March’s Best History & Current Events Books

Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, by Vicky Ward
Vicky Ward delves into an oft overlooked aspect of the Trump presidency: the influence and, some would argue, unchecked power of Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. While the couple go to great pains to paint themselves as the voices of reason and moderation in the White House, Ward painstakingly charts what she views as their arrogance, ignorance, and lack of respect for procedural norms and the rule of law. Every decision that the Kushners make, Ward argues, is based on how it will increase their personal wealth and power, and is influenced by their elite upbringings and the wealth-insulated lives they’ve led. In the scrum of shocking books about American politics, this one is a must-read.

Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law, by Preet Bharara
If you’re expecting a book about the 45th president written by a federal prosecutor appointed by Barack Obama and fire ignominiously by Donald Trump eight years later to be a hit job, think again. Bharara instead offers a thoughtful exploration of the modern role of the criminal justice system and the prosecutors working within it. Through a series of in-depth reviews of his own cases—including high-profile prosecutions like Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber—Bharara underlines the complexities of investigating crimes in the modern age. He’s refreshingly honest about his own uncertainties and regrets. It’s rare to see a high-level public official admit to mistakes, and Bharara’s honesty lends weight to his insights into our criminal justice system and to the conclusions he draws about the specific cases he worked on.

Topgun: An American Story, by Dan Pedersen
Pederson, who co-founded the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (better known to most as the Topgun program), offers a fascinating analysis of both the school’s impact on the tactics and techniques of the U.S. Air Force’s fighter planes and the handling of the Vietnam War, the conflict in which these new ideas were first put into practice. Pederson is understandably proud of both the program and the people who made it legendary, yet also critical of the Johnson administration’s decisions, especially when it comes to the rules of engagement handed down to pilots. As he devoted himself to his career, Pederson suffered two failed marriages and missed out on time with his children, and his frank talk of his regrets adds a layer of reliability to the story of a transformative military hero and the elite program that is his legacy.

Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die: How the Allies Won on D-Day, by Giles Milton
Milton meticulously outlines the awe-inspiring level of planning, detail, and cooperation that D-Day’s Operation Overlord required to pull off the largest sea invasion ever staged. From the harried officers struggling to get the official green light from disparate commanders, to the German intelligence agent who made an astoundingly accurate prediction of what was about to happen, only to have his report ignored, the machine of D-Day only becomes more impressive as you learn the details. Interspersed with the high-altitude view are gritty stories of individuals—the soldiers and the members of the French Resistance—whose acts of personal bravery and sacrifice triumphed over insurmountable odds.

Bending Toward Justice: The Birmingham Church Bombing that Changed the Course of Civil Rights, by Doug Jones
Jones, the first Democratic Senator from Alabama in a quarter century, writes a personal account of Alabama’s racial history and his own political evolution. From his childhood in the suburbs, where race never once entered his mind, to his horror and social awakening after a horrific 1963 church bombing that left four young girls dead, Jones details the travesty of the obstructed investigation into the bombing that saw the three men responsible—Bob Chambliss, Tommy Blanton, and Bobby Frank Cherry—walk free. When Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley managed to reopen the case and convict Chambliss in 1977, Jones was inspired; years later, as U.S. Attorney, he managed to convict the last surviving suspects. Jones uses Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous quote”the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice—as a guiding light, and readers will be surprised at the depth this senator brings to his story.