500 DAYS: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars

By Kurt Eichenwald (Touchstone)

An anecdote-rich, page-turning account of President George W. Bush’s war on terrorism, with almost all of his actions traced back to decisions made during the first 500 days after Sept. 11, 2001. — Dina Temple-Raston

ALL THE MISSING SOULS: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals

By David Scheffer (Princeton)

Written by the Clinton administration’s point man on international justice, the book describes the U.S. role in trying to make accountability for mass atrocities a central principle in international affairs. — Anthony Dworkin

AMERICA’S GREAT DEBATE: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise That Preserved the Union

By Fergus M. Bordewich (Simon & Schuster)

This stylish history recounts the Compromise of 1850, which managed to hold the expanding nation together. Bordewich breathes new life into figures who were giants in their day. — Donald E. Graham

By David E. Sanger (Crown)

Sanger’s immensely readable work shows that President Obama has been surprisingly aggressive on national security, mostly behind closed doors. — D.T-R.

CRONKITE

By Douglas Brinkley (Harper)

Brinkley reveals the legendary newscaster as an Odysseus-like figure — a man physically and morally courageous, but full of fears; ambitious for fame, fiercely jealous of rivals — who created around himself an aura of public trust. — Robert MacNeil

DEARIE: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

By Bob Spitz (Knopf)

A tasty retelling of Child’s privileged (but bland) childhood, her awakening to fine food and her delight in sharing it. — Becky Krystal

DOUBLE CROSS: The True Story of the D-Day Spies

By Ben Macintyre (Crown)

The idiosyncratic British spymasters of World War II were almost Monty Python characters, yet they helped secure the Allied victory. — David Ignatius

DRIFT: The Unmooring of American Military Power

By Rachel Maddow (Crown)

The author urges Congress and voters to become full partners in decisions to go to war and not leave them to their president. — Gordon M. Goldstein

ELSEWHERE: A Memoir

By Richard Russo (Knopf)

Novelist Russo writes candidly of his mother, who inspired and sustained his literary career but also was demanding and manipulative.— Marie Arana

EMBERS OF WAR: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam

By Fredrik Logevall (Random House)

Logevall demonstrates that historical outcomes are driven not only by global political and strategic forces but also by the passion, frailty and determination of individual leaders. — G.M.G.

THE END OF MEN: And the Rise of Women

By Hanna Rosin (Riverhead)

The author paints a picture of how fluid gender roles and expectations have become. — Jennifer Howard

ENEMIES: A History of the FBI

By Tim Weiner (Random House)

Weiner’s thesis: Today’s counterterrorism campaigns echo the FBI’s earlier efforts to collar saboteurs, spies and terrorists. And the bureau’s overreaching then is mirrored by its occasional overreaching now. — D.T-R.

FREEDOM AND THE ARTS: Essays on Music and Literature

By Charles Rosen (Harvard)

One finishes any book by Rosen intellectually re­energized, eager to become a deeper reader, a more attentive museumgoer, a better listener. — M.D.

THE GENERALS: American Military Command From World War II to Today

By Thomas E. Ricks (Penguin Press)

The Army of today, Ricks argues, is an entrenched bureaucracy funded and protected by friends in Congress. Accountability of senior officers is what’s needed, and what’s missing. — Neil Sheehan

THE GREAT AMERICAN RAILROAD WAR: How Ambrose Bierce and Frank Norris Took on the Central Pacific Railroad

By Dennis Drabelle (St. Martin’s)

This well-written book details how two very different American writers launched attacks on the corporate graft and corruption of the Transcontinental Railroad. — James L. Haley