by History 500 | Jun 30, 2021 | Welcome
The Cuban Missile Crisis: When the Cold War Almost Became Hot
Not even President Kennedy knew of the immense danger. The Cuban Missile Crisis had begun and Kruschev and the Russians were hell-bent on placing nuclear missiles on Cuba. Peter Huchthausen served on board the U.S.sub Blandy and his book, "October Fury", details the harrowing scenario that confronted Kennedy. Four Russian subs, each armed with a nuclear missile, with orders to "fire" if provoked, were held back by cooler heads in a Soviet Captain and a Moscow staff officer who resisted pressure to do the unthinkable.
Top Recommendation for June
October Fury, by Peter Huchthausen (2003 - 288 pp)
Chilling, head-to-head confrontation between U.S destroyers and nuclear-armed Soviet subs with orders to fire if provoked that was narrowly averted by a courageous Soviet sub Captain...and a Soviet staff officer in Moscow.
by History 500 | Mar 17, 2021 | Welcome
Six Frigates and the Tumultuous Birth of the US Navy
After the Revolution, the US Navy consisted of privateers and merchantmen. The debate to form a US Navy took center stage in the halls of Congress. And in 1795, work began on six Frigates that were the most powerful of their class of any navy in the world. Ian Toll's fascinating "Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the US Navy" provides a sweeping description of the building of "Old Ironsides" and the other 5 US Warships and chronicles their exploits along the Barbary Coast and their heroic performance in the War of 1812.
Top Recommendation for March
Six Frigates: The Epic Story of the Founding of the U.S. Navy,
by Ian W Toll (2008 – 592 pp)
Navy Buffs will love Six Frigates. Great overview of the U.S.N.’s first 6 warships and the famous battles they fought. The USS Constitution v. HMS Java etc.
by History 500 | Mar 3, 2021 | Welcome
Winston Churchill and The Last Great Hope of Civilization
A sweeping tale of Winston Churchill and his family during the worst moments of World War II beginning with the Blitz of London in 1940. Erik Larson's, "The Splendid and the Vile", covers the most poignant moments of the war and focuses on the intense pressures Churchill faced in leading the British people. Essential to Britain's success was American participation and eventual entry into the War which came about with Japan's fateful attack on Pearl Harbor. Pamela Churchill's romance with Averell Harriman takes center stage as a major family drama.
Top Recommendation for February
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family and Defiance During the Blitz,
by Erik Larson (Feb, 2020 - 608pp)
A gripping, suspenseful chronology of the life of Winston Churchill and his family during the climactic years of the blitz, when so much was at stake and so much was uncertain. Churchill's first year as Prime Minister involved decisions that affected all of Europe and Western Civilization.
by History 500 | Jan 27, 2021 | Welcome
Four Immortal Chaplains and The Sinking of the Dorchester
In the dead of a bitterly cold winter in the middle of the North Atlantic on February 3, 1943, a German submarine torpedoed and sank an American ship, the USS Dorchester, with 900 on board. Only 230 survived. Dan Kurzman's. " No Greater Glory", The Sinking of the Dorchester, tells the wrenching story of the attempt by Four Chaplains, all if different faiths, to save and console crew members as the ship went down. With arms linked, they said final prayers and went down with it. The Four Chaplains have been immortalized on U.S. postage stamps and with a beautiful chapel at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
Top Recommendation for January
No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in WW II, by Dan Kurzman (2005 - 288 pp)
On the night of Feb 3, 1943, the SS Dorchester with 900 on board was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. This is the story of four American Chaplains of all faiths who gave their lives helping those on board to survive.
by History 500 | Dec 29, 2020 | Welcome
The Last Days of Night - The Epic 1888 Battle Between Edison and Westinghouse
In the heart of the 1888 Gilded Age, Thomas Edison has won the race to the patent office for the invention of electricity, but arch rival George Westinghouse is not far behind. Engaging a young, untested lawyer named Paul Cravath Edison sues Westinghouse for $1 billion. Cravath enters into a battle of wits between these two geniuses that puts him in the high society of New York. Along the way, famed inventor Nikola Tesla plays the role of spoiler in the battle to electrify America.
Top Recommendation for December
The Last Days of Night: A Novel, Graham Moore ( Nov, 2020 - 384 pp)
The world of the late 1880's in New York comes alive with this gripping mystery about the epic clash between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse for the control of the invention of electricity. Young, untested lawyer Paul Cravath is the go-between who reveals a world of intrigue in the highest levels of Society with genius inventor Nikola Tesla a the heart of it all.
by History 500 | Jul 15, 2020 | Welcome
America Comes of Age - Six Weeks that Saved the Nation
ON September 15, 1814 Francis Scott Key awoke to see the American flag still flying over Ft. McHenry during the British siege of Baltimore. Steve Vogel's comprehensive, thoroughly enjoyable "Through the Perilous Fight: Six Weeks that Saved the Nation" tells of the nefarious British Adm Cockburn, the invasion of Washington, burning of the Capital and attempted attack on a well defended Baltimore. Ft McHenry flew the two American flags made by local Mary Pickersgill, at the direction of Fort Commander Maj George Armistead.
Top Recommendation for July
Through the Perilous Fight, by Steve Vogel (2013 - 560pp)
Engaging, character-driven narrative, with battle-by-battle descriptions, great maps of the British maneuvers by sea, the attack on D.C and final retreat at Baltimore.
by History 500 | Jun 12, 2020 | Welcome
Thurgood Marshall - Murder, Mystery and the Birth of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund
On June 13,1967 Thurgood Marshall, one of the pre-eminent Black lawyers in the U.S., became the first Black American appointed to the Supreme Court. His 1951 defense of "The Groveland Boys", 4 black teenagers in FL accused of raping a white girl, was tried in the Supreme Court. Gilbert King's outstanding "The Devil in the Grove" recalls all the tension and danger of this nefarious era in Florida's Jim Crow history. Marshall went on to try the landmark Brown vs the Board of Education in 1963 and founded the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Top Recommendation for June
The Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Birth of a New America, by Gilbert King (2013 - 464 pp)
In 1949 a young Thurgood Marshall waded into Florida's Jim Crow country to defend 4 Black teenagers accused of raping a white girl. A corrupt local sheriff and the KKK did not deter Marshall from seeking justice for these young men in a case he took to the Supreme Court.
by History 500 | May 27, 2020 | Welcome
The Making of Young Winston Churchill
Candace Millard, author of the highly popular "Destiny of the Republic" and "River of Doubt", presents Winston Churchill with all his youthful exuberance and confidence and introduces us to The Boer War and his first duty station. Churchill was defeated on the field of battle, was imprisoned in Pretoria. His subsequent daring escape became the stuff of legend and helped propel him to political office as Minister to Parliament from Oldham, Lancashire.The rest is history.
Top Recommendation for May
Hero of the Empire: The Making of Winston Churchill, Candace Millard (20166 - 375 pp)
Great history of Winston Churchill and the Boer War where he suffered one of the great defeats of the war and was imprisoned. A daring escape from prison and South Africa became the stuff of legend and eventually led him to his first election to parliament as MP.
by History 500 | Apr 13, 2020 | Welcome
Teddy Roosevelt and the Making of the U.S. Forestry Service
The great Timothy Egan, author of the Depression era classic, "The Worst Hard Time", has created another masterpiece. In "The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America", Egan provides a spellbinding account of the largest forest fire in American History and the beginning of the U.S. Forestry Service under TR and the great William Pinchot. A wonderful portrait of life in the West before civilization set in....and a heartrending story too.
Top Recommendation for April
The Big Burn: TR and the Fire that Saved America, by Timothy Egan (2009 - 343 pp)
By 1910, TR had left the Presidency for Europe. A staunch conservationist, he left in his place William Pinchot, founder of the National Forest Service as guardian of the Western Lands of the U.S. The Big Burn forest fire of 1910 was the largest in American history, consuming 3 million acres, destroying 7 towns and killing 75 Forest Rangers. In the aftermath, the U.S. Forest Service was born.
by History 500 | Mar 12, 2020 | Welcome
Britain: the the Last Bastion of Civilization in Europe
Fabulous Lynn Olson has done it again. The author of "Citizens of London" has created another spellbinding WW II account of how tiny England helped save the continent. In "Last Hope Island" Olson deftly captures the spine-tingling moments of the invasions of Norway and Denmark, the Blitzkrieg into the Netherlands and invasion of France. The leaders of those conquered countries ultimately found refuge in England and a place to plot their resurgence later in the war.
Top Recommendation for March
Last Hope Island: Britain and the Brotherhood that Helped Turn the Tide of War,
By Lynne Olson (2018 - 576 pp)
A rip-roaring account of the the outbreak of WW II, the invasions of Norway and Denmark and the dedicated band of leaders who escaped to England to fight another day. Lynne Olson paints the picture of England as the last refuge for those who escaped from France and other nations on the Continent.
