lson of what's happening to the passengers on the ship. they are stories. it's really a great read, well well written and i think really brings that piece of history in 1915 back to life and really makes it very human. it's not cold history. these are real human beings we can relate to the often lost their lives sound on the lusitania. great story. this is all about how typhus actually was responsible for destroying the polish army in the invasion of russia. a lot of people thought it was cold or the russian army. all of those things did note that the real killer was typhus. the sanitary conditions of the day simply didn't allow them to protect themselves against this bacterium, and it was a devastating. really devastating.

napoleon lost more than 90% of his army in the invasion of russia. and a lessened by the way obviously a century later, a century and a half later adolf hitler did not attend due to his regret. a friend of mine actually grew up across the street from me. she said -- she wrote a great book on appomattox. and it sort of revisionist history and in my view, a correct one about what really come the outcome of appomattox how robert e. lee and the south used and misused the agreement of appomattox to foster sort of resegregation recent oppression of black americans after the union won the civil war and slavery was supposed to be over. they essentially convoked the free spirit of appomattox as meaning that none of them should be prosecuted for war crimes.

robert e. lee had been indicted actually after the war and the convoked appomattox and insisted that u. s. grant invoke the agreement they had to protect robert e. lee. robert e. lee, to his death, remain actually very represented on the issue of race in the south. he has saintly view in some part of history but this is penetrating and compelling reassessment of how appomattox, what the meaning of appomattox was interpreted by the south and ultimately by the north really did damage for the next 90 years in terms of race in america. this book thomas cromwell is a reappraisal of a very kind of historic figure during the reign of henry viii. those who are fans of st. thomas moore who attended chancellor of

england under henry viii and was ultimately beheaded because he would not agree to the remarriage of henry viii to end the length also lost right. thomas cromwell, the instant of both securing a divorce and arguing for the separation of church of england from the church of rome, and ultimately for thomas moore's demise as well. ultimately ironically, thomas cromwell lost his head as well. but it made it more sympathetic portrayal of a very skilled statesman, a very skilled manager who managed the kingdom of england for henry viii, but who also is responsible for the destruction of the monasteries the breakup of church holdings and property, and ultimately the severance of the relationship between england and the church of rome. and some of the real degradation that occurred under the reign of henry viii. it's a great read and

coincidently comes out as people are watching on public radio also about thomas cromwell. this is the single best biography i've ever read of napoleon called napoleon by andrew roberts in one volume. it is a stupendous read and very accessible read about whom napoleon was and his triumphs and failures. he won almost all of his battles but, unfortunately, the ones he lost were pretty dispositive. he was a brilliant statesman a brilliant manager, a brilliant general, but who kind of toward the end i think maybe because of hubris kind of lost sight of his own techniques, his own lessons learned, and ultimately they were turned against him. but this is a great read and a real reappraisal, reassessment of the importance of napoleon

even down to modern history. great read must-read. scott berg wrote this wonderful blog become woodrow wilson, also a bit of a reappraisal. wilson had this mix of incredible progressive record in the white house especially in his first term statesman during world war i. but also certainly a retrograde attitude towards race relations in america. but it's a great balance to read and ultimately want appreciate sort of that progressive moment that woodrow wilson most certainly took advantage of to the benefit of america, in my view. great single volume biography of woodrow wilson. this book 13 days of september by lawrence wright. i love this book because it humanizes diplomacy. it talks about the camp david accords and the 13 days anwar sadat and prime minister begin and jimmy carter spent together,

not always harmoniously at camp david. and how the process worked out. personalities, history, fears anxieties, stresses ms. truss, the role of interlocutor by the president jimmy carter. jimmy carter put a lock on the table, including his own reputation. and it worked and they can david accord to this day remains the only lasting peace accord in the middle east. and jimmy carter deserves a lot of credit as did the other two participants as well. if you want to see how at human levels diplomacy after the works, great, great book. ought to be read by every, you know, graduate school that studies international studies. another biography, walter isaacson on benjamin franklin, an american life. and wonderful biography. i mean benjamin franklin comes through these pages as a very contemporary man. we would relate to them easily base of the portrayal in this

book. on balance this is a great man, great vision, lived a long life had many episodes to that life as a political figure in pennsylvania, as a political figure on behalf of the colonies in europe, as a political figure back with the declaration of independence back to europe representing now the confederacy of america during the revolutionary war, then comes back and actually serves as a key figure in the constitutional convention helping to say that they really for the constitutional convention, and arguing for it. and what was a very close thing in the approval of the constitution convention and the 13 states. benjamin franklin big and life figure quintessential american, homespun, shrewd, smart, entrepreneurial, represents so much of the american character. this is a wonderful biography. and, finally i happen to love

ancient roman history. this book is all about the roman poet who was sort of the artist in resident in the court of nero. and sort of the odd juxtapositions between this thoughtful man and this vibrant nero, and how he tried to survive in that time period while being on the other hand, a very senior advisor to nero. and it was a very tricky business. so it's a great piece of roman history about a very controversial and not easy relationship and a very very easy and great read if you like ancient roman history as i do. so that's my summer reading for now add up to be back after with an equal number of recommendations. >> booktv wants to know what you are reading this summer. tweet us your answer at

booktv, or you can post it on our facebook page facebook.com/booktv. >> this summer booktv will cover both festivals from around the country and top nonfiction authors and books. that's a few of the events this summer on c-span2's booktv. >> up next on booktv from white house correspondent kate anderson brouwer correspondent kate anderson brouwer talks of a daily life in the white house residence. are images of white house butlers, maids and other stats reports of what it's like to take care of the first family, from the kennedys to the obama's obama's.

>> you want to get started? >> yes. welcome, everyone. thank you for spending part of your evening with us at barnes & noble in bethesda. we are excited to welcome the best selling author kate anderson brower, with her ex ordinary book "the residence." my name is passionate on the business development manager at barnes & noble in bethesda and all of us are so happy that you were with us today. kate anderson brower has written and meticulously researched and fascinating book that chronicles 50 years of service by white house residence staff and she's going to speak to us about the writing of the book and read from her book. she is an accomplished journalist who covered the first term of the obama white house for "bloomberg news" and is a former cbs news staffer and a

former fox news producer. she and her family are local residents writer in the washington, d.c. area. so please join barnes & noble and bethesda and extend a warm welcome to kate andersen brower. [applause] >> thank you very much. ..