Salon's best history books

From HNN:

6 of Salon’s best books of the year involve history. Three novels make the list, two biographies, and one history book.

NOVELS
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon
The Father of All Things by Tom Bissell

BIOGRAPHY
Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell

HISTORY
Legacy of Ashes: A History of the CIA by Tim Weiner