Listers,
Either I have missed it, or no one has recommended the late, great
Walter Lord and his writings. He is very readable and covers a lot of
ground. I'm most partial to his The Good Years (the
Progressive Era) or A Night To Remember (the sinking of the RMS Titanic),
and the most recent book of his I read, The Dawn's Early Light.
This last one is an account of the 1814 burning of Washington DC, the
Battle of Fort McHenry (which of course inspired the US national
anthem), and the end of the War of 1812. All are still in print, very
informative, and are quick reads.
Chris Kolakowski
State Univeristy of New York at Albany