It's easy to think of the Civil War and remember only the big battles and major lessons we learned in grade school: the nation in its worst period of polarization, and an unseasoned president, Abraham Lincoln, struggling to mend a nation literally, not just rhetorically, at war with itself.

But imagine being able to experience the events and elections that led up to the Civil War in real time, at the day-by-day pace at which they originally happened. That's what Jamie Malanowski is making a reality. 

To his admirers, T.E. Lawrence, known around the world as "Lawrence of Arabia," was a courageous military leader. To his critics, he was a manipulative liar who exaggerated his own role in the Arab uprising against the Turks. And to movie lovers ... he was simply a great character. What’s true and what’s false about Lawrence of Arabia varies quite a bit, depending on who you ask. Who was he, really? 

A new study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that over 17 million American families — nearly 1 in 8 — went hungry at some point in the last year. The figures include as many as one million children. The family hardships of our current Great Recession inevitably recall stories of the Great Depression, an era when many Americans came of age scrimping and saving every penny and every last crumb. So how will the experiences of the children of the Great Recession compare to those who were kids during the Great Depression? 

The Bush-era tax cuts will be high on the agenda when the lame duck Congress reconvenes today. The cuts are scheduled to expire next year, but Republicans are pushing for the extension of both the "middle class" breaks, as well as those for couples earning more than $250,000 a year. They cite the huge budget deficit and a shaky economy as reasons to keep the cuts. Similar arguments led to prior historic tax cuts, from two politicians of different eras, parties and temperaments: John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

Cleopatra was ancient Egypt’s final, and arguably most famous, Pharaoh. But aside from epic romances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, we know very little about her. For example, what did she actually look like? Was her leadership role unique among women of the time? And how did she earn the reputation as a scheming temptress?

The U.S. involvement in World War II famously began on December 8th, 1941, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But there were already a small number of Americans personally invested in the war effort. They were volunteers to the British Royal Navy — and had headed to Halifax as early as 1940 to join the war effort.

Not long after Barack Obama became President of the United States, a bust of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was removed from the Oval Office and replaced with a bust of Abraham Lincoln. During his campaign, President Obama was often compared to Lincoln by pundits. But is it possible Churchill has more to teach the President?

When future generations look back on this election, the first after President Obama's dramatic victory in 2008, will they see it as a repeat of the 1994 Gingrich Revolution? An unraveling of the Obama agenda? Or a chance for the president to rebrand himself?

During the months leading up to the current end-of-campaign-season frenzy, it’s become commonplace for politicians and passionate Americans to invoke the Founding Fathers and the original Constitution. But as recent debates and high profile interviews have demonstrated, a lot of these same people don’t necessarily know the rights and responsibilities that the Constitution secures.

The telling of history is a monumental task and responsibility that all historians hold sacred. Historian Thomas C. Holt has gained prominence as the one of the foremost respected historians of American and African-American History.

There have been several cases this week of public officials and public schools incorrectly describing aspects of U.S. history and civics. We talk with Mark Oglesby, a high school history teacher, about some important, yet unknown, facts from U.S. history that he believes all his students — and all Americans — should be armed with. Author Kenneth Davis also joins in.

We've been putting Takeaway listeners to the test. You can see how historically literate you are by taking this online, mini-quiz. 

A textbook distributed to Virginia's fourth graders states that African Americans served in the Confederate Army by the thousands. The book, "Our Virginia: Past and Present" was distributed for the first time last month to outcry from parents and educators.

It's easy to criticize politicians for getting their facts wrong about history and civics. Now it's time to test your own knowledge! Take this short quiz so we can get a small glimpse of what you do and don't know. We won't name and shame you, so please don't go Googling for answers.

Historians are criticizing the fourth-grade textbook in Virginia that says thousands of African Americans fought for the South during the Civil war. The author of the book, “Our Virginia: Past and Present,” says she wrote it based on information she found on the internet.

The story comes at the same time Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell is in the headlines for asking if the separation of church and state is really in the constitution.

In light of these two stories, we're talking about what U.S. history we need to get right and what parts of history are the most important to know. And we're asking you: 

What is the most important part of United States history that you think everyone should know?

"Houses aren't refuges from history. They are where history ends up."

This is the latest assertion from Bill Bryson, who first made national headlines when he attempted to hike the Appalachian Trail, as documented in "A Walk in the Woods." Bryson turns his attention closer to home in his newest book “At Home: A Short History of Private Life.”

Going room by room through the modern home, Bryson looks at the objects that surround us in our everyday lives, from sofas to forks, and traces the history of those objects and the rooms they inhabit.

Sixty-five years ago, the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, set to work seeking justice for the horrendous crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II. The Allies charged Hermann Göring, Martin Bormann, Rudolf Hess and 21 other members of the Nazi Party with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

As the proceedings began, film cameras clicked on and captured the entire trial. The lead prosecutor for the U.S., Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, used as evidence the Nazis' very own shocking films, movies showing the abuse and persecution of Jews under Nazi rule.

Ron Chernow has written about big names in American history, including Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Alexander Hamilton. His latest book examines one of the biggest names in American history: George Washington. The book is called "Washington: A Life," and in it, Chernow illustrates a man of conscience, humility and duty.

Snooki did not invent celebrity – and chances are she won't break it either.

That's according to Professor Fred Inglis, author of "A Short History of Celebrity." Inglis is a cultural historian, and he takes the long view on our fascination with the likes of Tiger Woods, Marilyn Monroe and Angelina Jolie. Over the past 200 years, says Inglis, it has become easier and easier to live vicariously. 

This year marks the thirtieth year since the disease smallpox was eradicated. The disease has been around since roughly 10,000 BC, and killed approximately thirty percent of its victims. Over the course of history, it struck millions, including such famous survivors as George Washington, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln.

Now eradicated for three decades, what lessons can we take away from how we dealt with smallpox?

Sharing his insights is Dr. Walt Orenstein, Deputy Director for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Why don't we talk more about the Great Migration, a time that saw six million African Americans leave the South in search of work and freedom? Our own Celeste Headlee is, herself, a product of this slow, leaderless shift that occurred over the course of six decades. She shares her family's story.