By Dean Jobb

Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation

The rise and fall of a Chicagoland conman.

Lincoln and the Jews: A History

By Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell

Lincoln and the Jews: A History

A well-researched, heartening look at the president's embrace of an oft-maligned people.

Walt Whitman in Washington, D.C.: The Civil War and America’s Great Poet

An energetic study of the famed writer’s time in the nation's capital and the loves of his life.

Luther’s Fortress: Martin Luther and His Reformation under Siege

A portrait of the reformer during a perilous time both for him and his movement.

The Death of Caesar: The Story of History’s Most Famous Assassination

An almost cinematic examination of antiquity's seminal killing.

The Wright Brothers

By David McCullough

The Wright Brothers

A rich, readable account of the daring young men in their flying machine.

The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East

This history gives voice to Arab and Turkish witnesses to World War I and the eradication of an empire.

Abandoned in Hell: The Fight for Vietnam’s Firebase Kate

A debate about strategy — but not courage.