Another Friday is upon us, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time to take a look back at the major events—from the death of a famed abstract painter to the surrender of the Confederate army to Union forces—that occurred…

This Week in History

April 6, 1992: Isaac Asimov, the popular science fiction author, died at age 72.
Sci-fi fans will want to pick up a copy of The Great Romance: A Rediscovered Utopian Adventure by The Inhabitant, edited by Dominic Alessio, an exciting new offering from the Bison Frontiers of the Imagination series. This two-volume novella, published under the pseudonym “The Inhabitant,” was one of the outstanding late nineteenth-century works of utopian science fiction. This is one for the collectors’ shelves!

April 7, 2007: American billionaire Charles Simonyi was launched into space on a Russian rocket traveling to the international space station.
Ever dreamed of rocketing yourself into space? If so, you’re not alone. Throughout time, men and women have sought to explore the “great unknown.” For a detailed, evocative look at the history of rocket technology and the human drive and desire to explore the universe which has always inspired these innovations, check out To a Distant Day: The Rocket Pioneers by Chris Gainor.

April 8, 1973: Pablo Picasso died at his home in France at age 91.
Art lovers won’t want to miss Beyond Madness: The Art of Ralph Blakelock, 1847-1919 by Norman A. Geske. Representing over twenty years of study and the examination of several thousand works attributed to him, Beyond Madness reveals the unusual nature of Blakelock’s life story as it offers clear parallels to his painting.

April 9, 1865: General Robert E. Lee surrendered his confederate army to General Ulysses S. Grant.
Read the biography of the man considered “the last Confederate officer to surrender” in Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby by Kevin H. Siepel.

April 10, 1947: Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, announced the purchase of Jackie Robinson’s contract from the Montreal Royals.
If you are a baseball fan and haven’t read Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman by Lee Lowenfish, what are you waiting for?!? Praised in the pages of the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Kansas City Star, and Fortune, among other publications, Branch Rickey is a must-read for all players and patrons of America’s favorite pastime.

April 11, 1945: American soldiers freed the prisoners of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.
Fascinated with World War II history and personal human interest accounts? Read Opa Nobody by Sonya Huber for a stirring and original memoir delving into the life and times of the author’s grandfather, Heina Buschman, an “average” anti-Nazi socialist trying to rebuild a broken world during World War II.

Hope you enjoyed today’s installment of TWIH. Please visit us again on Monday for new reviews and other musings and miscellany!