Kirk Davis Swinehart, a New York-based historian and book critic, has written for the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, the New Republic, and V Magazine.  He is completing a book about a mixed-race political dynasty undone by the American Revolution.

A gripping new history, Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard, tells the story of President Garfield’s assassination and the medical advances used to help him.

A new collection of letters gives a new portrait of one of the 20th-century's greatest travel writers, Bruce Chatwin. Wit, charm, and even vulnerability shine through his snobbery and self-deception says Kirk Davis Swinehart.