Books

• 
• 11/24/18
  

  Review of Michael Beschloss’s “Presidents of War”

  by James Thornton Harris

  A highly readable, but deeply flawed account of our nation’s war-making presidents.

• 
• 11/8/18
  

  Review of David Rapp's "Tinker to Evers to Chance: The Chicago Cubs and the Dawn of Modern America"

  by Luther Spoehr

  Helping to make baseball the "national pastime."

• 
• 10-25-18
  

  Review of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Leadership: In Turbulent Times”

  by Sheldon M. Stern

  A 21st century version of a 19th century “improvement” book – a tonic for our troubled times.

• 
• 10-24-18
  

  Review of “Impeachment: An American History” by Jeffrey Engel, Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, and Peter Baker

  by John Reeves

  A well-timed book.

• 
• 10-15-18
  

  Review of Francis Fukuyama’s “Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment”

  by James Thornton Harris

  His book recommends that Progressives try and recapture white, working class voters by downplaying minority rights and espousing a national creedal identity.

• 
• 10-11-18
  

  Review of Manuel Pastor‘s “State of Resistance: What California’s Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Mean for America’s Future”

  by James Thornton Harris

  “California is America fast-forward.”

• 
• 10-9-18
  

  Review of Mary Sarah Bilder’s “Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention”

  by Garrett Ward Sheldon

  What a close study shows (and doesn't show) about the literal writing of Madison's Notes.

• 
• 9-14-18
  

  What Should We Make of Bob Woodward’s Book on Trump?

  by Vaughn Davis Bornet

  "Woodward has done—in my scholarly view, at least—a solid and sound job of revealing things that need opening up yet again to daylight."

• 
• 9-12-18
  

  Review of “Thomas Jefferson and the Science of Republican Government: A Political Biography of Notes on the State of Virginia” by Dustin Gish and Daniel Klinghard

  by M. Andrew Holowchak

  The authors promise a wholly new way of looking at Jefferson’s “Notes.”  

• 
• 9-4-18
  

  Review of Omarosa Manigault Newman’s “Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House”

  by Vaughn Davis Bornet

  A historian’s take. His reaction: We have much to fear from this White House.

• 
• 9-4-18
  

  What Can Account for Donald Trump's Political Success?

  by James Thornton Harris

  A review of Dan Kaufman’s “The Fall of Wisconsin” and Alan Abramowitz’s “The Great Alignment.”

• 
• 8-22-18
  

  Review of A. Wilson Greene’s “A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg”

  by John Reeves

  The six weeks covered in Greene’s fine book were among the darkest of the entire Union war.

• 
• 8-6-18
  

  Review of Patricia O’Toole’s “The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made”

  by James Thornton Harris

  In an era of congressional gridlock and political stands determined by opinion surveys, historians are re-evaluating our 28th President, Woodrow Wilson.

• 
• 7/1/18
  

  Review of “Charles Sweeny, the Man Who Inspired Hemingway” by Charley Roberts and Charles P. Hess

  by Robert Huddleston

  There's not much Hemingway here, but the story of Charles Sweeny and his family is fascinating.

• 
• 7-1-18
  

  Review of Anne Applebaum’s “Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine”

  by Mark Tauger

  This is a flawed book that gets basic facts wrong about the famine that struck Ukraine.

• 
• 6/25/18
  

  Review of James A. Warren's "God, War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansetts against the Puritans of New England"

  by Luther Spoehr

  Roger Williams didn't just found Rhode Island.  He worked to maintain peace in New England for almost 40 years.

• 
• 6-8-18
  

  Review of Jorn Leonhard’s “Pandora’s Box, A History of the First World War”

  by James Thornton Harris

  A fresh take on the war focusing on gender roles, the “crisis of white masculinity,” the rise of anti-Semitism, racial discrimination and the impact of new communication technologies.

• 
• 5-14-18
  

  Review of “Russians on Trump: Press Coverage and Commentary,” Edited by Laurence Bogoslaw

  by Walter G. Moss

  Unlike many U. S. commentators, “they do not impugn his character, honesty, or intelligence.”

• 
• 5-7-18
  

  Review of “Denmark Vesey’s Garden: Slavery and Memory in the Cradle of the Confederacy” by Ethan Kytle and Blain Roberts

  by James Thornton Harris

  This detailed account of the struggles in Charleston provides a valuable new perspective on why certain groups in the South cling to a “whitewashed” version of history.

• 
• 5-7-18
  

  Review of Yotav Eliach’s “Judaism, Zionism and the Land of Israel”

  by Edwin Black

  At a time when Jewish and Israeli history is being battered by revisionist theories and alternate narratives, this book cements the centuries together.