What types of men became sailors and why? How did they cope with hardships, sexual frustration, danger, and discipline? How did they relate to each other and their officers? The author, a professor at Grinnell College, examines these... Read More

Here is a dazzling exploration of espionage—“the art of the possible” in “a wilderness of mirrors.” The narrative surges forward from the peril-fraught Berlin of the 1950s through the doomed Hungarian Uprising, the botched Bay... Read More

For anyone with only fading memory (or not even a palette to perch on), when it comes to British art of the period 1740-1840, this elegant, incisive, far-ranging yet concise book will come as a godsend. More than that, it will open the... Read More

Launched in 1934 and 1938 respectively, the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, at over 1,000 feet in length and more than 80,000 tons displacement, were the finest ships of their day. Requisitioned shortly after World War II broke out,... Read More

The publication of this 700-page work will ensure the recognition of the author, who served Churchill as Chief of Imperial General Staff from 1940 to 1945, as architect of Allied victory in World War II. In theory, Alanbrooke, the... Read More

Readers may well ask, “When is the mini-series scheduled?” while enjoying this captivating account of forgery, fame, and personal disaster in London of the 1770s. Before the story ends, le beau monde will crowd the courts, pamphlet... Read More

Few English writers offer as much mystery and magic as Daniel Defoe, and very few can match his output, which ranges from Robinson Crusoe—the very stuff of escapism and adventure—to pamphlets on the political, religious, and economic... Read More

These two 8“ x 11“ album books are best taken as a combined dose of difficult reality and escapist fantasy. Vertigo (a text-and-picture combination) demolishes the traditional city guide that comforted earlier generations;... Read More