For myriad reasons, King Cyrus II, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, is one of the most compelling figures of ancient history. Stephen Dando-Collins’s expert biography, "Cyrus the Great", combines ancient and modern sources for... Read More

"Plotting to Stop the British Slave Trade" is an ambitious academic volume that approaches the explorer James Bruce from a fresh angle. An enigmatic historical figure is placed in a new light in Jane Aptekar Reeve’s "Plotting to Stop... Read More

Michael Lanning’s "The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson" reveals that, more than ten years before Rosa Parks’s refusal to move to the back of the bus, a young black army officer also defied such an order. For taking that stand and... Read More

John Hemming’s "People of the Rainforest" is the intense, enlightening story of the three Villas Boas brothers, whose commitment to justice within Brazil’s Amazon led to vast expanses of that land being preserved for Indigenous... Read More

Johanna Garton’s engrossing "Edge of the Map" traces the rise of Wisconsin native Christine Boskoff to the top of the list of elite mountain climbers. Known for her humility, courage, strength, and uncanny ability to breathe at high... Read More

France’s Louis XIV, known as “The Sun King,” has long been an enigma. On the one hand, he was visionary, practical, and probably the greatest patron of the arts the world has ever known. On the other, he was ruthless, vain,... Read More

Marc Petitjean grew up with Frida Kahlo’s disturbing painting “The Heart” hanging in his living room. As a child, he was terrified of the image of a huge bleeding heart lying in the sand, with its handless woman pierced by a metal... Read More

Eddy Simon’s smart, entertaining graphic biography of the renowned sculptor and artist Auguste Rodin begins with Rodin’s childhood and his first steps toward sculpture, shaping dough at the side of his mother. His adult life is shown... Read More