Handpicked by the unread team

New York Times BestsellerA Wall Street Journal Top Ten Book of the YearA True West Magazine Best Historical Non-Fiction Book and Best Author of the YearWestern Heritage Award for "Outstanding Nonfiction Book"Winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Historical NonfictionFrom the author of The Apache Wars, the true story of the American West, revealing how American ambition clashed with the realities of violence and exploitationThe epic of the American West became a tale of progress, redemption, and glorious conquest that came to shape the identity of a new nation. Over time a dar...

A stunningly vivid account of the manhunt for Geronimo and the Apaches’ decades-long struggle for their homeland—a vibrant saga of blood, power, family, and revenge from the renowned historian and author of The Undiscovered Country“An epic tale filled with Homeric scenes and unforgettable characters.”—Chicago TribuneThey called him Mickey Free. He was the only man Geronimo ever feared. And his kidnapping in 1861 started the longest war in American history: the brutal struggle between the Apaches and the U.S. government for the control of the Southwest. When the Apache Wars finally en...

“This beautifully braided story...reveals the best and worst of humanity. A magnificent work of narrative nonfiction, true to the past and essential for the present.”—Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Lost in Shangri-La and 13 HoursAn epic true story of the triumph of good over evil.The Boys in the Light follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Willner, the author’s father, as they are caught up on two sides of World War II.At sixteen, Eddie Willner was among the millions of European Jews rounded up by Hitler’s Nazis. He was forced into slave labor al...

On the fiftieth anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald’s sinking, the bestselling author of The Great Halifax Explosion tells the definitive story of the “Mighty Fitz.”For three decades following World War II, the Great Lakes overtook Europe as the epicenter of global economic strength. The region was the beating heart of the world economy, possessing all the power and prestige Silicon Valley does today. And no ship represented the apex of the American Century better than the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald—the biggest, best, and most profitable ship on the Lakes.But on November 10, 1975...

From the Preface:“I wrote these stories between 1992 and 2018. They cover a dozen different sports for a dozen different media outlets, from the Ann Arbor News to National Public Radio, and they stretch from a couple pages to a dozen. But they have one thing in common: they all meant a lot to me when I wrote them, and they still do today.” The Best of Bacon presents both new and familiar stories by best-selling author John U. Bacon, all centered on sports in his home state of Michigan. Best known for his acclaimed books on college football, Bacon’s writing has been praised for going...

For the first time ever, the popular late host of ESPN's The Sports Reporters and ABC's college football openly discusses a lifelong battle with depression.During his three decades on ESPN and ABC, John Saunders became one of the nation's most respected and beloved sportscasters. In this moving, jarring, and ultimately inspiring memoir, Saunders discusses his troubled childhood, the traumatic brain injury he suffered in 2011, and the severe depression that nearly cost him his life. As Saunders writes,Playing Hurt is not an autobiography of a sports celebrity but a memoir of a man facing his ow...

The New York Times–bestselling sportswriter helps a high school hockey team go from losers to legends in this inspiring memoir and leadership guide. When John U. Bacon played for the Ann Arbor Huron High School River Rats, he never scored a goal. Yet somehow, years later he found himself leading his alma mater's downtrodden program. How bad? The team hadn't won a game in over a year, making them the nation's worst squad—a fact they celebrated.With almost everyone expecting more failure, Bacon made it special to play for Huron by making it hard, which inspired the players to excel...