Looking for a gift for a history enthusiast? Try this list of suggestions provided by the editors of World History Group’s magazines.
American History
- Revolutionary Founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in the Making of the Nation, ed. by Alfred Young, Gary Nash and Ray Raphael
- The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies, by Alan Taylor
- David Crockett: The Lion of the West, by Michael Wallis
- Grant’s Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant’s Heroic Last Year, by Charles Bracelen Flood
- American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900, by H.W. Brands
America’s Civil War
- America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation, by David R. Goldfield
- 1861: The Civil War Awakening, by Adam Goodheart
- Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War, by Tony Horwitz
- Lincoln on War: Our Greatest Commander-in-Chief Speaks to America, edited by Harold Holzer
- A Glorious Army: Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia From the Seven Days to Gettysburg, by Jeffry Wert
Aviation History
- Bombs Away! The World War II Bombing Campaigns Over Europe, by John R. Bruning
- Come Up And Get Me: The Autobiography of Colonel Joe Kittinger, by Joe Kittinger and Craig Ryan
- How the Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare, by Walter J. Boyne
- Mission to Berlin: The American Airmen Who Struck the Heart of Hitler’s Reich, by Robert F. Dorr
- The Flight of the Century: Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of American Aviation, by Thomas Kessner
British Heritage
- Britain After Rome: The Fall and Rise, 400 to 1070, by Robin Fleming
- London’s Classic Restaurants: A Guide to London’s Iconic Restaurants and Eateries, by Cara Frost-Sharratt
- The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century, by Ian Mortimer
Civil War Times
- The Siege of Washington: the Untold Story of the Twelve Days That Shook the Union, by John Lockwood and Charles Lockwood
- The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, by Eric Foner
- Stuart’s Tarheels: James B. Gordon and His North Carolina Cavalry in the Civil War, 2nd Edition, by Chris J. Hartley
- Soldiering in the Army of Northern Virginia: A Statistical Portrait of the Troops Who Served under Robert E. Lee, by Joseph T. Glatthaar
- Decisions at Gettysburg: The Nineteen Critical Decisions That Defined the Campaign, by Matt Spruill
Military History
- Give Me Tomorrow: The Korean War’s Greatest Untold Story, by Patrick K. O’Donnell
- What It Is Like to Go to War, by Karl Marlantes
- A History of the World in 100 Weapons, by Chris McNab
- Mr. and Mrs. Madison’s War, by Hugh Howard
MHQ
- Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, by James D. Hornfischer
- The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies, by Alan Taylor
- The First Clash: The Miraculous Greek Victory at Marathon and Its Impact on Western Civilization, by Jim Lacey
See a more complete list at MHQ’s Reviews: Best Books of 2011.
Vietnam
- Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency From Ford to Obama, by Marvin and Deborah Kalb
- No Sure Victory, by Gregory A. Daddis
- The Vietnam War: An Assessment by South Vietnam’s Generals, ed. with essays by Lewis Sorley
- The Vietnam War—A Chronology of War, ed. by Col. Raymond Bluhm Jr.
Wild West
- Kit Carson: The Life of an American Border Man, by David A. Remley
- Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands, by Roger L. Di Silvestro
- Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary, by Steve Friesen
- Bandido: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez, by John Boessenecker
- The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral—And How it Changed the American West, by Jeff Guinn
World War II
- Combat! The complete series on DVD
- Brothers, Rivals,Victors: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, and the Partnership that Drove the Allied Conquest in Europe, by Jonathan W. Jordan
- Black Sheep: The Life of Pappy Boyington, By John F. Wukovits
- Always Faithful: U.S. Marines in World War II Combat, by Eric Hammel
- Dino D-Day: A frantic, team-based, first-person shooter about … Nazi dinosaurs