History - Essays

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - In these coolly observant essays, the iconic bestselling writer looks at the American political process and at "that handful of insiders who invent, year in and year out, the narrative of public life." Through the deconstruction of the sound bites and...

An acclaimed historian illuminates today's political situation by examining the relationship between governing and storytelling, from the Middle Ages to the "post-truth" present, in these engaging essays. In the wake of Donald Trump's election, renowned medievalist Patrick Boucheron delivered a powerful, probing series of...

On the advanced knowledge economy, which perpetuates patterns of discrimination and exclusion, and the threat of climate change devastation for both human and nonhuman entities. Robots designed to care for people and neglected landscapes of digital trash. The promise of synthetic biology and the...

Twenty-five famous Mainers share humorous stories of everyday life in and about the state of Maine. It's homegrown humor laced with folksy wisdom in the tradition of John Gould and Marshall Dodge. Mainers are born storytellers and they have perfected the art of telling...

What's it like to have been born in Tombstone, Arizona? In Reckon, artist Logan Phillips returns to the fabled town to face the history he was raised on as a boy--gunfights, outlaws, and Hollywood cowboys--for a new, personal confrontation with the West's foundational mythology....

This new and up-to-date edition of a book that has been central to political philosophy, history, and revolutionary thought for two hundred years offers readers a dire warning of the consequences that follow the mismanagement of change. Written for a generation presented with challenges...

Religio Medici, Hydriotaphia, and the Letter to a FriendSIR THOMAS BROWNE (whose works occupy so prominent a position in the literary history of the seventeenth century) is an author who is now little known and less read. This comparative oblivion to which he has...

Ridiculously Good-Looking Saunas reimagines the sauna as a space of radical design, cultural depth, and elemental beauty -- where architecture and atmosphere merge in the pure pursuit of presence. Far beyond wellness trends, the modern sauna reflects a growing desire for intentional living and...

Retrace Western North Carolina's cultural and natural history with one of its most beloved storytellers and folklorists, John Parris. Repackaged with an updated cover and back in print for the first time in decades, the Two Hoots Press Heritage Edition includes the complete original...

A taboo-bursting, personal and cultural tour through different sexual fetishes that asks: Do we have the courage to look at our desires directly, and express them unapologetically? The smell of leather. The flash of a harness. The snap of a latex glove. Welcome to...

Selections from the Speeches and Writings of Edmund Burke "Id dico, eum qui sit orator, virum bonum esse oportere. In omnibus quae dicit tanta auctoritas inest, ut dissentire pudeat; nec advocati studium, sed testis aut judicis afferat fidem."Quintilianus. "Democracy is the most monstrous of...

Socialism, Utopian and Scientific is a political science classic that needs no preface. It ranks with the Communist Manifesto as one of the indispensable books for any one desiring to understand the modern socialist movement. It has been translated into every language where capitalism...

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER Known for his sharp-witted skits on CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mark Critch uses his keen observational skills to explore Canadian identity and the new wave of Canadian patriotism. In Sorry, Not Sorry, Critch delves into the heart of what...

Featuring interviews with eminent historians, journalists, and writers, Speaking of America brings together nineteen wide-ranging conversations from philanthropist and financier David M. Rubenstein's long-running Congressional Dialogues series of interviews at the Library of Congress. Highlights include Ken Burns on documenting American history, Stacy Schiff...

Memories and stories from more than half a century of writing, reporting, and ranting by a Minnesota sports icon. Minneapolis Star Tribune senior columnist Patrick Reusse is a legendary fixture in Minnesota sports. Like his late colleague Sid Hartman, he is known by his...

The incomparable Mary Beard is back, and she's talking all things classics. Why the ongoing fascination with the ancient world? This witty, approachable book asks why--for better or (sometimes) worse--antiquity continues to exert such a powerful hold on the contemporary imagination. Recalling a formative...

This standout creative nonfiction debut explores the lives and histories of plants considered nonnative or invasive as metaphors for the Black experience in America. In Tending the Vines, Ashia S. Ajani illuminates how eight unique plants tell the story of the Black diaspora in...

The preeminent historians of the founding era speak their mind on the anniversary of the United States' birthIn these powerful and personal essays, some of the most celebrated historians of the American Revolutionary era reflect on the meaning of 1776 to the nation in...

The long conflict that culminated in the American Revolution and the founding of the U.S. Republic upended the lives of men and women throughout the colonies. In a time of upheaval and uncertainty, they reinvented their lives, their communities, and their vision of the...

A New York Times Bestseller A timely collection of speeches by David McCullough, one of America's most honored historians--winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awards, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom--that reminds us of the enduring principles at the heart of the...