Books

• 
• 6/16/19
  

  A Fresh Take on Watergate Illuminates the Present

  by James Thornton Harris

  While Richard Nixon’s rise and fall has been repeatedly examined — there are more than a dozen biographies of him — John Farrell’s book, Richard Nixon, a Life, offers many new insights.

• 
• 5/19/19
  

  Into the Teeth of the Dragon’s Jaw in Vietnam

  by Erik Moshe

  The Thanh Hoa, or “Dragon’s Jaw” bridge was one tough target to crack for war strategists and military pilots during the Vietnam War. Erik Moshe interviewed the authors of Dragon's Jaw to learn more. 

• 
• 4/19/19
  

  The Coming of American Fascism, 1920–1940

  by Chris Wright

  Michael Joseph Roberto's The Coming of the American Behemoth: The Origins of Fascism in the United States, 1920–1940 is particularly timely, as the old structures of American fascism have deepened in the last generation and colonized much of the world. 

• 
• 4/28/19
  

  Racism’s Longue Durée: Why the Citizens’ Councils Matter Now

  by Anders Walker

  A review of Stephanie Rolph's new book Resisting Equality: The Citizens' Council, 1954-1989.

• 
• 4/21/19
  

  Presidential Personality and Politics

  by Jerome Braun

  A review of American Dialogue: The Founders and Us by Joseph J. Ellis. 

• 
• 4/7/19
  

  The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton

  by James Thornton Harris

  The Ghost, a new biography of Angleton by Jefferson Morley, a Washington journalist, provides an intriguing look at this powerful, enigmatic Cold Warrior.

• 
• 3/31/19
  

  The Holocaust and the Christian World

  by Patrick Henry

  A new book offers reflections on the past of antisemitism and challenges for combatting it today. 

• 
• 2/10/19
  

  Revisiting the Wright Brothers and the History of Human Flight

  by Ken Lawrence

  What William Hazelgrove's Wright Brothers, Wrong Story gets wrong about the Wright brothers.

• 
• 1/31/19
  

  Marie Colvin: an Amazing Woman Whose Life Was Cut Short Trying to Present Us with the Truth

  by James Thornton Harris

  In Extremis, Lindsey Hilsum's new biography of the journalist,  shows that underlying the glamor of celebrity and the adrenaline-rush of dodging gunfire was a committed humanitarian.

• 
• 2/10/19
  

  Book Review: Andrew Roberts, Churchill: Walking with Destiny (2018)

  by Jeff Roquen

  Although more than one thousand books have been written on his life, the recently-published Churchill: Walking with Destiny (2018) by Andrew Roberts merits consideration as the newly definitive one-volume biography of its subject.

• 
• 1/27/19
  

  Review: Showtime at the Apollo: The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theater

  by Bruce Chadwick

  Fox takes the reader all the way back to 1914 and discusses entertainment in Harlem, and New York City, in that bustling era when vaudeville was sill king to set the stage for the debut of the Apollo in 1934.

• 
• 2/16/19
  

  What Dinesh D’Souza's "Death of a Nation" Gets Wrong About Martin Van Buren

  by Mark Cheathem

  D’Souza’s inability, or unwillingness, to ground his case in actual evidence calls into question his motivation and suggests that he wants to use history as partisan propaganda, not as a way to illuminate the past.

• 
• 11/24/18
  

  Review of Michael Beschloss’s “Presidents of War”

  by James Thornton Harris

  A highly readable, but deeply flawed account of our nation’s war-making presidents.

• 
• 11/8/18
  

  Review of David Rapp's "Tinker to Evers to Chance: The Chicago Cubs and the Dawn of Modern America"

  by Luther Spoehr

  Helping to make baseball the "national pastime."

• 
• 10-25-18
  

  Review of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Leadership: In Turbulent Times”

  by Sheldon M. Stern

  A 21st century version of a 19th century “improvement” book – a tonic for our troubled times.

• 
• 10-24-18
  

  Review of “Impeachment: An American History” by Jeffrey Engel, Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, and Peter Baker

  by John Reeves

  A well-timed book.

• 
• 10-15-18
  

  Review of Francis Fukuyama’s “Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment”

  by James Thornton Harris

  His book recommends that Progressives try and recapture white, working class voters by downplaying minority rights and espousing a national creedal identity.

• 
• 10-11-18
  

  Review of Manuel Pastor‘s “State of Resistance: What California’s Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Mean for America’s Future”

  by James Thornton Harris

  “California is America fast-forward.”

• 
• 10-9-18
  

  Review of Mary Sarah Bilder’s “Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention”

  by Garrett Ward Sheldon

  What a close study shows (and doesn't show) about the literal writing of Madison's Notes.

• 
• 9-14-18
  

  What Should We Make of Bob Woodward’s Book on Trump?

  by Vaughn Davis Bornet

  "Woodward has done—in my scholarly view, at least—a solid and sound job of revealing things that need opening up yet again to daylight."