History

In a work that fundamentally recasts the history of colonial America, Wendy Warren shows how the institution of slavery was inexorably linked with the first century of English colonization of New England. While most histories of slavery in early America...

John Baskin lived in New Burlington for its final year, commemorating and recording its residents' heartbreaking stories. The result is one of the most unique and beautiful histories ever written about rural America. This edition features a new...

Never Come Back is a gold mine of anthropological/sociological information about a very distinct social-religious group of people. The determination with which these Mennonites faced and overcame countless obstacles is a wonder and inspiration. -Col...

Nelson Mandela became a legend in his own lifetime. The son of a chief, he qualified as a lawyer, then was one of the leaders of the African National Congress whose long, heroic struggle against the infamous system of Apartheid is vividly described in...

In "Negro President" the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills explores a pivotal moment in American history through the lens of Thomas Jefferson and the now largely forgotten Timothy Pickering, and "prods readers to appreciate essential aspects...

In Nature Knows No Color-Line, historian Joel Augustus Rogers examines the origins of racial hierarchy and the color problem. Rogers was a humanist who believed that there were no scientifically evident racial divisions--all humans belong to one "race."...

A wonderful and inspiring collection of eloquent prose, beautiful poetry and ancestral wisdom from Chiefs, Medicine Men and ordinary members of many Native American tribes. Although there are major differences in the lifestyles of the numerous Native...

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an 1845 memoir and treatise on abolition written by famous orator and former slave Frederick Douglass during his time in Lynn, Massachusetts. It is generally held to be the most famous of a number of...

An updated edition of a classic African American autobiography, with new supplementary materials A Penguin Vitae Edition The preeminent American slave narrative first published in 1845, Frederick Douglass's Narrative powerfully details the life of the...

A new Vintage Classics edition of the abolitionist leader's classic autobiography. This dramatic autobiography of the early life of an American slave was first published in 1845, when its young author had just achieved his freedom. Frederick Douglass's...

A casually wondrous experience; it made me feel like the city was unfolding beneath my feet." --Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror In place-names lie stories. That's the truth that animates this fascinating journey through the names of New York City's...

Why didn't the ancient Greeks or Romans wear pants? How did they shave? How likely were they to drink fine wine, use birth control, or survive surgery? In a series of short and humorous essays, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants explores...