Staff Picks from the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop: 20th-Century History Recommendations

This holiday season, the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s staff recommends their favorite history books, all of which can be purchased from the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop.

Today, we feature GLI staff members Mindy DePalma, Sasha Rolón Pereira, and Jonathan Anderson explaining why they chose their books, all of which focus on twentieth-century American history.

Mindy DePalma, Director of Publications and Multimedia

Mindy has been the Director of Publications and Multimedia at GLI since 2017. She manages all digital resources and technology with a team that spans website development, database management, and video production. Her interest in American history is what brought her to GLI from a career in publishing. In her spare time (since the pandemic) she plays tennis, hikes, and loves to travel.

Mindy’s Pick

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard

“The story of Teddy Roosevelt’s treacherous ride down the Amazon River after his presidential defeat in 1912. It’s a page turner. Very stressful, very good!”

Sasha Rolón Pereira, Director of Program Operations and Director, Hamilton Education Program

Sasha has logged many miles overseeing the Hamilton Education Program for the Institute, partnering with school districts across the country to provide the educational component for Title I high schools’ interaction with and viewing of the hit musical Hamilton. She has led the initiative since it first started in October 2015. A graduate of Boston University, Sasha joined the Gilder Lehrman Institute in 2002 and has overseen a number of high-profile projects.

Read more about her work with the Institute here.

Sasha’s Picks

Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age by Debby Applegate

“This book is the story of Polly Adler but also of NYC in the 1920s. The mob, working girls, the Jazz Age! It reads like a novel.”

The Fifties by David Halberstam

“This book was assigned in my high school US: 1945 to the Present course. It features small chapters on key people, organizations, and events in the 1950s including McDonald’s, Joe McCarthy, and Elvis. It connects the events to what would be the radical 1960s. It’s still on my bookshelf. Halberstam is an amazing writer.”

The Teammates: A Portrait of Friendship by David Halberstam

“A book about the friendship between members of the 1949 Red Sox championship teams. When Ted Williams was dying, three of his former baseball teammates—Johnny Pesky, Dom DiMaggio, and Dick Flavin—went on a three-day road trip to see him one last time. Halberstam documents their journey but also tells the story of the 1949 team and their 60+ years of friendship and love for each other. I bought this for my dad years ago for Xmas and it has passed through everyone’s home and is now on one of my bookshelves. It’s a heartwarming story about baseball legends and their struggles after their baseball careers.”

Jonathan Anderson, Assistant Director of Programs

As an arts and cultural administrator, Jonathan does everything he can to further the mission of supporting the arts in the city. As an educator and public programs specialist, he has created fun and dynamic programming appropriate for people of all ages. Combining his background of theater and history, he has engaged visitors with exciting, creative, and memorable activities that they will never forget. As founder and lead guide of the History Couple, he has personally researched, created, and implemented historical walking tours all over New York City.

Jonathan’s Picks

Electric Dreamland: Amusement Parks, Movies, and American Modernity by Lauren Rabinovitz

“Great book about the origins of the American amusement complex, from amusement parks to cinema. It’s a quick read, wonderfully researched, and super-fascinating.”

Plutopia by Kate Brown

“The absolutely mind-blowing story about the US’s early nuclear program compared to the early Soviet nuclear program.“

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All these books are available at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop

By purchasing any of the books mentioned above through the links provided, you are helping to support the programming of the Gilder Lehrman Institute. We receive an affiliate commission from every sale and put that money to work to develop high-caliber American history programming.