Best European History

The Revolutionary War as never told before. Bill O'Reilly is a trailblazing TV journalist who has experienced unprecedented success on cable news and in writing thirteen national number-one bestselling nonfiction books.

A definitive account of World War II by America's preeminent military historian World War II was the most lethal conflict in human history. " The Second World Wars by Victor Davis Hanson is breathtakingly magisterial: How can Mr. Hanson make so much we thought we knew so fresh and original?" Mr. Hanson provides more than enough interesting and original points to make this book essential reading. "[ The Second World Wars ] is a brilliant and very original and readable work by a great military historian and contemporary commentator. "Dr. Hanson has written another well-researched and fascinating book.... [He] does an excellent job of placing World War II in the historical context of global conflict.

The dramatic, pulse-pounding story of Harry Truman’s first four months in office, when this unlikely president had to take on Germany, Japan, Stalin, and the atomic bomb, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

When the Nazis invaded and imprisoned his father, La Rochefoucauld escaped to England and learned the dark arts of anarchy and combat—cracking safes and planting bombs and killing with his bare hands—from the officers of Special Operations Executive, the collection of British spies, beloved by Winston Churchill, who altered the war in Europe with tactics that earned it notoriety as the “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” With his newfound skills, La Rochefoucauld returned to France and organized Resistance cells, blew up fortified compounds and munitions factories, interfered with Germans’ war-time missions, and executed Nazi officers. Like only the very best historical biographers, Paul Kix has turned years of deep reporting into a tightly coiled narrative that you never want to put down.” (Eli Saslow, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Ten Letters: The Stories Americans Tell Their President ). “Set in motion by a steamed-open letter and a burning hatred of Hitler, a dashing young aristocrat embarks on a campaign of clandestine warfare. The Saboteur sounds like a World War II spy thriller, but in fact it is a rip-roaring true story, wonderfully told by Paul Kix.” (Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Hours and Lost in Shangri-La ). “This thoroughly sourced account is highly readable and effectively showcases the life of a fascinating, complex man whose too-little-known role in the Resistance will be of great interest to followers of WWII history.” ( Booklist ).

It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would search the world for each other, a last mission that could change their lives forever. Simply told, splendid, and well worth the read.”—Joe Galloway, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Soldiers Once...and Young. “It is often said that ‘war is hell’—and it is—however, this story reveals how the human spirit can shine in the darkest hours.”—Colonel Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman, WWII. “ A Higher Call exemplifies beautifully the brotherhood of warriors and will forever change how you look at World War II.”—Eric Blehm, author of the New York Times bestseller, Fearless.

The Revolutionary War as never told before. Bill O'Reilly is a trailblazing TV journalist who has experienced unprecedented success on cable news and in writing thirteen national number-one bestselling nonfiction books.

Now, in The Day of Battle , he follows the strengthening American and British armies as they invade Sicily in July 1943 and then, mile by bloody mile, fight their way north toward Rome. “In The Day of Battle , Rick Atkinson picks up where he left off in An Army at Dawn , his history of the North African campaign, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003. A planned third volume, on the Normandy invasion and the war in Europe, will complete The Liberation Trilogy , which is shaping up as a triumph of narrative history, elegantly written, thick with unforgettable description and rooted in the sights and sounds of battle . Mr. Atkinson, a longtime correspondent and editor for The Washington Post , conveys all of this with sharp-edged immediacy and a keen eye for the monstrous and the absurd.” ― William Grimes, The New York Times. “Monumental … With this book, Rick Atkinson cements his place among America's great popular historians, in the tradition of Bruce Catton and Stephen Ambrose.” ― The Washington Post.

“I pray that God forgive them...”. Corrie Ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron beating a prisoner. Corrie Ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron beating a prisoner.

From the New York Times bestselling author Robert D. Kaplan, named one of the world’s Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine, comes a riveting journey through one of Europe’s frontier countries—and a potent examination of the forces that will determine Europe’s fate in the postmodern age. Robert Kaplan first visited Romania in the 1970s, when he was a young journalist and the country was a bleak Communist backwater. Here Kaplan illuminates the fusion of the Latin West and the Greek East that created Romania, the country that gave rise to Ion Antonescu, Hitler’s chief foreign accomplice during World War II, and the country that was home to the most brutal strain of Communism under Nicolae Ceaușescu. Upon his return to Romania in 2013 and 2014, Kaplan found the country transformed yet again—now a traveler’s destination shaped by Western tastes, yet still emerging from the long shadows of Hitler and Stalin. In Europe’s Shadow is the story of an ideological and geographic frontier—and the book you must read in order to truly understand the crisis Europe faces, from Russia and from within. Kaplan’s account of the centuries leading up to the most turbulent of all—the twentieth—is both sweeping and replete with alluring detail.” —Alison Smale, The New York Times Book Review “This book reveals the confident, poetical Kaplan . Kaplan’s Romania offers lessons on the value of malleability, and what ­endures.” —Alison Smale, The New York Times Book Review “This book reveals the confident, poetical Kaplan . but also a reflective, political Kaplan, seeking at times to submerge his gift for romantic generalization in respectful attention to the ideas of others. [Kaplan’s] method is that of a foreign correspondent, firing off dispatches from the South China Sea to North Yemen to the darkest corners of Eastern Europe when it was still Iron Curtain country, and his approach has a Thucydidean texture: a gimlet-eyed realism as gathered by evidence, and guided by an understanding that the knee-jerk of history is self-interest. Kaplan is a regional geographer par excellence—undeniably, whatever you think of his conclusions—a big-picture man.” — The Christian Science Monitor “Kaplan is one of America’s foremost writers on the region. In a series of deep dives into the region’s past—Byzantine, Ottoman, Habsburg and Soviet—he finds parallels and echoes that help us understand the present.” — The Wall Street Journal “Kaplan moves seamlessly from sights, sounds, and conversations to the resonance of history. In Kaplan’s hands, Romania emerges as no mere footnote, but as a historical and political pivot.” — Foreign Affairs. “Kaplan’s work exemplifies rare intellectual, moral and political engagement with the political order—and disorder—of our world. Kaplan’s writing is like the places he visits. “Kaplan’s is travel writing at its contemporary finest, weaving in the sights and sounds of a faraway land alongside interviews with its philosophers and politicians. “A masterly work of important history, analysis, and prophecy about the ancient and modern rise of Romania as a roundabout between Russia and Europe . Robert D. Kaplan is a master.” —Tom Brokaw “A tour de force of cultural and political travel writing in which Romania’s complex past and uncertain present become vivid and newly urgent.” —Colin Thubron, author of Shadow of the Silk Road and co-editor of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s The Broken Road “Robert D. Kaplan has the remarkable ability to see over the geopolitical horizon, and he now turns his attention to Europe’s marchlands—the former ‘Greater Romania’ lying between the Balkans and a resurgent Russia. Timely, insightful, and deeply honest.” —Charles King, professor of international affairs, Georgetown University, and author of Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul “For an appreciation of contemporary Romanian attitudes, Robert Kaplan’s book has no equal. His sparkling, suggestive reflections, drawing upon history and landscape, capture the DNA of the country and its inhabitants.” —Dennis Deletant, Ion Rațiu Visiting Professor of Romanian Studies, Georgetown University, and emeritus professor, University College London “A moving book—an illuminating and compassionate guide through the labyrinth of Romania’s immensely convoluted and often traumatic past . In spite of the many dark, distressing moments that no one should ignore, In Europe’s Shadow conveys a sense of hope, promise, and continuous renewal.” — Vladimir Tismăneanu, professor of politics, University of Maryland, and. author of The Devil in History: Communism, Fascism, and Some Lessons of the Twentieth Century “Kaplan illuminates the extraordinary journey of the people of Romania, as well as millions of other East Europeans, from the tragic Soviet despotism of the decades after the Second World War to their more hopeful and democratic future as members of NATO and the European Union. Kaplan’s ability to weave together complex histories, religion, memory, and political thought is nearly unmatched.” —Nicholas Burns, professor, Harvard Kennedy School, and former undersecretary of state for political affairs “A favorite of mine for years, Robert D. Kaplan is a thoughtful and insight-driven historian who writes clear and compelling prose, but what I like most about him is his political sophistication.

Mr. Bascomb’s research and, especially, his storytelling skills are first-rate.”— The Wall Street Journal “Weaving together his typically intense research and a riveting narrative, Neal Bascomb’s The Winter Fortress is a spellbinding piece of historical writing.” — Martin Dugard, author of Into Africa and co-author of the Killing series. In 1942, the Nazis were racing to complete the first atomic bomb. All they needed was a single, incredibly rare ingredient: heavy water, which was produced solely at Norway’s Vemork plant. Based on a trove of top-secret documents and never-before-seen diaries and letters of the saboteurs, The Winter Fortress is an arresting chronicle of a brilliant scientist, a band of spies on skis, perilous survival in the wild, Gestapo manhunts, and a last-minute operation that would alter the course of the war. "Weaving together his typically intense research and a riveting narrative, Neal Bascomb's The Winter Fortress is a spellbinding piece of historical writing." –Martin Dugard, author of Into Africa and co-author of the " Killing " series. "Neal Bascomb's The Winter Fortress is a riveting, high-action World War II thriller with nothing less than the fate of Planet Earth on the line. In The Winter Fortress , Neal Bascomb brilliantly tells the extraordinary true story of arguably the most important and daring commando raid of WWII: how an amazing band of men on skis made sure Hitler never got to drop the ultimate bomb." “Brilliantly written, The Winter Fortress cinematically captures a commando team’s efforts to destroy one of the most important secret facilities in World War II. Bascomb’s riveting prose puts the reader into one of the more daring missions of the war and the Allies’ efforts to sabotage a crucial aspect of Germany's nuclear program. "This well-told and deeply researched account sheds light on an aspect of World War II that is little known or remembered, creating a valuable history that will be beneficial for most collections." "Bascomb, a WWII historian and former journalist, thrillingly recounts the commando effort to destroy the Norwegian Vemork hydroelectric plant . A fascinating read about how a small group of Norwegians refused to submit to the brutal occupation of their country and contributed significantly to Allied victory." “Bascomb brings this overlooked tale of wartime nuclear sabotage to life while taking care to explain the science behind the story.” -- Scientific American. .Bascomb interweaves the stories of Hitler’s ‘Uranium Club’ and of atomic chemist Leif Tronstad, who directed the Allied operation, with the thriller-esque tale of the commandos who put the plant out of action in 1943."

This unique book examines the history, culture, and inner workings of the seven smallest independent countries in Europe.

Because of that, he became Putin’s number one enemy, especially after Browder succeeded in having a law passed in the United States—The Magnitsky Act—that punishes a list of Russians implicated in the lawyer’s murder. A financial caper, a crime thriller, and a political crusade, Red Notice is the story of one man taking on overpowering odds to change the world, and also the story of how, without intending to, he found meaning in his life. "The first half of Red Notice traces Browder’s improbable journey from prep-school washout through college, business school, and a series of consulting and Wall Street jobs before becoming Russia’s largest foreign investor....This book-within-a-book does for investing in Russia and the former Soviet Union what Liar’s Poker did for our understanding of Salomon Brothers, Wall Street, and the mortgage-backed securities business in the 1980s. Browder’s business saga meshes well with the story of corruption and murder in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, making Red Notice an early candidate for any list of the year’s best books." “In Red Notice , Bill Browder tells the harrowing and inspiring story of how his fight for justice in Russia made him an unlikely international human rights leader and Vladimir Putin's number-one enemy. It is the book for anyone interested in understanding the culture of corruption and impunity in Putin's Russia today, and Browder’s heroic example of how to fight back.” (Senator John McCain). Bill Browder is an amazing moral crusader, and his book is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand Russia, Putin, or the challenges of doing business in the world today."

Beyond Vienna, stroll the Baroque street of Salzburg, home to Mozart and The Sound of Music for a taste of the Alpine living, head to the snowy peaks and green valleys of Tirol. Connect with Rick: facebook: Rick Steves. twitter: @RickSteves. instagram: ricksteveseurope.

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Part memoir and part travelogue, this unique cookbook that the story of Beata Zatorska's childhood in rural Poland, mixing stories of her youth and her grandmother’s handwritten recipes with stunning photos of Poland in summer. “From fold-out endpapers featuring colorful, folksy textiles, to the lace overprint on the front cover, the textures are so rich they almost render the experience three dimensional. "In addition to being a serious cookbook with more than 50 Polish recipes (from pierogi to poppy-seed cake) taken from Beata's grandmother's handwritten notes, as miraculously preserved as preserves, Rose Petal Jam is also part memoir and part travelogue, the story of Beata's idyllic childhood in the rural Karkonosze Mountains and her later day adventurous travels with Simon in Poland today.