As Father’s Day rapidly approaches, we at the Press would like to suggest a few great picks for last-minute shoppers hoping to give dad a gift that can be enjoyed for years to come.

For fans of real-life tales of espionage, John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, and Alexander Vassiliev’s Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America will be a revelation. Written from information Vassiliev collected during his days as a KGB agent, Spies not only contains insights into espionage tactics and the motives of Americans who spied for Stalin but also resolves long-standing controversies involving Alger Hiss, I. F. Stone, and the Rosenbergs, to name a few. A thrill for all Cold War enthusiasts.

Adrian Goldsworthy’s How Rome Fell is perfect fodder for history buffs who prefer gladiators to secret agents. Following up on the success of his much acclaimed biography, Caesar, Goldsworthy continues to build his reputation as “a rising young star in the area of Roman history” (Washington Times) with this fast-moving and compellingly written new history of the Roman empire’s fantastic collapse.

For a more panoramic view for the armchair historian, few books can match Barry Cunliffe’s masterful Europe Between the Oceans, 9000 BC-AD 1000, which Benjamin Schwartz of the Atlantic called “further proof that its publisher produces the most beautiful and intelligently designed works of scholarship in the humanities. I can’t think of a better gift this year for the historically minded reader.” We certainly won’t argue with that!