Welcome to my fourth annual holiday gift guide, in which I recommend books based on who you’re shopping for. Be sure to check out the other two parts of this guide in separate posts. We use affiliate links and donate all of the commissions we earn.
For documentary lovers, Colonial-era aficionados, history lovers who already have massive book collections, and people who love July 4:
The American Revolution: An Intimate History
In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired independence movements and democratic reforms around the globe.
Documentarian Ken Burns and historian Geoffrey C. Ward ably steer us through the international forces at play, telling the story not from the top down but from the bottom up—and through the eyes of not only our “Founding Fathers” but also those of ordinary soldiers, as well as underrepresented populations such as women, African Americans, Native Americans, and American Loyalists, asking who exactly was entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
For women who love historical fiction and period dramas (even though this is technically neither of those):
The Correspondent
Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.
Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.
For anyone who wants to remember an icon:
I am Jane Goodall
After receiving a stuffed animal chimpanzee for her first birthday, Jane Goodall’s love of animals only grew. She saw what humans and animals had in common, not what makes us different, and used that to advocate for animal rights everywhere, becoming famous for her work with chimpanzees.
This friendly, fun biography series inspired the PBS Kids TV show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. One great role model at a time, these books encourage kids to dream big.
For those who love big, epic books about topics they are unlikely to know much about:
To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement
Beginning in the 1960s, the Soviet Union was unexpectedly confronted by a dissident movement that captured the world’s imagination. Demanding that the Kremlin obey its own laws, an improbable band of Soviet citizens held unauthorized public gatherings, petitioned in support of arrested intellectuals, and circulated banned samizdat texts. Soviet authorities arrested dissidents, subjected them to bogus trials and vicious press campaigns, sentenced them to psychiatric hospitals and labor camps, sent them into exile—and transformed them into martyred heroes. Against all odds, the dissident movement undermined the Soviet system and hastened its collapse. Taking its title from a toast made at dissident gatherings, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause is a definitive history of a remarkable group of people who helped change the 20th century.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
For true crime and hidden history lovers:
The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi
In summer 1955, two men, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, were charged with the torture and murder of the 14-year-old Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, and acquitted in a mockery of justice, leaving behind an ink cloud of a false confession. In The Barn, Wright Thompson reveals the true nature and location of the long night of hell that August: inside the barn of one of the killers.
Wright Thompson has a deep, local understanding of this story—the world of the families of both Emmett Till and his killers, the historical forces that brought them together in the same place, and how the crime came to loom so large. Putting the killing floor of the barn on the map of West Half, and the Delta, and America, is a way onto the road this country must travel if we are to heal our oldest, deepest wound.
For anyone who wants to better understand the immigration crisis in the United States:
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis
Everyone who makes the journey faces an impossible choice. Hundreds of thousands of people who arrive every year at the US-Mexico border travel far from their homes. For years, the majority came from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, but many more have begun their journey much farther away. Some flee persecution, others crime or hunger. They may have already been deported, but the United States remains their only hope for safety and prosperity. They will take their chances.
As Jonathan Blitzer dramatizes with unprecedented forensic reporting, this crisis is the result of decades of misguided policy and sweeping corruption. Brilliantly weaving the stories of Central Americans whose lives have been devastated by chronic political conflict and violence with those of American activists, government officials, and the politicians responsible for the country’s tragically tangled immigration policy, Blitzer reveals the full, layered picture of this vast and unremitting conflict.
For anyone who was a child in the 1980s, space enthusiasts, and anyone who loves a good whistleblower story:
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
On January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds into flight, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven people on board. Millions of Americans witnessed the tragic deaths of the crew, which included New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Like the assassination of JFK, the Challenger disaster is a defining moment in 20th-century history—one that forever changed the way America thought of itself and its optimistic view of the future. Yet the full story of what happened, and why, has never been told.
Based on extensive archival research and meticulous original reporting, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space follows a handful of central protagonists—including each of the seven members of the doomed crew—through the years leading up to the accident, and offers a detailed account of the tragedy itself and the investigation afterward. It’s a compelling tale of ambition and ingenuity undermined by political cynicism and cost-cutting in the interests of burnishing national prestige; of hubris and heroism; and of an investigation driven by leakers and whistleblowers determined to bring the truth to light. Throughout, there are the ominous warning signs of a tragedy to come, recognized but then ignored, and later hidden from the public.
For lovers of presidential history, biographies, stories of underdogs, or anyone who wants to better understand the end of WWII and the rise of the Cold War:
The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World
Chosen as FDR’s fourth-term vice president for his well-praised work ethic, good judgment, and lack of enemies, Harry S. Truman was the prototypical ordinary man. That is, until he was shockingly thrust in over his head after FDR’s sudden death.
The first four months of Truman’s administration saw the founding of the United Nations, the fall of Berlin, victory at Okinawa, firebombings in Tokyo, the first atomic explosion, the Nazi surrender, the liberation of concentration camps, the mass starvation in Europe, the Potsdam Conference, the controversial decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the surrender of imperial Japan, and finally, the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War. No other president had ever faced so much in such a short period of time.
Don’t miss the rest of my recommendations in this week’s edition of The Preamble.