The History Reader

05/20/2019

In REVOLUTIONARY BROTHERS, Tom Chaffin casts fresh light on the remarkable, often complicated, four-decade friendship of Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette.

Enter for a chance to win an early copy: bit.ly/RevBrothersSweeps

05/14/2019

George Washington, A Novice General

WATCH: Rick Atkinson, best-selling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, in "George Washington, A Novice General" for George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Rick Atkinson's new book, THE BRITISH ARE COMING, is now available wherever books are sold.

At the start of the Revolutionary War, it had been seventeen years since General George Washington last wore a military uniform and he was only a provincial ...

05/14/2019

"A Declaration" that Changed the Course of History - The History Reader

"The fateful news traveled swiftly on the post road from Philadelphia, covering more than ninety miles and crossing five rivers in just a couple of days. Precise copies were then made of the thirteen-hundred-word broadside, titled “A Declaration,” that arrived at the Mortier mansion headquarters, and by Tuesday, July 9, General Washington was ready for every soldier in his command to hear what Congress had to say." Read on: http://bit.ly/2YplxVq

by Rick Atkinson The fateful news traveled swiftly on the post road from Philadelphia, covering more than ninety miles and crossing five rivers in just a couple of days. Precise copies were then made of the thirteen-hundred-word broadside, titled “A…Read more ›

05/11/2019

Lyndon Johnson: The Making of a Politician - The History Reader

"Upon his arrival in Washington, it was both natural and expectable that Johnson would want to learn how things worked in the nation’s capital--the relationships and sources of power--just as he had at Johnson City, San Marcos, and Cotulla. The task, of course, was more formidable. Many a small-town giant had been swallowed up by a city whose concerns were as varied as the affairs and populace of the nation. Nevertheless, to Johnson, the activating principles were much the same. If he had more to learn than ever before, that meant only that there was no time to waste."

Read on: http://bit.ly/30a3hRv

by Doris Kearns Goodwin Updated for 2019 with a new foreword from the author, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream is an extraordinary and insightful biography of the former president. This book traces the 36th president’s life…Read more ›

05/10/2019

Time is running out! Enter for a chance to win a signed advance copy of Rick Atkinson's THE BRITISH ARE COMING--learn more: http://bit.ly/AtkinsonSweepsFB

05/10/2019

The Golden Age of the Pullman Car - The History Reader

When builders pounded the golden spike at Promontory Point, Utah, on May 10, 1869, they opened a new era in transportation. But long train trips required innovations in passenger cars. Sleeping cars operated by the Pullman Palace Car Company solved a problem and influenced American taste for decades to come. Read on: http://bit.ly/2J96BqQ

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad.

05/09/2019

Friendship in the American Frontier: Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill

They were the two most famous plainsmen of the American West, and they shared the same first name. Well, sort of... William Cody came to be known as Buffalo Bill and James Butler Hickok came to be known as Wild Bill.

Learn more about the friendship between Wild Bill and Buffalo Bill in the latest post from author Tom Clavin: http://bit.ly/2V98u8I

05/04/2019

The League of Wives Mother's Day Sweepstakes

Still looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift? Enter for a chance to win a signed copy of THE LEAGUE OF WIVES by Heath Hardage Lee! This page-turning work of narrative non-fiction tells the true story of the military wives who battled Washington—and Hanoi—to bring their husbands home from the jungles of Vietnam.

Learn more and enter for a chance to win: https://read.macmillan.com/promo/tlowmothersday

The League of Wives Sweepstakes

05/02/2019

The British Are Coming Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes alert! We've partnered with Henry Holt to offer a chance to win a signed advance copy of the first book in Rick Atkinson's new trilogy about the American Revolution, THE BRITISH ARE COMING.

Learn more and enter: http://bit.ly/AtkinsonSweepsFB

Enter for a chance to win an advance reader's copy of THE BRITISH ARE COMING!

04/11/2019

"As the author of a mystery series, when I decided to tackle the Italian American experience at the turn of the 20th century, I became acutely aware of two things: most of my adored images came from mob movies—and many Italian Americans had serious issues with those movies and the way they sold the image of Italians as career criminals, incapable of following the laws and customs of the United States. Some of the books I read on the Italian American history in New York avoided all but the briefest mention of the mafia altogether, refusing to dignify what the authors saw as exploitative and damaging myth."

Read on in The History Behind the Mystery: http://bit.ly/2Idovbv

04/05/2019

Tom Clavin, the bestselling author of DODGE CITY, returns to the Wild West with WILD BILL—and we're offering a chance to win a FREE hardcover copy!

Learn more and enter here: http://bit.ly/WildBillSweepsFB

ABBREVIATED RULES
No purchase necessary. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C. who are age 18 or older and of the legal age of majority. Entry period begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 4/1/2019 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on 4/14/2019. Void where prohibited. For full Official Rules, visit https://read.macmillan.com/promo/smpwildbillsweepsapr19. Sponsored by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

03/25/2019

To most Americans, Frank Hamer is known only as the “villain” of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. In TEXAS RANGER, historian John Boessenecker sets out to restore Hamer’s good name and prove that he was, in fact, a classic American hero.

For a limited time, get the eBook edition of TEXAS RANGER for just $2.99!
Amazon Kindle: http://bit.ly/TexasRanger_KINDLE
Apple Books: http://bit.ly/TexasRanger_APPLE
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/TexasRanger_NOOK
Google Play: http://bit.ly/TexasRanger_GOOGLE
Kobo: http://bit.ly/TexasRanger_KOBO

03/14/2019

The Toledo War: When Michigan and Ohio Nearly Came to Blows

Michigan and Ohio are now famous for their college football rivalry, but in 1835, the two states nearly went to war over a small strip of land containing the modern day city of Toledo.

More from HISTORY: https://www.history.com/news/the-toledo-war-when-michigan-and-ohio-nearly-came-to-blows

Michigan and Ohio are now famous for their college football rivalry, but in 1835, the two states nearly went to war over a small strip of land containing the modern day city of Toledo.

03/13/2019

The Three Sons George Washington Never Had

A dramatic and poignant story within the story of Valley Forge is about George Washington and his surrogate sons. He did not have children of his own, and turning 46 and married to Martha Washington, he would not. But at Valley Forge, he was surrounded by three very young men totally devoted to him—one of them the Founding Father you never heard of.

Read on: http://www.thehistoryreader.com/modern-history/three-sons-george-washington-never/

Heroes of Valley Forge Part 2: Learn about Washington's surrogate sons and the impact they had on the American Revolution, and on Washington himself.

03/11/2019

Hugh Ryan’s When Brooklyn Was Queer is a groundbreaking exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn, from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the queer women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond.

Explore Brooklyn's queer past in photographs in our latest post: bit.ly/WBWQHistoryReader

03/08/2019

Graham Hancock

AMERICA BEFORE: THE KEY TO EARTH'S LOST CIVILIZATION is the culmination of everything that millions of readers have loved in Graham Hancock's body of work over the past decades—exploration of the mysteries of the past, amazing archaeological discoveries, and profound implications for how we lead our lives today.

Learn more and order a copy: grahamhancock.com/america-before/

Was an advanced civilization lost to history in the global cataclysm that ended the last Ice Age? Find out in AMERICA BEFORE: THE KEY TO EARTH'S LOST CIVILIZATION.
AMERICA BEFORE is available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook editions on April 2 (UK) and April 23 (US/Canada). Learn more and order a copy: grahamhancock.com/america-before/
Upcoming events: http://grahamhancock.com/events/

03/04/2019

THE LEAGUE OF WIVES is the true story of a fierce band of women who battled Washington—and Hanoi—to bring their husbands home from the jungles of Vietnam. Just in time for Women's History Month, we're offering a chance to win hardcover copies!

Learn more and enter here: http://bit.ly/LeagueofWivesSweeps

ABBREVIATED RULES
No purchase necessary. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C. who are age 18 or older and of the legal age of majority. Entry period begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 3/4/2019 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on 3/17/2019. Void where prohibited. For full Official Rules, visit https://read.macmillan.com/promo/smpleaguewifessweepsmar19. Sponsored by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

03/03/2019

Last chance! Enter for a chance to win a hardcover copy of Giles Milton (Writer)'s "Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die: How the Allies Won on D-Day".

Learn more and enter: http://bit.ly/SoldierSailorSweeps

03/01/2019

The 2019 MLB season marks several important anniversaries, including the centennial of the infamous Black Sox scandal and the 50th anniversary of the Miracle Mets. It’s also 150 years since Wild Bill Hickok got behind the plate as a baseball umpire. Yes, you read that correctly.

Learn more in the latest from author Tom Clavin: http://bit.ly/WildBillBaseball

02/22/2019

Enter for a chance to win a copy!

We've partnered with Henry Holt to offer a chance to win one of 10 hardcover copies of Giles Milton's "Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die: How the Allies Won on D-Day" (on sale 3/12/19)!

Learn more and enter: https://static.macmillan.com/static/holt/sweeps/soldiersailorfrogman.html

Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die by Giles Milton

02/21/2019

How Wild Was Wild Bill Hickok? A Biographer Separates Life From Legend

"To succeed as a gunfighter in the American West, it helped to have a competitive advantage. Being fast on the draw was essential — and removing a revolver from a stiff leather holster was never as easy as Hollywood made it seem. But possessing good aim in an age of faulty, smoky ammo and inaccurate weaponry helped even more. The best shot in the early days of the era was the taciturn James Butler Hickok, who for no good reason earned the sobriquet Wild Bill. He boasted another advantage: He was ambidextrous, which meant he could fire off a hail of 12 rounds to the six by an ordinary mortal."

Read more via The New York Times: https://nyti.ms/2E6bdci

Tom Clavin’s “Wild Bill” details the life of a legendary gunfighter whose real name wasn’t even Bill.

02/19/2019

The Archive is offering a chance to win four books about untold American history, including BENDING TOWARD JUSTICE by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.

Learn more and enter here: https://explorethearchive.com/monthly-giveaway

02/14/2019

In March 1896, those who read Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, No. 550 would have seen an illustration on page 572 depicting a romantic moment between George Washington and a woman who wasn’t Martha...

More from author Mary Calvi in our latest post, "A Clue to a Secret Love of George Washington" bit.ly/2BBNtwa

02/12/2019

Every Building on Every Block: A Time Capsule of 1930s New York

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, New York City sent photographers to every building in every borough in an attempt to make property tax assessments fairer and more accurate. The result was more than 700,000 black-and-white snapshots of everything from fashionable apartment buildings in Manhattan to an out-of-the-way diner on Staten Island.

See more in this interactive feature from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/28/nyregion/nyc-property-tax-photos.html

Starting in the late 1930s, New York City set out to photograph every property. With those recently digitized photographs in hand, we went back to see how the city has changed — and how it hasn’t.

02/05/2019

Their names are legends on the American frontier: Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok. We probably know the least about Wild Bill Hickok. Why is that? Tom Clavin takes a closer look in our latest post: bit.ly/2BjHPis

Want to learn more? Clavin's new book, WILD BILL, is now available wherever books are sold!

01/30/2019

The History Reader America Before Sweepstakes

Was an advanced civilization lost to history in the global cataclysm that ended the last Ice Age? Graham Hancock, the internationally bestselling author, has made it his life's work to find out—and in AMERICA BEFORE, he draws on the latest archaeological and DNA evidence to bring his quest to a stunning conclusion.

Enter for a chance to win an advance copy! bit.ly/2B5if0r (US only)

Sweepstakes

01/25/2019

The Life and Death of Wild Bill Hickok

Their names are legends on the American frontier: Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok.

We probably know the least about Wild Bill Hickok. Why is that? During his lifetime, no one’s fame burned brighter than his, yet today, Wild Bill’s life and times are a mystery to many. Read on: bit.ly/2B4ZYQS

Their names are legends on the American frontier: Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok. We probably know the least about Wild Bill Hickok. Why is that? During his lifetime, no one’s fame burned brighter than his, yet today, Wild Bill&rsqu

01/17/2019

In 1776, an elite group of soldiers were handpicked to serve as George Washington’s bodyguards. Washington trusted them; relied on them. But unbeknownst to Washington, some of them were part of a treasonous plan. In the months leading up to the Revolutionary War, these traitorous soldiers, along with the Governor of New York, William Tryon, and Mayor David Mathews, launched a deadly plot against the most important member of the military: George Washington himself.

Read on: http://bit.ly/2AQxnOS

01/16/2019

The Battle for Blair Mountain, which took place Aug. 25 - Sept. 2, 1921 in West Virginia is the second largest civilian uprising in U.S. history, surpassed only by the Civil War... yet you've probably never heard of it.

More from author Jess Montgomery: http://bit.ly/2AQL2FY

01/12/2019

Drawing from the vast collection of Victoria’s correspondence and the rich documentation of her life, author Lucy Worsley recreates twenty-four of the most important days in Victoria’s life. Each day gives a glimpse into the identity of this powerful, difficult queen and the contradictions that defined her. Queen Victoria is an intimate introduction to one of Britain’s most iconic rulers as a wife and widow, mother and matriarch, and above all, a woman of her time. Read on: bit.ly/2Aztuhu

01/08/2019

Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life - The History Reader

Drawing from the vast collection of Victoria’s correspondence and the rich documentation of her life, author Lucy Worsley recreates twenty-four of the most important days in Victoria’s life. Each day gives a glimpse into the identity of this powerful, difficult queen and the contradictions that defined her. Queen Victoria is an intimate introduction to one of Britain’s most iconic rulers as a wife and widow, mother and matriarch, and above all, a woman of her time. Read on: bit.ly/2Aztuhu

'I will be good': Kensington Palace, March 11, 1830 — Read an excerpt of Lucy Worsley's Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life

01/07/2019

Head over to DelanceyPlace to read an excerpt of Tom Clavin's DODGE CITY!

"The near eradication of buffalo did not happen overnight ... But it was a sensational decline, considering that in only a few decades a population in the tens of millions was reduced to thousands." http://bit.ly/DPBuffalo

01/04/2019

Pre-order New York Times bestselling author Tom Clavin's new book WILD BILL: http://bit.ly/WildBillBook

Available wherever books are sold February 5, 2019 from St. Martin's Press.

01/04/2019

‘Pandemic 1918’ and ‘Influenza’ Review: Fire, Ice or Virus?

We know much more about influenza than did doctors during the great pandemic of 1918-19, when the cause of the illness was still unknown, but we also know that we have not mastered it. The Wall Street Journal reviews PANDEMIC 1918 and INFLUENZA:

We know much more about influenza than did doctors during the great pandemic of 1918-19, when the cause of the illness was still unknown, but we also know that we have not mastered it.