-- Black Joke Harrowing and heartbreaking, The Black Joke is a crucial and deeply compelling work of history, both as a reckoning with slavery and abolition and as a lesson about the power of political will—or the lack thereof.

The creator of the wildly popular award-winning podcast Hardcore HistoryThe End is Always NearThe End is Always Near examines issues that are rarely presented, and makes the past immediately relevant to our very turbulent present.Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

This compelling study examines the remarkable relationship between the Nazis and classical music through the stories of musicians, composers, and conductors across the political spectrum.May 1945. A Soviet military patrol searches Hitler’s secret bunker in Berlin. They find bodies, documents, jewelry, paintings—and also an extensive collection of 78 rpm records. It comes as no surprise that this collection includes work by Beethoven, Wagner, and...

The last and longest war of classical antiquity was fought in the early seventh century. It was ideologically charged and fought along the full length of the Persian-Roman frontier, drawing in all the available resources and great powers of the steppe world. The conflict raged on an unprecedented scale, and its end brought the classical phase of history to a close. Despite all this, it has left a conspicuous gap in the history of warfare. This book...

-- African Founders Drawing on decades of research, some of it in western Africa, Fischer recreates the diverse regional life that shaped the early American republic. He shows that there were varieties of slavery in America and varieties of new American culture, from Puritan New England to Dutch New York, Quaker Pennsylvania, cavalier Virginia, coastal Carolina, and Louisiana and Texas. This landmark work of history will transform our understanding...

-- Inferno A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

-- Anschluss  With this vivid, compelling history, Éric Vuillard warns against the peril of willfully blind acquiescence, and offers a reminder that, ultimately, the worst is not inescapable.

-- K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches Filled with priceless insights from many of the best pitchers in baseball history--from Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, and Nolan Ryan to Greg Maddux, Mariano Rivera, and Clayton Kershaw--KThe Glory of Their Times and Moneyball as a classic of the genre.

The United States is undergoing a period of intense political and social change. From the rise of the Tea Party, to social media's effect on American life and politics, this new edition fills in the gaps of this Nation's story. Award-winning political journalist and history writer Steve Wiegand guides you through the events that shaped our nation, from pre-Columbian civilizations to the twenty-first century. The explorers, the wars, the leaders,...

-- The Enlightenment is a master-class in big picture history about the foundational epoch of modern times.