Our review of : Confucius: His Religion, Philosophy, and Teachings

In her new book, Not One Inch: America, Russia and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate (Harvard University Press), Professor M.E. Sarotte argues that successive administrations in Washington and Moscow have allowed a legacy of distrust to prevent them from making progress on critical global issues. Drawing on archival research and interviews with policymakers Past [...]

Nikole Hannah-Jones, award-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times Magazine, presents a radical new take on America’s history in “The 1619 Project.” Arguing that the year 1619 is when American slavery began rather than when it ended, she posits that racism and white supremacy are not traditional fixtures of our society but instead were [...]

In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of a group of Canadian airmen who became obsessed with bombing Germany during World War II. These men were determined to take down as many enemy targets as possible, and they were willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. The bomber mafia was [...]

This book is about the Endurance expedition, led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, which set out to cross Antarctica in 1914. The ship was eventually crushed by ice pack and the crew had to abandon it, trekking across miles of frozen wasteland to find safety. Despite numerous hardships – including being stranded on an ice floe [...]

This is a book about the end of history and the last man. It was written by Francis Fukuyama, who is a political scientist. In it, he argues that we have reached the END OF HISTORY as we know it, and that modernity has essentially won out over all other ideologies. He also predicts that [...]

A People’s History of the United States tells the story of America from the point of view of those who have been traditionally left out of most history books. Author Howard Zinn draws on extensive research to paint a vivid and often shocking picture, showing how American democracy has always been flawed and biased in [...]

This book tells the story of Quanah Parker, a Comanche Indian chief who led his tribe during an era of great change and upheaval. Drawing on extensive research, S. C. Gwynne provides a compelling account of the rise and fall of the Comanches, as well as their interactions with white settlers and government officials. This [...]

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Jared Diamond asks how and why some societies become more successful than others. He looks at environmental factors such as climate, landforms, plants and animals that influenced the development of human civilizations across the globe. For who is this book for ? “Guns, Germs and Steel” is an outstanding book [...]

How the Word is Passed takes an unflinching look at America’s history of slavery. It moves beyond traditional narratives that focus narrowly on the institution in the South, instead reckoning with how racism and its legacy have played out across the country. The book offers a searing indictment of white supremacy while also celebrating Black [...]

The Woman Who Smashed Codes tells the extraordinary story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a codebreaking genius whose work helped win World War II. Friedman was born in Chicago in 1892 and came from a family of accomplished women. She originally wanted to be an actress, but she eventually pursued cryptography instead, learning how to break [...]

The Man Without a Face is a riveting and alarming account of the rise to power of Vladimir Putin, one of the most enigmatic and powerful leaders in recent history. Journalist Masha Gessen traces Putin’s trajectory from rural obscurity to president of Russia, uncovering along the way his dark secrets and mysterious past. This richly [...]

In The Nineties, Chuck Klosterman examines the era-defining decade through a cultural lens. He explores how technologies like cell phones and the internet changed both our personal lives and public discourse; he considers what made Kurt Cobain such an influential musician and why America’s politicians became so unpopular; he looks at how various figures—from Jean-Claude [...]