The Best History Books 2025

1. Frontsoldaten: The German Soldier in World War II, (Paperback)

"Alois Dwenger, writing from the front in May of 1942, complained that people forgot "the actions of simple soldiers....I believe that true heroism lies in bearing this dreadful everyday life." In exploring the reality of the Landser, the average German soldier in World War II, through letters, diaries, memoirs, and oral histories, Stephen G. Fritz provides the definitive account of the everyday war of the German front soldier. The personal documents of these soldiers, most from the Russian fron

Frontsoldaten: The German Soldier in World War II, (Paperback) Author: University Press of Kentucky ISBN: 9780813109435 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1997-06-19 Page Count: 312

2. Halfbreed (Paperback)

For Maria Campbell, a Canadian mitis, the brutal realities of poverty, pain, and degradation intrude in childhood and follow her every step. "I write this for all of you, to tell you what it is like to be a Halfbreed woman in our country."

"I write this for all of you, to tell you what it is like to be a Halfbreed woman in our country. I want to tell you about the joys and sorrows, the oppressing poverty, the frustration and the dreams. . . . I am not bitter. I have passed that stage. I only want to say: this is what it was like, this is what it is still like." For Maria Campbell, a Métis ("Halfbreed") in Canada, the brutal realities of poverty, pain, and degradation intruded early and followed her every step. Her story is a harsh one, but it is told without bitterness or self-pity. It is a story that begins in 1940 in northern Saskatchewan and moves across Canada's West, where Maria roamed in the rootless existence of day-to-day jobs, drug addiction, and alcoholism. Her path strayed ever near hospital doors and prison walls. It was Cheechum, her Cree great-grandmother, whose indomitable spirit sustained Maria Campbell through her most desperate times. Cheechum's stubborn dignity eventually led the author to take pride in her Métis heritage, and Cheechum's image inspired her in her drive for her own life, dignity; and purpose.

3. Acceptable Loss: Acceptable Loss: An Infantry Soldier's Perspective, (Paperback)

In just ten months in Vietnam, he was overrun, shot up, but not underworked--he survived fifty-four missions as point man. He has one hell of a story to tell. You didn't get into the Rangers without volunteering, and you didn't stay on point unless you liked it. But after watching most of his buddies die in a firefight when his LRRP team was overrun by the NVA, Kregg Jorgenson volunteered to serve on a Blue Team in the Air Cavalry, racing to the aid of soldiers who faced the same dangers he had barely survived. Whether enduring NVA sapper attacks, surviving "friendly" fire, or landing in hot LZs, Jorgenson discovered that in Vietnam you never knew whether you were paranoid or just painfully aware of the possibilities.

Acceptable Loss: Acceptable Loss: An Infantry Soldier's Perspective, (Paperback) Author: Ballantine Group ISBN: 9780804107921 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1991-09-23 Page Count: 272

4. A Rumor of War

The classic Vietnam memoir, as relevant today as it was almost thirty years ago. In March of 1965, Marine Lieutenent Philip J. Caputo landed at Da Nang with the first ground combat unit deployed to Vietnam. Sixteen months later, having served on the line in one of modern history's ugliest wars, he returned home--physically whole but emotionally wasted, his youthful idealism forever gone. A Rumor of War is more than one soldier's story. Upon its publication in 1977, it shattered America's indifference to the fate of the men sent to fight in the jungles of Vietnam. In the years since then, it has become not only a basic text on the Vietnam War but also a renowned classic in the literature of wars throughout history and, as Caputo explains, of "the things men do in war and the things war does to men." "A singular and marvelous work." --The New York Times

The classic Vietnam memoir, as relevant today as it was almost thirty years ago. In March of 1965, Marine Lieutenent Philip J. Caputo landed at Da Nang with the first ground combat unit deployed to Vietnam. Sixteen months later, having served on the line in one of modern history's ugliest wars, he returned home—physically whole but emotionally wasted, his youthful idealism forever gone. A Rumor of War is more than one soldier's story. Upon its publication in 1977, it shattered America's indifference to the fate of the men sent to fight in the jungles of Vietnam. In the years since then, it has become not only a basic text on the Vietnam War but also a renowned classic in the literature of wars throughout history and, as Caputo explains, of "the things men do in war and the things war does to men." "A singular and marvelous work." —The New York Times

5. Eisenhower Center Studies on War and Pea Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Boats That Won World War II (Revised), (Paperback)

Andrew Jackson Higgins is perhaps the most forgotten hero of the Allied victory. He designed the LCVP (landing craft vehicle, personnel) that played such a vital role in the invasion of Normandy as well as the first effective tank landing craft. During the war, New Orleans-based Higgins Industries produced over twenty thousand boats, including lightning-fast PT boats and the twenty-seven-foot airborne lifeboat. Higgins dedicated himself to providing Allied soldiers with the finest landing craft in the world, and he fought the Bureau of Ships, the Washington bureaucracy, and the powerful eastern shipyards to succeed. Jerry Strahan's biography of Higgins reveals a colorful, controversial character--hard fisted, hard swearing, and hard drinking--who was an outsider to New Orleans' elite social circles. He was also, however, a hardworking boatbuilder who became a major industrialist with a worldwide reputation--even Hitler was aware of Higgins, calling him "the new Noah."

Eisenhower Center Studies on War and Pea Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Boats That Won World War II (Revised), (Paperback) Author: LSU Press ISBN: 9780807123393 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1998-10-01 Page Count: 400

6. Fall of the Athenian Empire, (Paperback)

"The fourth volume in Kagan's history of ancient Athens, which has been called one of the major achievements of modern historical scholarship, begins with the ill-fated Sicilian expedition of 413 B.C. and ends with the surrender of Athens to Sparta in 404 B.C. Richly documented, precise in detail, it is also extremely well-written, linking it to a tradition of historical narrative that has become rare in our time." ― Virginia Quarterly Review In the fourth and final volume of his magisterial history of the Peloponnesian War, Donald Kagan examines the period from the destruction of Athens' Sicilian expedition in September of 413 B.C. to the Athenian surrender to Sparta in the spring of 404 B.C. Through his study of this last decade of the war, Kagan evaluates the performance of the Athenian democracy as it faced its most serious challenge. At the same time, Kagan assesses Thucydides' interpretation of the reasons for Athens' defeat and the destruction of the Athenian Empire.

Fall of the Athenian Empire, (Paperback) Author: Cornell University Press ISBN: 9780801499845 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1991-07-23 Page Count: 480

7. Philosophy of Civilization, (Paperback)

Albert Schweitzer's social and ethical philosophy is best expressed in The Philosophy of Civilization. Not widely available in recent years, this edition will give contemporary readers the opportunity to discover his prophetic thought.In Book I, The Decay and Restoration of Civilization, Schweitzer argues that the essential feature of every culture is its world view, and that a culture can be healthy and stable only as its world view is optimistic and ethical. Without this outlook, it is impossible to avoid the world's destruction.In Book II, Civilization and Ethics, he reviews the world's major ethical systems in search of the essential principle of "the moral," after which the world and life-affirming ethic of "reverence for life" is set forth. Through Schweitzer's guidance, man will strive for spiritual and ethical self-fulfillment which in turn may be actualized in all the processes of the world, making us a truly civilized people. Schweitzer's ultimate goal is to help us recognize that the source of universal misery and catastrophe is the absence of a theory of the universe.

Philosophy of Civilization, (Paperback) Author: Prometheus Books ISBN: 9780879754037 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1987-03-01 Page Count: 366

8. Indian New England Before the Mayflower, (Paperback)

In offering here a highly readable yet comprehensive description of New England's Indians as they lived when European settlers first met them, the author provides a well-rounded picture of the natives as neither savages nor heroes, but fellow human beings existing at a particular time and in a particular environment. He dispels once and for all the common notion of native New England as peopled by a handful of savages wandering in a trackless wilderness. In sketching the picture the author has had help from such early explorers as Verrazano, Champlain, John Smith, and a score of literate sailors; Pilgrims and Puritans; settlers, travelers, military men, and missionaries. A surprising number of these took time and trouble to write about the new land and the characteristics and way of life of its native people. A second major background source has been the patient investigations of modern archaeologists and scientists, whose several enthusiastic organizations sponsor physical excavations and publications that continually add to our perception of prehistoric men and women, their habits, and their environment. This account of the earlier New Englanders, of their land and how they lived in it and treated it; their customs, food, life, means of livelihood, and philosophy of life will be of interest to all general audiences concerned with the history of Native Americans and of New England.

Indian New England Before the Mayflower, (Paperback) Author: University Press of New England ISBN: 9780874512557 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1983-06-01 Page Count: 296

9. With Custer's Cavalry, (Paperback)

A wife's premonition spared Lieutenant Francis M. Gibson from the fate that overtook General George A. Custer and the Seventh U. S. Cavalry. At her insistence, he declined a transfer that would have placed him in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, but he was on the scene immediately after it. Gibson's letters detailing the devastation, together with his wife's reports on the women at the army posts waiting for news, allow a fresh perspective on "Custer's Last Stand." Told in the first person, With Custer's Cavalry represents the story of Katherine Gibson, the author's mother, who supplied all of the material. Mrs. Gibson describes a phase of army life during the 1870s and 1880s that has received scant attention--a gala wedding, a baby's funeral, a sewing bee, a buffalo stampede, a smallpox epidemic. She provides candid glimpses of her good friends, the Custers. And every page brings the reader closer to the intimate events surrounding the most infamous battle in the history of the West.

With Custer's Cavalry, (Paperback) Author: Bison Books ISBN: 9780803268609 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1986-09-01 Page Count: 285

10. Patton's One-Minute Messages: Tactical Leadership Skills of Business Managers, (Paperback)

A brief biography and photos of General Patton helps readers visualize one of the great military leaders of all time. The inspirational content will make this book an indispensable compaion for busy executives everywhere. This collection of George S. Patton's pithy one-liners shows how business managers can succeed by applying the combat-tested principles of one of America's most famous battlefield leaders. General Patton was a professional soldier who spent his life inspiring people to accomplish the seemingly impossible. Now managers can use his secrets to motivate their employees. The author takes brief quotations from Patton's writings and draws the deep inner philosophy from them. This way, managers can easily grasp the principles involved and make practical use of them to get great performance and productivity from their employees. The book also presents the work of W. Edwards Deming and Walter A. Shewhart, two pioneers in quality control who have influenced management practice for over fifty years. Their philosophy is very similar to Patton's--which is not surprising, since the fundamental principles of both military leadership and business management are universal.

Patton's One-Minute Messages: Tactical Leadership Skills of Business Managers, (Paperback) Author: Presidio Press ISBN: 9780891415466 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1995-06-01 Page Count: 112