12 Books to Read: The Best Reviews of June
The Age of Reconstruction: How Lincoln’s New Birth of Freedom Remade the World
By Don H. Doyle | Princeton University Press
Inspired by the leadership of Abraham Lincoln and the Confederate defeat, reformers around the world pushed their countries to adopt American-style freedoms. Review by Fergus M. Bordewich
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Battleground Ukraine: From Independence to the War with Russia
By Adrian Karatnycky | Yale University Press
In the years before Vladimir Putin’s invasion, Ukraine’s post-Soviet leaders sought a balancing act between Russia and the West. Review by Arthur Herman
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Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania
By Kathryn Hughes | Johns Hopkins
How a creature once known for catching mice and roaming alleyways became an adored presence in the home—thanks in no small part to one artist’s obsession. Review by Meghan Cox Gurdon
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Diplomats at War: Friendship and Betrayal on the Brink of the Vietnam Conflict
By Charles Trueheart | University of Virginia Press
JFK often had tenuous control of his own diplomats. Consider the 1963 assassination of South Vietnam’s President Ngo Dinh Diem. Review by John Bolton
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Escape from Shadow Physics: The Quest to End the Dark Ages of Quantum Theory
By Adam Forrest Kay | Basic Books
Quantum physics is based on the idea that subatomic particles behave in ways that defy easy understanding. Shouldn’t the universe at its smallest level function much the same way as it does in ordinary life? Review by Andrew Crumey
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Godwin
By Joseph O’Neill | Pantheon
Joseph O’Neill’s novel follows a hapless sports agent’s quest to find and recruit a soccer savant from Africa. His tale of the contest to find and extract the modern-day natural resource of athletic genius raises questions of exploitation and opportunity. Review by Sam Sacks
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House of Lilies: The Dynasty That Made Medieval France
By Justine Firnhaber-Baker | Basic Books
For more than three centuries the monarchs of the Capetian dynasty wielded power over the nation that would become France. They were rulers of varying piety, character and aspiration. Rescuing the Holy Land was on the minds of some. Review by Allan Massie
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The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower
By Michel Paradis | Mariner Books
As supreme allied commander, Dwight Eisenhower had the monumental task of planning the cross-channel invasion of France—and holding together the sometimes fractious generals who would, together, make that fateful leap. Review by Paul Kennedy
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Playing from the Rough: A Personal Journey through America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses
By Jimmie James | Simon & Schuster
A retired oil executive recounts his quest to play 100 great American courses, all in a single year. The journey put him in unexpected conversations all across the nation, and opened new windows into his memory as well. Review by Jack McCallum
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Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water
By Vicki Valosik | Liveright
In the 19th century, women who wanted to swim had to wrestle with heavy, often unsafe garments. Drowning was an ever-present risk. Getting into the waves or the swimming pool on an equal basis with men would take a small revolution. Review by Sarah L. Kaufman
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Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell
By Ann Powers | Dey Street Books
The Canadian singer-songwriter’s most arresting work has been driven by stunningly original lyrics and subtle, complex musicianship. Over the years, her recordings reflected her growing interest in jazz and other musical genres. Listeners had to keep up. Review by Wesley Stace
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The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned
By John Strausbaugh | PublicAffairs
The Soviet side of the space race featured remarkable dysfunction but also improbable achievement. In the era of Sputnik, the U.S.S.R. looked from the outside to be to be an unstoppable rocket-engineering juggernaut. The reality was improvised, messy and dangerous for all involved. Review by Andrew Stuttaford
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