Our favorite books of the year

Last week, I suggested three can’t-miss gift books for the dog-lovers among us. This week, I’m here with three books for the history buffs we know — and these books are about as different as they can be.

David Treuer’s “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee” — a National Book Award nominee — reaches far and wide to uncover the cultural history of Native Americans . But if that sounds too academic for you — don’t be put off. This wonderful book is conversational and colorful and accessible.

My next recommendation for history lovers is “The League of Wives” by Heath Hardage Lee. Lee tells the story of the perseverance and indomitability of the wives of fighter pilots who were shot down and held captive during the Vietnam War.

The women had to be relentless in their quest for information about their husbands from the governments of both the United States and North Vietnam, but it wasn’t until they realized there was power in numbers that they banded together and became what Lee calls “the warrior queens who fought for their husbands’ freedom.”

And last — here’s a fun gift book that music history lovers can’t resist. Peter Asher has had what sounds like a charmed life. One half of the duo of Peter and Gordon, he had a number one hit with “A World Without Love.” Paul McCartney lived in the guest room of his family’s house for a while and Asher would go on to work with The Beatles at Apple Records. He would eventually manage and produce musicians like James Taylor, Diana Ross and Linda Ronstadt. So you can imagine that Asher has lots of juicy stories to tell in his new book, “The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour.”