Summer’s Top Picks in History

Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family’s Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris, by Alex Kershaw
In Nazi-occupied France, the exclusive Avenue Foch was the epicenter of both Nazi and Resistance activity. Avenue of Spies tells the gripping story of Sumner Jackson, an American physician who lived a few doors down from the Parisian headquarters of the Gestapo. He became involved with the Liberation Network, eventually offering his own home as an official base for the movement. Filled with danger, tragedy, and courage, Kershaw’s latest has been widely praised by historians including Karen Abbott, Kai Bird, and David E. Hoffman.

The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey, by Rinker Buck
Ever wonder what a long trip one of those covered wagons might really be like? The Buck brothers did, leading them to undertake a 2,000-mile journey across the United States in one of them. Four months, several runaway mules, and innumerable breakdowns later, Rinker Buck, his brother Nick, and their Jack Russel terrier landed in Baker City, Oregon with one heck of an entertaining story to tell. The Oregon Trail is a delightful, absorbing book, filled with adventure, humor, and plenty of historical detail about the colorful people who made the same journey over 150 years ago.

Being Nixon: A Man Divided, by Evan Thomas
There are few figures in American history as contradictory as Richard Nixon. A list of the watershed events he played a role in—going to China, Watergate, desegregation, creating the EPA, the modern Republican party, ending the draft—makes little sense by contemporary standards. Being Nixon, written by the bestselling author of Ike’s Bluff, goes behind the hype to find the man underneath. A fascinating portrait of a mysterious man and a great read for anyone interested in American political history.

The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal, by David E. Hoffman
The latest from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hoffman (The Dead Hand), The Billion Dollar Spy is the story of Adolf Tolkachev, the secret agent who funneled thousands of pages of top-secret Soviet technical research to the United States during the Cold War. It also follows the American CIA agents who worked with him, providing fascinating insight into the lives of the American spies in Moscow during that tumultuous time period. A gripping work of history that doubles as an amazing spy story.

Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy, by Frank McLynn
One of the most famous leaders in history, Genghis Khan is nonetheless more myth than man in the public imagination. Just exactly who was the military genius who managed to conquer such an enormous amount of territory? Historian McLynn sets out to answer the question, following Genghis Khan and the Mongols from their humble beginnings to their bloody conquest of most of the known world, but he also spends time reflecting on the broader cultural context of the Mongols and the legacy they left behind.

Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship, by Robert Kurson
Finding a long lost pirate ship isn’t easy. In fact, it’s so difficult and unlikely that when John Chatterton and John Mattera decided they were going to locate The Golden Fleece, lost centuries before, only one other such ship had ever been recovered and identified. They didn’t let that deter them though; braving deep-sea diving, debt, competitors, and bureaucratic red tape in an adventure that sweeps the reader along. Kurson also weaves in important historical detail about piracy in the 17th century, creating a book as informative as it is fun.

Once Upon a Time in Russia: The Rise of the Oligarchs-A True Story of Ambition, Wealth, Betrayal, and Murder, by Ben Mezrich
The latest from Mezrich, the author of 21 and The Accidental Billionaires, this well-researched tale follows Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich, two businessmen turned oligarchs, from their beginnings in the era of post-Soviet-collapse privatization to Berezovsky’s falling out with Vladimir Putin and suspicious death. A story about obscene wealth, power, and the danger and risk that come with both, Once Upon a Time in Russia is a tense and absorbing read.