The best historical nonfiction about underdogs

Picked by Alex Gross

Book cover of Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

Book cover of The Heart of Everything That Is

What did I love about each book?

List by Alex Gross

Why am I passionate about this?

I love history in all forms. I enjoy first-person memoirs, and I also love historical biographies if they are well-written. Native American history is one of my areas of fascination, and the founding of our country is another. World War two is another area that I have delved into in the last few years, and it's so complex. Ultimately, all of the books I recommended are connected to important historical events, but their real strength is the people whom they are about. Looking through my list, I see that all of the books are about underdogs or figures who ultimately did not prevail in terms of their specific situations.

The books I picked & why

Harp of Burma

By Michio Takeyama, Howard Hibbett (translator),

Why did I love this book?

This short book is apparently a classic of Japanese modern literature, but I was not aware of it until recently. It was written by a former Japanese soldier about his experience in Burma at the end of World War II. It's nonfiction and is a memoir. But it captures something culturally universal about the human condition and is heartwarming.

It also mostly takes place after the end of hostilities, in case you are not good with violent imagery, as there is almost none of that. I could not put it down and was sad to finish it.

Harp of Burma

By Michio Takeyama, Howard Hibbett (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Harp of Burma as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Harp of Burma is Japan's classic novel of pathos and compassion in the midst of senseless warfare.

Winner of the prestigious Mainichi Shuppan Bunkasho prize and the basis for the critically acclaimed film The Burmese Harp by Ichikawa Kon, Harp of Burma shares a powerful human story about Japanese soldiers on the front lines in WWII. Losing a desperate battle against British forces in the tropical jungles of Burma, the young soldiers discover that the trials of war involve more than just opposing the enemy.

Distressed and disoriented by the alien climate and terrain, strange behavior of foreigners and the…

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Alexander Hamilton

By Ron Chernow,

Why did I love this book?

We are probably familiar with the hit musical Hamilton, but the historical biography on which it was based is equally compelling. Chernow really makes Alexander Hamilton come to life as a fully rounded, complex person, not just a cardboard cutout of a founding father.

His myriad clashes with Thomas Jefferson, his service under General Washington in the Revolutionary War, and his involvement in one of the first public sex scandals are all fascinating parts of this amazing tome. I've re-read it a number of times, I find it so gripping and tragic.

Alexander Hamilton

By Ron Chernow,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Alexander Hamilton as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 New York Times bestseller, and the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton!

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, scandalized, and shaped the newborn nation.

"Grand-scale biography at its best-thorough, insightful, consistently fair, and superbly written . . . A genuinely great book." -David McCullough

"A robust full-length portrait, in my view the best ever written, of the most brilliant, charismatic and dangerous founder of them all." -Joseph Ellis

Few figures in American history have been more hotly debated or more grossly misunderstood than Alexander Hamilton.…

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Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

By S.C. Gwynne,

Why did I love this book?

This one tells the true tale of the last Chief of the Comanches, Quanah Parker. His mother was a white woman who had been captured as a teenager by the Comanche in a raid and raised from then on in the tribe. Parker develops into a powerful warrior and a great leader at a time when the white man was making life almost impossible for the Comanche.

The second part of his life is quite different from the first part, and both are equally fascinating. It's another one that I am always sad to finish, but I have listened to it at least five times so far. It never gets old and is an amazing listen.

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

By S.C. Gwynne,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Empire of the Summer Moon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.

S. C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moonspans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood…

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The Heart of Everything That Is

By Bob Drury, Tom Clavin,

Why did I love this book?

Much like the biography of Quanah Parker, this book tells the story of Red Cloud, the last great Chief of the Sioux Indians and the only one to defeat the Americans in war. He's an amazing historical figure and not one that I had learned anything about in school.

I'm fascinated by this period of American history and the complex relations between the Native American tribes and the white settlers. Red Cloud was not only a great warrior and leader of men but also insightful and pragmatic. I found him quite heroic and more interesting than Sitting Bull, who seems more well-known. It's a great book, another one for me that is a joy to revisit regularly.

The Heart of Everything That Is

By Bob Drury, Tom Clavin,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Heart of Everything That Is as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

From bestselling authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin comes the epic, untold story one of the most powerful Sioux warriors of all time, Red Cloud—now adapted for a younger audience!

“I have but a small spot of land left. The Great Spirit told me to keep it.” —Red Cloud

This young readers edition of the New York Times bestseller of the same name tells the long forgotten story of the powerful Oglala Lakota chief, Red Cloud. At the height of Red Cloud’s power the Sioux claimed control of vast parts of the west. But as the United States rapidly expanded,…

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Samurai!

By Saburo Sakai,

Why did I love this book?

Samurai is a memoir focusing on both prewar Japan and World War II from the perspective of Japan's leading fighter pilot, Saburo Sakai. He tells us what the war was like from the other side and describes what it's like to be up at twenty thousand feet with bullets flying and trying to survive to fight another day.

He wrote this shortly after the war, and I absolutely loved it. It covers a lot of air battles but also is full of humanity and tells of his family life, his friends, and his attempt to stay alive during a brutal and tragic period for his nation.

Samurai!

By Saburo Sakai,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Samurai! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Written by Martin Caidin from Saburo Sakai's own memoirs and journalist Fred Saito's extensive interviews with the World War II fighter pilot, Samurai! vividly documents the chivalry and valor of the combat aviator who time after time fought American fighter pilots and, with 64 kills, would survive the war as Japan's greatest living ace. Here are the harrowing experiences of one of Japan's greatest aces: from fighter pilot school — where the harsh training expelled over half of his class — to the thrilling early Japanese victories; from his incredible six hundred mile fight for life from Guadalcanal to his…

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War

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Elephant Safari

By Peter Riva,

Book cover of Elephant Safari

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Keen to rekindle their love of East African wildlife adventures after years of filming, extreme dangers, and rescues, producer Pero Baltazar, safari guide Mbuno Waliangulu, and Nancy Breiton, camerawoman, undertake a filming walking adventure north of Lake Rudolf, crossing from Kenya into Ethiopia along the Omo River, following a herd of elephant making their annual migration.

Stumbling onto an elephant poaching, the team become embroiled in true financing of terrorism for al Shabaab –ivory sales–and are determined to stop the slaughter at any cost. Ivory trade financing terrorism involves UN refugee camps with two hundred thousand displaced Somali persons, powerful…

Elephant Safari

By Peter Riva,

What is this book about?

A documentary team hiking through East Africa collides with a gang of deadly poachers, in this gripping adventure by the author of Kidnapped on Safari.

Years of filming, extreme dangers, and daring rescues have taken their toll on documentary producer Pero Baltazar and his team. To relax and reconnect with the East African wildlife they love, Pero organizes a walking safari for him, his camerawoman Nancy Breiton, and their elite guide Mbuno Waliangulu. Still, Pero has trouble truly disconnecting from work. When the team comes across a herd of elephants making their annual migration north of Lake Rudolf, Pero decides…

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