A fascinating history of the nineteenth-century frenzy surrounding an exotic flower, "The Lost Orchid" is about Victorian imperialism, ecological devastation, and climate... Read More

Laura J. Martin’s "Wild by Design" is essential reading, raising pertinent questions about what it means to be “wild” in an era of widespread ecological disruption. The... Read More

The fictions that underlie racism and how they affect the way Americans perceive reality are dissected in Sarah Lewis’s eye-opening history text, "The Unseen Truth". In his... Read More

In "Nazis of Copley Square", Charles R. Gallagher takes a searing look at the Christian Front, an American extremist group that weaponized Catholicism. The organization reached... Read More

Christopher Wanjek’s "Spacefarers" charts the way to an intriguing, not-too-distant future. Humans could be living in space within ten years. In some ways, that sounds... Read More

The prime meridian, though not a “real thing,” rules the life of everyone on the planet; it’s the place at which the world’s longitude is set at zero degrees, giving... Read More

The new English translation of Oliver Wieviorka’s "The French Resistance" is a hefty, commodious volume allowing for the full breadth of the author’s sophisticated... Read More

This in-depth analysis of an important event in Congo’s history discusses significant revelations concerning international politics. The recent US Senate report describing the... Read More

During a visit to a commander who controlled provinces in northern Afghanistan, a Pakistani journalist spotted blood and chunks of flesh in the courtyard. He was told that the... Read More

In this handsomely produced volume, Lindesay achieves a five-strike success. He provides a concise account of the when, whys, and wheres of wall building, dispatching the... Read More

The Revolution of 1949, which installed into power the Communist Party of China, also combined China’s five time zones into one—Beijing’s time: Central Time. “This... Read More

Henry Kissinger was likely the most controversial Secretary of State in American history, reviled by his detractors but respected by heads of state throughout the world. Unlike... Read More