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History & Current Events October 2025 |
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The Last Secret Agent
by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson
After decades of silence, the last surviving World War II British spy reveals the real, untold story of her time as a secret agent in the deadly world of Nazi France. From a unique and singular voice comes the incredible true story of the last surviving undercover British female operative. Pippa Latour parachuted into occupied France in 1944 to conduct sabotage and subversion behind enemy lines. Pippa's story is that of a woman determined to honor her principles and risk her life to fight against the greatest evil of the 20th century. The Last Secret Agent is her posthumously published memoir.
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Lineage by Karin WulfLineage tells the story of genealogy's attraction and power for individuals and families and institutions alike. In British America, people produced a profusion of information about their family connections, often because they were moved to write or create genealogies, but also because they were required to by their church or their local government or a court. The power in family connections was governmental, legal, and religious as well as cultural and social. While the American Revolution wrought change, it did not change the importance of genealogy. Understanding the history of genealogy helps to better understand American history.
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Organizing America
by Erik Loomis
Erik Loomis uncovers a rich and revealing history by turning to stories about key organizers throughout America’s past. In twenty short biographies, Organizing America shows how one movement has influenced another over time, and how the movement leaders’ personal histories influenced them toward changing the world. A chronological story with a vast sweep, this book considers a cross section of social justice activists across time, race, gender, and movement, examining varied lives. The result is a history of the United States viewed through some of its most important changemakers.
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The Undiscovered Country
by Paul Andrew Hutton
The epic of the American West became a tale of progress, redemption, and glorious conquest that came to shape the identity of a new nation. Over time, a darker story emerged, one of ghastly violence and environmental spoliation that stained this identity. In The Undiscovered Country, Hutton strips away the layers of myth to reveal the true story of this first epoch of American history. From the forests of Pennsylvania and Kentucky to the snow-crested California Sierras, and from the harsh deserts of the Southwest to the buffalo range of the Great Plains, Hutton masterfully chronicles a story that defined America and its people.
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When We Ruled
by Paula Akpan
Queens and warriors ruled vast swathes of the African continent, where they led, loved, and fought for their kingdoms and people. Their impact can still be felt today, and yet, beyond the lands they called home, few have ever heard their names. In When We Ruled, Paula Akpan takes us into the worlds of these powerful figures, following their stories and how they came to rule and influence the futures of their people. Through deep research and discovery, Akpan uncovers new truths and grapples with uncomfortable realities, allowing readers to be immersed in countless moments of bravery and intrigue.
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Coming Up Short
by Robert B. Reich
The former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton tracks decades of political, economic, and cultural shifts and attacks rising inequality, corporate power, and democratic decline, while offering a hopeful vision for a more just and inclusive American future. This is a thought-provoking, principled, clear-eyed chronicle of the culture, politics, and economic choices that have influenced current realities, with irresponsible economic bullies and corporations with immense wealth and lobbying power on top, demagogues on the rise, and increasing inequality fueling anger and hatred across the country.
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The Computers That Made the World
by Tim Danton
In this book, Tim Danton traces the development of ten pivotal machines from 1939 to 1950, charting the emergence of the modern computing industry, contextualizing each innovation within earlier technologies, and exploring the global wartime and postwar forces that drove these advancements. Danton tells the story of how the world was reshaped by a dozen such computers and the geniuses that brought them into being. Read and learn about the computers that shaped the world you live in and what happened behind the scenes of their creation.
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To Forever Inhabit This Earth
by Nina Beth Cardin
To Forever Inhabit This Earth is a powerful must-read for anybody interested in the intersection of environmentalism and spirituality.
Rabbi Cardin implores readers to envision the world, not as a commodity but as a fragile, improbable, extraordinary gift whose well-being and future now depend on humanity. Using meticulously researched Jewish texts and the teachings of other faith traditions, Cardin makes the case that environmental sustainability is a fundamental religious principle, something that can be addressed if there is a will to do so.
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Here Comes the Sun
by Bill McKibben
Here Comes the Sun tells the story of the sudden spike in power from the sun and wind and the desperate fight of the fossil fuel industry and their politicians to hold this new power at bay. From the everyday citizens who installed solar panels equal to a third of Pakistan’s electric grid in a year to the world’s sixth-largest economy, nearly halving its use of natural gas in the last two years, Bill McKibben traces the arrival of plentiful, inexpensive solar energy, and he shows how solar power is more than just a path out of the climate crisis. It is a chance to reorder the world on saner and more humane grounds.
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Turnaround
by James Lankford
In Turnaround, Senator James Lankford takes on the hard questions Americans are asking every day about the future. He argues that it is time to let go of anger and fear and embrace the hope of what could be. There are challenges, but there are also options. Senator Lankford calls on readers with experience, wisdom, and truth and encourages them to embrace responsibility and begin creating real change. He claims that a nation is a reflection of its people, and to change a nation, you have to change yourself. This book is a light of hope and encouragement for the country as well as a call to renew faith and become leaders.
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