Bookshelf

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.

A Promise Delivered – Ten American Heroes and the Battle to Rename Our Nation’s Military Bases by Ty Seidule, the David H. and Ann L. Hinchcliff Professor of History, and Connor Williams.

January 14, 2026

Tags Faculty Book

(St. Martin’s Press, 2025).

In 2020, Congress voted to rename nine military installations that honored Confederate leaders who had waged war in the name of maintaining a slave republic. Five years later, the Trump administration reversed course, reinstating the original names. This book by two members of the Naming Commission tells the stories of the 10 American heroes whose names they had selected.

According to the publisher, “Over the course of 20 months, the commission completed their mission, carefully combing through years of American history and hearing from tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life. The commission ultimately chose 10 Americans whose individual heroics reflect the collective best of all that America is and could be.

“With their firsthand knowledge of the selection process, vice chair Ty Seidule and lead historian Connor Williams recount the lives of each of these American heroes, from former President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Civil War doctor Mary Walker to Cold War General Richard Cavazos. The individual histories nestled within each chapter prove why these men and women are true representatives of our country and how, by looking to them, America can aspire toward a better future.”