iBooks Top Latin America History Ebooks

Chart of the top 50 most popular and best selling Latin America history ebooks at the Apple iBookstore.

Chart list of the top Latin America history ebooks was last updated:

History Ebook Best Sellers

Top Latin American History Ebooks

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Cuba (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize) - Ada Ferrer Cover Art

Cuba (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize)

Cuba (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize) An American History by Ada Ferrer

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN HISTORY “Full of…lively insights and lucid prose” ( The Wall Street Journal ) an epic, sweeping history of Cuba and its complex ties to the United States—from before the arrival of Columbus to the present day—written by one of the world’s leading historians of Cuba. In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Meanwhile, politics in Washington—Barack Obama’s opening to the island, Donald Trump’s reversal of that policy, and the election of Joe Biden—have made the relationship between the two nations a subject of debate once more. Now, award-winning historian Ada Ferrer delivers an “important” ( The Guardian ) and moving chronicle that demands a new reckoning with both the island’s past and its relationship with the United States. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba: An American History provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation, with its dramatic record of conquest and colonization, of slavery and freedom, of independence and revolutions made and unmade. Along the way, Ferrer explores the sometimes surprising, often troubled intimacy between the two countries, documenting not only the influence of the United States on Cuba but also the many ways the island has been a recurring presence in US affairs. This is a story that will give Americans unexpected insights into the history of their own nation and, in so doing, help them imagine a new relationship with Cuba; “readers will close [this] fascinating book with a sense of hope” ( The Economist ). Filled with rousing stories and characters, and drawing on more than thirty years of research in Cuba, Spain, and the United States—as well as the author’s own extensive travel to the island over the same period—this is a stunning and monumental account like no other.

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The Lost City of Z - David Grann Cover Art

The Lost City of Z

The Lost City of Z A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction “with all the pace and excitement of a movie thriller”( The New York Times ) that unravels the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century—the story of the legendary British explorer who ventured into the Amazon jungle in search of a fabled civilization and never returned. "[Grann is] one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."— New York Magazine After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed writer David Grann set out to determine what happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z. For centuries Europeans believed the Amazon, the world’s largest rain forest, concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many scientists convinced that the Amazon was truly inimical to humankind. In 1925 Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, hoping to make one of the most important discoveries in history. Then he vanished. Over the years countless perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called “The Lost City of Z.”   In this masterpiece, journalist David Grann interweaves the spellbinding stories of Fawcett’s quest for “Z” and his own journey into the deadly jungle. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager !

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Conquistador - Buddy Levy Cover Art

Conquistador

Conquistador
Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs by Buddy Levy

In an astonishing work of scholarship that reads like an adventure thriller, historian Buddy Levy records the last days of the Aztec empire and the two men at the center of an epic clash of cultures. “I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold.” — Hernán Cortés It was a moment unique in human history, the face-to-face meeting between two men from civilizations a world apart. Only one would survive the encounter. In 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived on the shores of Mexico with a roughshod crew of adventurers and the intent to expand the Spanish empire. Along the way, this brash and roguish conquistador schemed to convert the native inhabitants to Catholicism and carry off a fortune in gold. That he saw nothing paradoxical in his intentions is one of the most remarkable—and tragic—aspects of this unforgettable story of conquest. In Tenochtitlán, the famed City of Dreams, Cortés met his Aztec counterpart, Montezuma: king, divinity, ruler of fifteen million people, and commander of the most powerful military machine in the Americas. Yet in less than two years, Cortés defeated the entire Aztec nation in one of the most astonishing military campaigns ever waged. Sometimes outnumbered in battle thousands-to-one, Cortés repeatedly beat seemingly impossible odds. Buddy Levy meticulously researches the mix of cunning, courage, brutality, superstition, and finally disease that enabled Cortés and his men to survive. Conquistador is the story of a lost kingdom—a complex and sophisticated civilization where floating gardens, immense wealth, and reverence for art stood side by side with bloodstained temples and gruesome rites of human sacrifice. It’s the story of Montezuma—proud, spiritual, enigmatic, and doomed to misunderstand the stranger he thought a god. Epic in scope, as entertaining as it is enlightening, Conquistador is history at its most riveting. Praise for Conquistador “Prodigiously researched and stirringly told,  Conquistador  is a rarity: an invaluable history lesson that also happens to be a page-turning read.” —Jeremy Schaap, bestselling author of  Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History,  and  Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics   “Sweeping and majestic . . . A pulse-quickening narrative.” —Neal Bascomb, author of  Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin

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Conquest - Hugh Thomas Cover Art

Conquest

Conquest Cortes, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas

Drawing on newly discovered sources and writing with brilliance, drama, and profound historical insight, Hugh Thomas presents an engrossing narrative of one of the most significant events of Western history. Ringing with the fury of two great empires locked in an epic battle, Conquest captures in extraordinary detail the Mexican and Spanish civilizations and offers unprecedented in-depth portraits of the legendary opponents, Montezuma and Cortés. Conquest is an essential work of history from one of our most gifted historians.

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The Lost City of the Monkey God - Douglas Preston Cover Art

The Lost City of the Monkey God

The Lost City of the Monkey God A True Story by Douglas Preston

The #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, named one of the best books of the year by The Boston Globe and National Geographic: acclaimed journalist Douglas Preston takes readers on a true adventure deep into the Honduran rainforest in this riveting narrative about the discovery of a lost civilization -- culminating in a stunning medical mystery. Since the days of conquistador Hernán Cortés, rumors have circulated about a lost city of immense wealth hidden somewhere in the Honduran interior, called the White City or the Lost City of the Monkey God. Indigenous tribes speak of ancestors who fled there to escape the Spanish invaders, and they warn that anyone who enters this sacred city will fall ill and die. In 1940, swashbuckling journalist Theodore Morde returned from the rainforest with hundreds of artifacts and an electrifying story of having found the Lost City of the Monkey God-but then committed suicide without revealing its location. Three quarters of a century later, bestselling author Doug Preston joined a team of scientists on a groundbreaking new quest. In 2012 he climbed aboard a rickety, single-engine plane carrying the machine that would change everything: lidar, a highly advanced, classified technology that could map the terrain under the densest rainforest canopy. In an unexplored valley ringed by steep mountains, that flight revealed the unmistakable image of a sprawling metropolis, tantalizing evidence of not just an undiscovered city but an enigmatic, lost civilization. Venturing into this raw, treacherous, but breathtakingly beautiful wilderness to confirm the discovery, Preston and the team battled torrential rains, quickmud, disease-carrying insects, jaguars, and deadly snakes. But it wasn't until they returned that tragedy struck: Preston and others found they had contracted in the ruins a horrifying, sometimes lethal-and incurable-disease. Suspenseful and shocking, filled with colorful history, hair-raising adventure, and dramatic twists of fortune, THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD is the absolutely true, eyewitness account of one of the great discoveries of the twenty-first century.

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The Big Truck That Went By - Jonathan M. Katz Cover Art

The Big Truck That Went By

The Big Truck That Went By
How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster by Jonathan M. Katz

On January 12, 2010, the deadliest earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere struck the nation least prepared to handle it. Jonathan M. Katz, the only full-time American news correspondent in Haiti, was inside his house when it buckled along with hundreds of thousands of others. In this visceral, authoritative first-hand account, Katz chronicles the terror of that day, the devastation visited on ordinary Haitians, and how the world reacted to a nation in need. More than half of American adults gave money for Haiti, part of a monumental response totaling $16.3 billion in pledges. But three years later the relief effort has foundered. It's most basic promises—to build safer housing for the homeless, alleviate severe poverty, and strengthen Haiti to face future disasters—remain unfulfilled. The Big Truck That Went By presents a sharp critique of international aid that defies today's conventional wisdom; that the way wealthy countries give aid makes poor countries seem irredeemably hopeless, while trapping millions in cycles of privation and catastrophe. Katz follows the money to uncover startling truths about how good intentions go wrong, and what can be done to make aid "smarter." With coverage of Bill Clinton, who came to help lead the reconstruction; movie-star aid worker Sean Penn; Wyclef Jean; Haiti's leaders and people alike, Katz weaves a complex, darkly funny, and unexpected portrait of one of the world's most fascinating countries. The Big Truck That Went By is not only a definitive account of Haiti's earthquake, but of the world we live in today.

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The Cuba Reader - Aviva Chomsky, Barry Carr, Alfredo Prieto & Pamela Maria Smorkaloff Cover Art

The Cuba Reader

The Cuba Reader History, Culture, Politics by Aviva Chomsky, Barry Carr, Alfredo Prieto & Pamela Maria Smorkaloff

Tracking Cuban history from 1492 to the present, The Cuba Reader includes more than one hundred selections that present myriad perspectives on Cuba’s history, culture, and politics. The volume foregrounds the experience of Cubans from all walks of life, including slaves, prostitutes, doctors, activists, and historians. Combining songs, poetry, fiction, journalism, political speeches, and many other types of documents, this revised and updated second edition of The Cuba Reader contains over twenty new selections that explore the changes and continuities in Cuba since Fidel Castro stepped down from power in 2006. For students, travelers, and all those who want to know more about the island nation just ninety miles south of Florida, The Cuba Reader is an invaluable introduction.

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Salvador - Joan Didion Cover Art

Salvador

Salvador by Joan Didion

"Terror is the given of the place." The place is El Salvador in 1982, at the ghastly height of its civil war. Didion "brings the country to life" ( The New York Times ), delivering an anatomy of a particular brand of political terror—its mechanisms, rationales, and intimate relation to United States foreign policy. As ash travels from battlefields to body dumps, Didion interviews a puppet president, and considers the distinctly Salvadoran grammar of the verb "to disappear." Here, the bestselling, award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Let Me Tell You What I Mean gives us a book that is germane to any country in which bloodshed has become a standard tool of politics.

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Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean - Edward Kritzler Cover Art

Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean

Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the New World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom and Revenge by Edward Kritzler

A history of Sephardic Jews in the New World, involving intrigue, horror, defeat, survival, and victory over the Spanish Inquisition. At the end of the fifteenth century, the Spanish Inquisition forced many Jews to flee the country. The most adventurous among them took to the high seas as freewheeling outlaws. In ships bearing names such as the Prophet Samuel, Queen Esther, and Shield of Abraham, they attacked and plundered the Spanish fleet while forming alliances with other European powers to ensure the safety of Jews living in hiding. Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean is the entertaining saga of a hidden chapter in Jewish history and of the cruelty, terror, and greed that flourished during the Age of Discovery. Readers will meet such daring figures as “the Great Jewish Pirate” Sinan, Barbarossa’s second-in-command; the pirate rabbi Samuel Palache, who founded Holland’s Jewish community; Abraham Cohen Henriques, an arms dealer who used his cunning and economic muscle to find safe havens for other Jews; and his pirate brother Moses, who is credited with the capture of the Spanish silver fleet in 1628—the largest heist in pirate history. Filled with high-sea adventures—including encounters with Captain Morgan and other legendary pirates—and detailed portraits of cities stacked high with plunder, such as Port Royal, Jamaica, Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean captures a gritty and glorious era of history from an unusual and eye-opening perspective. Praise for Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean “[Kritzler] covers an impressive interdisciplinary range-combining politics, economics and religion-that should satisfy fans of religious history and swashbuckling true stories.” — Publishers Weekly “Kritzler captures the spirit of that violent, lawless epoch and combines it with an interesting ethnic perspective.” — Booklist “Kritzler’s intellectual odyssey . . . shares various sagas of individual Jews who took to the sea as pirates, or masterminded the pirate operations from land. . . . The material is so rich that the book is never boring.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Surprising adventures on the high seas with some rogues of the Diaspora.” — Kirkus Reviews

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La Familia Drug Cartel: Implications for U.S.-Mexican Security [Global Challenges] - George W. Grayson Cover Art

La Familia Drug Cartel: Implications for U.S.-Mexican Security [Global Challenges]

La Familia Drug Cartel: Implications for U.S.-Mexican Security [Global Challenges]
by George W. Grayson

La Familia Michoacana, also known as La Familia, is one of the most bizarre and deadly cartels in the world. Its Bible-pounding leaders recruit young people from rehabilitation centers, insist that they throw off their dependence on alcohol, drugs, and other addictive substances, and, once clean, apply to join their organization. The novitiates must submit themselves to 2 months of brainwashing that includes scripture readings, exposure to motivational speakers, and long periods of silence and meditation. Upon completing their “instruction,” they may become couriers, lookouts, or drivers. Those who show an aptitude for violence are taken in groups of 40 to a wilderness area known as the Jesús del Monte. There, they are directed to shoot, butcher, and cook 15 victims to demonstrate that they are neither squeamish about killing innocents nor repulsed by handling bloody body parts.  The leaders of La Familia—known as ”El Chango” (José de Jesús Méndez Vargas) and “El Chayo” (Nazario Moreno González) assure those who successfully complete this exercise that they are prepared to do the Lord’s work—that is, safeguarding women, combatting competing cartels, and preventing the local sale of drugs.  This syndicate burst onto the national stage on September 6, 2006, when ruffians crashed into the seedy Sol y Sombra nightclub in Uruapan, Michoacán, and fired shots into the air. They screamed at the revelers to lie down, ripped open a plastic bag, and lobbed five human heads onto the beer-stained black and white dance floor. The day before these macabre pyrotechnics, the killers seized their prey from a mechanic’s shop and hacked off their heads with bowie knives while the men writhed in pain. “You don’t do something like that unless you want to send a big message,” said a U.S. law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity about an act of human depravity that would “cast a pall over the darkest nooks of hell.”

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El Porfiriato y la Revolución en la historia de México - Friedrich Katz & Claudio Lomnitz Cover Art

El Porfiriato y la Revolución en la historia de México

El Porfiriato y la Revolución en la historia de México by Friedrich Katz & Claudio Lomnitz

El origen de este libro es una conversación en la que el eminente historiador Friedrich Katz y su amigo y colega de muchos años, el antropólogo Claudio Lomnitz, dialogan detenidamente sobre el Porfiriato y la Revolución. La plática fue grabada para una serie de programas que transmitió el IMER con motivo del centenario de la Revolución mexicana. En esta amenísima e inteligente charla, Katz y Lomnitz hacen un recorrido extraordinariamente informativo y ordenado, a la vez que sintético, por las condiciones reinantes en México durante el régimen porfirista; los treinta y cuatro años de estabilidad política en que desembocaron las pugnas del siglo XIX, y las causas inmediatas de la Revolución. Su mirada se detiene a continuación en las diversas etapas del periodo revolucionario: los problemas del gobierno de Madero y sus relaciones con la prensa, con el ejército y con Estados Unidos; la Decena Trágica y la participación en ella del embajador estadounidense; la revolución constitucionalista y la guerra civil que estalló 
al enfrentarse sus distintos bandos. Se asoman finalmente 
a las consecuencias de la Revolución y el régimen que 
dio forma a nuestro siglo XX. El resultado es una visión panorámica y condensada de la historia pre y posrevolucionaria de México.

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El Porfiriato - Mauricio Tenorio Trillo Cover Art

El Porfiriato

El Porfiriato by Mauricio Tenorio Trillo

Éste libro es el mapa aproximado de la historiografía del Porfiriato; como es evidente, hay capítulos de esta historia que están muy crecidos (por ejemplo, la economía) y otros más bien flacos de preguntas y respuestas. Y en todos los campos se lucha contra estereotipos más o menos firmes. Sobre este periodo puede decirse: mujeres y hombres trabajando.

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Habsburgs on the Rio Grande - Raymond Jonas Cover Art

Habsburgs on the Rio Grande

Habsburgs on the Rio Grande The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire by Raymond Jonas

The story of how nineteenth-century European rulers conspired with Mexican conservatives in an outlandish plan to contain the rising US colossus by establishing Old World empire on its doorstep. The outbreak of the US Civil War provided an unexpected opportunity for political conservatives across continents. On one side were European monarchs. Mere decades after its founding, the United States had become a threat to European hegemony; instability in the United States could be exploited to lay a rival low. Meanwhile, Mexican antidemocrats needed a powerful backer to fend off the republicanism of Benito Juárez. When these two groups found each other, the Second Mexican Empire was born. Raymond Jonas argues that the Second Mexican Empire, often dismissed as a historical sideshow, is critical to appreciating the globally destabilizing effect of growing US power in the nineteenth century. In 1862, at the behest of Mexican reactionaries and with the initial support of Spain and Britain, Napoleon III of France sent troops into Mexico and installed Austrian archduke Ferdinand Maximilian as an imperial ruler who could resist democracy in North America. But what was supposed to be an easy victory proved a disaster. The French army was routed at the Battle of Puebla, and for the next four years, republican guerrillas bled the would-be empire. When the US Civil War ended, African American troops were dispatched to Mexico to hasten the French withdrawal. Based on research in five languages and in archives across the globe, Habsburgs on the Rio Grande fundamentally revises narratives of global history. Far more than a footnote, the Second Mexican Empire was at the center of world-historic great-power struggles—a point of inflection in a contest for supremacy that set the terms of twentieth-century rivalry.

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Disappeared - Dr. Martin Matthew Cover Art

Disappeared

Disappeared How A People Who Once Lived In A Small Caribbean Village Vanished Without A Historical Trace To Humankind by Dr. Martin Matthew

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER HONORABLE MENTION IN PARIS BOOK FESTIVAL 2022 WINNER FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS FINALIST IN THE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS READERS' FAVORITE 5-STAR REVIEW RECIPIENT How does a tiny village of ardent people in the Caribbean basin slowly disappear? It was near perfection. They valued all the essential virtues of humanity and human generosity, ideals, and kindness. Discover the importance of the dynamic contributions made by nearly all of the citizens. Operating solely to ameliorate society, they naturally incorporated the equality and tolerance necessary for a vibrant and free community. What made the village special was that the populace recognized and acknowledged that they were inseparable from nature, an element so essential for the village's prosperity. It was a place where culture, folklore, and heritage reigned. They understood the necessity for rules, ideals, mores, ethics, and even unwritten customs and used them effectively in their daily activities. This story explores the characters, the meanings and essences of their lives and the great loss for humanity that their disappearance caused. This is about the wholeness of their experiences rather than individual achievement. A remarkable village with an impeccable human value that is no longer in existence, it has simply disappeared.  

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The History of Cuba (Vol. 1-5) - Willis Fletcher Johnson Cover Art

The History of Cuba (Vol. 1-5)

The History of Cuba (Vol. 1-5) Complete Edition by Willis Fletcher Johnson

This 5-volume work features a comprehensive historical account of Cuba from the discovery of America in 1492. Lying in a peculiar sense at the commercial center of the world, between North America and South America, between Europe and Asia, between all the lands of the Atlantic and all the lands of the Pacific and subject to important approach from all directions, the island of Cuba and its history were influenced by two important factors – Spanish rule and the political interests of the United States after the American Revolution. The story of Cuba's development from a neglected and oppressed colony to an independent nation is stirring and impressive, adorned with the names and deeds of brave men. The story of her development in civilization, from a backward rank to the foremost, is no less impressive, and it is adorned with the names and the labors of wise men, statesmen and scholars, who gave of their best for the welfare of the insular republic for which so many of their kin gave willingly their very lives. Both of these stories are to be found in this book.

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The Path Between the Seas - David McCullough Cover Art

The Path Between the Seas

The Path Between the Seas The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 by David McCullough

The National Book Award–winning epic chronicle of the creation of the Panama Canal, a first-rate drama of the bold and brilliant engineering feat that was filled with both tragedy and triumph, told by master historian David McCullough. From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Truman , here is the national bestselling epic chronicle of the creation of the Panama Canal. In The Path Between the Seas, acclaimed historian David McCullough delivers a first-rate drama of the sweeping human undertaking that led to the creation of this grand enterprise. The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. Applying his remarkable gift for writing lucid, lively exposition, McCullough weaves the many strands of the momentous event into a comprehensive and captivating tale. Winner of the National Book Award for history, the Francis Parkman Prize, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award, and the Cornelius Ryan Award (for the best book of the year on international affairs), The Path Between the Seas is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, the history of technology, international intrigue, and human drama.

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The Last Days of the Incas - Kim MacQuarrie Cover Art

The Last Days of the Incas

The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie

The epic story of the fall of the Inca Empire to Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the aftermath of a bloody civil war, and the recent discovery of the lost guerrilla capital of the Incas, Vilcabamba, by three American explorers. In 1532, the fifty-four-year-old Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led a force of 167 men, including his four brothers, to the shores of Peru. Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, the Inca rulers of Peru had just fought a bloody civil war in which the emperor Atahualpa had defeated his brother Huascar. Pizarro and his men soon clashed with Atahualpa and a huge force of Inca warriors at the Battle of Cajamarca. Despite being outnumbered by more than two hundred to one, the Spaniards prevailed—due largely to their horses, their steel armor and swords, and their tactic of surprise. They captured and imprisoned Atahualpa. Although the Inca emperor paid an enormous ransom in gold, the Spaniards executed him anyway. The following year, the Spaniards seized the Inca capital of Cuzco, completing their conquest of the largest native empire the New World has ever known. Peru was now a Spanish colony, and the conquistadors were wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. But the Incas did not submit willingly. A young Inca emperor, the brother of Atahualpa, soon led a massive rebellion against the Spaniards, inflicting heavy casualties and nearly wiping out the conquerors. Eventually, however, Pizarro and his men forced the emperor to abandon the Andes and flee to the Amazon. There, he established a hidden capital, called Vilcabamba—only recently rediscovered by a trio of colorful American explorers. Although the Incas fought a deadly, thirty-six-year-long guerrilla war, the Spanish ultimately captured the last Inca emperor and vanquished the native resistance.

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A Texas Ranger - N. A. Jennings Cover Art

A Texas Ranger

A Texas Ranger by N. A. Jennings

Eighteen-year-old Napoleon Augustus Jennings came to Texas in 1874 and joined a special force of Texas Rangers charged with border patrol under the command of L. H. McNelly. At this time the South Texas region was home to hundreds of outlaws and riffraff, and some three thousand Mexican guerrillas under Juan Cortina and others were raiding settlers on both sides of the Rio Grande. McNelly's Rangers stormed into this lawless area for two reasons, according to Jennings: "To have fun, and to carry out a set policy of terrorizing the Mexicans at every opportunity", which would gain them the reputation as "fire-eating, quarrelsome daredevils" and make their job of subduing the guerrillas an easier prospect. Within a short time the Rangers had arrested more than eleven hundred men and reputedly killed many more. Jennings records many a fight with the Mexican guerrillas, including the time when McNelly defied the United States government, crossed the Rio Grande, and fought Cortina and his raiders at Las Cuevas. Jennings also gives accounts of scrapes with King Fisher's outlaw band, John Wesley Hardin, and the families involved in the Taylor-Sutton feud. Originally published in 1899, A Texas Ranger was reprinted in 1930 with a foreword by J. Frank Dobie, who defends the veracity of the account despite the fact that Jennings was not, as his story claims, a member of the company in its earliest years. N.A. Jennings (1856-1919) was serving as a journalist in Philadelphia when he recorded and published this first personal account of his experiences with the Texas Rangers.

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Empire of Blue Water - Stephan Talty Cover Art

Empire of Blue Water

Empire of Blue Water Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign by Stephan Talty

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Talty’s vigorous history of seventeenth-century pirates of the Caribbean [is] a pleasure to read from bow to stern.”— Entertainment Weekly   “In Stephan Talty’s hands, the brilliant Captain Morgan, wicked and cutthroat though he was, proves an irresistible hero. . . . A thrilling and fascinating adventure.”—Caroline Alexander, author of The Endurance and The Bounty   The passion and violence of the age of exploration and empire come to vivid life in this story of the legendary pirate who took on the greatest military power on earth with a ragtag bunch of renegades. Awash with bloody battles, political intrigues, natural disaster, and a cast of characters more compelling, bizarre, and memorable than any found in a Hollywood swashbuckler, Empire of Blue Water brilliantly re-creates the life and times of Henry Morgan and the real pirates of the Caribbean.

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Bay of Pigs - Phil Carradice Cover Art

Bay of Pigs

Bay of Pigs CIA's Cuban Disaster, April 1961 by Phil Carradice

This account of the disastrous invasion of Cuba funded and directed by the United States is “ a readable, accessible introduction to the topic” ( H-Net ).   Perhaps not in casualties but as far as prestige and standing in the world were concerned, the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 was the worst disaster to befall the USA since the War of 1812 when British forces burned the White House. Badly planned, badly organized, the affair was littered with mistakes from start to finish, not least with an inept performance by John F. Kennedy and his new administration.   Supposedly an attempt by Cuban exiles to regain their homeland, the whole operation was funded and equipped by the USA. When things began to go wrong with the landings at Playa Larga and Playa Giron on the southern coast of Cuba, President Kennedy and his advisers began overruling military decisions with the result that the invading Brigade 2506, made up of Cuban exiles, was left with little or no air cover, limited ammunition, and no easy escape.   Fidel Castro made great play of his success and American failure at the Bay of Pigs. He, like Nikita Khrushchev, thought Kennedy was weak—and the Cuban Missile Crisis of the following year was almost an inevitable consequence of the disaster. This account tells the dramatic story of this pivotal Cold War event.

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The Battle for Goose Green - Mark Adkin Cover Art

The Battle for Goose Green

The Battle for Goose Green A Battle is Fought to be Won by Mark Adkin

“Probably the best and most detailed description of a key battle in the 1982 Falklands War . . . an excellent and fast paced narrative.” —Michael McCarthy, historical battlefield guide   This book tells the story of the battle for Goose Green—the first crucial clash of the Falklands War—through the eyes of the commanders, both British and Argentine, from brigadier to corporal. It follows in detail, with the aid of maps, the fourteen hours of vicious infantry as both sides struggled for the tiny settlement of Goose Green. The book explains how 2 Para came close to failure as the battalion fought over open ground, in daylight, without adequate fire support against prepared positions. Controversial questions—such as: Was it an unnecessary battle? Why did London overrule the brigadier commander’s reluctance to attack? Did Col. Jones’s solo charge, which won him the Victoria Cross, decide the issue?—are discussed frankly. The author, himself a former infantry officer, has had the full support of the Parachute Regiment, and has assembled the views and comments of over forty-five veterans of all ranks who fought there.   “The Falklands War showed British military personnel at their best and most innovative under the most testing of conditions, and the Battle of Goose Green was one of the classic actions . . . The author has made an impressive job of reviewing the important factors, the events and decisions that led to the battle.” — Firetrench   “This brought home to me how the infantry fight and how the British Paratrooper has gained a worldwide reputation for being one of the best fighting men around. A superb read.” —Army Rumour Service

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The Conquest of Mexico - William Hickling Prescott Cover Art

The Conquest of Mexico

The Conquest of Mexico The History of Aztec Empire & The Spanish Conquest by William Hickling Prescott

In William Hickling Prescott's 'The Conquest of Mexico', the reader is immersed in a narrative that explores the conquest of Mexico by Hernan Cortes in the 16th century. Prescott's literary style combines historical accuracy with vivid storytelling, making the events of the conquest come to life on the pages of his book. Set against the backdrop of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Prescott meticulously details the political intrigues, battles, and cultural clashes that defined this pivotal moment in history. His extensive research and attention to detail provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of the events that shaped the fate of the Aztec Empire. As a historian and scholar, William Hickling Prescott was uniquely positioned to write 'The Conquest of Mexico'. His passion for history and meticulous research are evident in the thoroughness of his narrative. Prescott's personal experiences and travels in Europe and America influenced his interest in exploring the complexities of colonialism and conquest, adding depth to his analysis of the events depicted in the book. I highly recommend 'The Conquest of Mexico' to readers interested in history, conquest narratives, and the impact of colonialism. Prescott's expertise and engaging storytelling make this book a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the historical events that shaped the Americas.

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Black Spartacus - Sudhir Hazareesingh Cover Art

Black Spartacus

Black Spartacus The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture by Sudhir Hazareesingh

Winner of the 2021 Wolfson History Prize “ Black Spartacus is a tour de force: by far the most complete, authoritative and persuasive biography of Toussaint that we are likely to have for a long time . . . An extraordinarily gripping read.” —David A. Bell, The Guardian A new interpretation of the life of the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture Among the defining figures of the Age of Revolution, Toussaint Louverture is the most enigmatic. Though the Haitian revolutionary’s image has multiplied across the globe—appearing on banknotes and in bronze, on T-shirts and in film—the only definitive portrait executed in his lifetime has been lost. Well versed in the work of everyone from Machiavelli to Rousseau, he was nonetheless dismissed by Thomas Jefferson as a “cannibal.” A Caribbean acolyte of the European Enlightenment, Toussaint nurtured a class of black Catholic clergymen who became one of the pillars of his rule, while his supporters also believed he communicated with vodou spirits. And for a leader who once summed up his modus operandi with the phrase “Say little but do as much as possible,” he was a prolific and indefatigable correspondent, famous for exhausting the five secretaries he maintained, simultaneously, at the height of his power in the 1790s. Employing groundbreaking archival research and a keen interpretive lens, Sudhir Hazareesingh restores Toussaint to his full complexity in Black Spartacus . At a time when his subject has, variously, been reduced to little more than a one-dimensional icon of liberation or criticized for his personal failings—his white mistresses, his early ownership of slaves, his authoritarianism —Hazareesingh proposes a new conception of Toussaint’s understanding of himself and his role in the Atlantic world of the late eighteenth century. Black Spartacus is a work of both biography and intellectual history, rich with insights into Toussaint’s fundamental hybridity—his ability to unite European, African, and Caribbean traditions in the service of his revolutionary aims. Hazareesingh offers a new and resonant interpretation of Toussaint’s racial politics, showing how he used Enlightenment ideas to argue for the equal dignity of all human beings while simultaneously insisting on his own world-historical importance and the universal pertinence of blackness—a message which chimed particularly powerfully among African Americans. Ultimately, Black Spartacus offers a vigorous argument in favor of “getting back to Toussaint”—a call to take Haiti’s founding father seriously on his own terms, and to honor his role in shaping the postcolonial world to come. Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize | Finalist for the PEN / Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography Named a best book of the year by the The Economist | Times Literary Supplement | New Statesman

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Silver, Sword, and Stone - Marie Arana Cover Art

Silver, Sword, and Stone

Silver, Sword, and Stone Three Crucibles in the Latin American Story by Marie Arana

Winner, American Library Association Booklist’s Top of the List, 2019 Adult Nonfiction Longlisted for the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Against the background of a thousand years of vivid history, acclaimed writer Marie Arana tells the timely and timeless stories of three contemporary Latin Americans whose lives represent three driving forces that have shaped the character of the region : exploitation (silver), violence (sword), and religion (stone). Leonor Gonzales lives in a tiny community perched 18,000 feet above sea level in the Andean cordillera of Peru, the highest human habitation on earth. Like her late husband, she works the gold mines much as the Indians were forced to do at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Illiteracy, malnutrition, and disease reign as they did five hundred years ago. And now, just as then, a miner’s survival depends on a vast global market whose fluctuations are controlled in faraway places. Carlos Buergos is a Cuban who fought in the civil war in Angola and now lives in a quiet community outside New Orleans. He was among hundreds of criminals Cuba expelled to the US in 1980. His story echoes the violence that has coursed through the Americas since before Columbus to the crushing savagery of the Spanish Conquest, and from 19th- and 20th-century wars and revolutions to the military crackdowns that convulse Latin America to this day. Xavier Albó is a Jesuit priest from Barcelona who emigrated to Bolivia, where he works among the indigenous people. He considers himself an Indian in head and heart and, for this, is well known in his adopted country. Although his aim is to learn rather than proselytize, he is an inheritor of a checkered past, where priests marched alongside conquistadors, converting the natives to Christianity, often forcibly, in the effort to win the New World. Ever since, the Catholic Church has played a central role in the political life of Latin America—sometimes for good, sometimes not. In Silver, Sword, and Stone Marie Arana seamlessly weaves these stories with the history of the past millennium to explain three enduring themes that have defined Latin America since pre-Columbian times: the foreign greed for its mineral riches, an ingrained propensity to violence, and the abiding power of religion. What emerges is a vibrant portrait of a people whose lives are increasingly intertwined with our own.

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Deep Down Dark - Héctor Tobar Cover Art

Deep Down Dark

Deep Down Dark The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free by Héctor Tobar

Deep Down Dark is the novel that inspired the film The 33 starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Cote de Pablo and Antonio Banderas. When the San José mine collapsed outside of Copiapó, Chile, in August 2010, it trapped thirty-three miners beneath thousands of feet of rock for a record-breaking sixty-nine days. After the disaster, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Héctor Tobar received exclusive access to the miners and their tales, and in Deep Down Dark, he brings them to haunting, visceral life. We learn what it was like to be imprisoned inside a mountain, understand the horror of being slowly consumed by hunger, and experience the awe of working in such a place-underground passages filled with danger and that often felt alive. A masterwork of narrative journalism and a stirring testament to the power of the human spirit, The 33: Deep Down Dark captures the profound ways in which the lives of everyone involved in the catastrophe were forever changed. A Finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award A Finalist for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize A New York Times Book Review Notable Book Selected for NPR's Morning Edition Book Club

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A Small Place - Jamaica Kincaid Cover Art

A Small Place

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

A brilliant look at colonialism and its effects in Antigua--by the author of Annie John "If you go to Antigua as a tourist, this is what you will see. If you come by aeroplane, you will land at the V. C. Bird International Airport. Vere Cornwall (V. C.) Bird is the Prime Minister of Antigua. You may be the sort of tourist who would wonder why a Prime Minister would want an airport named after him--why not a school, why not a hospital, why not some great public monument. You are a tourist and you have not yet seen . . ." So begins Jamaica Kincaid's expansive essay, which shows us what we have not yet seen of the ten-by-twelve-mile island in the British West Indies where she grew up. Lyrical, sardonic, and forthright by turns, in a Swiftian mode, A Small Place cannot help but amplify our vision of one small place and all that it signifies.

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The Sugar King of Havana - John Paul Rathbone Cover Art

The Sugar King of Havana

The Sugar King of Havana The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba's Last Tycoon by John Paul Rathbone

"Fascinating...A richly detailed portrait." -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Known in his day as the King of Sugar, Julio Lobo was the wealthiest man in prerevolutionary Cuba. He had a life fit for Hollywood: he barely survived both a gangland shooting and a firing squad, and courted movie stars such as Joan Fontaine and Bette Davis. Only when he declined Che Guevara's personal offer to become Minister of Sugar in the Communist regime did Lobo's decades-long reign in Cuba come to a dramatic end. Drawing on stories from the author's own family history and other tales of the island's lost haute bourgeoisie, The Sugar King of Havana is a rare portrait of Cuba's glittering past—and a hopeful window into its future.

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House of Rain - Craig Childs Cover Art

House of Rain

House of Rain Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest by Craig Childs

A "beautifully written travelogue" that draws on the latest scholarly research as well as a lifetime of exploration to light on the extraordinary Anasazi culture of the American Southwest ( Entertainment Weekly ).  The greatest "unsolved mystery" of the American Southwest is the fate of the Anasazi, the native peoples who in the eleventh century converged on Chaco Canyon (in today's southwestern New Mexico) and built what has been called the Las Vegas of its day, a flourishing cultural center that attracted pilgrims from far and wide, a vital crossroads of the prehistoric world. The Anasazis' accomplishments -- in agriculture, in art, in commerce, in architecture, and in engineering -- were astounding, rivaling those of the Mayans in distant Central America. By the thirteenth century, however, the Anasazi were gone from Chaco. Vanished. What was it that brought about the rapid collapse of their civilization? Was it drought? pestilence? war? forced migration? mass murder or suicide? For many years conflicting theories have abounded. Craig Childs draws on the latest scholarly research, as well as on a lifetime of adventure and exploration in the most forbidding landscapes of the American Southwest, to shed new light on this compelling mystery.

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The Broken Spears 2007 Revised Edition - Miguel Leon-Portilla Cover Art

The Broken Spears 2007 Revised Edition

The Broken Spears 2007 Revised Edition The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico by Miguel Leon-Portilla

For hundreds of years, the history of the conquest of Mexico and the defeat of the Aztecs has been told in the words of the Spanish victors. Miguel León-Portilla has long been at the forefront of expanding that history to include the voices of indigenous peoples. In this new and updated edition of his classic  The Broken Spears , León-Portilla has included accounts from native Aztec descendants across the centuries. These texts bear witness to the extraordinary vitality of an oral tradition that preserves the viewpoints of the vanquished instead of the victors. León-Portilla's new Postscript reflects upon the critical importance of these unexpected historical accounts.

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Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba - Tom Gjelten Cover Art

Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba

Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba The Biography of a Cause by Tom Gjelten

In this widely hailed book, NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten fuses the story of the Bacardi family and their famous rum business with Cuba's tumultuous experience over the last 150 years to produce a deeply entertaining historical narrative. The company Facundo Bacardi launched in Cuba in 1862 brought worldwide fame to the island, and in the decades that followed his Bacardi descendants participated in every aspect of Cuban life. With his intimate account of their struggles and adventures across five generations, Gjelten brings to life the larger story of Cuba's fight for freedom, its tortured relationship with America, the rise of Fidel Castro, and the violent division of the Cuban nation.

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Open Veins of Latin America - Eduardo Galeano Cover Art

Open Veins of Latin America

Open Veins of Latin America Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Eduardo Galeano

The classic survey of Latin America's social and cultural history, with a new introduction by Isabel Allende Since its U.S. debut a quarter-century ago, this brilliant text has set a new standard for historical scholarship of Latin America. It is also an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital accumulation since Marx. Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Eduardo Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Thus he is concerned with gold and silver, cacao and cotton, rubber and coffee, fruit, hides and wool, petroleum, iron, nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum ore, nitrates, and tin. These are the veins which he traces through the body of the entire continent, up to the Rio Grande and throughout the Caribbean, and all the way to their open ends where they empty into the coffers of wealth in the United States and Europe. Weaving fact and imagery into a rich tapestry, Galeano fuses scientific analysis with the passions of a plundered and suffering people. An immense gathering of materials is framed with a vigorous style that never falters in its command of themes. All readers interested in great historical, economic, political, and social writing will find a singular analytical achievement, and an overwhelming narrative that makes history speak, unforgettably. This classic is now further honored by Isabel Allende’s inspiring introduction. Universally recognized as one of the most important writers of our time, Allende once again contributes her talents to literature, to political principles, and to enlightenment.

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Brazil on the Rise - Larry Rohter Cover Art

Brazil on the Rise

Brazil on the Rise The Story of a Country Transformed by Larry Rohter

In this hugely praised narrative, New York Times reporter Larry Rohter takes the reader on a lively trip through Brazil's history, culture, and booming economy. Going beyond the popular stereotypes of samba, supermodels, and soccer, he shows us a stunning and varied landscape--from breathtaking tropical beaches to the lush and dangerous Amazon rainforest--and how a complex and vibrant people defy definition. He charts Brazil's amazing jump from a debtor nation to one of the world's fastest growing economies, unravels the myth of Brazil's sexually charged culture, and portrays in vivid color the underbelly of impoverished favelas. With Brazil leading the charge of the Latin American decade, this critically acclaimed history is the authoritative guide to understanding its meteoric rise.

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Haiti: The Aftershocks of History - Laurent Dubois Cover Art

Haiti: The Aftershocks of History

Haiti: The Aftershocks of History by Laurent Dubois

A passionate and insightful account by a leading historian of Haiti that traces the sources of the country's devastating present back to its turbulent and traumatic history Even before the 2010 earthquake destroyed much of the country, Haiti was known as a benighted place of poverty and corruption. Maligned and misunderstood, the nation has long been blamed by many for its own wretchedness. But as acclaimed historian Laurent Dubois makes clear, Haiti's troubled present can only be understood by examining its complex past. The country's difficulties are inextricably rooted in its founding revolution—the only successful slave revolt in the history of the world; the hostility that this rebellion generated among the colonial powers surrounding the island nation; and the intense struggle within Haiti itself to define its newfound freedom and realize its promise. Dubois vividly depicts the isolation and impoverishment that followed the 1804 uprising. He details how the crushing indemnity imposed by the former French rulers initiated a devastating cycle of debt, while frequent interventions by the United States—including a twenty-year military occupation—further undermined Haiti's independence. At the same time, Dubois shows, the internal debates about what Haiti should do with its hard-won liberty alienated the nation's leaders from the broader population, setting the stage for enduring political conflict. Yet as Dubois demonstrates, the Haitian people have never given up on their struggle for true democracy, creating a powerful culture insistent on autonomy and equality for all. Revealing what lies behind the familiar moniker of "the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere," this indispensable book illuminates the foundations on which a new Haiti might yet emerge.

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A Nation Rising - Kenneth C. Davis Cover Art

A Nation Rising

A Nation Rising Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America's Hidden History by Kenneth C. Davis

“History in Davis’s hands is loud, coarse, painful, funny, irreverent—and memorable.” — San Francisco Chronicle Following on his New York Times bestsellers America’s Hidden History and Don’t Know Much About History, Ken Davis explores the next chapter in the country’s hidden history: the gritty first half of the 19th century, among the most tumultuous in the nation’s short life.

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Sugar in the Blood - Andrea Stuart Cover Art

Sugar in the Blood

Sugar in the Blood A Family's Story of Slavery and Empire by Andrea Stuart

In the late 1630s, lured by the promise of the New World, Andrea Stuart’s earliest known maternal ancestor, George Ashby, set sail from England to settle in Barbados. He fell into the life of a sugar plantation owner by mere chance, but by the time he harvested his first crop, a revolution was fully under way: the farming of sugar cane, and the swiftly increasing demands for sugar worldwide, would not only lift George Ashby from abject poverty and shape the lives of his descendants, but it would also bind together ambitious white entrepreneurs and enslaved black workers in a strangling embrace. Stuart uses her own family story—from the seventeenth century through the present—as the pivot for this epic tale of migration, settlement, survival, slavery and the making of the Americas. As it grew, the sugar trade enriched Europe as never before, financing the Industrial Revolution and fuelling the Enlightenment. And, as well, it became the basis of many economies in South America, played an important part in the evolution of the United States as a world power and transformed the Caribbean into an archipelago of riches. But this sweet and hugely profitable trade—“white gold,” as it was known—had profoundly less palatable consequences in its precipitation of the enslavement of Africans to work the fields on the islands and, ultimately, throughout the American continents. Interspersing the tectonic shifts of colonial history with her family’s experience, Stuart explores the interconnected themes of settlement, sugar and slavery with extraordinary subtlety and sensitivity. In examining how these forces shaped her own family—its genealogy, intimate relationships, circumstances of birth, varying hues of skin—she illuminates how her family, among millions of others like it, in turn transformed the society in which they lived, and how that interchange continues to this day. Shifting between personal and global history, Stuart gives us a deepened understanding of the connections between continents, between black and white, between men and women, between the free and the enslaved. It is a story brought to life with riveting and unparalleled immediacy, a story of fundamental importance to the making of our world.

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Fire & Blood - T. R. Fehrenbach Cover Art

Fire & Blood

Fire & Blood A History of Mexico by T. R. Fehrenbach

Mexican history comes to life in this “fascinating” work by the author of Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans ( The Christian Science Monitor ). Fire & Blood brilliantly depicts the succession of tribes and societies that have variously called Mexico their home, their battleground, and their legacy. This is the tale of the indigenous people who forged from this rugged terrain a wide-ranging civilization; of the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec dynasties, which exercised their sophisticated powers through bureaucracy and religion; of the Spanish conquistadors, whose arrival heralded death, disease, and a new vision of continental domination. Author T. R. Fehrenbach connects these threads with the story of modern-day, independent Mexico, a proud nation struggling to balance its traditions against opportunities that often seem tantalizingly out of reach.   From the Mesoamerican empires to the Spanish Conquest and the Mexican Revolution, peopled by the legendary personalities of Mexican history—Montezuma, Cortés, Santa Anna, Juárez, Maximilian, Díaz, Pancho Villa, and Zapata— Fire & Blood is a “deftly organized and well-researched” work of popular history ( Library Journal ) .  

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Mexico: A History - Víctor Alba Cover Art

Mexico: A History

Mexico: A History by Víctor Alba

The early European explorers were astonished at the immensity of Mexico. They were equally baffled by the customs, language, and society of the people they encountered. A surprise awaited the visitors beyond every mountain pass, for in a land in which travel was so difficult, the native inhabitants had developed vastly different lifestyles. Historians and archeologists remain uncertain as to the origins of the earliest settlers or exactly when they arrived, but they had been living there for thousands of years before being "discovered" by the Spaniards. Fortunately for historians, some Spanish explorers recorded what they saw, even while Spanish armies were annihilating the native population and destroying the indigenous culture - tearing down temples, burning religious objects, melting down precious metal artifacts. And amidst the slaughter, Spanish friars continued their mission to convert the natives to Christianity, by whatever means. Here from noted journalist Victor Alba is the dramatic story of Mexico - from the Aztecs and Mayas to the age of viceroys and the Mexican Revolution. The country evolved through decades of civil wars and revolution, one government toppled then another until finally, a modern nation-state emerged. It's a history as vast and varied as the country itself.

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Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean - David Cordingly Cover Art

Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean

Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean The Adventurous Life of Captain Woodes Rogers by David Cordingly

From renowned pirate historian David Cordingly, author of Under the Black Flag and film consultant for the original Pirates of the Caribbean, comes the thrilling story of Captain Woodes Rogers, the avenging nemesis of the worst cutthroats ever to terrorize the high seas. Once a marauding privateer himself, Woodes Rogers went from laying siege to laying down the law. During Britain’s war with Spain, Rogers sailed for the crown in sorties against Spanish targets in the Pacific; battled scurvy, hurricanes, and mutinies; captured a treasure galleon; and even rescued the castaway who inspired Robinson Crusoe . Appointed governor of the Bahamas in 1717, the fearless Rogers defended the island colony of King George I against plundering pirates and an attempted Spanish invasion. His resolute example led to the downfall of such notorious pirates as Blackbeard, Calico Jack, and the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. A vividly detailed and action-packed portrait of one of the early eighteenth century’s most colorful characters, Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean serves up history that’s as fascinating and gripping as any seafaring legend.

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El Narco - Ioan Grillo Cover Art

El Narco

El Narco Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency by Ioan Grillo

"Essential reading."-Steve Coll, NewYorker.com A gripping, sobering account of how Mexican drug gangs have transformed into a criminal insurgency that threatens the nation's democracy and reaches across to the United States. The world has watched, stunned, the bloodshed in Mexico. Forty thousand murdered since 2006; police chiefs shot within hours of taking office; mass graves comparable to those of civil wars; car bombs shattering storefronts; headless corpses heaped in town squares. And it is all because a few Americans are getting high. Or is it part of a worldwide shadow economy that threatens Mexico's democracy? The United States throws Black Hawk helicopters, DEA assistance, and lots of money at the problem. But in secret, Washington is at a loss. Who are these mysterious figures who threaten Mexico's democracy? What is El Narco? El Narco is not a gang; it is a movement and an industry drawing in hundreds of thousands, from bullet-riddled barrios to marijuana-covered mountains. The conflict spawned by El Narco has given rise to paramilitary death squads battling from Guatemala to the Texas border (and sometimes beyond). In this "propulsive ... high-octane" book (Publishers Weekly), Ioan Grillo draws the first definitive portrait of Mexico's cartels and how they have radically transformed.

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Guerra Contra Todos los Puertorriqueños - Nelson A Denis Cover Art

Guerra Contra Todos los Puertorriqueños

Guerra Contra Todos los Puertorriqueños Revolución y Terror en la Colonia Americana by Nelson A Denis

“Prep á rese para ser enfurecido. Una lectura obligada y reveladora.” —Robert Domínguez, New York Daily News En 1950, después de cincuenta años de ocupación militar y gobierno colonial, el Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico montó una fallida revolución armada contra Estados Unidos. La violencia arraso con la isla: comandos nacionalistas fueron enviados a Washington a ajusticiar al presidente Harry Truman, se desataron tiroteos en ocho municipios, se incendiaron cuarteles policiacos y oficinas de correo. Para sofocar esta insurrección, el Ejército de Estados Unidos desplegó miles de tropas y ametralló dos pueblos desde el aire, marcando la primera vez en su historia que el gobierno estadounidense atacó de esta forma a sus propios ciudadanos. Por medio de narraciones orales, entrevistas personales, relatos de testigos oculares, testimonios del Congreso de Estados Unidos y archivos recientemente liberados al público por el FBI, Guerra Contra Todos los Puertorriqueños nos relata la historia de una revolución olvidada y su contexto en la historia grande de Puerto Rico, desde la invasión estadounidense de 1898 hasta la lucha actual por la plena autodeterminación de los puertorriqueños.

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Sweetness and Power - Sidney W. Mintz Cover Art

Sweetness and Power

Sweetness and Power The Place of Sugar in Modern History by Sidney W. Mintz

A fascinating persuasive history of how sugar has shaped the world, from European colonies to our modern diets In this eye-opening study, Sidney Mintz shows how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare foreign luxury to a commonplace necessity of modern life, and how it changed the history of capitalism and industry. He discusses the production and consumption of sugar, and reveals how closely interwoven are sugar's origins as a "slave" crop grown in Europe's tropical colonies with is use first as an extravagant luxury for the aristocracy, then as a staple of the diet of the new industrial proletariat. Finally, he considers how sugar has altered work patterns, eating habits, and our diet in modern times. "Like sugar, Mintz is persuasive, and his detailed history is a real treat." - San Francisco Chronicle

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The Life and Times of Mexico - Earl Shorris Cover Art

The Life and Times of Mexico

The Life and Times of Mexico by Earl Shorris

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year. "A work of scope and profound insight into the divided soul of Mexico." —History Today The Life and Times of Mexico is a grand narrative driven by 3,000 years of history: the Indian world, the Spanish invasion, Independence, the 1910 Revolution, the tragic lives of workers in assembly plants along the border, and the experiences of millions of Mexicans who live in the United States. Mexico is seen here as if it were a person, but in the Aztec way; the mind, the heart, the winds of life; and on every page there are portraits and stories: artists, shamans, teachers, a young Maya political leader; the rich few and the many poor. Earl Shorris is ingenious at finding ways to tell this story: prostitutes in the Plaza Loreto launch the discussion of economics; we are taken inside two crucial elections as Mexico struggles toward democracy; we watch the creation of a popular "telenovela" and meet the country's greatest living intellectual. The result is a work of magnificent scope and profound insight into the divided soul of Mexico.

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The Real Odessa - Uki Goñi Cover Art

The Real Odessa

The Real Odessa How Perón Brought the Nazi War Criminals to Argentina by Uki Goñi

The groundbreaking expose of an international conspiracy to protect Nazi war criminals—now with new material and an introduction by Phillip Sands.   As Russian forces closed in on Berlin, and Hitler’s premiership drew to a close, many Nazi officials fled Germany. In this startling, meticulously researched account, acclaimed journalist Uki Goni unravels the complex international network that led them to Argentina. Goni demonstrates how numerous war criminals—including Adolf Eichmann, Joseph Mengele, Erich Priebke, and many others—made their escape with the support of the Vatican and President Juan Peron, as well as significant assistance from Scandinavia, Switzerland, and Italy.   Both riveting and rigorous, this remarkable investigation sheds light on both a disquieting episode in Europe's history, and the ties between Argentinian Catholic Nationalism and Fascist movements in Europe.

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The Conquest of New Spain - Bernal Diaz Del Castillo Cover Art

The Conquest of New Spain

The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz Del Castillo

Bernal Diaz was an eyewitness to one of history's most remarkable events - the conquest of the Empire of the Aztecs, and the defeat of their Emperor Montezuma. The indomitable Diaz delivers his chronicle first-hand, vividly describing the ruthless battles, the brilliant Machiavellian strategies of Cortes, and the superstitions vacillations of Montezuma that lead to the momentous overthrow of the Aztec civilization. Despite the supremacy of their weapons and armour, the Spanish "Conquistadors" overcame astonishing odds to achieve victory.  Numbering only around 500, but powerfully motivated by a lust for gold and honor, the Spanish succeeded in either defeating or outwitting armies that numbered in the tens of thousands, before laying siege to Tenochtitlan - at the time the largest city in the known world. This is a truly astonishing text - all the more so for being true - and is both essential and enjoyable reading for anyone interested in World History. This text has been specifically designed for e-readers and contains color images, illustrations and maps, as well as an interactive table of contents for ease of navigation.

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The Memory of Fire Trilogy - Eduardo Galeano Cover Art

The Memory of Fire Trilogy

The Memory of Fire Trilogy Genesis, Faces and Masks, and Century of the Wind by Eduardo Galeano

All three books in the American Book Award–winning Memory of Fire Trilogy available in a single volume for the first time. Eduardo Galeano’s  Memory of Fire Trilogy  defies categorization—or perhaps creates its own. It is a passionate, razor-sharp, lyrical history of North and South America, from the birth of the continent’s indigenous peoples through the end of the twentieth century. The three volumes form a haunting and dizzying whole that resurrects the lives of Indians, conquistadors, slaves, revolutionaries, poets, and more. The first book,  Genesis , pays homage to the many origin stories of the tribes of the Americas, and paints a verdant portrait of life in the New World through the age of the conquistadors. The second book,  Faces and Masks , spans the two centuries between the years 1700 and 1900, in which colonial powers plundered their newfound territories, ultimately giving way to a rising tide of dictators. And in the final installment,  Century of the Wind , Galeano brings his story into the twentieth century, in which a fractured continent enters the modern age as popular revolts blaze from North to South. This celebrated series is a landmark of contemporary Latin American writing, and a brilliant document of culture. 

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Manana Forever? - Jorge G. Castañeda Cover Art

Manana Forever?

Manana Forever? by Jorge G. Castañeda

Why are Mexicans so successful in individual sports, but deficient in team play? Why do Mexicans dislike living in skyscrapers? Why do Mexicans love to see themselves as victims, but also love victims? And why, though the Mexican people traditionally avoid conflict, is there so much violence in a country where many leaders have died by assassination? In this shrewd and fascinating book, the renowned scholar and former foreign minister Jorge Castañeda sheds much light on the puzzling paradoxes of his native country. Here’s a nation of 110 million that has an ambivalent and complicated relationship with the United States yet is host to more American expatriates than any country in the world. Its people tend to resent foreigners yet have made the nation a hugely popular tourist destination. Mexican individualism and individual ties to the land reflect a desire to conserve the past and slow the route to uncertain modernity. Castañeda examines the future possibilities for Mexico as it becomes more diverse in its regional identities, socially more homogenous, its character and culture the instruments of change rather than sources of stagnation, its political system more open and democratic. Mañana Forever? is a compelling portrait of a nation at a crossroads.

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Fifth Sun - Camilla Townsend Cover Art

Fifth Sun

Fifth Sun A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend

In November 1519, Hernando Cort?s walked along a causeway leading to the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with Moctezuma. That story--and the story of what happened afterwards--has been told many times, but always following the narrative offered by the Spaniards. After all, we have been taught, it was the Europeans who held the pens. But the Native Americans were intrigued by the Roman alphabet and, unbeknownst to the newcomers, they used it to write detailed histories in their own language of Nahuatl. Until recently, these sources remained obscure, only partially translated, and rarely consulted by scholars. For the first time, in Fifth Sun, the history of the Aztecs is offered in all its complexity based solely on the texts written by the indigenous people themselves. Camilla Townsend presents an accessible and humanized depiction of these native Mexicans, rather than seeing them as the exotic, bloody figures of European stereotypes. The conquest, in this work, is neither an apocalyptic moment, nor an origin story launching Mexicans into existence. The Mexica people had a history of their own long before the Europeans arrived and did not simply capitulate to Spanish culture and colonization. Instead, they realigned their political allegiances, accommodated new obligations, adopted new technologies, and endured. This engaging revisionist history of the Aztecs, told through their own words, explores the experience of a once-powerful people facing the trauma of conquest and finding ways to survive, offering an empathetic interpretation for experts and non-specialists alike.

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Farewell, Fred Voodoo - Amy Wilentz Cover Art

Farewell, Fred Voodoo

Farewell, Fred Voodoo A Letter from Haiti by Amy Wilentz

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography, this is a brilliant writer’s account of a long, painful, ecstatic—and unreciprocated—affair with a country that has long fascinated the world. A foreign correspondent on a simple story becomes, over time and in the pages of this book, a lover of Haiti, pursuing the heart of this beautiful and confounding land into its darkest corners and brightest clearings. Farewell, Fred Voodoo is a journey into the depths of the human soul as well as a vivid portrayal of the nation’s extraordinary people and their uncanny resilience. Haiti has found in Amy Wilentz an author of astonishing wit, sympathy, and eloquence.

49

Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest - Matthew Restall Cover Art

Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest by Matthew Restall

Here is an intriguing exploration of the ways in which the history of the Spanish Conquest has been misread and passed down to become popular knowledge of these events. The book offers a fresh account of the activities of the best-known conquistadors and explorers, including Columbus, Cort?s, and Pizarro. Using a wide array of sources, historian Matthew Restall highlights seven key myths, uncovering the source of the inaccuracies and exploding the fallacies and misconceptions behind each myth. This vividly written and authoritative book shows, for instance, that native Americans did not take the conquistadors for gods and that small numbers of vastly outnumbered Spaniards did not bring down great empires with stunning rapidity. We discover that Columbus was correctly seen in his lifetime--and for decades after--as a briefly fortunate but unexceptional participant in efforts involving many southern Europeans. It was only much later that Columbus was portrayed as a great man who fought against the ignorance of his age to discover the new world. Another popular misconception--that the Conquistadors worked alone--is shattered by the revelation that vast numbers of black and native allies joined them in a conflict that pitted native Americans against each other. This and other factors, not the supposed superiority of the Spaniards, made conquests possible. The Conquest, Restall shows, was more complex--and more fascinating--than conventional histories have portrayed it. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest offers a richer and more nuanced account of a key event in the history of the Americas.

50

Comandante - Rory Carroll Cover Art

Comandante

Comandante Hugo Chávez's Venezuela by Rory Carroll

The inside story of Hugo Chavez’s rule and complex legacy Few leaders in our time have been as divisive and enigmatic as the late Hugo Chavez. In Comandante , acclaimed journalist Rory Carroll tells the inside story of Chavez’s life, his time as Venezuela’s president, and his legacy. Based on interviews with ministers, aides, courtiers, and citizens, this intimate piece of reportage chronicles a unique experiment in power that veers among enlightenment, tyranny, comedy, and farce. Carroll also investigates the almost religious devotion of millions of Venezuelans who regarded Chavez as a savior and the loathing of those who branded him as a dictator. In beautiful prose that blends the lyricism and strangeness of magical realism with the brutal, ugly truth of authoritarianism, Comandante offers a cautionary tale for our times.

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