Spring 2009 Hardcovers: History

ANOVA/PORTICO

(dist. by Trafalgar Square/IPG)

Whatever Happened to Tanganyika? The Place Names That History Left Behind (May, $14.95) by Harry Campbell traces the name changes of countries and cities.

ARCADE

Battlefield Angels: The History and Heroism of America's Military Medical Corps (Aug., $26.95) by Scott McGaugh depicts medics and corpsmen from the Revolutionary War to today.

ARNOLDSCHE

(dist. by Antique Collectors' Club)

Germans in America (Mar., $70) by Gunther Klotzer presents 62 portraits of émigrés from all walks of life.

BARRON'S

1001 Inventions That Changed the World (Mar., $35), edited by Jack Challoner. Photos and illustrations complement summaries of each invention.

BLACK DOG & LEVENTHAL

(dist. by Workman)

The New York Times Book of New York (June, $27.95), edited by James Barron, celebrates every aspect of the city that never sleeps.

BLUEBRIDGE

(dist. by IPG)

The Last Divine Office: Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries (Apr., $24.95) by Geoffrey Moorhouse chronicles the religious upheaval caused by the English Reformation.

BRANDEIS UNIV. PRESS

(dist. by UPNE)

All-Out for Victory!: Magazine Advertising and the World War II Home Front (May, $50) by John Bush Jones examines wartime ads' roles in sustaining morale.

BRIGHT SKY PRESS

(dist. by IPG)

The Paper Republic: The Struggle for Money, Credit and Independence in the Republic of Texas (Apr., $39.95) by Jim Bevill discusses the history of the currency used to fund the Texan war machine.

CAMBRIDGE UNIV. PRESS

John Brown's War Against Slavery (June, $35) by Robert E. McGlone studies the abolitionist who helped bring about the American Civil War.

CASEMATE PUBLISHING

The Other Side of the Night: The Carpathia, the Californian, and the Night the Titanic Was Lost (May, $32.95) by Daniel Allen Butler recounts the disaster from the vantage point of nearby vessels.

CHICAGO REVIEW/LAWRENCE HILL BOOKS

(dist. by IPG)

Devil's Sanctuary: An Eyewitness History of Mississippi Hate Crimes (July, $26.95) by James L. Dickerson and Alex A. Alston Jr. investigates these crimes, delayed justice and the state's attempts at atonement.

CHICAGO REVIEW PRESS

(dist. by IPG)

Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip (May, $24.95) by Matthew Algeo details the ex-president's misguided attempts at a cross-country journey.

COLLINS LIVING

Amazing Tales of Making Men Out of Boys (May, $25.99) by Neil Oliver features stories of heroism, exploration and sacrifice.

COLUMBIA UNIV. PRESS

History of the Mafia (Aug., $29.95) by Salvatore Lupo, trans. by Antony Shugaar, charts the infamous secret society's trajectory from 1860 to today.

CONTINUUM PUBLISHING

Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows (Apr., $22.95) by Kathleen Collins explores how these programs reflect and shape cultural change.

CROWN

The Illustrious Dead: The Terrifying Story of How Typhus Killed Napoleon's Greatest Army (June, $25.95) by Stephan Talty describes how the emperor's forces succumbed to an eons-old parasite. 75,000 first printing.

CROWN FORUM

The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution (Apr., $35) by Steven F. Hayward. This final volume considers Reagan's effect on political life. 30,000 first printing.

DA CAPO PRESS

Bond of Union: Building the Erie Canal and the American Empire (Mar., $27.95) by Gerard Koeppel outlines a history of the waterway and the consequences of its completion.

IVAN R. DEE

(dist. by NBN)

No Sense of Decency: The Army-McCarthy Hearings—A Demagogue Falls and Television Takes Charge of American Politics (Mar., $27.50) by Robert Shogan recalls the 1954 proceedings.

ECCO

The Rise and Fall of Communism (July, $35.95) by Archie Brown examines the ideology's origins, subsequent collapse in many nations and current incarnations. 50,000 first printing.

FAIR WINDS PRESS

The War Chronicles: From Flintlocks to Machine Guns (July, $30) by Joseph Cummins depicts multiple conflicts.

FORDHAM UNIV. PRESS

The Hudson-Fulton Celebration (Mar., $39.95) by Kathleen Eagen Johnson commemorates 1909's two-week riverfront festival that stretched from Brooklyn to Albany, N.Y.

FREE PRESS

My Hope for Peace (Mar., $25) by Jehan Sadat. The Egyptian president's widow calls for an end to conflict in the Middle East.

Fateful Crescent (Aug., $26) by Vali Nasr declares that the key to improved U.S.–Middle East relations is a focus on the region's rising business class.

GILES

(dist. by Antique Collectors' Club)

BIG! Big Records, Big Events and Big Ideas in American History (May, $29.95) by Stacey Bredhoff celebrates the 75th anniversary of the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

GROVE PRESS

Industrial Revolutionaries: The Making of the Modern World, 1776–1914 (Apr., $27.50) by Gavin Weightman illustrates innovation through the lives of inventors, spies and entrepreneurs.

HARVARD UNIV. PRESS

Naming Infinity: A True Story of Religious Mysticism and Mathematical Creativity (Mar., $25.95) by Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor studies Russian Orthodox Name Worshipping monks, who attempted to understand infinity.

HISTORY PRESS

(dist. by Trafalgar Square/IPG)

The Age of Emperors and The Later Roman Republic (June, $34.95 each) by Brian Taylor, volumes 2 and 3 of The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, 753 B.C.–476 A.D., a Chronology series, explore the period marked by a near continuous conflict between slave uprisings and empire building, republicans and dictators.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

Practicing Catholic (Apr., $28) by James Carroll examines America's impact on the Church's transformation. 75,000 first printing. 6-city author tour.

INDIANA UNIV. PRESS

Refugees and Rescue (June, $29.95), edited by Richard Breitman et al., explores America's policies under FDR.

INNER TRADITIONS/BEAR & CO.

The Earth Chronicles Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Seven Books of the Earth Chronicles (May, $24) by Zecharia Sitchin. This compendium of myths and events reveals the influence of the Anunnaki.

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV. PRESS

Lighter than Air: An Illustrated History of Balloons and Airships (Apr., $35) by Tom D. Crouch chronicles flight from Archimedes's discovery to the latest innovations.

LOUISIANA STATE UNIV. PRESS

The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators: Their Confinement and Execution, as Recorded in the Letterbook of John Frederick Hartranft (Mar., $24.95), edited by Edward Steers Jr. and Harold Holzer, depicts the incarceration of Booth's alleged accomplices.

MODERN LIBRARY

Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History (Apr., $21) by Margaret MacMillan shows the way history—and its manipulation—affects everyone.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Blood, Sweat and Steam: The Story of Britain's Railway Age (Aug., $36) draws on archival collections and railway records of Victorian Britain.

NATION BOOKS

Mirrors: An Almost Universal History (June, $25.95) by Eduardo Galeano, trans. by Mark Fried. Hundreds of kaleidoscopic vignettes offer an epic portrait of the human adventure.

NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS

Network-Centric Warfare (Mar., $29.95) by Norman Friedman illustrates the U.S. adoption of a military style utilizing a real-time, shared picture of a situation.

NEW PRESS

Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation (May, $35) by Ray Raphael. Seven disparate historical figures retell the story of our country's founding.

NYU PRESS

Babysitter: An American History (July, $29.95) by Miriam Forman-Brunell examines these caregivers from the 1920s on using historical and pop cultural references.

Boulevard of Dreams: Heady Times, Heartbreak, and Hope Along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx (Aug., $27.95) by Connie Rosenblum tracks the changing neighborhood.

OLD STREET PUBLISHING

(dist. by Consortium)

Dancing on Ice: A Stirring Tale of Adventure, Risk and Reckless Folly (Apr., $26) by Jeremy Scott depicts a 1930 Arctic expedition that sought an air route over the ice cap.

OVERLOOK PRESS

Words That Ring Through Time (Aug., $30) by Terry Golway places 50 famous speeches in the context of the events that inspired them.

PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

When the Rivers Ran Red: The Great Dawn of the American Wine Industry (June, $26.95) by Vivienne Sosnowski explores the California vintners' battle against Prohibition.

POWERHOUSE BOOKS

Spacesuits: Within the Collections of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (June, $35) by Amanda Young charts the garments' development from the 1930s through the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz program.

PROFILE BOOKS

(dist. by Consortium)

The Fourteenth of July (June, $24.95) by Christopher Prendergast recounts the Bastille's reputation, its storming and the momentous aftermath.

PUBLICAFFAIRS

The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta (June, $26.95) by Mark Wortman treats a pivotal moment in the defeat of the Confederacy.

PURDUE UNIV. PRESS

Seeking a Voice: Images of Race and Gender in the 19th-Century Press (May; $64.95, paper $32.95), edited by David B. Sachsman et al., chronicles the media's role in reshaping American life.

RIVERHEAD

The Food of a Younger Land: The WPA's Portrait of Food in Pre–World War II America (May, $27.95) by Mark Kurlansky presents a culinary and social history.

RUTGERS UNIV. PRESS

Knickerbocker: The Myth Behind New York (July, $24.95) by Elizabeth L. Bradley considers Dietrich Knickerbocker, the antihero and standard-bearer for New York “attitude.”

SANTA MONICA PRESS

Just Doing My Job: Stories of Service from World War II (May, $24.95) by Jonna Doolittle Hoppes profiles ordinary people performing extraordinary tasks after Pearl Harbor.

SCRIBNER

Horse Soldiers (May, $28) by Doug Stanton offers a tale of men at war overcoming great odds to survive. 250,000 first printing.

SOURCEBOOKS

Triumvirate: The Story of the Unlikely Alliance That Saved the Constitution and United the Nation (May, $24.95) by Bruce Chadwick recounts the founding fathers' battle to create a unified America.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIV. PRESS

(dist. by CDC)

The Shiloh Campaign (May, $24.95), edited by Steven E. Woodworth, collects essays that illuminate this decisive Civil War offensive.

STACKPOLE BOOKS

The American GI in Europe in World War II: D-Day—Storming Ashore (May, $29.95) by J.E. Kauffman and H.W. Kauffman. Firsthand accounts of American soldiers recall this momentous event.

STERLING

Becoming American: The African-American Journey (Mar., $12.95) by Howard Dodson. The director of New York City's Schomburg Center outlines the role played by people of African descent.

STERLING/HEARST

Big Ideas: 100 Inventions That Have Changed Our World (May, $17.95) by Alex Hutchinson unveils the modern era's greatest discoveries.

STERLING/UNION SQUARE

War of Words: A True Tale of Newsprint and Murder (May, $24.95) by Simon Read details the shooting by San Francisco Chronicle publisher Charles De Young of mayoral candidate Rev. Isaac Kalloch in 1879.

ST. MARTIN'S/THOMAS DUNNE

Rescue Warriors (May, $25.95) by David Helvarg traces the history of the U.S. Coast Guard from its founding in 1799 to the present. 60,000 first printing.

TEMPUS

(dist. by Trafalgar Square/IPG)

Love Letters from a Desert Rat: 'Alex and Nan' (Mar., $37.95) by Liz MacIntyre. After her mother's death, the author discovered 300 letters from her father detailing his WWII service.

THAMES & HUDSON

Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual (June, $24.95) by Philip Matyszak. A how-to format provides a vivid description of life in the Roman legions.

TWELVE

Columbine (Apr., $26.99) by Dave Cullen draws portraits of the killers, the victims and the community that suffered one of the 20th century's greatest tragedies.

UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Pineapple Culture: A History of the Tropical and Temperate Zones (Mar., $34.95) by Gary Y. Okihi ranges from Renaissance European greenhouses to Hawaii's Dole Company.

UNIV. OF CHICAGO PRESS

Thousands of Broadways: Dreams and Nightmares of the American Small Town (Apr., $16) by Robert Pinsky explores these towns' attitudes and atmosphere from the early 19th century through WWII.

UNIV. OF ILLINOIS PRESS

Open Wound: The Long View of Race in America (Mar., $34.95) by William McKee Evans contrasts the paradox of democracy against a centuries-old system of oppression.

UNIV. OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS

That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution (Apr., $35) by Lars Schoultz analyzes the history of U.S-Cuban relations, pointing to new prospects for the new century.

UNIV. OF NORTH TEXAS PRESS

Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald (June, $27.95) by Harold J. Weiss Jr. celebrates the most famous of the “Four Captains.”

UNIV. OF NOTRE DAME PRESS

The Making and Unmaking of the English Catholic Intellectual Community, 1910–1950 (Apr., $60) by James R. Lothian describes a close-knit group that was inspired by Hilaire Belloc's ideology.

UNIV. OF OKLAHOMA PRESS

Flying Across America: The Airline Passenger Experience (May, $45) by Daniel L. Rust emphasizes the personal experience of commercial flight.

UNIV. OF VIRGINIA PRESS

Mongrel Nation: The America Begotten by Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings (Mar., $22.95) by Clarence Walker uses the liaison as starting point for a series of historical reflections on race, sex and country.

UNIV. OF WASHINGTON PRESS

Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country (Apr., $35) by Marsha L. Weisiger recalls the U.S. government's 1920s decision to eradicate most livestock held by Arizona's Navajo people.

UNIV. PRESS OF COLORADO

The Trail of Gold and Silver: Colorado Mining 1859–2009 (June, $26.95) by Duane A. Smith outlines how mining for precious metals changed the state and its people forever.

UNIV. PRESS OF FLORIDA

Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster (May, $39.95) by Allan J. McDonald with James R. Hansen looks at the tragedy and its aftermath.

VIKING

The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War (Mar., $27.95) by James Mann analyzes the president's role in the crumbling of Soviet power. 4-city author tour.

Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon (July, $27.95) by Craig Nelson celebrates the Apollo 11 mission on the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing.

WALKER & COMPANY

An Edible History of Humanity (May, $26) by Tom Standage views the evolution of our species through the foods we eat.

WAYNE STATE UNIV. PRESS

Maxwell Motor and the Making of the Chrysler Corporation (Apr., $34.95) by Anthony J. Yanik recalls the Detroit automaker.

YALE UNIV. PRESS

Alger Hiss and the Battle for History (Mar., $24) by Susan Jacoby views the McCarthy-era trial and verdict as a mirror of shifting American political views.

How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower (May, $32.50) by Adrian Golds–worthy explains how a seemingly unassailable empire rotted from within.