Looking for your next history read? Check out our favorite new history books publishing in June 2025. Charles Sumner A landmark biography of Charles Sumner, the unsung hero of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Amazon | B&N | Bookshop Larry McMurtry Now in...
The Roman Empire’s brilliance is far from ancient history. The Roman Empire Got It Right by Steven Marr is your passport to the past that built the future—from engineering marvels like aqueducts, concrete, and sewer systems to groundbreaking advances in health care,...
Imagine writing on a topic you know well but relying on a method that has yet to bear a widely accepted name to write it. I found myself in precisely this position in the late 1990s when I first started delving into what was sometimes called âhistories of the...
by Nev March The Silversmith’s Puzzle author Nev March explains the storied history of Chor Bazaar, also known as the Thieves Market in South Mumbai, India. An antique shop at Chor Bazaar, Mumbai. (Public domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia) A table in the upstairs corridor...
by John Lisle Project Mind Control‘s John Lisle explains how something as classified as MKULTRA naturally attracts conspiracy theorists, and how the theories all began. Sidney Gottlieb (Public domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia.) Few topics have caused more distrust in...
Whack Job by Rachel McCarthy James is a brilliant and bloody examination of the axe’s foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture. Read on for an introductory excerpt of this...
by Pippa Latour with Jude Dobson After decades of silence, the last surviving World War II spy operating in the deadly world of Nazi France, reveals the real, untold story of her time as a secret agent. Read on for a featured excerpt from The Last Secret Agent. A...
Looking for your next history read? Check out our favorite new history books publishing in May 2025. Melting Point Longlisted for the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, this dazzling, innovative family memoir tells the story of a long-lost plan to create a...
by Buddy Levy In Part I published previously on The History Reader, author Buddy Levy introduces readers to Lincoln Ellsworth and shares how he and famed explorer Roald Amundsen first met. Now, Buddy Levy concludes his focus on Ellsworth, sharing Ellsworth’s...
by Rachel McCarthy James Whack Job author Rachel McCarthy James takes a look at how guns, chainsaws, and swords outshined the humble axe as weapons throughout history. The axe is a humble object; its power lies in its commonality, its everydayness. Throughout its long...
by Tom Clavin Earlier this week—April 14th—was the 160th anniversary of our Sixteenth President’s assassination. Author Tom Clavin highlights the immediate moments after the gunshot. And don’t forget to preorder his upcoming book, Running Deep, now! John Wilkes Booth...
The March issue of the Journal of American History is now available online and in print. Included are articles by 2024 Louis Pelzer Award winner Jordan Villegas-Verrone, Devin Kennedy, 2024 David Thelen Award Winner Alexandre Guilherme da Cruz Alves Junior, and...
by Helen Rappaport From the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes the story of a courageous young Imperial Grand Duchess who scandalized Europe in search of freedom. Read on for a featured excerpt from The Rebel Romanov. Princess Juliane of...
On the final full day of the conference, Chicagoâs clouds blocked the sun, but that did not dampen the mood at the Sheraton Grand as attendees gathered for the final full day of conference activities. The Exhibit Hall hosted a Saturday morning âPerk Up,â...
On Friday of the OAH conference, attendees came back together for ongoing discussions and panels. We enjoyed the continued sunshine Chicago has to offer as the Exhibit Hall opened for a morning mixer breakfast before the dayâs sessions began. Attendees also had...
In Project Mind Control, John Lisle reveals inside story of the CIA’s secret mind control project, MKULTRA. Read on for a featured excerpt. Prologue On September 25, 1980, Rosanna Del Guidice arrived thirty minutes early to an office building in downtown Boston....
The 2025 Annual Meeting for the Organization of American Historians opened Thursday in Chicago as more than 1,500 historians and educators gathered at the Sheraton Grand, our host for this yearâs conference. The sun was shining on the Chicago Riverâvisible from...
by Tom Clavin The Rock Island Argus newspaper clipping, April 7, 1865. March 31st is the 160th anniversary of one of the most shocking events of the Civil War: the fire and sinking of the Union transport ship, the General Lyon. Today, few people know about this tragic...