Best History

Relive the extraordinary Presidency of Barack Obama through White House photographer Pete Souza's behind-the-scenes images and stories in this #1 New York Times bestseller--with a foreword from the President himself. During Barack Obama's two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else--and he photographed them all. "The book, which distills the 1.9 million photographs that Souza took of Obama's eight years in the White House down to about 300 images, it as once warm and nostalgic, worshipful and respectful, sad and wistful-in a sense, not so different from the framed JFK portraits that everyday Americans hung in living rooms, right through the Nixon administration. "Here are the qualities that radiate from these photos of the former President and his family, all taken by Souza during his eight years as official White House photographer: intelligence, kindness, warmth, integrity. "Souza, chief official White House photographer for Obama's two terms, was on hand for history--documenting our first black president, and a pretty photogenic one at that. Souza's book, an instant best seller, includes many iconic images we've seen before, but its most poignant moments are the least public--like one of the president and his daughters frolicking in the snow at the White House. "The 300 photographs in the book are a remarkable account of President Obama's eight years in the White House, from events of historic significance to quiet moments with his wife and daughters and the family dogs.

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. “Yuval Noah Harari’s celebrated Sapiens does for human evolution what Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time did for physics.… He does a superb job of outlining our slow emergence and eventual domination of the planet.” ( Forbes ). “[I]nteresting and provocative…It gives you a sense of perspective on how briefly we’ve been on this earth, how short things like agriculture and science have been around, and why it makes sense for us to not take them for granted.” ( President Barack Obama ). “I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a fun, engaging look at early human history…you’ll have a hard time putting it down.” ( Bill Gates ).

From New Yorker staff writer David Grann, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, a twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history. In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes like Al Spencer, the “Phantom Terror,” roamed—many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. The Amazon Editors' Pick for the Best Book of 2017: In the 1920s, the Osage found themselves in a unique position among Native Americans tribes. As other tribal lands were parceled out in an effort by the government to encourage dissolution and assimilation of both lands and culture, the Osage negotiated to maintain the mineral rights for their corner of Oklahoma, creating a kind of “underground reservation.” It proved a savvy move; soon countless oil rigs punctured the dusty landscape, making the Osage very rich.

Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates reads like an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning thriller. No one captures the danger, intrigue, and drama of the American Revolution and its aftermath like Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger.” —Brad Thor This is the little-known story of how a newly indepen­dent nation was challenged by four Muslim powers and what happened when America’s third president decided to stand up to intimidation. Few today remember these men and other heroes who inspired the Marine Corps hymn: “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.” Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates recaptures this forgot­ten war that changed American history with a real-life drama of intrigue, bravery, and battle on the high seas. I thoroughly enjoyed this must read that brings to life a critical period in our nation’s history and shows the importance of a navy in our nation’s security.” —KIRK S. LIPPOLD, former commander of the USS Cole; author of Front Burner: Al Qaeda’s Attack on the USS Cole “No one captures the danger, intrigue, and drama of the American Revolution and its aftermath like Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger.” —BRAD THOR, bestselling author of Code of Conduct “A colorful, exciting, and historic account of an overlooked portion of American military history, and a wonderful tribute to the brave sailors and Marines who set a high standard for U.S. maritime operations.” —GENERAL JACK KEANE (Ret. Count on Kilmeade and Yaeger to remind us of it with this swashbuckling adventure.” —MARCUS LUTTRELL, former Navy SEAL; author of Lone Survivor and Service “If you want to understand the deep historic roots of the 9/11 attacks and what it will take to win the war against today’s jihadists, you must read this book.” —DR.

Relive the extraordinary Presidency of Barack Obama through White House photographer Pete Souza's behind-the-scenes images and stories in this #1 New York Times bestseller--with a foreword from the President himself. During Barack Obama's two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else--and he photographed them all. "The book, which distills the 1.9 million photographs that Souza took of Obama's eight years in the White House down to about 300 images, it as once warm and nostalgic, worshipful and respectful, sad and wistful-in a sense, not so different from the framed JFK portraits that everyday Americans hung in living rooms, right through the Nixon administration. In conveying both the weight of the office and President Obama's full engagement with its demands, Souza fuels our admiration--and stokes our regret.

Millions of readers have thrilled by bestselling authors Bill O’Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln , page-turning works of nonfiction that have changed the way we read history. The iconic anchor of The O'Reilly Factor led the program to the status of the highest rated cable news broadcast in the nation for sixteen consecutive years. He holds a history degree from Marist College, a masters degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, and another masters degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.

Told in the same page-turning style of Killing Lincoln , Killing Kennedy , Killing Jesus , Killing Patton , and Killing Reagan , this epic saga details the final moments of World War II like never before. The iconic anchor of The O'Reilly Factor led the program to the status of the highest rated cable news broadcast in the nation for sixteen consecutive years. He holds a history degree from Marist College, a masters degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, and another masters degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Recounting his service with the 1st Marine Division and the brutal action on Guadalcanal, New Britain, and Peleliu, Leckie spares no detail of the horrors and sacrifices of war, painting an unvarnished portrait of how real warriors are made, fight, and often die in the defense of their country. Helmet for My Pillow (Random House, 1957) was his first book; it received the Marine Corps. Combat Correspondents Association award upon publication.

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.

Yuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Sapiens , returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning his focus toward humanity’s future, and our quest to upgrade humans into gods. For the first time ever, more people die from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals put together. “Harari is an intellectual magpie who has plucked theories and data from many disciplines - including philosophy, theology, computer science and biology - to produce a brilliantly original, thought-provoking and important study of where mankind is heading.” ( Evening Standard (London)). “I enjoyed reading about these topics not from another futurist but from a historian, contextualizing our current ways of thinking amid humanity’s long march–especially…with Harari’s ability to capsulize big ideas memorably and mingle them with a light, dry humor…Harari offers not just history lessons but a meta-history lesson.” ( Washington Post ). In Homo Deus , Yuval Noah Harari shows us where mankind is headed in an absolutely clear-sighted & accessible manner.” ( Mail on Sunday ).

Seldom does one find serious scholarship so easy to read.” – The Times , Book of the Year A New York Times bestseller, this major new history of the knights Templar is “. a fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate military-religious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger" – Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem A faltering war in the middle east. These are the first Knights Templar, a band of elite warriors prepared to give their lives to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Over the next two hundred years, the Templars would become the most powerful religious order of the medieval world. In this groundbreaking narrative history, Dan Jones tells the true story of the Templars for the first time in a generation, drawing on extensive original sources to build a gripping account of these Christian holy warriors whose heroism and alleged depravity have been shrouded in myth. The warrior monks have always appealed to conspiracy theorists, and although Jones strips away the myths, he has great fun recounting their bloodthirsty crusading exploits.” -- The Sunday Times , History Book of the Year “Dan Jones gives no credence to the conspiratorial fantasies that have been spun around the Templars over the years. His aim is to present a gripping historical narrative, and in this he succeeds… As he describes it, the order comes across as a combination of Blackwater, Goldman Sachs, Kroll International, FedEx, Fort Knox, Bechtel and the Red Cross. Information is unreliable and easily manipulated, allowing conspiracy theories to take root and spread.” – Cullen Murphy, The Washington Post. "Dan Jones has created a gripping page-turner out of the dramatic history of the Templars, from their spiritual warrior beginnings until their tragic destruction by the French king and the pope. …In Jones’s bravura account, this tension between aristocratic killer and humble monk shadows the Templar story. “Gripping… Jones tells the story of the Templars with energy and verve, regalling readers with well-chosen details and anecdotes. He has done precisely that.” – Peter Frankopan, The Telegraph "Business chiefs listen up, especially in the world of big tech where egos are becoming rather inflated . The caution, although not explicit, comes in the epic story of the warrior monks known as the Knights Templar whose activities have given rise to much speculation and theories, some reasonable and some absurd. “The story of the Templars, the ultimate holy warriors, is an extraordinary saga of fanaticism, bravery, treachery and betrayal, and in Dan Jones they have a worthy chronicler. “A fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate military-religious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger, featuring a cast of exuberantly monstrous sword swingers spattering Christian and Islamic blood from Spain to Jerusalem.” -- Simon Sebag Montefiore author of Jerusalem: The Biography "In this thrillingly lucid account, Dan Jones demystifies the Templars in a story spanning hundreds of years and countless rulers, knights and archbishops, a seemingly disproportionate number of whom ended up beheaded . Anyone who has read Jones’s earlier medieval chronicles will know what to expect here: fast-paced narrative history depicted with irresistible verve, bloody battle scenes and moments of laugh-out-loud wit. There are contemporary parallels, too, with the Templars eventually being laid low by the medieval equivalent of a kind of 'fake news': anti-Templar propaganda spread by the church. “Thank God this book is sane… Jones tells the engrossing story of an ascetic order of warrior knights chiefly dedicated to the defense of pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem… Templars is based on a wide-ranging and thorough research and relies overwhelmingly on primary sources… It reads like a morality tale.” – Robert Irwin, Literary Review. Jones examines the storied Templars, an organization of quasi-monastic warriors who rose to fame and power in the midst of the Crusades, only to rapidly collapse in questionable scandals . Jones chronicles the Templars’ actual record of great military achievement, fiduciary responsibility, exceptional faithfulness, and lasting cultural significance.” --Booklist. A thrilling dynastic history of royal intrigues, violent skullduggery, and brutal warfare across two centuries of British history.” —Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Young Stalin. “Dan Jones’s epic portrait of the medieval royals is a timely reminder that things haven’t always been so rosy for those on the throne.” —GQ. There is fine scholarly intuition on display here and a mastery of the grand narrative; it is a supremely skillful piece of storytelling.” —The Sunday Telegraph. “If you’re a fan of Game of Thrones or The Tudors, then Dan Jones’ swashbucklingly entertaining slice of medieval history will be right up your alley. “Jones is a born storyteller, peopling the terrifying uncertainties of each moment with a superbly drawn cast of characters and powerfully evoking the brutal realities of civil war.” —The Evening Standard. “Dan Jones has an enviable gift for telling a dramatic story while at the same time inviting us to consider serious topics like liberty and the seeds of representative government.” —Antonia Frasier.

But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow shows in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency. But in war, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign, and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. More important, he sought freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race.” After his presidency, he was again brought low by a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, only to resuscitate his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre. “This is a good time for Ron Chernow’s fine biography of Ulysses S. Grant to appear… As history, it is remarkable, full of fascinating details sure to make it interesting both to those with the most cursory knowledge of Grant’s life and to those who have read his memoirs or any of several previous biographies… For all its scholarly and literary strengths, this book’s greatest service is to remind us of Grant’s significant achievements at the end of the war and after, which have too long been overlooked and are too important today to be left in the dark… As Americans continue the struggle to defend justice and equality in our tumultuous and divisive era, we need to know what Grant did when our country’s very existence hung in the balance. “Ron Chernow’s biography reminds our 21st-century selves of the distinction between character and personality” —. National Review “Chernow’s special gift is to present a complete and compelling picture of his subjects. Grant now lands in the middle, thanks to his extraordinarily progressive work on race relations….Ron Chernow’s 1,100-page biography may crown Grant’s restoration….Mr. Chernow argues persuasively that Grant has been badly misunderstood.”— The Economist “Chernow writes definitive biography of Ulysses S. Grant… [An] essential read… restores Grant to the pantheon of great Americans.”— Newsday “A landmark work….Chernow impressively examines Grant’s sensitivities and complexities and helps us to better understand an underappreciated man and underrated president who served his country extraordinarily well…. “Full of personal and professional insights into a president and military leader that readers will find simultaneously flawed, relatable, and inspiring.” — Money Magazine “Reading Ron Chernow's new biography, a truly mammoth examination of the life of Ulysses S. Grant, one is struck by the humanity - both the pitiful frailty and the incredible strength - of its subject.”— Philadelphia Inquirer. “Masterful and often poignant .… Chernow's gracefully written biography, which promises to be the definitive work on Grant for years to come, is fully equal to the man's remarkable story.”— Minneapolis Star Tribune “Reading this compelling book, it’s hard to imagine that we’ll continue to define Grant by these scandals rather than all he accomplished in winning the war and doing his best to make peace, on inclusive terms that would be fair to all.” — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Chernow’s biography is replete with fascinating details and insight­ful political analysis, a combination that brings Grant and his time to life….

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. “Yuval Noah Harari’s celebrated Sapiens does for human evolution what Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time did for physics.… He does a superb job of outlining our slow emergence and eventual domination of the planet.” ( Forbes ). “[I]nteresting and provocative…It gives you a sense of perspective on how briefly we’ve been on this earth, how short things like agriculture and science have been around, and why it makes sense for us to not take them for granted.” ( President Barack Obama ). “I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a fun, engaging look at early human history…you’ll have a hard time putting it down.” ( Bill Gates ).

Vi trovava meno campane che non. in qualche villaggio di Francia: non immagini per le vie: le chiese meno. bene che nel resto d'Italia e in Francia; le abitazioni mal sicure, laonde chi avesse denari gli affidava a banchieri.

Do you know that the FIRST 9/11 attack actually occurred at Vienna on September 11-12 in 1683 when the Ottoman Empire stood poised at the gateway to Christian Europe with the intention of forcing Islam on the entire continent? After a months-long assault, the Turks were just hours away from bringing down the weakening citadel and imposing jihad. Aleksy, a Tatar raised by a Polish peasant family, holds in his heart the wish to become a Polish winged hussar, a Christian lancer who carries into battle a device attached to his back that holds dozens of eagle feathers. Historical Novels Review "This classic different-worlds love affair provides the human grounding for a larger story replete with well-researched period details about the struggle of 17th-century Europe against the forces of Islam, and Martin is a skilled enough storyteller to keep the whole narrative moving forward briskly to a very satisfying conclusion. He and she exchange words during a chance encounter; her brothers, though, don't take kindly to him, and a fight ensues, leading Aleksy and his family to fear Lord Halicki's wrath. Martin sets the stage so tidily that the plight of Aleksy and Krystyna, who desire to move beyond the social classes that keep them apart, transcends the historical moment. Kirkus Reviews "Amidst class and religious warfare, this alternately romantic and brutal love story is also a reminder that the struggle between Christianity and Islam is a great deal older than 2001. In an ethnically diverse Poland that is now long gone, the main characters struggle with loyalties to family, race, and country as they come to understand that no fear or evil is unchangeable." James Conroyd Martin is the award-winning author of PUSH NOT THE RIVER, a novel based on the diary of a countess in 1790s Poland; AGAINST A CRIMSON SKY, which continues the family saga into the Napoleonic era; and The WARSAW CONSPIRACY, detailing the young Polish cadets' rising against the mighty Russia.