Category: Pop History
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Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (2011) by Candice Millard
Lots of popular history books claim to “read like a novel”; this one actually does. Author Candace Millard takes a random, Jeopardy!-Trivia-question event in American history (“He shot President Garfield in July 1881.” “Who is Charles Guiteau?”) and turns it into a delightful page-turning read. “Destiny of the Republic” likely isn’t great history in the…
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The Johnstown Flood (1987) by David McCullough
Popular historian David McCullough is something of a legend — and deservedly so. Few in his generation have ever equaled, let alone surpassed, his ability to construct a richly textured and deeply researched historical narrative. This gem, his first full length book, is every bit as good as his eventual Pulitzer Prize-winners, “John Adams” and…
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The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey (2005) by Candice Millard
I love Teddy Roosevelt (full disclosure), and had read several academic biographies about him before picking up Candice Millard’s “The River of Doubt,” her popular narrative on the former president’s generally forgotten 1914 expedition in the Amazon. I’m glad I did, as Millard delivers a fast-paced and engaging history of a truly remarkable event in…
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One Summer: America, 1927 (2013) by Bill Bryson
Despite my love of popular history, Bill Bryson’s “One Summer: America 1927” likely would have escaped my notice had it not been given to me as a Christmas gift. Moreover, I only decided to read it (I literally have stacks of unread books all over my house) because I was taking a long flight and…
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The Killing School: Inside the World’s Deadliest Sniper Program (2017) by Brandon Webb
I didn’t choose “The Killing School,” “The Killing School” chose me. You see, this book literally just showed up to my house one day. I had purchased my 14-year-old son, an avid Boy Scout and outdoorsman, a subscription to “Crate Club,” a company founded by “The Killing School” author Brandon Webb. Once a month my…
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How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World (2014) by Steven Johnson
The modern American home is a veritable wonderland of technical innovations: clean water on demand, central heating and air conditioning, wireless Internet and telephony, flat screen electronics, and inexpensive lighting, to name just a few. “How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World” by popular science writer Steven Johnson describes, at…
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The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris (2012) by David McCullough
God bless David McCullough. With seeming effortlessness he does what most every historian hopes to achieve – recreate the life and times of the distant past. I was not prepared to like this book. How could anyone write over four hundred pages chronicling the experience of Americans in nineteenth century Paris and make it somehow…
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Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill (2016) by Candice Millard
Nobody does it quite like Candice Millard. She finds relatively obscure historical events – the assassination of President Garfield, the Amazon adventure of former President Teddy Roosevelt, and here the young exploits of Winston Churchill in South Africa – and turns them into absolutely top-notch popular history. Her narratives are compulsively readable. My only complaint…
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Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel (2016) by Tom Wainwright.
It’s often said that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Over the years I’ve learned that you could say the same thing about its title. Consider the case of “Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel” by longtime Economist reporter Tom Wainwright. It seems to me that there are four basic components to…
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