The History Reader offers articles, interviews, insights, and further reading for history buffs and book lovers everywhere.
From the unbreakable family bonds and funding that fueled the War to the treacherous murder plots and extreme starvation in the Continental Army, here are five books about the American Revolution you might have missed.
“I do not believe there ever was any life more attractive to a vigorous young fellow than life on a cattle ranch in those days.”
–Theodore Roosevelt
My novel Murder in Old Bombay is set in the late 1800s, a period of enormous technological advancement not unlike our own. In this time of contrasts, great progress and terrible recessions, great wealth and terrible poverty, … Read the article
‘So, you are writing another novel about Catherine the Great?’
Err – no!
Before there was Catherine II, or the Great, whose life and rule has inspired dozens of adaptations, there was Catherine I of Russia—the most … Read the article
In the Battle of Athens, Tennessee, returning veterans of WWII took up arms one last time against a corrupt political machine. To understand why they would risk their liberty and their lives—against a superior force with all … Read the article
When I began my account of these women’s lives, people would ask me what I was working on and after I’d explained the general idea behind Nazi Wives, about 90% of them said “oh, they’re like Lady … Read the article
The three branches of the U.S. federal government—executive, legislative, and judicial—keep each other in line through a system of “checks and balances.” What roles do each play? And who puts the brakes on the POTUS?
In his new book, Inventing Equality, Michael A. Bellesiles tracks the evolution of the battle for true equality in America through the men, ideas, and politics behind the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments passed at the … Read the article
There are at least three reasons to read philosophers from other times and places. The first is that they are sometimes right (and sometimes in surprising ways), and we can learn from them when they are. The … Read the article
How do you get involved in U.S. Democracy? Here’s a crash course on next-level civic participation. It’s time to put your money or your giant poster board sign where your mouth is.
On the last episode we featured from the … Read the article