September’s Top Picks in History

Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
President Ronald Reagan faced an attempted assassination a mere 69 days into his presidency, while he was leaving an event at the Washington Hilton. Although his wounds were life-threatening, he left the hospital only two weeks after the shooting, and returned to the Oval Office after less than a month. Killing Reagan, written by O’Reilly and Dugard, the duo behind  Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Patton, follows Reagan from his Hollywood days to the White House, but pays special attention to the struggle he faced after the shooting, when he had to balance the duties of the presidency with his own personal trauma. A sympathetic behind-the-scenes portrait of a larger-than-life figure.

Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story, by David Maraniss
Has there ever been a city more American than Detroit? Pulitzer Prize-winning author Maraniss takes us back to the early 1960’s, when Detroit was busy birthing things like the Mustang and Motown, to show that even while the city thrived, it was already on the brink of collapse. A book about a city about to be overwhelmed by riots, class and racial tensions, and organized crime could be a bleak read, but Once in a Great City is vibrant, a thoroughly-researched, incisive story about one shining moment in time and the echoes that still survive today.

1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History, by Jay Winik
From the bestselling author of April 1865 comes a holistic look at 1944, the crucial, bloody year that played host to D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, the end of the war, and the worsening of Roosevelt’s own final illness. Just as April 1865 deconstructed one of the 19th century’s most important months, 1944 takes the reader through one of the 20th century’s critical years, and in doing so, paints a fresh picture of the enormous struggles FDR wrestled with in his last months.

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom, by Yeonmi Park
When human rights activist Yeonmi Park spoke at the One Young World 2014 Summit about her life in North Korea and her desperate escape, along with her family, through China and into South Korea, she caught the world’s attention. Only 21 years old, Park has become an outspoken activist for democracy and freedom, views she says she began developing after watching a pirated DVD version of Titanic. In Order to Live is the inspirational story of her dangerous early life, her difficult escape, and her subsequent calling to activism.

The Year of Fear: Machine Gun Kelly and the Manhunt That Changed the Nation, by Joe Urschel
A true-crime account of the notorious Depression-era criminal George “Machine Gun” Kelly, this entertaining, fast-paced story doubles as an exploration of the founding of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 1933, Kelly kidnapped oil tycoon Charles F. Urschel, for whom he was paid a $200,000 ransom. Urschel (apparently no relation to the author) proved to be particularly difficult victim: he collected evidence as he was taken from place to place, even though he was blindfolded, and he left fingerprints on every surface he could. The Year of Fear follows the kidnapping, but also J. Edgar Hoover, who strategically exploited the crime and turned it into a justification for the FBI itself.

The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944, by Ian W. Toll
The second volume, after Pacific Crucible, of Toll’s three-part history of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during WWII, The Conquering Tide covers the period between mid-1942 and mid-1944, during which the Navy pushed the Japanese Empire back island by island and turned the tide towards an American victory. Intensively researched, Toll’s book blends first-hand accounts of battles with recreations of war councils in Washington and Tokyo, creating a far-reaching account of these critical years. Perfect for WWII and Navy buffs.