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Recommendations based on Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survivalby Peter Stark
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Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
by Erik Larson
Exploration of Lusitania's fateful voyage and its lasting impact on World War I.
#1 New York Times Bestseller,From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the, Lusitania, On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth ... (Barnes & Noble)
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
by Hampton Sides
An epic tale of survival and exploration in the unforgiving Arctic Ocean.
On July 8, 1879, Captain George Washington De Long and his team of thirty-two men set sail from San Francisco on the USS Jeanette. Heading deep into uncharted Arctic waters, they carried the ... (Goodreads)
One Summer: America, 1927
by Bill Bryson
A vivid portrait of America in the summer of 1927, featuring a host of historical figures and events.
In One Summer Bill Bryson, one of our greatest and most beloved nonfiction writers, transports readers on a journey back to one amazing season in American life. The summer of 1927 began with one of ... (Goodreads)
Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II
by Mitchell Zuckoff
Epic story of a WWII air crash survivors' journey through a dangerous and uncharted jungle.
“A lost world, man-eating tribesmen, lush andimpenetrable jungles, stranded American fliers (one of them a dame withgreat gams , for heaven's sake), a startling rescue mission. . . . This is atrue ... (Goodreads)
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
by Nathaniel Philbrick
True account of a whaling ship's disastrous voyage and the survivors' struggle for survival.
"With its huge, scarred head halfway out of the water and its tail beating the ocean into a white-water wake more than forty feet across, the whale approached the ship at twice its original speed - ... (Goodreads)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
by Atul Gawande
An exploration of the human experience of mortality and the importance of end-of-life care.
In, Being Mortal, author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern ... (Goodreads)
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J.D. Vance
An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America
by Timothy Egan
The heroic story of how Teddy Roosevelt and the US Forest Service fought the largest wildfire in US history.
On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning ... (Goodreads)
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
by Candice Millard
The riveting story of the assassination of President Garfield, a tragedy of medical science and mistake.
James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired ... (Goodreads)
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson
A humorous account of a man's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, reflecting on the beauty and history of the American wilderness.
The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South , and stumble in ... (Wikipedia)
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
by Alfred Lansing
True story of a remarkable Antarctic expedition, a testament to the power of courage and tenacity.
The harrowing tale of British explorer Ernest Shackleton's 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole, one of the greatest adventure stories of the modern age. In August 1914, polar explorer Ernest ... (Goodreads)
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
by Isabel Wilkerson
An exploration of the life-changing journeys of the millions of African-Americans who migrated from the South to the North, Midwest, and West from 1915 to 1970.
In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black ... (Goodreads)
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
by Erik Larson
A family's struggle to cope with the darkness of Nazi Germany, as seen through one man's courage.
The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from ... (Goodreads)
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
An inspiring story of a rowing crew battling against the odds to win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
This novel is about the University of Washington eight-oared crew that represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and narrowly beat out Italy and Germany to win the gold medal. The ... (Wikipedia)
Washington: A Life
by Ron Chernow
Intimate biography of George Washington, the nation's first president.
A gripping portrait of the first president of the United States from the author of, Alexander Hamilton, the New York Times bestselling biography that inspired the musical., Celebrated biographer Ron ... (Barnes & Noble)
Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World
by Liaquat Ahamed
An exploration of the economic decisions of four central bankers that changed the course of history.
The book discusses the personal histories of the four heads of the Central Banks of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany, and their efforts to steer the world economy from the period ... (Wikipedia)
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A comprehensive account of the history and science of cancer, from its origins to modern treatments.
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found, here, and, here,. The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented ... (Goodreads)
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier
by Stephen E. Ambrose
Epic tale of exploration and adventure as Lewis and Clark traverse the American wilderness.
'This was much more than a bunch of guys out on an exploring and collecting expedition. This was a military expedition into hostile territory'. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his ... (Goodreads)
Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
by Thérèse de Lisieux
An intimate look into the life of a saint, reflecting on her spiritual journey.
This book, first published in 1898 in a highly edited version, quickly became a modern spiritual classic, read by millions and translated into over fifty-five languages. John Clarke's acclaimed ... (Goodreads)
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A comprehensive look into the forgotten histories of the Indigenous peoples of the United States.
The first history of the United States told from the perspective of indigenous peoples. Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising ... (Goodreads)
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love
by Dava Sobel
A captivating exploration of Galileo's life and times, told through his daughter's letters.
Dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenth-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. ... (Goodreads)
Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West
by Hampton Sides
An exploration of the westward expansion of the United States, recounting the lives of those who lived it.
A Magnificent History of How the West Was Really Won - a Sweeping Tale of Shame and Glory, In the fall of 1846 the venerable Navajo warrior Narbona, greatest of his people’s chieftains, looked down ... (Goodreads)
1776
by David McCullough
A riveting account of the events leading up to and during the American Revolution.
In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence - when the whole American ... (Goodreads)
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
by Alice Schroeder
An in-depth biography of Warren Buffett, exploring his career, investments, and life.
Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one ... (Goodreads)
Paris, 1919: Six Months that Changed the World
by Margaret MacMillan
An account of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and its lasting effects on the modern world.
'Without question, Margaret MacMillan's Paris 1919 is the most honest and engaging history ever written about those fateful months after World War I when the maps of Europe were redrawn. Brimming ... (Goodreads)
Detroit: An American Autopsy
by Charlie LeDuff
An in-depth examination of the decline of Detroit, focusing on the people and stories behind the city's fall.
In the heart of America, a metropolis is quietly destroying itself. Detroit, once the richest city in the nation, is now its poorest. Once the vanguard of America’s machine age—mass production, ... (Goodreads)
The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England
by Dan Jones
A sweeping account of the tumultuous reigns of England's Plantagenet kings and queens.
The first Plantagenet king inherited a blood-soaked kingdom from the Normans and transformed it into an empire stretched at its peak from Scotland to Jerusalem. In this epic history, Dan Jones ... (Goodreads)
The Great Railway Bazaar
by Paul Theroux
A travelogue of a four-month journey by train from London to Tokyo, exploring the cultures and people encountered along the way.
First published in 1975, Paul Theroux's strange, unique, and hugely entertaining railway odyssey has become a modern classic of travel literature. Here Theroux recounts his early adventures on an ... (Goodreads)
White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America
by Nancy Isenberg
An in-depth analysis of the history of class in America, examining the lasting impact of the Establishment's grip on power.
In her groundbreaking history of the class system in America, extending from colonial times to the present, Nancy Isenberg takes on our comforting myths about equality, uncovering the crucial legacy ... (Goodreads)
