September’s Best History Books

Leadership: In Turbulent Times, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
One of America’s most popular and accomplished historians, Pulitzer-winner Doris Kearns Goodwin now examines one of the most important and least understood of human attributes. Trying to figure out what leadership means and how it manifests, she returns to the four presidents she has studied the most closely in her career— Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson—seeking clues as to how and why leadership manifests in some but not others. Most importantly, she explores the question of whether leaders rise to the challenges they come across, or shape the times around them. This is a thought-provoking work packed with almost casual insights that will help you better understand the people who have steered our country.

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Macintyre
Times of London writer Macintyre expertly tells the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB operative who became the single most important double-agent in MI6 history—until his cover was blown by CIA double-agent Aldrich Ames. Paced like a thriller, this incredible story doesn’t rely on guns and derring-do to convey a sense of suspense and page-turning energy, but rather the constant paranoia and stress of the spy’s life. As Gordievsky passes information to his British handlers via spy-movie tricks like microfilm, he worries about his wife turning him in and deals with sudden assaults from suspicious KGB superiors. A masterclass in modern-day espionage techniques, this is as entertaining as history gets.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by Yuval Noah Harari
Harari, the author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, offers up a sprawling contemplation of the future we are rapidly hurtling towards, speculating on economies that don’t require buying or selling and the prospect of losing control of our minds and bodies to those who have a better understanding of how to manipulate the data we all carry. Without preaching any particular solution, Harari provokes thought and offers his remarkable store of knowledge as context for his explorations of different challenges we are all either facing right now, or will be facing soon.

Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation, by Ken Starr
After barrels of ink have been spilled by journalists and writers studying Bill Clinton’s presidency, scandals, and impeachment, the time has finally come for what may be the most important and conclusive perspective of them all: that of Ken Starr, the special prosecutor who investigated the president. Starr was cast as a villain by much of the media during the impeachment proceedings that marred Clinton’s administration, but in this explosive new book, he asserts he was simply pursuing a goal that will no doubt resonate today: to demonstrate that the president was not above the law. Here, Starr includes details and personal opinions he was careful to keep out of his official 1998 report. It’s a vital look at a scandal that changed American politics forever.

These Truths: A History of the United States, by Jill Lepore
Perspective is a powerful aspect of history. Lepore, a Harvard professor and writer for the The New Yorker, offers plenty in her assessment of how the guiding principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence have been battled over through the course of centuries. Ranging from colonial times all the way to the modern day, Lepore examines how the United States has lived up to the lofty expectations of the “truths” of political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people—and how it has failed to do so. Anyone who idealizes past political eras as somehow more settled and civil might be surprised to find that politics has always been rough, rude, and America has long been locked in a battle to determine the meaning of liberty.

Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
O’Reilly and Dugard bring their talents for thriller-style pacing and studious historical research to bear on the Nazi Party in their latest entry in the bestselling Killing series. In the wake of Germany’s defeat in World War II, thousands of Nazi war criminals fled and found sanctuary around the world. A disparate group of people from many nations—including an American veteran of D-Day, a German lawyer who’d once signed a Nazi loyalty oath, and highly-skilled Israeli Mossad agents—came together to track the movements of these war criminals and bring them to justice.

How Do We Look: The Body, the Divine, and the Question of Civilization, by Mary Beard
Beard considers two connected aspects of visual art throughout history in this book, conceived as acompanion piece to the PBS TV shows How Do We Look and The Eye of Faith. In part one, she examines depictions of the human body over the course of centuries, from the sculpted male bodies of Greek statuary to the domestic scenes of women on pottery, which advertise a feminine lifestyle that wouldn’t be out of place in 1950s America. In part two, she delves into the way the divine has been represented in art, tracing our relationship with our god(s) through the way we have drawn, sculpted, and painted them over the years. Along the way, Beard entertains, informs, and offers fascinating insights to illuminate your concept of history and human nature.

Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, by Francis Fukuyama
Fukuyama turns his perceptive powers on the subject of identity politics, which he argues are inspired by the fundamental psychological desire for “recognition of dignity.” He looks at their impact on both the left and right side of modern politics; where some seek dignity through being recognized as equals (resulting in the left’s focus on marginalized peoples), others seek it through superiority (see: dictatorships and support for authoritarianism). Tracing the development of these ideas throughout history—and turning to some of the great philosophical minds to explain the human nature involved—Fukuyama charts a course to redefine identity in a way that might just bring the world closer together.