History Happy Hour

This Week on History Happy Hour : An advance look at an exciting, brand-new book about Dwight Eisenhower set in the months leading up to the Normandy invasion. It takes a deep dive into the period when he grew from a well-liked general into one of the singular figures of American history. Chris and Rick welcome Michel Paradis, author of The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the...

This Week on History Happy Hour : It is one of the most famous and controversial battles the British fought in Normandy. On June 13, British forces were ambushed at Villers-Bocage by Waffen SS German Panzers, including one commanded by German Panzer ace Michael Wittmann. This kicked off a two-day battle that resulted in a major British withdrawal. Chris and Rick dig into this story with Daniel Tay...

This Week on History Happy Hour : In July 1944, 300 men from Canada’s storied Black Watch regiment found themselves embroiled in mortal combat against elite German units in Normandy in a bloody battle for Verrières Ridge. Only a handful of Highlanders walked away unscathed. In this encore episode, Chris Anderson and Rick Beyer explore this ferocious battle with historian David O&rsquo...

This Week on History Happy Hour : As we approach the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Chris Anderson and Rick Beyer look back on the Normandy landings with a 90-minute encore presentation of our 2021 D-Day Special. Rick hosted the show live from the National D-Day Memorial, and three distinguished guests joined us for a D-Day discussion. The show begins with author Giles Milton, and a look at his riveti...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Alexander Larman, master chronicler of the House of Windsor, returns to HHH to talk with Chris and Rick about the final book in his acclaimed trilogy: Power and Glory Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty. From Elizabeth and Philip’s Royal Wedding, to George VI’s death and the discovery of the Duke of Windsor’s treacherous activities in WWII, L...

This Week on History Happy Hour : The legendary ‘Red Devils’, British Airborne troops, were created at Winston Churchill’s instigation in June 1940. They started with just 500 men and grew into three 10,000-strong airborne divisions. British military historian Saul David returns to History Happy Hour to talk about his new book Sky Warriors: British Airborne Forces in the Second W...

This Week on History Happy Hour :  T he story of what may be the single most savage episode in the long history of violence inflicted by white southerners on their Black neighbors. Author Earl Swift joins us to talk about his new book: Hell Put to Shame : The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America’s Second Slavery . A mass murder, the unusual trial that followed, and the na...

This Week on History Happy Hour : In this encore episode, Chris and Rick welcome back distinguished (and sometimes disruptive!) oral historian Peter Hart to talk about his new book Footsloggers: An Infantry Battalion at War, 1939-1945 . He’ll share the story of a single British infantry battalion during WWII. From North Africa to Italy and Greece, the 16th learned their military skills the h...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Union general George G. Meade guided his forces to victory in the Civil War's most pivotal battle. But he is often dismissed or left out when commentators discuss the great leaders of the Civil War. Did he lead his troops to victory, or was he just along for the ride? In this encore episode, Chris and Rick talk about Meade with Kent Masterson Brown, author of...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Recent archeological digs have uncovered the remains of two dozen soldiers who fought at the Revolutionary War battles of Camden, South Carolina, and Red Bank, New Jersey. British, American and Hessian soldiers have been unearthed nearly 250 years after the guns ceased. In this encore episode, Chris and Rick welcome Steven Smith, an archeologists on the Camden pro...

This week on History Happy Hour: Bass Reeves was born into slavery and never learned to read or write. But he nevertheless became one of the most feared lawmen in the west who carried out more than 3000 arrests and killed 14 men while carrying out his mission as a deputy Federal Marshall. Art Burton has spent years digging into his story. In this encore episode, Chris and Rick welcome Art to talk...

This week on History Happy Hour: December 1942 saw the bloodiest Christmas in the history of mankind. From the islands in the Pacific to the China front, from the trenches in Russia to the battle lines in North Africa, in the skies over Europe and in the depths of the Atlantic, men were killing each other in greater numbers than ever before. It offers a glimpse of the extremes, good and bad, that...

This week on History Happy Hour:   Author and historian Joe Balkoski becomes our first ever five-time guest, as he returns to pick up the story of the 29th Division. Things will kick off with a special ceremony honoring Joe’s five-time guest status. (A hat is involved!) Then Chris and Rick will talk to him about the 4th volume of his five-volume series on the 29th: Our Tortured Souls: T...

This week on History Happy Hour: A close-up look at how WWII looked to combat nurse Lt. Mary Elizabeth Balster, who spent months caring for the sick and wounded just behind the front lines of General Patton’s Third Army. Chris and Rick welcome NCR Davis, Lt. Balster’s daughter, and author of For the Boys: The War Story of a Combat Nurse in Patton’s Third Army. The true story of a...

This week on History Happy Hour: He was one of the twentieth century’s most colorful politicians—on the New York and national stage. He was also quintessentially American: the son of Italian immigrants, who rose in society through sheer will and chutzpah. Almost one hundred years later, America is once again grappling with issues that would have been familiar to the Little Flower, as h...

This week on History Happy Hour: He never became as celebrated as his fellow commanders George Patton and Omar Bradley, but General William Simpson, commander of the 9th U.S. Army in WWII, built a superb combat record. General Dwight Eisenhower called him brilliant, adding: "If Simpson ever made a mistake as an Army Commander, it never came to my attention." To explore his WWII command record, Chr...

This week on History Happy Hour: In this encore episode, Chris and Rick welcome back fellow Stephen Ambrose Tours historian and Patton expert Kevin Hymel to talk about the second volume of his Patton Trilogy, Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership, Volume 2: August–December 1944 . We'll be covering the period starting when Patton took command of the 3rd Army. It...

This week on History Happy Hour: Our guest for this week had to take part in a hush-hush military exercise (or so she told us) so we won’t be talking to her. Instead, Chris and Rick will chat/argue/talk about history with each other – and you! What would you like us to talk about? FDR’s leadership? Our favorite WWI books? Who should have won the War for Independence? Send an emai...

This week on History Happy Hour: Between 1941 and 1945, more than eight hundred shiploads of supplies were delivered to the Soviet Union protected by Allied naval forces. But more than 100 ships were lost in this duty. Each convoy was a battle against the elements, and the Germans - with both sides relying heavily on signals intelligence to intercept and break each other’s codes. The resulti...

This week on History Happy Hour: Today most people remember little more about John Hancock than his signature, but 250 years ago this Boston businessman was a powerful and popular patriot leader who, on multiple occasions, played a vital role in the fight for Independence. Chris and Rick start the new year by diving back into the Revolution (or is it the War of Independence?) and talking to Brooke...

This week on History Happy Hour:   It has been almost exactly 2,500 years since Athens, the birthplace of democracy, fought off the mighty Persian empire. What possible relevance does this have today? In this encore episode, Chris and Rick talk with Stephen Kershaw, author of the new book Three Epic Battles that Saved Democracy. We'll explore three epic campaigns - Marathon, Thermopylae...

This week on History Happy Hour: The Ranger attack on the German gun batteries at Pointe-du-Hoc in the early morning hours of D-Day is the stuff of legend. In an encore episode, Chris and Rick welcome vaunted D-Day historian Stephen Zaloga to the show to talk about his new book, Smashing Hitler’s Guns: The Rangers at Pointe-du-Hoc D-Day 1944. We’ll walk through the legends, and the que...

This week on History Happy Hour: More than one million Black men and women served in World War II. Black troops served in segregated units and performing unheralded but vital support jobs, only to be denied housing and educational opportunities during and after the war. Without their crucial contributions, the United States could not have won the war. And yet the stories of these Black veterans ha...

This week on History Happy Hour:   How has how Germany's Nazi past shaped its responses to the genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda—and further, how have these foreign atrocities recast Germans’ understanding of their own horrific history. Chris and Rick will launch a discussion on this topic with Andrew Port, author of N ever Again: Germans and Genocide After the Holoca...

This week on History Happy Hour: We'll examine the most transformative year in American history -- when a battered nation would emerge from the Great Depression and reinvent itself under the skilled leadership of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But that’s only one thing that happened in a year cram-packed with fascinating characters and happenings. Chris and Rick welcome is Scott M...