William K. Klingaman

"The Darkest Year is acclaimed author William K. Klingaman's narrative history of the American home front from December 7, 1941 through the end of 1942, a psychological study of the nation under the pressure of total war. For Americans on the home front, the twelve months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor comprised the darkest year of World War Two. Despite government attempts to disguise the magnitude of American losses, it was clear...

"A History of St. Charles, Maryland: Portrait of a New Town" is an account of an often perilous journey in the creation of a town from the ground up, starting with the assemblage of the large tract of land by one colorful Congressman Frank Boykin of Alabama, who offered the parcel as a contender for the site of Dulles International Airport, through exploitation by several tenant farmers, loggers and would-be developers, ultimately into the hands of...

In the tradition of Krakatoa, The World Without Us, and Guns, Germs and Steel comes a sweeping history of the year that became known as 18-hundred-and-froze-to-death. 1816 was a remarkable year, mostly for the fact that there was no summer. As a result of a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, weather patterns were disrupted worldwide for months, allowing for excessive rain, frost, and snowfall through much of the Northeastern U.S. and Europe in the summer...