From spies, assassins, and dirty tricks in WWII to a revealing new biography of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Crazy Horse, Custer, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, we have a history book for every reader this year. Check out our must-reads of 2023, including new books by Tom Clavin, J. Randy Taraborrelli, Susan Ronald, “Legends of the Old West” host Chris Wimmer, and many more!
The Last Outlaws
by Tom Clavin
The Dalton Gang is one of the most notorious outlaw gangs in the lore of the American West. The dreaded gang consisted of three brothers and their rotating cast of colorful accomplices who saw themselves as descended from the legendary James brothers. They soon became legends themselves, beginning their career as common horse thieves before graduating to robbing banks and trains. The Last Outlaws is the definitive account of the outlaws and the most brazen heist in Old West history—the Coffeyville raid.
Luck of the Draw
by Frank Murphy
Beginning on August 17, 1942, American heavy bomber crews of the Eighth Air Force took off for combat in the hostile skies over occupied Europe. Luck of the Draw is an incredible first-person account of that campaign, written by B-17 navigator Frank Murphy. On Frank’s twenty first mission, his B-17 Flying Fortress was shot out of the sky over Germany, where he spent the rest of the war cheating death in a POW camp. Don’t miss this gripping true story from a real American hero—soon to be featured in the upcoming Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks TV Series, Masters of the Air.
Jackie: Public, Private, Secret
by J. Randy Taraborrelli
Based on hundreds of interviews with friends, family, and lovers over a thirty-year period, Kennedy historian J. Randy Taraborrelli paints an unforgettable new portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. “I have three lives,” Jackie told a former lover, “public, private and secret.” In this revealing biography, readers will become intimately familiar with all three. Jackie delivers the last word on one of the most famous women in the world.
The Summer of 1876
by Chris Wimmer
The summer of 1876 was a key time period in the development of the mythology of the Old West. Many individuals who are considered legends by modern readers were involved in events that began their notoriety or turned out to be the most famous—or infamous—moments of their lives. Those individuals were Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wild Bill Hickok, and Jesse James. Chris Wimmer’s The Summer of 1876 is an easily digestible narrative that weaves together the timelines of the events that made these men legends and illustrates the historical importance of that summer.
God Save Benedict Arnold
by Jack Kelly
Benedict Arnold. Revolutionary hero and quintessential traitor. God Save Benedict Arnold tells the gripping story of Arnold’s rush of audacious feats—his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his Maine mountain expedition to attack Quebec, the famous artillery brawl at Valcour Island, the turning-point battle at Saratoga—that laid the groundwork for our independence. It does not exonerate him for his treason—the stain on his character is permanent. But Kelly’s insightful exploration of Arnold’s career as a warrior shines a new light on this gutsy, fearless, and enigmatic figure. In the process, the book offers a fresh perspective on the reasons for Arnold’s momentous change of heart.
The Dirty Tricks Department
by John Lisle
In The Dirty Tricks Department, John Lisle shares the unbelievable work of the OSS Research and Development Branch and its role in World War II. Headed by an industrial chemist named Stanley Lovell, this secret group of scientists developed Bat Bombs, suicide pills, fighting knives, silent pistols, and camouflaged explosives. Moreover, they forged documents for undercover agents, plotted the assassination of foreign leaders, and performed truth drug experiments on unsuspecting subjects. Fans of James Bond won’t be disappointed by the incredible story of this real-life Q Branch and their many, many dirty tricks.
Unlikely Heroes
by Derek Leebaert
Harry Hopkins, Harold Ickes, Frances Perkins, and Henry Wallace. Four important historical figures you may have forgotten. Drawing on new materials, Unlikely Heroes constructs an entirely fresh understanding of FDR and his presidency by examining the lives of these four equally wounded figures whom he raised up to confront the Depression, then to beat the Axis.
The Windsors at War
by Alexander Larman
In 1937, the British monarchy was in a state of turmoil. The previous king, Edward VIII, had abdicated the throne, leaving his unprepared brother to become George VI. The Windsors at War tells the story of World War II through the lense of the royal family, their conflicted relationships, and the events that rocked the international press. How did this squabbling, dysfunctional family manage to put their differences aside and unite to help win the greatest conflict of their lifetimes?
Hitler’s Aristocrats
by Susan Ronald
Who made up the Nazi fifth column in the United States and Britain? The answer may surprise you. Hitler enlisted many British and American aristocrats, industrialists, and political elite to spin a treacherous tale everyone wanted to believe: he was a man of peace. They were the trusted voices disseminating his political and cultural propaganda about the “New Germany,” brushing aside the Nazis’ atrocities. In a true tale of drama and intrigue, Hitler’s Aristocrats uncovers the battle between these influencers and those who heroically opposed them.
The Sniper
by Jim Lindsay
Charles “Chuck” Mawhinney is a United States Marine who holds the Corps’ record for the most confirmed sniper kills (and the second most of any US service member in history), having recorded 103 confirmed kills in 16 months during the Vietnam War. For the first time ever, Chuck’s story—including his heroic exploits in battle and the terrible toll that taking a life exerts on a human being—is shared in The Sniper by Jim Lindsay.
First to the Front
by Lorissa Rinehart
From the beginning of World War II through the early days of Vietnam, groundbreaking female photojournalist and war correspondent Dickey Chapelle chased dangerous assignments her male colleagues wouldn’t touch, pioneering a radical style of reporting that focused on the humanity of the oppressed. First to the Front is a riveting biography of Chapelle, covering her many fascinating adventures and resilience in the face of discrimination.
Africatown
by Nick Tabor
In 1860, a ship called the Clotilda was smuggled through the Alabama Gulf Coast, carrying the last group of enslaved people ever brought to the U.S. from West Africa. Five years later, the shipmates were emancipated, but they had no way of getting back home. Instead they created their own community outside the city of Mobile, where they spoke Yoruba and appointed their own leaders. Nick Tabor’s Africatown charts the story of this community which often thrived despite persistent racism and environmental pollution.
Follow Me to Hell
by Tom Clavin
You’ve probably heard of the Texas Rangers and their legendary exploits in the State of Texas. However, you may not have heard of “McNelly’s Rangers.” Tom Clavin returns to the American West with Follow Me to Hell, the explosive true saga of how Ranger Leander McNelly and his men brought justice to a lawless frontier. Set against the backdrop of 200 years of thrilling Texas Rangers history, this page-turner details the tough life along the Texas border that was tamed by a courageous, yet doomed, captain and his team of fearless men.
The Longest Minute
by Matthew J. Davenport
At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck San Francisco, catching most of the city asleep. For approximately one minute, shockwaves buckled streets, shattered water mains, collapsed buildings, crushed hundreds of residents to death and trapped many alive. Fires ignited and blazed through dry wooden ruins and grew into a firestorm. For the next three days, flames nearly destroyed what was then the largest city in the American West. In The Longest Minute, Matthew Davenport combines history and science to tell the dramatic true story of one of the greatest disasters in American history.
Into Siberia
by Gregory Wallance
In the late nineteenth century, close diplomatic relations existed between the United States and Russia. All that changed when George Kennan went to Siberia in 1885 to investigate the exile system and his eyes were opened to the brutality Russia was wielding to suppress dissent. In a book that ranks with the greatest adventure stories, Gregory Wallance’s Into Siberia is a thrilling work of history about one man’s harrowing journey and the light it shone on some of history’s most heinous human rights abuses.
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