting untold story of the fight for the Hudson River Valley, the decisive campaign of the Revolutionary War.Trade Review"[A]n exacting account of the personal and national cost of the rebellion on both sides." -- Paula Uruburu - New York Times Book Review"Daughan’s narrative is by turns suspenseful, elegant, and moving." -- Ian W. Toll, best-selling author of Six Frigates"[Daughan] deftly highlights how naval power shaped even war on land." -- Wall Street Journal"In this fresh, vivid, and often surprising telling of the Revolutionary War, George Daughan explores the timeless theme of hubris and the critical role of geography in the making of American independence. A commanding, compelling performance by an inspired historian." -- Evan Thomas, author of John Paul Jones and Being Nixon"Fascinating…Daughan brings all his subjects to vivid life." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"An enlightening combination of military and regional history." -- Booklist
£16.23
