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History and Current Events October 2026 |
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| The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy by Gil DuránSan Francisco-based journalist Gil Durán’s incisive debut explores how Silicon Valley tech leaders who are closely aligned with the Trump administration help promote totalitarian ideologies. It’s “an ominous look at an insular elite arrayed against American democracy,” says Publishers Weekly. Further reading: Users: How Big Tech Took Control and How to Fight Back by Beeban Kidron. |
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| The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill LeporeTaking inspiration from Hannah Arendt’s 1951 classic The Origins of Totalitarianism, Pulitzer Prize winner Jill Lepore’s thought-provoking latest examines the origins and evolution of artificial intelligence, detailing AI’s damaging influence over politics, economics, and the everyday fabric of life. Try this next: Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy by Beth Simone Noveck. |
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Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion
by Sarah Stankorb
Ordinarily, women are more religious than men. But these are no ordinary times. In America, where Christianity is still the most common religion, women are vacating churches. In the past decade, 16 million women have left the church. Younger women are disaffiliating from religion faster than men. For some women, leaving is like a dramatic divorce; for others, as one woman tells Stankorb, it's more like women and the church stopped calling each other.Exploring trends from the 1980s to today, Damned If She Does is an intimate account of women whose stories got missed during the Christian Right's headline-grabbing rise to power. Their exodus is marked by harm, disillusionment, and drift: from pastors' wives and a national Christian TV show host, to girls whose horrific abuse gives another face to the Catholic sex abuse crisis. Some couldn't stand by a church that cast out their queer friends. Others were maligned for who they loved. Churches with strong opinions on sexual purity and abortion stood beside men with histories of assault. With horror, women who loved the church watched the rise of Christian nationalism and saw their faith bastardized.Finally, they've had enough. Some are atheists. Others are forging new spiritual avenues through astrology or energy work or connection to their ancestors. Some have a Christian faith they no longer entrust to an institution. Attuned to emotional subtlety, women's agency, and religious longing, Stankorb asks what happens when a woman realizes that she's damned both if she stays and if she leaves. This consequential work of narrative nonfiction is a poignant reminder that women deserve better, and a tale of what happens when they don't get it.
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The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World
by Brian Tyler Cohen
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shameless, Brian Tyler Cohen explores how Republicans have abused power, how Democrats have refused to exercise power when they held it, and how progressives should wield power if they are fortunate enough to win a free and fair election in a post-Trump world.This book is a wake-up call about the decades-long project that led to Trump's America.It's the playbook for progressives who want to do far more than restore the status quo.This is how we build a stronger country, with hope and opportunity for all -- before our democracy slides into a distant memory.
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| Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature by Emily WilsonIn this engaging and accessible essay collection, classical studies professor Emily Wilson, whose work includes revered translations of Homer’s The Odyssey (which served as the inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s recent film adaptation) and The Iliad, discusses the complex history and challenges of translating ancient literature. Try this next: Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old by Mary Beard. |
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Tangled: Seven Iconic Moments in White Women's Hair and What They Tell Us about Power, Pleasure, and Complicity
by Sarah Mesle
A witty, razor-sharp cultural critique of white women's hair--and the politics it quietly carries In Tangled, acclaimed cultural critic Sarah Mesle unpacks the surprising power of white women's hair in shaping American identity, politics, and pop culture. From rom-coms to TikToks, blowouts to legislation, Mesle explores how hair--often dismissed as trivial--has been a stealth vehicle for transmitting whiteness, privilege, and conservative values. White women's hair evokes pleasure, pride, anxiety, and envy. But unlike women of color, who navigate hair as a deeply political terrain, white women often treat their styles as purely aesthetic. Mesle argues that this perceived innocence is precisely what makes white women's hair so potent--and so dangerous. Through 7 iconic hair moments spanning the Reagan era to Trump's rise, Tangled blends personal essay with cultural analysis, revealing how hair has mirrored--and fueled--the rollback of feminist progress. With wit, depth, and originality, Mesle invites readers to rethink what hair has done in America--and what it could do differently. Smart, funny, and fiercely insightful, Tangled is essential reading for anyone interested in feminism, race, media, and the hidden politics of beauty.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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