The History Reader

08/06/2025

Tom Clavin writes about Jay Zeamer, an Eagle Scout and skilled pilot during World War II, who undertook a risky mission that significantly impacted the war.

https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/an-eager-beavers-birthday/

08/05/2025

Calling all World War II buffs! Enter your email for a chance to win this fascinating bundle, including:

-Running Deep: The true story of the deadliest submarine in World War II and the courageous captain who survived torture and imprisonment at the hands of the enemy.

-Lightning Down: The largely untold and riveting true story about an American fighter pilot doomed to die in Buchenwald but determined to survive.

-The Last Hill: The story of "Rudder’s Rangers,” the most elite and experienced attack unit in the United States Army during World War II.

Enter here: https://read.macmillan.com/promo/historyreaderf25sweeps

07/31/2025

"A woman broke from the line and ran into the field of undulating bright yellow r**e flowers. Hélène waited for the sound of the gunshot that would surely follow. It could be machine-gun fire that would take out a whole section—any section, maybe theirs. The guards could do this: shoot indiscriminately into the rows to teach them a lesson. But nothing happened. All she heard was the continuous drumming of wooden clogs from thousands of marching feet."

THE NINE by Gwen Strauss follows the incredible true story of Hélène Podliasky, who led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German forced labor camp and made a ten-day journey across the front lines of WWII from Germany back to Paris. Continue reading THE NINE here:
https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/escape-of-the-nine/

07/29/2025

Looking for your next history read? Check out some of our favorite new history books publishing in August 2025.

https://www.thehistoryreader.com/world-history/summer-history-reading-august-2025/

07/24/2025

Tim Queeney, author of "Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization," shares with The History Reader how rope played a pivotal role in Colonial America’s acts of tarring and feathering before it fell into gradual disuse in the nineteenth century.

ROPE goes on sale 8/12/25

ROPE author Tim Queeney shares how rope played a pivotal role in the tarring and feathering of loyalists in Colonial America.

07/17/2025

On July 16th, 1969, Apollo 11 launched to begin its mission to land on the moon. Jeffrey Kluger shares with The History Reader how, on the same day as the launch, President Nixon prematurely called for a nationwide holiday to take place on July 21st to celebrate the upcoming lunar landing, before knowing if the mission would be a success. https://www.thehistoryreader.com/cultural-history/richard-nixons-call-for-a-cosmic-hoedown/

07/15/2025

Watch J. Randy Taraborrelli on Good Morning America as he shares new insights from his revealing new biography, JFK: Public, Private, Secret, which explores the private life of the late former president - available now! https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/video/123763971

07/10/2025

Few authors have had as big an impact on space journalism as Jeffrey Kluger. His book LOST MOON, co-authored with Astronaut James Lovell, was the basis for Tom Hanks's movie, Apollo 13. Check out this Astronomy Magazine interview with Kluger on his exciting book, GEMINI, which goes on sale 11/11 and is available for preorder now. http://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/an-interview-with-jeff-kluger/

07/08/2025

Are you signed up for THE HISTORY READER newsletter? If not, you missed this list of must-read history books that we know you'll love when they publish

Even better, you can preorder any of these books now through 7/11 at Barnes & Noble and get 25% off them using the code PREORDER25. Membership is required for the discount but there is a free membership option. Stock up today on great history reads coming soon: https://bit.ly/THRnewsletterJuly8

07/08/2025

Barnes & Noble just shared some of the biggest nonfiction books coming this fall, which includes a few history titles like THE ZORG by Siddharth Kara. In THE ZORG, Kara, a Pulitzer finalist and NYT bestselling author, reveals the notorious slave ship incident that led to the abolition of slavery in the UK and sparked the US abolitionist movement.

From intimate memoirs and personal narratives to sweeping histories and untold stories, these are fall's biggest nonfiction books.

07/04/2025

As part of the ongoing celebration of the birth of the United States 250 years ago and the sacrifices that soldiers made to create the United States, author Jack Kelly recounts the Battle of Bunker Hill and Dr. Joseph Warren's role in it.

Happy Fourth of July to all Americans!

https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/to-look-them-in-the-face-bunker-hill-250/

06/28/2025

To celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended WWI on June 28, 1919, author Tom Clavin shares with The History Reader the story of the Red Baron and other early flyboys whose dangerous missions helped bring WWI to an end. https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/the-red-baron-and-early-flyboys-during-wwi/