The Best History Books of March 2018

Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, by Michael Isikoff and David Corn
Americans on both sides of the political divide are still trying to figure out precisely what happened in the 2016 presidential election, and sometimes it seems like the more information we glean about Russian hacking and propaganda programs, the more confusing it becomes. Veteran journalists Isikoff and Corn take a systematic approach to tracing the course of events, starting with the souring of Russia-U.S. relations, analyzing the Trump organization’s ties to Russia, and outlining the incredibly complex system of espionage that the Russians employed to influence the election.

Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History, by Roy Adkins and Lesley Adkins
At the height of the Revolutionary War, Great Britain was distracted and weakened by a concurrent conflict with France and Spain, and the strain contributed to the American victory that birthed a nation. Roy and Lesley Adkins take a close look at one of the most strategically important events of the time: the nearly-four year siege of Gilbraltar. The site was critical to Britain’s empire, and the story of the soldiers, sailors, and officers who held the rock against all odds deserves attention, as it’s easily one of the most thrilling episodes of the period. Fighting not just bullets and sabers but disease and starvation as the French and Spanish worked tirelessly to intercept all resupply attempts, the soldiers and commanders involved in the longest siege in Britain’s history were caught up in a real-life event that seems like the stuff of fiction.

Disappointment River: Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage, by Brian Castner
In 1789, Alexander Mackenzie set off into Canada’s Northwest Territories in search of the Northwest Passage. Navigating a river he named Disappointment (today known as the Mackenzie River), he pushed his team further north than any European had ever gone, but ultimately failed in his quest. In 2016, author Brian Castner set off to follow the same route and experience the same nightmarish conditions suffered by Mackenzie more than two centuries earlier. The world Castner finds is much changed, yet the indigenous people of the area are still struggling—just against different forces. Mackenzie’s incredible journey, combined with Castner’s modern-day memoir, bring the area and its history to vibrant life.

To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration, by Edward Larson
Larson offers a snapshot of a bygone age where the idle rich wished to be not quite so idle, and lavished their resources on exploration that brought fame and status. In 1909, three incredible expeditions were mounted: Shackleton’s attempt to reach the South Pole, Peary’s eighth attempt to reach the North Pole, and Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy’s attempt to climb to the “Pole of Altitude” in the Himalayas. The explorers who were a part of all these dangerous journeys were armed with equipment that broke down or was easily lost along the way, and Larson details the thrillingly dangerous conditions they endured as they pursued their goals—conquering the last frontiers of exploration on a planet rapidly being modernized. Mutinies, lost appendages, and other incredible setbacks make each attempt a gripping story of adventure, detailed with fine-point accuracy by Larson’s research and access to original sources.

In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History, by Mitch Landrieu
If anyone needed a reminder we are far from living in a “post-racial” society, the events surrounding the removal of various Confederate statues in the southern United States in 2017 served as a grim one. Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, ordered the removal of four Confederate monuments, and here writes movingly—and disturbingly—of the segregationist and supremacist forces that opposed his decision. While some argue about the erasing of history, Landrieu doesn’t flinch away from categorizing those who fight to protect the symbols of slavery as racists, or from outlining the ways these forces still control the mechanisms of the law and politics in the south.

New World, Inc.: The Making of America by England’s Merchant Adventurers, by John Butman and Simon Targett
The story of capitalism and its influence on the world didn’t begin with the founding of the United States of America. Butman and Targett serve up a fascinating reminder that the New World was, in fact, discovered and mapped largely by for-profit adventurers representing corporations, beginning with the three ships of the Mysterie Company in 1533 that set off—unsuccessfully—to find a northern passage to China. The authors argue that history has erased the contributions of such money-minded entrepreneurs in favor of the story of the pious Pilgrims, who offered America a better pedigree. They also underscore the link between commerce and the advancement of seafaring technology, arguing that to find a new world, more than simple curiosity was needed—profits also had to be a motivating factor.

The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, by Elaine Weiss
Less than a century ago women, did not have the right to vote in the United States. As the #MeToo movement puts women’s rights and equality back in the spotlight, it’s the ideal time to revisit the thrilling, tense battle for women’s suffrage—a battle that looked to be lost just a short time before a Constitutional amendment made it the law of the land. Weiss recounts the surprisingly dirty politics of the struggle, defined by the threats, bribes, and tricks of the anti-suffrage movement—countered at every turn by the fearless work of suffragettes like Carrie Catt, Sue White, and dozens of others. Readers will see parallels to modern times in the corporate influences, disinformation campaigns, and outright sexism and racism that marked the struggle—one modern day audiences may assume was a simple procedural matter, when the reality was much more violent.

The Age of Eisenhower, by William I. Hitchcock
Dwight D. Eisenhower was so fundamentally important to 20th century American—and world—history, it’s almost unavoidable that people would work to undermine his legacy, labeling him a mere figurehead during World War II, and a lightweight, inconsequential president thereafter, floating along on a warm wave of postwar prosperity. Hitchcock takes a much-needed second look at Ike’s presidency, offering compelling evidence that Eisenhower was much more subtle and intelligent a political operative than has been assumed. Hitchcock believes he followed smart, even-handed economic policies that balanced the needs of citizens with budgetary restraint, and was more important to the Civil Rights movement than most grade school history books give him credit for. At a time when presidential performance is on every American’s mind, this is a fascinating look at the way our view of history can change over time.

The Last Wild Men of Borneo: A True Story of Death and Treasure, by Carl Hoffman
Hoffman tells the parallel tales of Bruno Manser, a Swiss environmentalist, and Michael Palmieri, an art dealer from America, who both found adventure and purpose on the wild and untamed island of Borneo in the 1970s and 1980s. Palmieri collected artifacts and tribal art, becoming a notable dealer while, Manser lived with the primitive Penan tribe and worked tirelessly to protect the island from corporate forces seeking to denude it of natural resources. Remarkably, the men never met in person, and Hoffman turns their life stories into the stuff of fiction, filled with battles against nature and tense smuggling adventures that would make as excellent a movie as they do a book of recent history.

China’s Great Wall of Debt, by Dinny McMahon
China seems to be on an inevitable economic ascent, and it’s easy to assume their “miracle” was accomplished through diligent consideration of market forces and a wave of exported goods. McMahon traces the true engine of China’s economic expansion—debt, and plenty of it, to the tune of $12 trillion that may never be paid back. This puts not just China’s future, but that of the entire world at risk, as the collapse of this wall of debt would set off a chain reaction the likes of which the world’s economies have never experienced. McMahon doesn’t settle for academic research and number-crunching, also traveling to China to visit idle factories and empty ghost cities, and meeting with businesspeople who operate Chinese companies outside of China, where it is easier to get the basics they need. It’s a sobering, eye-opening book that might change the way you think about global economics—and keep you up nights.