Curated History Books Go Viral

The author of "Napoleon in Egypt," Juan Cole, is a historian at the University of Michigan specializing in the modern Middle East and South Asia. His work often examines the historical relationship between the West and the Islamic world. Cole's book argues that Napoleon's 1798 invasion was the first major modern attempt by the West to invade the Arab world, creating a blueprint for the rhetoric of "liberal imperialism." "A Peace to End All Peace" was penned by David Fromkin, a historian and former attorney who taught international relations at Boston University. Published in 1989, the book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Fromkin's central argument is that the modern Middle East was created by Allied powers after World War I, with decisions that sowed the seeds of future conflict. The book details how Britain, in its effort to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, made contradictory promises to various Arab factions and pursued its own imperial interests. Fromkin argues that poor intelligence and a lack of coherent policy led to the drawing of artificial borders that would inevitably lead to instability. "The Spy and the Traitor" author Ben Macintyre is a British writer and columnist for *The Times* who specializes in the history of espionage. Many of his books, including "Agent Sonya" and "A Spy Among Friends," focus on real-life spies and intelligence operations. The book tells the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB officer who became a double agent for Britain's MI6 during the Cold War. Gordievsky's intelligence was instrumental in averting a potential nuclear confrontation in 1983 and gave Margaret Thatcher and the West crucial insights into Soviet leadership. His eventual exfiltration from Moscow, code-named PIMLICO, was a daring escape arranged by MI6.