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Featured Excerpt: A Big Mess in Texas

Dallas Texas

by David Fleming

In A Big Mess in Texas, David Fleming reveals the incredible, untold true…
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Compelling Reads for Constitution Day

Each year on September 17, we celebrate the anniversary of the ratification of the United States…
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Cape Coast Castle’s Role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Cape Coast Castle in Ghana

by Siddharth Kara

Pulitzer Prize-finalist Siddharth Kara visited the Gold Coast in Africa while doing research…
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A Time for Every Man to Stir

by Jack Kelly

To celebrate Labor Day, author Jack Kelly shares with The History Reader why Thomas…
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National Aviation Day Must-Reads

Each year on August 19th, America celebrates National Aviation Day. Today, we bring you our favorite…
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Rope’s Role in Colonial America’s Tarring and Feathering

he Bostonian's Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering. Copy of mezzotint attributed to Philip Dawe, 1774. Public domain.

by Tim Queeney

Tim Queeney, author of Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the…
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Richard Nixon’s Call for a Cosmic Hoedown

Apollo 11 launch from Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969.

by Jeffrey Kluger

Few authors have had as big an impact on space journalism as Jeffrey…
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To Look Them in the Face: Bunker Hill 250

Map of The Battle of Bunker Hill.

by Jack Kelly

As part of the ongoing celebration of the birth of the United States…
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This Is a Pretty Country We Live In: The Trial of Anne Royall

Ducking stool illustration

by Jack Kelly

In honor of Anne Royall's birthday (June 11, 1769), author Jack Kelly shares…
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Ben Franklin Gets Juiced With a Little Hemp

Ben West's painting of Benjamin Franklin drawing electricity from the sky.

by Tim Queeney

In June of 1752, with some sources specifically saying the tenth of June, Benjamin Franklin conducted…
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U. S. History

Post-Holocene Progress

Maerten van Heemskerck - Panorama with the Abduction of Helen Amidst the Wonders of the Ancient World

by Samuel Miller McDonald

Samuel Miller McDonald's book, Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now…
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The Last Launch of the Gemini Program

Gemini 12 prime crew: Astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. (right), command pilot, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot.

by Jeffrey Kluger

On November 11, 1966, NASA launched Gemini 12, the last manned spaceflight in…
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Featured Excerpt: A Promise Delivered

Van Thomas Barfoot newly promoted US Army Lieutenant circa 1944.

by Ty Seidule and Connor Williams

In 2020, a bipartisan act of Congress mandated changing the…
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Featured Excerpt: A Biography of a Mountain

Mt. Rushmore

by Matthew Davis

In A Biography of a Mountain, Matthew Davis shares a  comprehensive narrative history…
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Writing Characters With a Historical Perspective

by Charles Finch

Historical fiction author Charles Finch knows firsthand the challenges of making sure his…
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The Education of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Oval Office Photo

by J. Randy Taraborrelli

New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli shares with The History…
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New Books to Read as the Days Get Shorter: November 2025

The History Reader Upcoming Books November 2025
As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, you'll want to stay inside to enjoy…
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Running Deep: Some Survived

Omori island, WWII prisoner of war camp in Japan. Circa 1945. U.S. Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

by Tom Clavin

Because of a bevy of national and international headlines, somewhat overlooked last month…
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