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History and biography
1776 David McCullough's 2005 account of the pivotal year of the Revolution, centered on Washington and the Continental Army's near-collapse. A History of the American People Paul Johnson's 1997 one-volume history of the United States, a sympathetic and opinionated account of an exceptional nation. Alexander Hamilton Ron Chernow's 2004 biography of the first Treasury secretary, who built the financial system of the republic, and the source of a Broadway musical. Battle Cry of Freedom James McPherson's 1988 one-volume history of the Civil War era, the standard Pulitzer-winning narrative from the 1850s to Appomattox. Churchill: Walking with Destiny Andrew Roberts's 2018 one-volume life of Winston Churchill, drawing on newly available papers, which defends him as a hero despite his flaws. Coolidge Amity Shlaes's 2013 biography of Calvin Coolidge, defending his economy and restraint as a model of limited government. John Adams David McCullough's 2001 Pulitzer-winning biography of the second president, a stubborn, learned and honest founder. Miracle at Philadelphia Catherine Drinker Bowen's 1966 narrative of the Constitutional Convention, a classic account of how the framers hammered out the compromises. Modern Times Paul Johnson's 1983 history of the twentieth century, tracing its tragedies to relativism and the rise of the all-powerful state. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order Samuel Huntington's 1996 argument that post-Cold War conflict will run along the fault lines between cultural and religious civilizations. The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945 George H. Nash's 1976 history of how libertarians, traditionalists and anticommunists were assembled into a movement. The Forgotten Man Amity Shlaes's 2007 revisionist history of the Depression, arguing that New Deal experiments prolonged hardship. The Gulag Archipelago Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's account of the Soviet forced-labor camps, compiled from testimony, which exposed communist terror to the world. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Bernard Bailyn's 1967 study of the pamphlets that show colonists fearing a conspiracy against liberty, and the ideas that moved them to revolt. The Radicalism of the American Revolution Gordon Wood's 1992 Pulitzer-winning argument that the Revolution transformed a hierarchical colonial society into a democratic, commercial one. Washington: A Life Ron Chernow's 2010 Pulitzer-winning biography of George Washington, portraying a driven, self-made and self-disciplined leader. Witness to Hope George Weigel's 1999 authorized biography of John Paul II, tracing his role in the fall of communism and his teaching.