This week, we feature a beautiful visual history that chronicles America’s birth and an elegant edition of an all-time classic text, perfect for patriots and history buffs.

History

‘The American Revolution: A Visual History’

By DK and Smithsonian Institution

This compendium of visually stunning pages will transport readers through the days of the American Revolution—from defeats to triumphs. Follow the path of the colonists and their demands for their British rights, which eventually culminated in their fight for independence. Each page presents a familiar or new face that played a significant role in the revolution, as well as maps, graphics, and images of artifacts. From its cover to its pages, this is not simply history, it is a work of art.

DK, 2016, 400 pages

Nonfiction

‘Pandemic of Lunacy: How to Think Clearly When Everyone Around You Seems Crazy’

By J. Budziszewski

In his Introduction, this author and professor of philosophy at the University of Texas asks, “Why are we going crazy?” He then analyzes what he deems to be 30 lunacies of our age, like “Each Person Has His Own Reality” and “Good Character Is Unnecessary for Well-Being.” Based on natural law, his analyses are short, blunt, often amusing, and written for the general reader. His aim is to help us think clearly and thus avoid infection by a culture whose ideas are so often unhinged from reality.

Creed & Culture, 2026, 248 pages

Biography

‘Hammer of the Gods: King Olaf’s Viking Conquest’

By Don Hollway

Olaf Tryggvason was Norway’s king from 995 to 1000. During his reign, he Christianized the Norwegians. He was one of the legendary figures of Viking history, celebrated in its sagas, and also recorded in different Anglo-Saxons chronicles. The book compiles biographical information from numerous and often contradictory sources, yet masterfully fits the pieces together into a coherent picture. It follows his life as he was variously a slave, a man-at-arms, a raider and, several times, a king.

Osprey Publishing, 2026, 400 pages

Mystery

‘Still Life’

By Louise Penny

When Jane Neal, a long-time resident of Three Pines, Quebec, is found dead with an arrow in her, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called to investigate. An anglophone town in French-speaking Quebec, it is an isolated country hamlet out of the way, hard to find, and filled with eccentric artists. The locals are sure it was a hunting accident. Gamache soon shows it was murder. The first book in the highly addictive Inspector Gamache series.

St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2008, 320 Pages

Classics

‘Common Sense’

By Thomas Paine

When published in January 1776, six months before the Declaration of Independence, this landmark of liberty became a bestseller in the American colonies, inspiring both soldier and civilian with its arguments for breaking away from Britain. This edition retains Paine’s original language—still comprehensible to readers—and arrives in a handsome binding embellished with gold foil and printed on acid-free paper. A great gift for Father’s Day and a splendid keepsake for America’s 250th anniversary.

Peter Pauper Press, 2024, 72 pages

For Kids

‘The Sun’s Asleep Behind the Hill’

By Mirra Ginsburg and Paul O. Zelinsky

This beautifully illustrated picture book rhythmically tracks the natural world as it settles in at night. From the sun to the breeze, leaves and animals, and finally to a tired child—the activities of daytime wind down and now it’s time for rest. Calming repetition creates a lovely bedtime atmosphere and offers a soothing transition to sleep.

Walker Childrens, 2000, 32 pages

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