HISTORY
Special Summer Reading Edition
take you around the world--from Lexington Green to the Chosin
Reservoir, from a tiny boat in the Pacific Ocean to a big top in
Hartford, Connecticut, and from the narrow halls of MI6 to a sweeping
history of the past 500 years in the West. One warning: at a weighty
877 pages, Jacques Barzun's "From Dawn to Decadence" may not be the
book to bring along on that backpacking trip.
"In the Heart of the Sea"
by Nathaniel Philbrick
The harrowing account of the whaleship "Essex" is enough to hold anyone's
attention. The crew of the "Essex," their ship rammed and sunk by a whale, spent
weeks at sea in light boats with very limited food and water. In the end, the
sailors were forced to make a terrible choice while drifting "In the Heart of
the Sea."
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"The Circus Fire"
by Stewart O'Nan
In the sweltering afternoon heat of July 6, 1944, a fire started on the wall of
the big-top tent at the Ringling Brothers Circus. Within minutes, the fire had
spread to the roof of the tent--which had been waterproofed with a mixture of
gasoline and paraffin. The band began to play "Stars and Stripes Forever," the
circus-disaster tune. Thousands of spectators began running for the exits, but
not everyone escaped. By the time the smoke had cleared, 168 were dead and
hundreds more were injured. Stewart O'Nan tells the sad tale of the disaster in
Hartford, Connecticut, in "The Circus Fire."
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"The Day the American Revolution Began"
by William H. Hallahan
Early on the morning of April 19, 1775, the British marched into Lexington to
capture a rebel arsenal. A shot was fired, the British attacked, and the
American Revolution began in earnest. "The Day the Revolution Began" describes
the nascent revolution and the way colonists responded to the news.
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"From Dawn to Decadence--500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present"
by Jacques Barzun
Cultural critic and historian Jacques Barzun examines a variety of revolutions
that have swept the Western world over the past 500 years in "From Dawn to
Decadence." Whether examining the scientific revolution or religious
experimentation, Barzun succeeds in revealing how the events of the past are
reflected in the present.
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"MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service"
by Stephen Dorril
From its high-security headquarters along the Thames, MI6 gathers information to
protect the British nation. Stephen Dorril offers a glimpse into the service's
top-secret world--and a history of how it developed--in "MI6: Inside the Covert
World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service."
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"The Korean War: The West Confronts Communism"
by Michael Hickey
Call it the first hot flash of the cold war. Michael Hickey's "The Korean War:
The West Confronts Communism" examines the conflict from the point of view of
America's United Nations allies. Hickey's personal experiences as a lieutenant
in the British forces lend vivid imagery to this detailed military history.
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You'll find more great books, articles, excerpts, and
interviews in Amazon.com's History section.
