History Books

Book Synopsis"Passionate, cantankerous, and fascinating. Rather like Korea itself."--Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times Book ReviewTrade Review"Passionate, cantankerous, and fascinating... Rather like Korea itself." - New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisA work more disturbing than fiction from "the father of graphic novels" (New York Times). "The ultimate illustration of how absurdly comical and cancerous The Protocols has been to mankind."—Thane Rosenbaum, Los Angeles Times Book ReviewTrade Review"In his powerful art and shocking narrative—designed to expose, once and for all, this corrupting worldwide lie—Eisner is the true superhero of our time." -- Cynthia Ozick"A fiery torch of a book: A righteous light shone on an outrageous lie." -- Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics

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Book SynopsisLeszek Kolakowski’s masterpiece, one of the twentieth century’s most important books—for the first time in a one-volume paperback.Trade Review"Considered the definitive work on the subject" (The New York Times), Main Currents of Marxism is now in one paperback volume. "A monument of modern humanistic scholarship... It will surely not be superseded." New York Review of Books "Leszek Kolokowki is one of the world's greatest living political philosophers and historians of ideas... Norton have reissued his magnum opus, Main Currents of Marxism, in a handsome single volume." Timothy Garton Ash, Books of the Year, The Times Literary Supplement "...indispensable... an unmatched encyclopaedia of a major passage in Western intellectual history, but the enduring interest of this masterly volume does not come chiefly from the mass of useful information it provides. Instead, it lies in Kolokowski's devastating assessment of Marx's thought." John Gray, The Times Higher Education Supplement"

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Book SynopsisThe #1 New York Times Bestseller "Lewis has such a gift for storytelling…he writes as lucidly for sports fans as for those who read him for other reasons." —Janet Maslin, New York TimesTrade Review"It’s not a jock book. It’s not a sociology book. It’s a storybook about modern society, ancient virtues, and the power of love, money and talent to do a little good." -- Jay Hancock - Baltimore Sun"The Blind Side is as insightful and moving a meditation on class inequality in America as I have ever read—although to put it that way, I realize, makes it sound deadly dull. It isn’t." -- Malcolm Gladwell, author of Talking to Strangers and The Tipping Point"Lewis’s overview of the evolution of NFL strategy…is not only sound but shrewder than that of many so-called football insiders who can’t see the forest for the trees." -- Allen Barra - Washington Post"[Lewis] is advancing a new genre of journalism." -- George F. Will - New York Times Book Review"The Blind Side works on three levels. First as a shrewd analysis of the NFL; second, as an exposé of the insanity of big-time college football recruiting; and, third, as a moving portrait of the positive effect that love, family, and education can have in reversing the path of a life that was destined to be lived unhappily and, most likely, end badly." -- Wes Lukowsky - Booklist

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Book Synopsis“A tour de force.”—Gordon S. Wood, New York Times Book ReviewTrade Review"Elegant... intriguing, if not audacious... Hunt is an astute historian." -- Joanna Bourke - Harper's"Fast-paced, provocative, and ultimately optimistic. Declarations, she writes, are not empty words but transformative; they make us want to become the people they claim we are." -- The New Yorker"A provocative and engaging history of the political impact of human rights." -- Gary J. Bass - New Republic"This is a wonderful story of the emergence and development of the powerful idea of human rights, written by one of the leading historians of our time." -- Amartya Sen"Rich, elegant, and persuasive." -- London Review of Books"As Americans begin to hold their leaders accountable for the mistakes made in the war against terror, this book ought to serve as a guide to thinking about one of the most serious mistakes of all, the belief that America can win that war by revoking the Declaration that brought the nation into being." -- Alan Wolfe - Commonweal

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Book SynopsisA New York Times bestseller: “This terrific new book . . . [explores] the ‘notion of whiteness,’ an idea as dangerous as it is seductive.”—Boston GlobeTrade Review"One of the most important books ever on the social construction of the notion that there is a 'white' race." "[I]ntriguing and well researched. This is an important addition to the nascent academic field of whiteness studies, which examines the social construction of whiteness with particular attention to the American experience. It should be read by all historians and anyone with an interest in cultural studies." "Compelling, energetic, [and] highly readable." -- Alan Nadel "An insightful and lively exposition from a distinguished scholar." -- Linda Gordon

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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

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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

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Book Synopsis"Gripping and superb. This book will steal the night from you." —Laurence Gonzales, author of Deep SurvivalTrade Review"Wonderfully told, impressively researched…For fans of outdoor adventure, Alone on the Ice brings you as close to trekking in a blizzard on icy, dangerous terrain as you’ll likely want to get." -- Chuck Leddy - Minneapolis Star Tribune"Impressively seamless and straightforward." -- Christina Thompson - Boston Globe"A chilling story…You feel the freezing temperatures, the fear, the desperation, along with the loyalty of the other Australasian Antarctic Expedition members." -- Sandra Dallas - Denver Post"In Alone on the Ice, Roberts, a veteran mountain climber and chronicler of adventures, admirably succeeds in restoring the luster that the Australian Antarctic Expedition and its leader deserve." -- Dennis Drabelle - Washington Post"A fresh and thoroughly researched account of Doulas Mawson's epic journey of self-rescue across one of the most inhospitable regions known to man. Roberts takes the reader alongside the men of the 1912 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, and the desperation of Mawson s sledge journey can be well imagined step by frigid step." -- Ed Viesturs, author of K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain"Others have written the loose outlines of Douglas Mawson's astonishing survival against the worst conditions that Antarctica can deliver a lesser-known but equally compelling epic as that of Ernest Shackleton but Roberts's telling trumps them all." -- Gordon Wiltsie, author of To the Ends of the Earth"This is Roberts at his best, telling a little-known tale of adventure, tragedy, and endurance. Mawson may be the most famous Australian explorer, and Alone on the Ice is an admirable introduction of him to American readers." -- Greg Child, author of Over the Edge"An accurate and enthralling account of the greatest story of polar exploration and survival. Roberts takes the reader back to a time of hardship, collective friendship, and a level of determination unknown in todays culture. This book will make you cherish every meal and the joys of a warm bed." -- Conrad Anker, coauthor of The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mt. Everest

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Book SynopsisWith history in ferment, leading historian Lynn Hunt rethinks why history matters and how it should be written.Trade Review"Hunt has published a fine book. In the US and beyond, the pages of Writing History in the Global Era will virtuously underpin a thousand, thousand doctorates." -- Times Higher Education

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Book SynopsisA riveting story about the murder that changed a nation: the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.Trade Review"...a riveting new book about the prime minister and his murderer." -- Ian Black - The Guardian"Vividly written and sharply insightful, Killing a King is an important and valuable addition to our understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." -- Literary Review"A clear-eyed account…captures the way politics in this young and tiny country are uniquely and deeply personal." -- The Economist"Exceptional...an electrifying political narrative twinned with an old-fashioned crime story—of the sort that ought to be taught in journalism schools for its restraint, pacing and expert creation of suspense...The book is a Greek tragedy told in split screen, a frame-for-frame chronicle of a deplorable death foretold." -- Jennifer Senior - The New York Times"...compelling..." -- Jewish News"... Ephron's fascinating study..." -- The Jewish Chronicle

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Book SynopsisFrom the The New York Times best-selling author of Cod and Salt, a definitive history of paper and the astonishing ways it has shaped today's world.Trade Review"Kurlansky’s book is published with a deckle edge finish, a process that replaces the regular clean-cut trim of a page with a jagged, pulped roughness... It is a beautiful thing to hold and feel, and it presents a fine argument for the retention of paper as an aesthetically lusty object, let alone one that’s thrived through centuries of change." -- The Observer"Paper is not what you would call a learned book, but one learns an awful lot from it, all packaged in Kurlansky’s whipsmart prose." -- The Times"The history of paper is a history of cultural transmission, and Kurlansky tells it vividly in this compact, well-illustrated book." -- The New York Times"Kurlansky expertly argues a case for its [paper's] continuing survival." -- The Scotsman"... a kaleidoscopic history, an engaging gift book for trivia and history fans of all kinds." -- The Irish Times

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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

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Book SynopsisDrawing on the greatest writers of its civilization, Hamilton vividly depicts the life and spirit of Rome.Trade Review"No one in modern times has shown us more vividly… ‘the grandeur that was Rome.’ [Edith Hamilton] proved how applicable to our daily lives are the humor and wisdom of more than 2,000 years ago." -- The New York Times"... her [Edith Hamilton's] works still have the power to enlighten, particularly as artefacts of a time when what “Europe” meant was in crisis." -- Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary story of the one of the most fruitful friendships in modern arts and letters.Trade Review"Corbett’s narrative is pacy and vivid…" -- Financial Times"...splendid new book...Corbett looks into life as deeply as is possible for answers, but she knows when to stop. This is the hallmark of her moral intelligence." -- The Art Newspaper"... she [Rachel Corbett] evokes the interaction between Rodin's and Rilke's circumstances and mental states in vivid detail... The result of her efforts is a beautiful exercise in compact, interwoven double biography." -- Times Literary Supplement"... the moving story of Rilke and Rodin is worth as much as the best self-help books and manuals, and one could definitely learn a lot from their relationship... Corbett’s original book stands as an urgent invitation to revisit both Rilke’s poems and Rodin’s sculptures." -- World Literature Today"You Must Change Your Life is an enthralling exploration of the complex relationship between two creative giants of art and literature, drawn together in Paris at the birth of a new century... Corbett... sustains the reader’s interest through intellectual rigour, elegance, and above all empathy." -- The London Magazine

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Book SynopsisA bold exploration of the Holocaust by a pre-eminent scholar in the field.Trade Review"... this clear, well-written... book has much of importance to tell us in an age of sudden fear, propaganda and fake news, in which the Third Reich and its crimes reappear often as a "touchstone"." -- Times Higher Education

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Book SynopsisAn outstanding new edition of Plutarch, the inventor of biography, focused on five lives that remade the Roman world.

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Book SynopsisA blend of contemporary travelogue and historical narrative about the Alps from "a graceful and passionate writer" (The Washington Post).Trade Review"Stephen O'Shea's sardonic, science-rich travelogue…" -- Nature"His [Stephen O'Shea's] account of his journey, all 500 miles and seven countries of it, is a soaring success, erudite, entertaining and human... the Alps cry out to be explored. Start with this book." -- i paper"Veteran traveller Stephen O’Shea takes the reader on a delightful 500-mile historical romp through the Alps... It is well worth making space in the rucksack for this on your next Alpine holiday." -- Geographical

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Book Synopsis“An engaging piece of historical detective work and narrative craft.” —Chicago TribuneTrade Review"The intertwined stories of Revolution Song give a sense of how far-reaching a phenomenon the War of Independence was. It leaves to readers the pleasure of judging what each of the figures in the book—or perhaps the combination of them all—contributed to an event that changed the world." -- The New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisPatrick McGovern—part modern scientist, part Indiana Jones—uncovers and re-creates the oldest alcoholic beverages ever found.

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Book SynopsisA sweeping, global history of the rise of the factory and its effects on society.Trade Review"An insightful history of giant factories... Mr Freeman rolls up his sleeves and delves into the nitty gritty of manufacturing. He successfully melds together those nuggets with social history, on the shop floor and beyond the factory walls, from union battles to worker exploitation and, in the case of Foxconn, suicides." -- The Economist"Freeman has written a superb account... The author’s sympathy, insight and exemplary anecdotes make this a marvellous book." -- The Guardian"... Behemoth is a tour de force, a powerful liberal retelling of the factory narrative at a time of Trump and all he represents, when it badly needs to be retold." -- Times Higher Education"Freeman does an essential service by publicising the continuance of a system whose foundations rest on a banal evil." -- The Spectator"... fascinating book..." -- The New Statesman"... [Freeman] lay[s] out two centuries of factory production all over the world in ways that are accessible, cogent, occasionally riveting and thoroughly new. The history of large factories, as Freeman outlines it, is the history of the modern world and most everything we see, experience and touch." -- International New York Times"Carefully researched and energetically written, Freeman’s book takes in the first factories in Britain and New England, the great mills of late-Victorian Pennsylvania, the rise of Fordism in the 1920s, the world of the industrial Soviet Union and today’s colossal factories in China and Vietnam." -- The Sunday Times"Rich and ambitious... More than an economic history, or a chronicle of architectural feats and labor movements, Behemoth depicts a world in retreat that still looms large in the national imagination." -- Jennifer Szalai - The New York Times"Fascinating... Freeman shows how factories have had an overwhelming influence on the way we work, think, move, play and fight." -- Scott W. Berg - The Washington Post"You may have no detailed knowledge of factories except that they can be converted into cool lofts. In that case, you’ll learn much from historian Joshua Freeman." -- Jonathan Rose - The Wall Street Journal"It is a book of epic scope." -- 5 Star Review - The Telegraph"... superb account... Almost every page contains a memorable fact or an intriguing thought... [Freeman's] sympathy, insight and exemplary anecdotes make this a marvellous book." -- The Guardian"[Joshua Freeman] handles his material 'with the seriousness it deserves' and if it 'can feel a little slow-going at times, that's partly because of the knottiness of the history Freeman lays out, as well as his honourable refusal to resort to simplistic notions of grand progress or portentous doom'." -- The Oldie

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Book SynopsisThough Tesla’s inventions transformed our world, his true originality is shown in the visionary ambitions he failed to achieve.Trade Review"Munson makes vivid the genius’s eventful life, from his mother’s inspirational labour-saving inventions to his psychological complexity — and his estimable belief that “technology should transcend the marketplace”." -- Nature"Munson tells the story engagingly. He manages to explain the important concepts and technical details clearly while keeping extraneous detail to a minimum." -- Times Literary Supplement"Richard Munson’s Tesla: Inventor of the Modern gives us a detailed and vivid glimpse of the competitive world of electrical innovation at the end of the 19th century, and emphasises the duality of his subject... most interesting and often amusing book..." -- The Spectator"... a superbly researched, entertaining and often saddening study of a man who gave the world so much yet took so little... It can only be hoped that Munson's excellent insight will finally reveal the truth behind this marvellous maverick to the world." -- All About History

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Book Synopsis“Extraordinary... seamless... astonishingly rich” (Sverker Sörlin, Nature)—an eye-opening environmental history of the Far North.Trade Review"In Floating Coast, Bathsheba Demouth has written a brilliant hybrid book about one of the most fragile and forgotten of Anthropocene front-line territories, the Bering Strait. Uniting ecology, anthropology, reportage and more, this is a superb work of environmental history, often reminiscent to me of Barry Lopez's Arctic Dreams in its combination of rigorous research, intense looking and listening, and its clear ethical vision." -- Robert Macfarlane"... Demuth has now herself written the history she calls for. Floating Coast is a historian’s Moby Dick, a great white whale of a book that spans centuries and links landscapes, living beings, and the flux of time, into a marvelously readable narrative." -- Amitav Ghosh"Floating Coast is an extraordinary piece of history writing, seamlessly weaving together disparate elements. It is astonishingly rich in ethnographic detail, ecological precision, economic circumstance and historical texture." -- Nature"Demuth, an environmental historian at Brown University, has reaped rich and fascinating material from the oral history of the indigenous Beringians recorded by ethnographers." -- Literary Review"Floating Coast is rich, well researched and illuminating. It keeps under readers’ feet the vastness of Demuth’s expertise, as solid as a land bridge." -- The International New York Times

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Book SynopsisA Polish musician, a Jewish conductor, a secret choir and the rescue of a trove of music from the Sachsenhausen concentration campTrade Review"Sing, Memory is a moving story of courage and determination amid overwhelming loss, all the more powerful for its heartbreaking sense of what might have been." -- The Economist

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Book SynopsisThe first book in a new three-volume history of the Asia-Pacific War, by the acclaimed author of Downfall and Guadalcanal.Trade Review"It was [Richard Frank's] account of the chaos of war that most gripped me. Another of this book's many strengths is the author's welcome desire to tell the Chinese side of the story… Excellent though he is at most things, Frank is arguably at his best in his portrayal of both the leading and minor characters in this story." -- Malcolm Murfett - Literary Review"Outstanding, wide-ranging... Frank has a humane, sure eye for detail." -- Rana Mitter - BBC History Magazine

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Book SynopsisThe leading text, beloved for authoritative coverage and narrative flair

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Book SynopsisThe leading text, beloved for authoritative coverage and narrative flair.

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Book SynopsisThe long-awaited update to Demos’s classic book for the practitioner looking to add neurofeedback.

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Book SynopsisAn illuminating history of the banjo, revealing its origins at the crossroads of slavery, religion and musicTrade Review"For the very first time, a reader’s version of a few of the earliest written observations of the instrument are on full display in the thoughtful and masterful writing of this book. This book is not only made for the banjo enthusiast but it opens a new window into 17th, 18th and 19th century world history on the ground level by those who lived it and observed the strange new cultural connections brought by a brutal plantation system.[...] Kristina Gaddy’s observations lead the reader back into the 21st century to contend and reanalyze the crooked road of America’s musical past." -- Dom Flemons, the American songster and Grammy Award–winning musician"Beguiling… [Gaddy] weaves her story together from sources including paintings, diaries and letters, and tells it chronologically. In a less daring writer’s hands, this might have become a slog, but Ms. Gaddy successfully blends archival skills with imagination." -- The Economist

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Book SynopsisA gripping account of the infamous Nazi doctor from a former US Justice Department official tasked with uncovering his fate.Trade Review"It must be the most thorough-going account of Mengele's life available to date, a calm and professional read, but one that inevitably makes you want to look away." -- The Spectator"What specifically distinguishes Marwell’s account from previous studies concerns his personal involvement in the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations (O.S.I.) and the search for and identification of Mengele." -- The International New York Times"Gripping… sober and meticulous." -- David Margolick - The Wall Street Journal"Marwell’s life has much new to tell us, both about Mengele himself and, more significant, about the social and scientific milieu that allowed him to flourish." -- Adam Gopnik - The New Yorker"Compelling... At once a compact biography of the notorious war criminal, a detailed account of Mengele’s flight to South America, and an absorbing narrative of the quest to bring him to justice." -- Patricia Heberer Rice - Science

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Book SynopsisThe first biography of Alaric to appear in English tells the history of the fourth-and fifth-century Roman Empire through the life of the Goth who attacked it.Trade Review"Today, as Douglas Boin of Saint Louis University points out in his superb book, the word "Gothic" has become synonymous with all that is "dark, gloomy and macabre". History, it is often said, is written by the winners—but that is only if they can write. If they can't, then history is written by the losers, crossly." -- The Economist"...a finely crafted account of how Alaric became the embodiment of Rome's self-defeating fear of the world outside its frontiers." -- Philip Parker - Literary Review"Few records survive of the Visigoth culprit Alaric (well, if you will destroy a literate culture...) but the historian Douglas Boin knows enough to clear up some misapprehensions. Alaric the Goth… is a Latin-speaker who longs for nothing so much as to be Roman… One snub too many, and he and his mob show the Eternal City to be fleeting. The book… understands what drives personal success far better than modern treatises on management and self-help… An “Outsider’s History” is how Boin describes his book about Alaric. History is seldom anyone else’s." -- Janan Ganesh - Financial Times"A new history argues the Goths who sacked Rome have been much traduced." -- Patrick Kidd - The Times"He [Douglas Boin] eloquently protests against the stereotypical depictions of Goths…" -- Catherine Conybeare - Times Literary Supplement"History may mostly be written by the victors, but the destruction of Rome by the far less literate Goths in 410AD is an exception. This colourful portrait of the city and empire in the fifth century tells their side of the story. Rich Romans lived in splendour while Goths endured slavery. Alaric, their leader, served in the Roman army— before turning on the oppressors." -- The Best Books of the Year 2020: History - The Economist"Boin published his book before the attack on the US Capitol, but his reading of the ancient past through the lens of contemporary trauma offers a fitting epitaph to a regime that did not fall but petered out – and a reminder that even a failed sack can be given meaning." -- Josephine Quinn - London Review of Books"The most engaging parts of Alaric the Goth, and by far the greater portion of its contents, diverge from Alaric’s story to give a sweeping view of Roman life near the fall of the empire. It’s here, especially in matters of Christian-pagan tension, that Mr. Boin excels." -- James Romm - The Wall Street Journal"Boin paints a richly detailed portrait of the world in which Alaric maneuvered, defined by the thrashings of an empire in turmoil… A cogent, readable text that vividly conveys the fears and confusion that surrounded the issue of immigrants’ rights in a period of declining Roman power." -- Wendy Smith - The Boston Globe"This brilliant book... starts the story of the sack of Rome not from inside the walls of the eternal city, but outside, with Alaric the Goth. It’s a great trick, superbly executed. Some books tilt the world so that you will never quite see it in the same way again, and this is definitely one." -- Catherine Nixey, Summer Reads 2020 - History Extra

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Book SynopsisA fresh portrait of Henry Kissinger focusing on the fundamental ideas underlying his policies: realism, balance of power and national interest.Trade Review"Gewen's book… is distinctive in that it is, above all, an account of Kissinger's intellectual universe." -- Gideon Rachman - Financial Times"Gewen seeks to escape [a] cartoon depiction of Kissinger... He does so successfully with sympathy for his subject, subtlety, good writing and not a little humour... Gewen tells us that Kissinger is more than a figure out of history, and that we dismiss or ignore him at our peril… Where are the 21st-century’s Henry Kissingers when we need them?" -- Christopher Meyer - The Spectator"A timely new book on Henry Kissinger—The Inevitability of Tragedy by Barry Gewen—provides new insight into what might have gone wrong and landed the US in a late imperial funk." -- Iain Martin - The Times"[Gewen] remind[s] us of a very interesting and complex personality." -- Roger Boyes - The Times"In this magisterial account, Gewen… traces the historical and philosophical roots of Kissinger’s famous realism, situating him in the context of Hannah Arendt and a cohort of other Jewish intellectuals who escaped Nazi Germany." -- 100 Notable Books of 2020 - The New York Times Book Review"Timely and acute... A thoughtful rumination on human behavior, philosophy and international relations." -- John A. Farrell - The New York Times Book Review"Barry Gewen delivered a new biography of Henry Kissinger’s life and work." -- 2020 in US politics books - The Guardian

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Book SynopsisA vibrant and illuminating exploration of medieval thinking on women’s beauty, sexuality and behaviourTrade Review"[An] eye-opening and provocative account of the lives of women in the Middle Ages…[Janega] builds a convincing picture of the positive and resourceful part that women played in medieval society, not only as adjuncts to their husbands and fathers, but in their own right." -- Christina Hardyment - The Times"Both the subject matter and the author’s engaging conversational style make this a book of many delights… very entertaining" -- Gillian Kenny - The Spectator"A robust and well-sourced academic book. The primary sources Janega draws on are remarkable in their variety… There are colourful anecdotes on almost every page" -- Rachel Cunliffe - The New Statesman"Provocative, colloquial and entertaining.. As The Once and Future Sex makes clear, misogyny, oppression and conflicted ideas about sexuality and desire have not vanished, they just now take different forms." -- Carolyne Larrington - The Times Literary Supplement"Entertaining and revealing... Janega skilfully weaves a modern cultural commentary through her research into the medieval world, highlighting similarities and differences to today's world for women and focussing our attention on the importance of analysing history as a way to understand the present. " -- Emily Staniforth - All About History"[A] lively exploration of medieval women’s social roles" -- Laura Kalas - The Conversation"A hugely entertaining and informative account of medieval thinking about women…this is a highly rewarding read, which reminds us that we can only tackle present injustices if we remember that there is nothing universal about the ways in which people treat one another." -- Hannah Skoda - BBC History Magazine"The Once and Future Sex is a bracing and witty exploration of how gender is constructed. Eleanor Janega shows it is high time we stop using 'medieval' as a pejorative and we stop patting ourselves on the back for our supposed progress. Combining incisive cultural criticism, meticulous research, and juicy historical tidbits, The Once and Future Sex proves that the path towards a more equitable future can be found by way of the medieval past." -- Shelley Puhak, author of The Dark Queens"A startling rethinking of why the medieval past still matters. Eleanor Janega tells how women’s roles are fundamentally constructed and the ways they have both changed over time and unfortunately stayed the same. With erudition and humour, this book offers the reader a perfect case study of how a fuller accounting of the past opens up new, better possible worlds." -- Matthew Gabriele, co-author of The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe"In this witty, entertaining, and highly learned book, packed full of colourful characters and the texture of a long-past time, Eleanor Janega never loses sight of the bigger picture: how these old ideas underpin our own conceptions of gender and how modern conceits of progress are no less deeply flawed than those of the past." -- Patrick Wyman, author of The Verge and host of The History of Tides podcast"Reading this book is like hanging out with your brilliant, hilarious historian friend, raging together at misogyny’s extraordinary adaptability over time and plotting how to change the world once and for all." -- Carissa Harris, author of Obscene Pedagogies

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Book SynopsisAn incisive biography of E.E. Cummings' early life, including his First World War ambulance service and subsequent imprisonment, inspirations for his inventive poetry

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Book SynopsisA biography of one of America’s most popular and misunderstood authors, John Steinbeck.Trade Review"[Mad at the World] highlights the staggering amount of work he [Steinbeck] fitted into his overflowing life... highly readable..." -- The Sunday Times"William Souder’s Mad at the World is the first significant biography of Steinbeck since Jackson L. Benson’s... The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer. It is readable, admiring and compact, and provides a narratively energetic look at a man who suffered many of the same weaknesses as his characters — for booze, benzedrine, depression and bad marriages... Souder writes well, and this is a good place to start reading (or rereading) about Steinbeck." -- Scott Bradfield - The Spectator"A comprehensive new biography of America’s best-known novelist of the Great Depression arrives at a timely moment." -- 17 New Books to Watch For in October - The New York Times"Souder’s sympathy for Steinbeck… is most effective and eloquent in his depiction of the California landscape or of the sea, which he describes as swimming with small pelagic crabs “like a crimson carpet spread across an ocean the color of lapis lazuli"." -- Brenda Wineapple - The New York Times Book Review"Painstakingly researched, psychologically nuanced, unshowy, lucid... [Souder] has brought a deeply human Steinbeck forth in all his flawed, melancholy, brilliant complication." -- Alex Kafka - The Washington Post"[An] appreciative yet clear-eyed assessment." -- Wendy Smith - The Boston Globe

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Book SynopsisAn entertaining and informative voyage through cultural fantasies of the North, from sea monsters and a mountain-sized magnet to racist mythmakingTrade Review" German historian of culture and science Bernd Brunner, in his book Extreme North, weaves a darker tapestry, layering legends over the science and history of the north to describe a place that is real, remote, inscrutable and cold." -- Josie Glausiusz - Nature"A collection of curiosities… There may not be a great deal of sunniness here, or for that matter warmth, but the book makes up for that with fascinating anecdotes, useful digressions and little nuggets of interest." -- James Lovegrove - Financial Times"Brunner’s own cabinet of curiosities offers both a delightful series of vignettes of the north, including Mary Wollstonecraft’s description of the perpetual summer light as the ‘noon of the night’, and a gallery of the preconceptions and agendas which successive visitors have carried with them...Brunner’s work is a dizzying tour of the ways in which successive ages have engaged with the idea of the north… More than anything, though, the book is a reminder that the north is both a place and a perspective." -- Philip Parker - Literary Review"In 31 chapters, each as self-contained and pointed as a shard of ice, Brunner presents a different historic, political, natural or cultural facet of his subject... Thought-provoking and wide-ranging, Extreme North resembles the 'cabinet of wonders' that he uses as the book’s embarkation point." -- Liesl Schillinger - The New York Times Book Review"Engaging… Those who seek out cultural histories to see the world through a strange new lens may particularly enjoy the section exploring how the North was misperceived in antiquity." -- Cal Flyn - Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisThe hidden history of the pocket calculator—a device that ushered in modern mathematics, helped build the atomic bomb and went with us to the moon—and the mathematicians, designers and inventors who brought it to lifeTrade Review"The book provides a breezy mathematical history tour through the development of number systems, slide rules, mechanical calculators and microchips. " -- Jeffrey M. Perkel - Nature"Houston's sprightly history aims to give the calculator the recognition it deserves as a stepping stone to the digital era... He makes a convincing case, in sum, for the significance of the calculator. " -- The Economist"Houston's narrative is full of oddballs, many of them brilliant..." -- Alexander Nazaryan - The New York Times Book Review"Starting from the seemingly simple task of recounting the history of the pocket calculator, Keith Houston unfolds a complex and fascinating history of numeracy, the evolution of technology, and the human desire to push our capabilities ever further. Deep," -- Cal Newport, The New York Times bestselling author of Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email"Everywhere and nowhere at once’ is how Keith Houston describes the pocket calculator, a machine that is so intimately intertwined with human history that it is impossible to imagine our lives deprived of its influence. In Empire of the Sum, Houston takes us on a journey that spans centuries and reaches across the universe, always coming back to humanity’s craving for calculating machines in all their diverse forms. I dare you to reach the end of this book and not be irresistibly charmed by both the pocket calculator and Houston’s witty, gregarious prose." -- Natalia Holt, The New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls"[An] enlightening history" -- Pablo Scheffer - The Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed master of historical fiction comes an epic saga about a reluctant hero, the Roman Empire, and the rise of a new faithTrade Review"A great warrior comes face to face with the only thing that could ever change him: a little girl who holds both hope and humanity in her heart. This is Pressfield’s best work." -- Jim Gant, ex–Green Beret, Silver Star recipient, and author of One Tribe at a Time"A brilliant tour de force." -- Ann Scott Tyson, award–winning journalist and author of American Spartan"A Man at Arms captures not only the ferocity and shock of battle, but also the relationships and emotions that make warfare so awful and yet so glorious." -- Jocko Willink"An incredible book that I devoured in one sitting. The master behind Gates of Fire does it again!" -- Ryan Holiday, The New York Times best-selling author of Stillness Is the Key"A Man At Arms explores the warrior ethos through the eyes and heart of a mercenary whose calling is tested on a journey of transformation. A masterpiece!" -- Jack Carr, Navy SEAL sniper and The New York Times best-selling author of Savage Son

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Book SynopsisA fascinating look at four of the most spectacular cities in human history—and why they were all abandoned.Trade Review"Newitz dispels myths, evokes fascinating stories, and makes us think hard about our own urban future." -- Charles Mann"Newitz always sees to the heart of complex systems and breaks them down with poetic ferocity." -- NK Jemisin

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Book SynopsisThe most widely used primary-source reader for the modern China course, thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the new edition of Spence, The Search for Modern China.

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Book SynopsisWhy did the first civilizations emerge when and where they did? How did Islam become a unifying force in the world of its birth? What enabled the West to project its goods and power around the world from the fifteenth century on? Why was agriculture invented seven times and the steam engine just once?

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Book SynopsisThe only edition of the celebrated Autobiography that includes the long-missing and recently identified “Wagon Letters.”Table of ContentsIntroduction Acknowledgments Notes on the Text Maps: Franklin's Boston, Philadelphia, and London THE TEXT OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY The Autobiography "A Quire Book of Letters" The Outline of the Autobiography A Guide to People Mentioned in the Autobiography CONTEXTS Journal of a Voyage, 1726 Excerpts from Franklin's Letters Mentioning the Autobiography "Authentic Memoir of Dr. Franklyn" EXCERPTS FROM FRANKLIN'S WRITINGS ON AMBITION AND FAME, WEALTH, AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT AMBITION AND FAME From Poor Richard Improved, 1750 From Poor Richard Improved, Jan. 1758 To Sarah (Franklin) Bache, June 3, 1779 From Benjamin Vaughn, May 1785 From Jane Mecom, July 21, 1786 WEALTH To Cadwallader Colden, Sept. 29, 1748 To William Strahan, June 2, 1750 To Jane Mecom, Dec. 30, 1770 To Thomas Cushing, June 10, 1771 Benjamin Vaughn to Lord Shelburne, Nov. 24, 1782 To Robert Morris, Dec. 25, 1783 To Benjamin Vaughn, July 26, 1784 Last Will and Testament, 1788, and Codicil, 1789 SELF-IMPROVEMENT Franklin's Epitaph, 1728 Franklin's Junto Query on Human Perfection, 1732 [Poor Richard on Self-Improvement, 1749] Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion, 1749 To Lord Kames, May 3, 1760 To Abiah Franklin, Apr. 12, 1750 To Joseph Priestley, Sept. 19, 1772 CRITICISM CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS Immanuel Kant • [The Modern Prometheus] David Hume • To Franklin, May 10, 1762 Franklin in the Cockpit • The Pennsylvania Gazette Report, 1774 Benjamin Vaughn's Account, 1779 Edmund Burke • To Count Patrick D'Arcy, Oct. 5, 1775 From the New-Jersey Gazette, Dec. 31, 1777 Peter Oliver •From Origins & Progress of the American Rebellion Richard Price • To Franklin, May 1790 Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau • Eulogy for Franklin before the National Assembly of France, 1790 José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez • A Brief Eulogy for Benjamin Franklin, 1790 José Francisco Correia da Serra • Eulogy for Franklin to the Royal Academy of Sciences, Lisbon, 1791 John Adams • On Franklin, May 15, 1811 NINETEENTH-CENTURY OPINIONS Francis, Lord Jeffrey •From the Edinburgh Review, 1806 Charles Brockden Brown •From Literary Magazine, 1806 John Keats • To George and Georgiana Keats, Oct. 14-31, 1818 Humphry Davy • Historical Sketch of Electrical Discovery Edgar Allan Poe • The Business Man Leigh Hunt •From Hunt's Autobiography Herman Melville •From Israel Potter Mark Twain • The Late Benjamin Franklin Empress Shōken of Japan • [A Franklinian Poem], c. 1890 Frederick Jackson Turner •FromThe Dial, May 1887 William Dean Howells • From Editor's Study, Apr. 1888 From Editor's Study, July 1888 From Editor's Study, Jan. 1890 From Editor's Easy Chair, Oct. 1905 RECENT OPINIONS Max Weber •From The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism D. H. Lawrence • Benjamin Franklin W. Somerset Maugham • [The Classic Books of America] I. B. Cohen • Franklin and Science David Levin • The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: The Puritan Experimenter in Life and Art Michael Warner • Franklin: The Representational Politics of the Man of Letters Peter Stallybrass • Benjamin Franklin: Printed Collections and Erasable Writing Benjamin Franklin: A Chronology Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisJapan: A Modern History provides a comprehensive narrative that integrates the political, social, cultural, and economic history of modern Japan from the investiture of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 to the present.

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Book SynopsisA journalist pulls a random day in history from a hat to see if he can make a worthwhile story from what happened, and the results are captured in this illuminating book.

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