American History
Audiobook Review | The Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry that Shaped Rock ’n’ Roll
Before Leo Fender and Les Paul were names on headstocks, they were tinkerers who produced the most influential musical instruments of the twentieth century
WWII Battles
A Fresh Take on Familiar Landings
Author Giles Milton focuses on Operation Overlord's overlooked.
World War II
Hulu’s ‘Catch-22’ Reboot is a Theater of the Absurd
Joseph Heller's famous war novel is vividly recreated over the course of six episodes in a new streaming miniseries.
WWII Figures
‘Desert Fox’ Offers Thrilling Battle Scenes—and No New Takes
The Rommel biography focuses more on the general's North Africa adventures than on fresh scholarship.
1900s
Audiobook Review| How Rodgers and Hammerstein Revolutionized the Musical
The music-making duo helped redefine theater and the American Broadway musical
American Civil War
Audiobook Review| Violence within Congress Spurs the Civil War
Author Joanne B. Freeman recounts how Southern Democrats’ attacks on critics of slavery spilled from the Capitol building onto streets and dueling grounds
WWII Figures
Madame Fourcade Was One of World War II’s Most Daring Female Spies
The courageous socialite played a key role in the French Resistance—yet received little credit for her efforts.
Wild West
Book Review: Wild Bill
Best-selling author Tom Clavin turns his authoritative gaze on Wild Bill Hickock, presenting familiar material in new and entertaining ways
Wild West
Book Review: All Because of a Mormon Cow
The editors present all available literature and let readers decide who was to blame for the 1854 Indian-army encounter that got 30 soldiers killed
Wild West
Book Review: The Mormon Handcart Migration
Candy Moulton traces the tragic path of five Mormon handcart companies that set out for Salt Lake City in 1856
Wild West
Book Review: Arizona’s Deadliest Gunfight
Heidi Osselaer searches for the truth about a 1918 Arizona shootout—no, not in Tombstone—that left four men dead
Americas
Audiobook Review| The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Celebrated as “the Father of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley documented the effects preservatives had on the Gilded Age’s food supply.
Americas
Audiobook Review| First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power
From Richard Nixon to Mike Pence, Kate Anderson Brower examines how the personal stock of recent vice presidents has fluctuated, often at the boss’ whim.
Civil War Figures
Review | ‘We Give Them Hell’
The Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run inspired 37-year old Wisconsin flour mill owner Henry Young to fight for the Union cause.
