History and Current EventsOctober 2025
Recent Releases
Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History
by Moudhy Al-Rashid

In her accessible and illuminating debut, historian Moudhy Al-Rashid utilizes eight artifacts, including cuneiform tablets and weapon fragments, to explore everyday life and culture in ancient Mesopotamia. Further reading: The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of the Modern World by Selena Wisnom.
The Man Who Would Be King:  Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia
by Karen Elliott House

Draws on decades of reporting and exclusive interviews to offer a nuanced portrait of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, examining his dual role as a reformer modernizing Saudi Arabia and an authoritarian consolidating power through controversial domestic and international strategies. Read-alike:  Uncanny:  The Origins of Fear by Junji Ito. 
2024:  How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America
by Josh Dawsey

The definitive, inside story of the most tumultuous and consequential presidential campaign in our history. 'The whole world was against me, and I won,' said Donald Trump in an exclusive interview, ten days before his second inauguration. Nearly four years after Trump's first turbulent presidency concluded in a violent attempt to overturn the election, he made a political comeback on a scale that stunned the nation. How did the first U.S. president to become a convicted felon regain control of the White House? And at what cost? In 2024, award-winning reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf bring us the definitive and explosive account of how Trump and his advisers overcame a dozen primary challengers, four indictments, two assassination attempts, and his own past mistakes to defeat the Democrats, and pave the way for a second term that would be far more aggressive and ruthless than the first. Drawing on extraordinary access to the Trump, Biden, and Harris teams, 2024 takes readers beyond the speeches, rallies, and debates to reveal the innermost workings of the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns.  Try this next:  Midnight in Washington:  How We Almost Lost Democracy and Still Could by Adam Schiff. 
Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West
by Peter Cozzens

Historian Peter Cozzens' rollicking revisionist history of Deadwood, South Dakota, the Black Hills Gold Rush settlement famously immortalized in the HBO series Deadwood, offers a nuanced portrait of the town's origins and its larger-than-life characters. For fans of: Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier's First Gunfighter by Tom Clavin.
A History of Ancient Rome in Twelve Coins
by Gareth Harney

This accessible historical account traces ancient Rome's rise to power through the stories of twelve remarkable coins, revealing how Romans used currency to immortalize their gods, emperors and conquests, connecting modern readers with the empire's epic past.  Try this next:  Clodia of Rome:  Champion of the Republic by Douglas Boin. 
Could Should Might Don't: How We Think About the Future
by Nick Foster

Futurist and designer Nick Foster's thought-provoking study blends history and current events to examine four mindsets of approaching the future -- "could" (based on projections), "should" (based on goals), "might" (based on data), and "don't" (based on consequences). Further reading: A Century of Tomorrows: How Imagining the Future Shapes the Present by Glenn Adamson.
Red Scare:  Blacklists, McCarthyism and the Making of Modern America
by Clay Risen

Now, for the first time in a generation, Red Scare presents a narrative history of the anti-Communist witch hunt that gripped America in the decade following World War II. The cultural phenomenon, most often referred to as McCarthyism, was an outgrowth of the conflict between social conservatives and New Deal progressives, coupled with the terrifying onset of the Cold War. This defining moment in American history, unlike any that preceded it, was marked by an unprecedented degree of political hysteria. Drawing upon newly declassified documents, journalist Clay Risen recounts how politicians like Joseph McCarthy, with the help of an extended network of other government officials and organizations, systematically ruined thousands of lives in their deluded pursuit of alleged Communist conspiracies.  Try this next:  In Deep:  The FBI, the CIA, and the Truth about America's "Deep State" by David Rohde.  
The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces
by Seth Harp

Journalist and Iraq War veteran Seth Harp's disturbing debut chronicles the criminal exploits of United States Special Forces soldiers based at North Carolina's Fort Bragg military base, where a 2020 double murder exposed a drug trafficking operation. Try this next: Code Over Country: The Tragedy and Corruption of SEAL Team Six by Matthew Cole.
Murderland :  Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers
by Caroline Fraser

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Prairie Fires comes a terrifying true-crime history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond—a gripping investigation of how a new strain of psychopath emerged out of a toxic landscape of deadly industrial violence.  Try this next:  Whack Job:  A History of Axe Murders by Rachel McCarthy James 
Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves
by Johnathan Walton

Podcaster and reality TV producer Johnathan Walton draws upon his own experiences as the victim of a con artist in this candid guide to helping readers avoid scams. For fans of: My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache Williams.
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