Topic: American Civil War

6 of history's forgotten stories

Ever hear of the man who shot John Wilkes Booth or the "other Anne Frank" family? From Graeme Donald's "The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Lincoln," here are six stories that history forgot.
11/22/2011 10:29 am

6 novels that re-imagine history

You've heard of the butterfly effect: If one small event is different, all of history is changed forever. And it's a game people have loved to play for decades. What if the South had won the Civil War? What if Hitler had won World War II? What if Europe hadn't lasted beyond the Black Plague? Stephen King's new novel "11/22/63" imagines what would have happened if President Kennedy had lived beyond 1963, but he's not the first to rearrange history. Here's six novels that explore a slightly alternate version of very familiar events.
11/21/2011 12:10 pm

Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War

Forgotten hero – or crazed fanatic? Journalist Tony Horwitz reexamines the story of John Brown and his raid on Harpers Ferry.
10/28/2011 12:52 pm

Chapter & Verse Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Lincoln" is "Lincoln Lite"

Bill O'Reilly's thriller, "Killing Lincoln," gives us a Lincoln cleansed of all controversy and complexity.
10/25/2011 12:27 pm

Tired of 'Twilight' clones? 5 young adult books to try instead

For those who browse young adult shelves, the choices may be starting to blur: girl meets supernatural boy, then must choose between two boys. Or – for a little variety – supernatural girl meets human boy, then must choose between two boys. Vampires, fairies, angels – they're all over the young adult section. So, in the spirit of Teen Read Week, here are five gripping young adult titles that manage to keep otherworldly creatures and dramatic love triangles well out of sight.
10/25/2011 11:31 am

Grant’s Final Victory

Charles Bracelen Flood offers a fascinating coda to a remarkable life in this brisk, well-told history of the final months and days of Ulysses S. Grant.
10/19/2011 07:05 am

Confederate bill makes woman rich! (for an hour)

An old Confederate bill brings a rush of excitement...Before the appraiser arrives.
09/22/2011 12:44 pm

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Candice Millard’s account of President James Garfield’s assassination brings back to roaring life a tragic but irresistible historical period.
09/13/2011 07:05 am

Fall books: 20 nonfiction titles you don't want to miss

From the energy crisis to The Doors, from Hitler’s Germany to Rin Tin Tin, here are the nonfiction titles that have readers buzzing this fall.
09/06/2011 07:05 am

Chapter & Verse The one truly great – and truly humble – presidential memoir

Ulysses S. Grant may not be remembered as our best president, but his memoir is often cited as the best of all presidential writings.
09/02/2011 11:12 am

Chapter & Verse The East Coast earthquake that awakened Jim Crow

Post-Civil War Charleston, S.C., was hammered by fire, hurricanes, a tense racial situation – and a 7.3-magnitude earthquake – 125 years ago this week.
09/01/2011 11:20 am

Genius of Place

Frederick Law Olmsted – a man of strange and restless talent – dreamed of making a better, greener world accessible to all.
08/29/2011 12:15 pm

Bestselling books the week of 8/11/11, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America?
08/09/2011 03:28 pm

Chapter & Verse Michele Bachmann: What do her favorite books tell us?

A list of Michele Bachmann's favorite books includes one that "startles" an interviewer.
08/09/2011 03:07 pm

Top 5 conservative holidays

Commemorating a day to call attention to a political cause has long been a tactic of liberals and those further out on the left. For instance, there's Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, Earth Day, Gay Pride Day, May Day, and so on. Conservatives, by contrast, have largely stuck to fighting battles over the "true meaning" of traditional holidays observed by people of all political stripes, such as Christmas, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July. Still, conservatives have tried to come up with holidays to tout, with varying degrees of success. Here are our top five:
08/04/2011 05:24 pm

A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War, by Amanda Foreman

It's called the American Civil War, but it was much more British than most people think.
08/04/2011 05:00 pm

In Pictures Breaking the class ceiling

Chapter & Verse The Battle of Bull Run: The Civil War's first taste of horror

An interview with historian David Detzer sheds light on the Battle of Bull Run, the first battle of the US Civil War, fought on July 21, 1861.
07/21/2011 09:20 am

51st state? Small step forward for long-shot 'South California' plan

A Republican member of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors wants his county and 12 others to secede from California and form the 51st state. His colleagues gave him an unenthusiastic go ahead Tuesday to explore the idea.
07/12/2011 08:32 pm

The Vote Can President Obama just ignore the debt limit?

Some economists suggest that the 14th Amendment renders the debt limit conversation moot (and maybe unconstitutional): the US must pay its debts. Period.
07/05/2011 02:29 pm

Existing home sales dip, but prices vary wildly. Top 5 most, least expensive cities.

Existing home sales dipped below an annual rate of 5 million in May. Not counting condos and coops, single-family home sales stand at 4.2 million a year, which, if it held for all of 2011, would be lower than the worst of the slump in 2008. But home prices vary dramatically, depending upon where you live in the United States: the average listing for a typical four-bedroom, two bathroom house in the most expensive real-estate market is more than 40 times the average listing in the least expensive city, according to a recent survey of more than 2,300 markets by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. Here are the Top 5 most and least expensive cities. Is yours on the list?
06/21/2011 03:04 pm

Opinion Blair Mountain II: The new battle over coal mining in West Virginia

Hundreds are marching to Blair Mountain in West Virginia to commemorate the coal miners who fought for their rights there 90 years ago – and to secure our future. Coal mining companies are raping our land with mountaintop removal, destroying what has nourished us for generations.
06/10/2011 12:07 pm

"Gone With the Wind" quiz: How well do you know America's favorite novel?

Seventy-five years ago this month an unknown young journalist from Atlanta published her first book, a love story set in the South during the US Civil War. Today, "Gone With the Wind" is one of the most widely read novels in the world. How well do you know this classic American tale of romance and war?
06/07/2011 05:28 pm

7 reasons we still give a damn about "Gone With the Wind"

Seventy-five years ago this month, a novel by an unknown young journalist from Atlanta was published. Originally submitted as a manuscript stuffed into dozens of manila folders, the book was a love story set against the backdrop of the US Civil War. Today, Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” remains one of the bestselling books of all time. It has been translated into 35 languages, sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide, won a Pulitzer Prize, and earned eight Academy Awards as a Hollywood motion picture. Here are some of the many reasons we still love "GWTW."
06/07/2011 01:10 pm

Top Picks: Randy Newman, President Nixon opera, Queen at 40, and more

Composer Randy Newman releases his second compilation album, 'Nixon in China' opera airs on PBS, the late Freddy Mercury's legacy, Queen, turns 40, and more recommendations.
06/03/2011 04:53 pm