The History Reader

"[A] skillfully crafted account... THE LAST OUTLAWS is another entertaining tale of western lore from Tom Clavin that readers will thoroughly enjoy."
https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-last-outlaws-the-desperate-final-days-of-the-dalton-gang

It was said about Benedict Arnold that he never did anything by halves. Was he a traitor? Yes. But not just any traitor. He was the renegade of all renegades, the man whose name became a synonym for treason, the Judas of American history. https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/revolutionary-bad-boy-benedict-arnold-treason-and-trust/

Colonel Tom Parker, often reviled in his time, led strategy from the earliest days of Elvis Presley's career. Together, they built the most legendary partnership in show business. In Elvis and the Colonel, Parker's story is told by an insider, Greg McDonald, who worked under Parker for years. Click to read an excerpt from the book Kirkus calls "An admiring defense of the man behind King Elvis’ throne." https://www.thehistoryreader.com/cultural-history/elvis-and-the-colonel/

In Washington’s view, Iwo Jima was supposed to have been a sideshow. In retrospect, it turned into a shocking disaster. P. T. Deutermann discusses his latest novel, IWO, 26 CHARLIE, his research, and the carnage at Iwo Jima: https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/the-spirits-of-iwo-jima/

In October 1781, after Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to the American forces at Yorktown, George Washington was like a man who keeps reaching for the rungs of a ladder after he has arrived at the top. The months and years of anxiety, reversals, defeats, and betrayals had wrung his soul. He could not believe the truth: that when silence fell over the field at Yorktown, the war was effectively over. America’s independence was won. https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/but-they-were-our-troops-peace-comes-to-america/

From spies, assassins, and dirty tricks in WWII to a revealing new biography of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Crazy Horse, Custer, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, we have a history book for every reader this year. Check out our must-reads of 2023, including new books by Tom Clavin, J. Randy Taraborrelli, Susan Ronald, “Legends of the Old West” host Chris Wimmer, and many more! https://www.thehistoryreader.com/world-history/must-read-history-2023/

Two hundred and nine years ago, an event took place that was both bizarre and tragic—the London Beer Flood. https://www.thehistoryreader.com/world-history/the-london-beer-flood/

THE LAST OUTLAWS by Tom Clavin is the rip-snortin’ story of the Dalton brothers and how they robbed banks and trains in the late 1880s into the ‘90s. Things might have been different for the family if Frank Dalton had not met a violent end...

Read more here: https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/the-last-outlaws/

Interested in the history of the Old West? Check out Tom Clavin's upcoming tour for his new book, THE LAST OUTLAWS, which tells the riveting true story of the Dalton Gang and the most brazen bank heist in history.

Find an event near you! https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-last-outlaws-book-tour/

"James Bond meets Sherlock Holmes—but in deadly serious real life." —H.W. Brands, New York Times bestselling author

In THE DIRTY TRICKS DEPARTMENT, John Lisle reveals the untold story of the OSS Research and Development Branch and its role in World War II.

For the month of November, grab your eBook copy for just $2.99: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250280251/thedirtytricksdepartment

"It was a few seconds past 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. Jesse Cook, the veteran police sergeant who prided himself on knowing how things on his beat and in his city were going, found himself huddled in a doorway with strangers wondering when the shaking would finally end. Cook knew only that in the slow passing of those few crowded seconds, he had seen the ground open, buildings fall, and men die. Unable to see beyond the street corner or the moment, he had no grasp on the scope of disaster then unfolding."

Author Matthew J. Davenport’s new book THE LONGEST MINUTE tells the riveting and tragic true story of the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco. Continue reading an excerpt here: https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/the-great-san-francisco-earthquake-and-fire-of-1906/

As David Stewart Elliott would report in The Coffeyville Journal, “It was then that the bloody work of the dread desperadoes began.”

On October 5, 1892, the notorious Dalton brothers—Bob, Grat, and Emmett—were seeking one last big score by robbing not one but two banks simultaneously in Coffeyville, Kansas. They and two accomplices had the elements of surprise and firepower at first . . . then the scenario began to go south.

https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/high-noon-in-coffeyville/

József Debreczeni, a prolific Hungarian-language journalist and poet, arrived in Auschwitz in 1944; had he been selected to go “left,” his life expectancy would have been approximately forty-five minutes. COLD CREMATORIUM is the first English language edition of József's lost memoir, offering a shocking and deeply moving perspective on life within the camps.

Enter for your chance to win an advance copy of this incredible story here: https://bit.ly/46iVlz5

Julia Kelly, author of the recently released historical novel A TRAITOR IN WHITEHALL, joins us to discuss the little-known women who helped Winston Churchill win World War II.

The Little-Known Women Who Helped Churchill Win the War - The History Reader Julia Kelly, author of A Traitor in Whitehall, joins us to discuss the little-known women who helped Winston Churchill win World War II.

Tom Clavin's FOLLOW ME TO HELL is the explosive true story of how legendary Ranger Leander McNelly and his men brought justice to a lawless Texan frontier.

From now until October 8, get your eBook copy for just $2.99! https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250214560/followmetohell

Sometimes history fashions a scenario of such startling tension and originality that the story seems destined for the stage. One such drama took place in September 1780. It involved the plot by Benedict Arnold to betray the patriot cause and to help the British prevail in the Revolutionary War.
https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/i-hope-you-are-of-our-party-fidelity-and-betrayal/

203 years ago today, legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone died at the extraordinary age of 85. Tom Clavin discusses his final days and last great adventures.
https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/daniel-boones-last-days/

Thirty bullets were exchanged in thirty seconds. On the afternoon of October 26, 1881, eight men clashed in what would be known as the most famous shootout in American frontier history. TOMBSTONE by Tom Clavin tells the incredible true story of the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, and the famous Battle at the OK Corral.

Between now and October 2, get your eBook copy for just $2.99:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250214591/tombstone

Thomas Smallwood was an extraordinary abolitionist, liberator, and writer who bought his own freedom, led hundreds out of slavery, and named the Underground Railroad. Read more about this incredible American hero who has been all but lost to history here: https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/an-american-hero-lost-to-history/

Discussion guides for ETHEL ROSENBERG by Anne Sebba and THE NINE by Gwen Strauss are featured in the 2023-2024 Annual Jewish Book Council Reading Guide! Click here for more information:

JBC Discussion Guides Jew­ish Book Coun­cil, found­ed in 1943, is the longest-run­n­ing orga­ni­za­tion devot­ed exclu­sive­ly to the sup­port and cel­e­bra­tion of Jew­ish literature. Get the latest reviews, news, and more in your inbox. Invalid email address

Nev March discusses the exciting real-life adventures of two sister ships that helped inspire the setting of her latest novel, THE SPANISH DIPLOMAT'S SECRET. Read more here: https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-fiction/the-incredible-adventures-of-two-sister-ships/

THE LAST OUTLAWS by Tom Clavin is the definitive account of the Dalton Gang and the most brazen bank heist in history. Enter for your chance to win an advance copy here! https://read.macmillan.com/promo/thelastoutlawsthrsweeps

THE LAST HILL by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin covers the dramatic campaigns of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in the summer and fall of 1944, culminating in the assault on Hill 400, the gateway to Germany. In this excerpt, the hill has been taken, but the battalion has suffered so many casualties, keeping it might be impossible. Then the Germans launch a counterattack…

https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/hold-the-hill/

Some years, like 1776 and 1939, need no introduction; their reputations travel before them. For Israelis, 1967 is enshrined in national memory as the year they triumphed over their enemies in six days. Its evil twin is 1973, the year it suffered a surprise attack on the Yom Kippur holiday.

Uri Kaufman, author of EIGHTEEN DAYS IN OCTOBER, joins us to discuss the Yom Kippur War and its lasting impact on international politics: https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/the-tide-of-war/