by Catharine Edwards When the Roman statesman Cicero was murdered in 43 BCE, his head was cut off, and his tongue pierced with pins – a final, brutal act of revenge against a man whose words had shaped a generation and made him many enemies. But beyond this gruesome end, who was Cicero and how…
by Henry Gee Since the beginning of time, animals have risen and fallen from dominance on planet Earth. Had the dinosaurs not been wiped out by a freak asteroid, their time as the supreme animal on Earth would have faded, too. In The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire, award-winning science writer Henry Gee…
by Julie Summers and Jochen Hemmleb Did George Mallory and Sandy Irvine make the summit of Mt. Everest on June 8, 1924, becoming the first ever to do so? That is the biggest mystery in the history of mountaineering. Over 100 years after they were last seen ‘going strong for the top,’ the question of…
From the classical age of Alexander the Great and Roman statesman Cicero to the United States on September 11, 2001, this month’s new history releases cover a wide swath of the past. What gripping historical read will you pick up this month? When the Roman statesman Cicero was murdered in 43 BCE, his head was…
by Michael J. Tougias During World War II, Commander Harro Schacht daringly crossed the Atlantic Ocean to hunt for unsuspecting American ships in the Gulf of Mexico. In Deep Water author Michael J. Tougias shares with The History Reader the dramatic story of the sinking of the Federal before revealing how the Gulf of Mexico…
To honor the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, The History Reader has put together a list of top Revolutionary War-era books published over the last two decades. Here, you’ll find books about prominent figures in the war, such as George Washington and Paul Revere, as well as lesser known figures who were…
by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan Shakespeare’s line from the Merchant of Venice, “All that glitters is not gold” rings true for the life of Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan. As a young American heiress, she was forced to marry an English duke by her mother when she loved someone else. This position as the Duchess of Marlborough placed…
by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin Many U.S. soldiers fought bravely in Europe, but only a few of them were U.S. Marines. In The Phantom, authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin share the extraordinary story of Major Pierre “Pete” Ortiz—a scout, saboteur, and French Resistance leader working in the heart of Nazi-occupied France. Read on…
by Julie Summers and Jochen Hemmleb There is no mystery more compelling than the unsolved mystery of George Mallory, Sandy Irvine, and their legendary 1924 Everest expedition. There are many theories about what happened, but the definitive answer of them being the first people to reach the summit is unknown. Julie Summers, the great-niece of…
Summer may be winding down, but that doesn’t mean that the adventures must stop. Below is a selection of fantastic history reads that will take you from the dangerous terrain of Mt. Everest to the freezing Polar North to the wild American frontier. What adventure will you be joining from the safety and comfort of…