Recent News

Tears for Crocodilia named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2023

December 3, 2023. Choice, the prestigious review publication for academic and institutional libraries, named Zach Fitzner’s Tears for Crocodilia: Evolution, Ecology, and the Disappearance of One of the World’s Most Ancient Animals as an “Outstanding Academic Title” for 2023. The award is given to “outstanding works for their presentation and scholarship, the significance of their contribution to the field, their originality and value as an essential treatment of their subject, and significance in building undergraduate collections.”

Stealing the General set to become a Netflix movie

December 1, 2023. Deadline has announced that Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor by Russell S. Bonds will be written and directed for the screen by John Patton Ford, one of Hollywood’s up-and-coming writers and directors. Deadline’s full article can be read here.

Prisoners of the Bashaw named a Finalist for the Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize

August 27, 2023. The Gilder Lehrman prize committee has announced three finalists for the best English language book published in 2022 in the field of American military history. Our own Prisoners of the Bashaw: The Nineteen-Month Captivity of American Sailors in Tripoli, 1803–1805 by Frederick Leiner joins Bruce Henderson’s Bridge to the Sun (Knopf) and Need to Know by Nicholas Reynolds (HarperCollins/Mariner Books). The prize is the most prestigious in military history writing. The winner will be announced in October. Congratulations, Fred!

Patriots from the Barrio Named One of the 24 Best History Books of All Time by Book Riot

February 13, 2023: The online book review and culture magazine, Book Riot, selected 24 of what they deemed to be the best history books of all time. This list includes SPQR by Mary Beard, Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose, The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang, Black Count by Tom Reiss, and our own Patriots from the Barrio by Dave Gutierrez. The editor writes, “Gutierrez grew up hearing stories of his father’s cousin Ramon, who he was told earned a Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, and escaped from the Germans twice. As an adult, Gutierrez decided to investigate for himself. Through his extensive research, he details the story of Ramon’s Company E, 141st Infantry, which was comprised entirely of Mexican Americans. It was the only such unit in the entire U.S. Army, and has largely gone unrecognized by history.” Congratulations, Dave!

The Sasanian Empire at War reviewed in the New York Times Book Review

November 10, 2022: Michael J. Decker’s latest book, The Sasanian Empire at War: Persia, Rome, and the Rise of Islam, 224–651, was reviewed by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Thomas E.  Ricks. Ricks, who served as an embedded correspondent during the Iraq War, wrote that he, “was surprised to see so many place names that I had come to know from covering the recent American war in Iraq.” The Sasanian Empire was assailed from all sides for centuries. “Ultimately what brought them down,” Ricks writes, “was an unexpected new foe from the south — Arabic warriors riding under the banner of Islam in the 630s and 640s. I put the book down wondering what unforeseen threat might bring down the United States.”

Dark Voyage reviewed in the Washington Independent

August 22, 2022: Christian McBurney’s recent release, Dark Voyage, about the American privateer Marlborough‘s war on the British slave trade in Africa during the American Revolution was a featured review in the Washington Independent. “Readers will find the Marlborough‘s tale fascinating. . . . This is a wide-ranging account that sets its microhistory case study in wider historical contexts. The story is told effectively, and the writing is accessible, with helpful explanations of terms and events for the uninitiated. The author’s account is underpinned by significant research in archives and other primary sources — such as period newspapers — and incorporates much relevant historiography. There are also several useful maps and a gallery of black-and-white illustrations.” Christian’s book is a major contribution to Atlantic world scholarship and the history of slavery in America.

Richard Hite’s In the Shadow of Salem leads to Massachusetts exonerating its last remaining witch

August 6, 2022: A book really can make a difference! As reported by CNN, Courthouse News Service, EL PAÍS, and other news outlets, a middle school class in North Andover, Massachusetts, successfully petitioned the Massachusetts legislature to exonerate Elizabeth Johnson of her 1692 witchcraft conviction. Carrie LaPierre, the teacher who led the project, explained to reporters that until she read Hite’s In the Shadow of Salem, “she had no idea how the Salem witch trial reverberated in the North Andover area”—and it was within those pages that she learned of Johnson.

Tears for Crocodilia excerpted in Natural History, May 2022

The May 2022 issue of Natural History magazine features an excerpt from Tears for Crocodilia: Evolution, Ecology, and the Disappearance of One of the World’s Most Ancient Animals by naturalist Zach Fitzner. Zach’s book is particularly timely given the recent study that says one in five reptile species are likely to become extinct, particularly if no further effort is done to stem habitat loss. Tears for Crocodilia addresses this very question with Zach having extensive first-hand knowledge of the state of crocodilian species—alligators, crocodiles, gharials, and caimans—around the world.

Noble Volunteers wins AARTP Book of the Year

American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia (ARRTOP)

November, 17, 2021
For Immediate Release

Today, ARRTOP is announcing that the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia’s 2020 Book of the Year Award is being given to Don Hagist for his book, Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution. It was the opinion of ARRTOP’s Book Award Committee, which evaluated the 17 books nominated for the ARRTOP’s 2020 Book of the Year Award, that Don Hagist does more to advance the knowledge of the American Revolution in Noble Volunteers than any of the other nominated books.
Book Award Committee member Tom McAndrew commented that many of the 17 nominated books were excellent reads, and the committee was aware that several of the nominated books won other awards. Mr. McAndrew stated that the ARRTOP Book Award Committee wrestled with its final decision, but ultimately felt that Noble Volunteers was the best combination of readability to both expert and casual readers of the American Revolution, and providing new insights into the American Revolution — the two biggest criteria in ARRTOP’s evaluation process.
For more information about ARRTOP’s book award, see: https://arrtop.org/book-awards/
For more information about ARRTOP, or to contact ARRTOP, see: https://arrtop.org

Men of Terror: A Comprehensive Analysis of Viking Combat Presented to the President of Iceland

Authors Reynir Óskarson, left, and William Short, right, presented their new book, Men of Terror: A Comprehensive Analysis of Viking Combat to the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, center, at the official residence, on August 31, 2021. The president, a historian by training, will add the book to the presidential library.

Suddenly Soldiers, finalist for the 2021 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History

Robert Thompson’s Suddenly Soldiers: The 166th Infantry Regiment in World War I was selected as a finalist for this writing award. The Journal of America’s Military Past wrote that, “Among regimental histories of World War I, Suddenly Soldiers stands out as one of the best-written and well-researched efforts.”

To the End of the World named Honorable Mention in the 2021 Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award

Andrew Waters’s To the End of the World: Nathanael Greene, Charles Cornwallis, and the Race to the Dan was selected by the Fraunces Tavern Museum as Honorable Mention in their prestigious book award program for 2021.

Patriots from the Barrio with Wilmer Valderrama and CBS TV Studios

NCIS co-star Wilmer Valderrama has renewed his first-look deal with CBS TV Studios to develop Patriots from the Barrio into a series. More from Deadline here.

Contest for Liberty winner of the 2019 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Institutional History

On behalf of the Army Historical Center, Matthew J. Seelinger, Chief Historian, announced that Contest for Liberty: Military Leadership in the Continental Army, 1775–1783 by Seanegan P. Sculley has won the 2019 Army Historical Foundation’s Distinguished Writing Award for Institutional History. The Army Historical Foundation, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, is dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of the American soldier.  The prestigious AHF Distinguished Writing Awards program was established in 1997 to recognize authors who make a significant contribution to the literature on U.S. Army history.

Free Shipping Now Included With Our Book Club: Extended

On May 21, 2020, we launched our first outreach to our book club members. As part of the launch, we introduced free domestic shipping until September 8, 2020 with all book club orders. Due to its success, free shipping is now part of the standard premium for joining our book club. By joining our book club, members receive a 25 percent discount off every book ordered, every time. Now with free shipping included, it is a great way to purchase Westholme books. Members are able to send books to any domestic address they choose, so our books can be gifts for any occasion. All orders are fulfilled by the University of Chicago Press Distribution Center.

Announcing a New Series: Small Battles: Military History as Local History

Westholme Publishing in collaboration with distinguished historians Mark Edward Lender and James Kirby Martin is launching a new military history series, Small Battles. Small Battles offers a fresh and important new perspective on the story of America’s early conflicts. The first volume, The Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield, 1780, by award-winning historian Edward G. Lengel, will be published in March 2020. Lengel’s book focuses on the final significant battles in the north during the American Revolution. According to series co-editor Mark Lender, “It was the small battles, not the clash of major armies, that truly defined the fighting during the colonial wars, the War for Independence, the War of 1812, and the fighting on the frontiers.” Co-editor James Martin agrees, “Small battles had a direct bearing on the larger historical trends and outcomes of American history. The series will bring to life the grass roots realities faced by ordinary persons caught up in war.” Lender adds that, “Small Battles is military history as seen through the prism of local history—history with a feeling for place and people; how participants and communities actually experienced the events that shaped the larger dimensions of military history. In the same way the micro-history approach has offered social historians new windows on how people lived day-to-day, our series will offer a similar window on America’s military conflicts at their most intimate and revealing level.”

Forthcoming titles include, The Battle of Second Trenton, 1776 by Glenn F. Williams, The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge, 1776 by T. Cole Jones, The Cherry Valley Massacre, 1778 by Bruce M. Venter, and The Battle of Musgrove Mill, 1780 by John Buchanan.

The Wall Street Journal reviews Contest for Liberty

The September 30 edition of the Wall Street Journal on its Opinion Page featured a review of Contest for Liberty by Seanegan P. Sculley, saying the book “fills a notable gap” and that it “offers a stimulating and robustly argued perspective.” Contest for Liberty is the first book by Sculley, an Army officer and history teacher at the United States Military Academy, West Point.

A New Edition of One of the Most Important Artifacts of Early Indigenous American Culture, edited by Members of the Narragansett Tribal Community

Roger Williams’s Key into the Language of America, first published in 1643 by the founder of the Rhode Island colony, is the earliest documentation of an American Indian language in English. Detailed and sophisticated for its time, the book is valued by scholars, students, lay people, and the Indigenous community from both a linguistic and historical perspective. The Tomaquag Museum Edition released in September 2019 by Westholme marks for the first time the input of the Narragansett Tribal Community to this work. Williams’s book is extremely important, but the editorial team led by museum director Lorén M. Spears notes, “the seventeenth-century English can be difficult for the twenty-first century reader, so we set out to make the text more accessible and user friendly especially for the Narragansett people and other Algonquian speakers.” Given that it is such a precious cultural artifact of the Narragansett and other native New England tribes, the team understood another part of their responsibility for a new generation of readers. “It was also an opportunity to address the interpretations and perspectives that Roger Williams had due to his life experience and the time period. Through footnotes, we added Narragansett and modern perspectives.” Kathleen J. Bragdon, professor of anthropology and linguistics at William & Mary University, added the latest information about the study of Narragansett and other Algonquin languages as well as remarks on the many important cultural observations made by Williams nearly 400 years ago.

Daniel Morgan, A Revolutionary Life winner of the 2018 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Biography

On behalf of the Army Historical Center, Matthew J. Seelinger, Chief Historian, announced that Daniel Morgan, A Revolutionary Life by Albert Louis Zambone has won the 2018 Army Historical Foundation’s Distinguished Writing Award for Biography. The award was presented to the author at the Foundation’s annual meeting at the new National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Westholme Publishing Celebrates its 15th Anniversary

Founded and launched by Bruce H. Franklin with a reprint of the 1940 story of Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion in July 2003, Westholme published its first full season of original books in September 2004. Over the past fifteen years, the company has grown from a single book to more than 200 active titles with worldwide distribution. Westholme books consistently receive excellent reviews and awards. “I was inspired by the great companies of the early twentieth century,” Franklin said, “Alfred A. Knopf, Random House, Viking—and have always admired W. W. Norton, so I keep what I see as the keys to their success in mind: an eye on detail, striking covers, and making discoveries readers will find enjoyable.”

Westholme Announces a New Audio Book Initiative with Redwood Audiobooks

With the growing popularity of audiobooks, Westholme has signed an exclusive licensing deal with the Mendocino, California-based company for select backlist gems and new titles. With this agreement, some of the most popular Westholme titles will be available in hardcover, paperback, eBook, and now audio editions. “Westholme has a diversified and exciting list and the books will make for excellent audiobooks,” said Margy Bauman of Redwood. Franklin concurred. “As an avid listener of audiobooks, I am thrilled to have this partnership with Redwood, who have an excellent reputation for the quality of their products.” Redwood Audiobooks are available on Audible, the largest platform for audiobooks.