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Recommendations based on Napoleon: A Lifeby Andrew Roberts
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Grant
by Ron Chernow
Biography of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, exploring his life and legacy.
Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and inept businessman, fond of drinking to excess; or as the triumphant but brutal Union ... (Goodreads)
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
by Mary Beard
An exploration into the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, tracing its impact on the modern world.
New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Wall Street Journal , the Economist, Foreign Affairs , and Kirkus Reviews Finalist for the ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Guns of August
by Barbara W. Tuchman
A riveting account of the events leading up to World War I and its devastating consequences.
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time The Proud Tower, the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Guns of August, and The Zimmerman Telegram comprise Barbara W. ... (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)
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932
by William Manchester
Biography of Winston Churchill, detailing his rise to power and personal struggles.
s/t: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory 1874-1932 When Winston Spencer Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace, Imperial Britain stood at the splendid pinnacle of her power. Yet within a few ... (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)
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
by Jon Meacham
Detailed biography of Thomas Jefferson, exploring the man and his unprecedented influence.
In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The ... (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 Romanovs: 1613-1918
by Simon Sebag Montefiore
An exploration of the 300-year rule of the Romanov dynasty, from its rise to its fall.
The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world’s surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world’s greatest ... (Goodreads)
The Forgotten Soldier
by Guy Sajer
A memoir of a German soldier's experiences during WWII, depicting the horrors of war.
Forgotten Soldier recounts the horror of World War II on the eastern front, as seen through the eyes of a teenaged German soldier. At first an exciting adventure, young Guy Sajer’s war becomes, as ... (Goodreads)
The Path to Power
by Robert A. Caro
The first volume of a biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, tracing his early life and political career in Texas.
The Years of Lyndon Johnson is the political biography of our time. No president—no era of American politics—has been so intensively and sharply examined at a time when so many prime witnesses to ... (Goodreads)
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)
Caesar: Life of a Colossus
by Adrian Goldsworthy
Biography of Julius Caesar, detailing his rise to power and influence over Roman history.
Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of the great Roman emperor’s life, Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor’s accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful ... (Goodreads)
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
by Walter Isaacson
Biography of the influential founding father, exploring his life and legacy.
Benjamin Franklin is the Founding Father who winks at us. An ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to dining with kings, he seems made of flesh ... (Goodreads)
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
Comprehensive biography of the Founding Father, delving into his contributions to the American Revolution.
An alternate cover edition can be found, here., Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, ... (Goodreads)
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
Reflections on Stoic philosophy, exploring the nature of existence and how to live life.
Written in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual ... (Goodreads)
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
by Edmund Morris
A biography of Theodore Roosevelt, chronicling his early life, political career, and rise to the presidency.
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time Described by the Chicago Tribune as "a classic," The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt stands as one of the greatest ... (Goodreads)
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
A comprehensive study of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, and the unique cabinet he assembled.
Winner of the Lincoln Prize Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from ... (Goodreads)
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
by Nathaniel Philbrick
Journey of the Pilgrims from England to America, exploring their struggles and successes.
HOW DID AMERICA BEGIN? This simple question launches acclaimed author Nathaniel Philbrick on an extraordinary journey to understand the truth behind our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the ... (Goodreads)
Walden & Civil Disobedience
by Henry David Thoreau
A philosophical exploration of solitude, nature and civil disobedience.
Henry David Thoreau's masterwork, Walden , is a collection of his reflections on life and society. His simple but profound musings—as well as Civil Disobedience , his protest against the government's ... (Goodreads)
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa
by Eugene B. Sledge
A soldier's harrowing account of his experiences in World War II.
In his own book, Wartime, Paul Fussell called With the Old Breed "one of the finest memoirs to emerge from any war." John Keegan referred to it in The Second World War as "one of the most arresting ... (Goodreads)
The Gene: An Intimate History
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
An exploration of the science of genetics and its implications for humanity.
Spanning the globe and several centuries, The Gene is the story of the quest to decipher the master-code that makes and defines humans, that governs our form and function. The story of the gene ... (Goodreads)
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics
by Tim Marshall
Geopolitical exploration of global events and the impact of geography on politics.
In the bestselling tradition of Why Nations Fail and The Revenge of Geography , an award-winning journalist uses ten maps of crucial regions to explain the geo-political strategies of the world ... (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)
Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies
by Ben Macintyre
A detailed account of British spies and their role in the secret operations of WWII.
In his celebrated bestsellers, Agent Zigzag, and, Operation Mincemeat, Ben Macintyre told the dazzling true stories of a remarkable WWII double agent and of how the Allies employed a corpse to fool ... (Goodreads)
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-40
by William Manchester
Biography of Winston Churchill's courageous leadership during the tumultuous interwar period.
“The best Churchill biography [for] this generation . . . Even readers who know the basic story will find much that is new.”—,Newsweek,In this powerful biography, the middle volume of William ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Conquest of Gaul
by Gaius Julius Caesar
A narrative of Julius Caesar's military campaigns in Gaul, chronicling his strategy and triumphs.
The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
by Matt Ridley
Examining the history of human progress, the book argues that human civilizations can only thrive with the exchange of ideas.
Life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down — all across the globe. Though the world is far ... (Goodreads)
Colonel Roosevelt
by Edmund Morris
Biography of Theodore Roosevelt's life, from his rise to power to his death.
Of all our great presidents, Theodore Roosevelt is the only one whose greatness increased out of office. When he toured Europe in 1910 as plain “Colonel Roosevelt,” he was hailed as the most famous ... (Goodreads)
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
An exploration of the two systems of the mind, and how they influence decision-making.
In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow , Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and ... (Goodreads)
