"Norm Coady writes history for people who take history so seriously, they read it for fun." - Tamim Ansary, author of The Invention of Yesterday

"Fun as well as informative, this is a book that is arresting and thoughtful. Read it."
Jeremy Black, author of The Geographies of War

New Book! Out May 20th!

What if the most important forces in history aren't the generals, the ideologues, or the statesmen — but the narrow passages of water they're all fighting to control?

In Chokepoints: 3 Straits and a Ditch That Shaped Our World , Norm Coady traces four strategic passages — the Turkish Straits, Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Hormuz — and argues that whoever controls these doors controls history.

Coady brings history to life the way he discovered them — through a classroom. The students' questions, their resistance, and their moments of genuine discovery pace the narrative throughout, turning dense geopolitical history into something that feels like the best conversation you've ever had about why the world works the way it does.

From "Narrow Passages"
"My world map is half lowered so that at the top you can see where Spain is separated from Morocco. And that’s when it hits me: Gibraltar. The Rock. I draw upon something somebody said once in grad school, or a piece I’d read in the Atlantic, or God knows what. It might be just enough to get me out of this jam. “Doors,” I say, more to myself than the kids. A moment passes. I turn back to the class and repeat, “Doors.” They stare at me blankly. I tap the map behind me, now confident: “Doors...”

From "Tact"
"And then the big Rock of Gibraltar lands on Adolph’s table. Operation Felix, authored by Nazi naval chief Admiral Raeder, favors an indirect approach of subduing British Empire. Forget the beach landing. Forget the harvest moon. Instead, chip away at British holdings, starting with Gibraltar. With Gibraltar, Germany can close the Mediterranean, and go after the Suez next. Then cross the Levant next, sending troops up through Palestine and Syria, and take Turkey. The Nazis can secure that side door, the Turkish Straits."

From "Evergiven"
"The ship is the Ever Given. Behold the wonder: 1312 feet long, 107 feet tall, 192 feet wide, able to carry 200,000 tons. If those numbers are too abstract, imagine chopping down the Empire State Building, tossing it on the Hudson River and watching it float away with the equivalent weight of 1600 Statues of Liberty on its back. The Ever Given is a ship that truly gives credence to the claim we made in the introduction – that if you’re looking to move anything heavy, go find the nearest body of water. On land, it would take a hydrogen bomb to move the freight of the Ever Given five feet. On water you can move it from China to Europe in 4-6 weeks."

From "Realignment"
"Anwar Sadat has a couple of things going for him. For one, everyone thinks he is a total idiot. He threatens war on Tuesday evening, then waves it away Wednesday morning. He says he is, “ready to sacrifice one million Egyptian soldiers,” but then says he is, “ready to go to the ends of the earth… if it would prevent one Egyptian soldier from being wounded.” He goes into solitary confinement for days, then materializes to make key decisions on auspicious dates relates to Pharaohs that died millennia before. He wears sunglasses at night. He speaks in an affected, clipped manner. He’s a hot mess and no one thinks he’ll amount to much. His days are numbered."

Props: A History of Power in 7 Lessons

Learn how seashells led to the first global conflict...
Discover how a piece of chalk laid the groundwork for totalitarianism...
Follow an umbrella’s journey from sunny Munich to rainy Dallas...

A combination of humor and history, Props goes deep into the whys of history and the hows of power. As a bonus, Coady tells stories from the classroom, including the time a hot coffee was smacked out of his hand and he had to scramble to keep his job.

From the Introduction
Welcome. You have found your seat in the theater of history. You have elected to break away from our busy world, the one that produces information like confetti and offers endorphins in place of enlightenment. Congratulations.

From Chapter 2: Diadem
Then Caesar goes and does something really, really dumb. Just idiotic. He pardons his enemies. In Latin, these pardons are called Clementia, which sounds like a venereal disease and in Caesar’s case, it kind of is.

From Chapter 1: Paper Cup
Nia Evans is swinging a globe wildly with one hand while ripping another girl's hair out with the other. She might bash this girl's head in with Planet Earth, the kind of fun fact that turns a routine school beating into national news: TEEN HOSPITALIZED BY WORLD BEATER

From Chapter 7: Chalk
Lenin has forbidden smoking outside the toilet stall. Only now, smokers are dominating the stall. Other might be working on a #2, and as you know, anyone working is given priority in a Marxist world.

Norm Coady has taught high school history in Brooklyn NY, Western Massachusetts, Morocco and India. As a boots-on-the-ground classroom teacher, he does his best to shape young minds by teaching stuff he barely understands. He is dedicated to his Royal Enfield, the Boston Red Sox and, most of all, his family.