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History and Current Events March 2026 |
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Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island
by Mike Pitts
A vital and timely work of historical adventure and reclamation by British archeological scholar Mike Pitts--a book that rewrites the popular yet flawed history of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and uses newly unearthed findings and documents to challenge the long-standing historical assumptions about the manmade ecological disaster that caused the island's collapse. A stunning work of revisionism, this book raises critical questions about who gets to write history and the stakes of ignoring that history's true authors. "It's a stunning unraveling of many layers of hidden history." (Publishers Weekly)
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| Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood by William J. MannBiographer William J. Mann's well-researched true crime account offers fresh insights on the 1947 murder of actress Elizabeth Short, who posthumously came to be known by the moniker Black Dahlia. "A valuable corrective to the cottage industry of speculative theories... an attempt to rediscover the real Elizabeth Short and to offer a portrait of a woman who was actually nothing like the noirish antiheroine that she became in the public imagination." (Quilltte) |
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| Neptune's Fortune: The Billion-Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish... by Julian SanctonHistorian Julian Sancton's sweeping maritime saga chronicles how the 2015 discovery of the San José, a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Colombia in 1708, was mired by accusations that Roger Dooley, the archaeologist who found the wreckage, was a con artist and grave robber. Featuring interviews with Dooley, this compelling adventure tale will appeal to fans of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief. |
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Recent Releases: Current Events
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| Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling by Danny FuntWashington Post contributor Danny Funt's illuminating debut chronicles the evolution of legalized sports betting in the United States, detailing the rise of companies like FanDuel and DraftKings and how they prey upon consumers and athletes alike. "This is an intelligent overview of an increasingly powerful economic and social force. Energetic reporting exposes the underbelly of an industry that always wins, no matter who's playing." (Kirkus Reviews) |
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The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State
by Michael Steinberger
An acclaimed New York Times Magazine writer brings us into the world of the controversial technology firm Palantir and its very colorful and outspoken CEO, Alex Karp, tracing the ascent of Big Data, the rise of surveillance technology, and the shifting global balance of power in the 21st century. It is an urgent and illuminating work about one of Silicon Valley's most secretive and powerful companies, whose technology is at the leading edge of the surveillance state. Kirkus Reviews calls it, "A chilling portrait of genius in the yoke of authoritarianism."
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| Football by Chuck KlostermanIn 2023, 93 of the 100 most-watched programs on U.S. television were NFL football games. This is not an anomaly. This is how society is best understood. Football is not merely the country's most popular sport; it is engrained in almost everything that explains what America is, even for those who barely pay attention. Journalist Chuck Klosterman ruminates on his lifelong love of football in this funny and wide-ranging cultural history that's "a transcendent appraisal of America's favorite sport" (Publishers Weekly). |
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The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America Into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home
by William D. Hartung
America spends nearly a trillion dollars a year on its military. This extraordinary spending not only detracts from our ability to address pressing social problems but compels us into foreign wars to justify our vast arsenal. Sold to us in the name of security, our military industrial complex actually makes us far less safe. Top policy experts William D. Hartung and Ben Freeman follow the profits of militarism and unmask the enablers of the war machine--politicians, lobbyists, the media, Hollywood, think tanks, and so many more.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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630-653-7599, 0S291 Winfield Rd.
Winfield, IL 60190
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