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Title	Author	Description
When The World Spoke French When The World Spoke French	Marc Fumaroli Fumaroli	If you were a writer, thinker, or lover of la douceur de vivre (the sweetness of life) during the 17th century, you conversed and corresponded in French. Eminent scholar Fumaroli has here assembled an unparalleled collection of the most fascinating figures from the period and brought together their rarely seen writings originally penned in French. Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Howard translates. Contributors: Richard Howard
The Judges of the Secret Court Judges of the Secret Court	David Stacton Stacton	Stacton’s historical recreation of John Wilkes Booth’s plot to assassinate Lincoln, its execution, and its aftermath (including the trials of the conspirators, Mary Surratt among them) is among the finest books ever written about the Civil War. “David Stacton is an original, finely pitched voice in American fiction.” —Larry McMurtry Contributors: John Crowley
Reveille in Washington: 1860–1865 Reveille in Washington	Margaret Leech Leech	This Pulitzer Prize–winning view of Washington during the Civil War forgoes the battlefield to focus on the daily life, political intrigues, and social currents of the young capital. Leech brings to life extravagant dinner parties, saloon backrooms, makeshift barracks, and White House halls. "Packed and running over with the anecdotes, scandals, personalities, and tragi-comedies of the day." —The New Yorker Contributors: James M. McPherson
Defeat: Napoleon's Russian Campaign Defeat	Philippe-Paul de Ségur Segur	Ségur's eye-witness account of what remains one of the greatest military disasters of all time is a masterpiece of military history and was an essential source for Tolstoy's War and Peace. It is also a reminder of the risks of imperial hubris. Contributors: Mark Danner , J. David Townsend
Miami and the Siege of Chicago Miami and the Siege of Chicago	Norman Mailer Mailer	1968 was one of the most tumultuous years in American politics and society, the effects of which reverberate today. Norman Mailer was on the ground, covering Nixon's relentlessly stage-managed nomination in Miami as well as the Democratic convention in Chicago—where the violence at the heart of the American dream exploded on the streets. Contributors: Frank Rich
Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States Names on the Land	George R. Stewart Stewart	Organized thematically (sample chapters: "Yankee Flavor," "America Discovers Columbus," and "How Names Were Symbols of Empire") this lighthearted book will be a delight for anyone who ever wondered how their hometown, or (more likely) the next town over, could be called that. Contributors: Matt Weiland
Born Under Saturn: The Character and Conduct of Artists Born Under Saturn	Margot and Rudolf Wittkower Wittkower	A rare art history classic that The New York Times calls a "delightful, scholarly and gossipy romp through the character and conduct of artists from antiquity to the French Revolution." Contributors: Joseph Connors
A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 Savage War of Peace	Alistair Horne Horne	Not only essential reading for anyone who wishes to investigate this dark stretch of history, but a lasting monument of the historian's art.
The Jeffersonian Transformation: Passages from the "History" Jeffersonian Transformation	Henry Adams Adams	The ideal introduction and companion to Adams's "massive and magisterial" history of the administrations of Jefferson and Madison, presenting an indelible picture of America's startling rise to world power. Contributors: Garry Wills
The Age of Conversation Age of Conversation	Benedetta Craveri Craveri	An award-winning look at French salons and the women who presided over them. Contributors: Teresa Waugh