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History and Current Events March 2026 |
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I Told You So!: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right by Matt KaplanFor two decades, Matt Kaplan has covered science for the Economist. He’s seen breakthroughs often occur in spite of, rather than because of, the behavior of the research community, and how support can be withheld for those who don’t conform or have the right connections. In this passionately argued and entertaining book, Kaplan narrates the history of the 19th century Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, who realized that Childbed fever―a devastating infection that only struck women who had recently given birth―was spread by doctors not washing their hands. Semmelweis was met with overwhelming hostility by those offended at the notion that doctors were at fault, and is a prime example of how the scientific community often fights new ideas, even when the facts are staring them in the face.
In entertaining prose, Kaplan reveals scientific cases past and present to make his case. Some are familiar, like Galileo being threatened with torture and Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó being fired when on the brink of discovering how to wield mRNA–a finding that proved pivotal for the creation of the Covid-19 vaccine. Others less so, like researchers silenced for raising safety concerns about new drugs, and biologists ridiculed for revealing major flaws in the way rodent research is conducted. Kaplan shows how the scientific community can work faster and better by making reasonably small changes to the forces that shape it.
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We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America by Norah O'DonnellOver a decades-long, distinguished career, award-winning journalist Norah O’Donnell has made it her mission to shed light on untold women’s stories. Now, in honor of America’s 250th birthday, O’Donnell focuses that passion on the American heroines who helped change the course of history. We the Women presents a fresh look at American history through the eyes of women, introducing us to inspiring patriots who demanded that the country live up to the promises made 250 years ago in the Declaration of Independence: “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Since the signing of that document, the pressing question from women has been: Why don’t those unalienable rights apply to us? Through extensive research and interviews, as well as historical documents and old photos, O’Donnell curates a compelling portrait of these fierce fighters for freedom. From Mary Katherine Goddard, who printed the first signed Declaration of Independence, to the Forten family women, who were active in the abolition and suffrage movements and were considered the “Black Founders” of Philadelphia, to the first women who served in the armed forces even before they had the right to vote, O’Donnell brings these extraordinary women together for the first time, and in doing so writes the American story anew.
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In 1990 in Washington state, the bodies of Yolanda Sapp, Nickie Lowe, and Kathy Brisbois were found on the banks of the Spokane River. They were part of a close-knit alliance of sex workers whose oath to protect each other was, in the end, hopeless. For twenty-two years their brutal murders went unsolved. In 2012, a DNA cold hit pointed to Douglas Perry. A repeat assault offender, Douglas was currently incarcerated in Carswell, Texas. But there was a twist: The facility was for female prisoners. The man authorities hunted for decades was now Donna Perry. Her gender reassignment not only helped to mask the evil deeds of the past, it ended a life of childhood traumas and a pent-up rage unleashed on nearly thirty victims, according to Donna herself. Through total reinvention, she believed she’d finally slayed the monster within. By the River’s Edge is the astonishing true story of an elusive serial killer, an escape plan like no other, and the women who lived and died on the fringes of the Lilac City for whom justice was at long last served. |
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American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology by Jon MeachamIn a polarized era, history can become a subject of political contention. Many see America as perfect; many others argue that the national experiment is fundamentally flawed. The truth, Meacham shows, likely lies between these extremes. America has had shining hours, and also dark ones.
In American Struggle, Jon Meacham illuminates the nation’s complicated past. This rich and diverse collection covers a wide spectrum of history, from 1619 to the twenty-first century, with primary-source documents that take us back to critical moments in which Americans fought over the meaning and the direction of the national experiment. From the founders to Lincoln to Obama, from Andrew Jackson to Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan, from Seneca Falls to the March on Washington, this chorus—sometimes discordant and always fascinating—tells the story of the country and of its people. As clashes over liberty and slavery, inclusion and exclusion, play out, these voices, brilliantly framed by Meacham’s singular commentary, remind us that contentious citizenship and fair-minded observations are essential to bringing about the more perfect union envisioned in the Preamble to the Constitution, which Frederick Douglass called a “glorious liberty document.”
Conflict is nothing new in our democracy; rather, as Meacham and these texts show, tensions are inherent, stubborn, and perennial. And American Struggle teaches us anew that to know what has come before, to watch as long-running disputes rise and fall, is to be armed against despair.
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In this widely praised book, Richard Reeves, father of three sons, a journalist, and now the president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, tackles the complex and urgent crisis of boyhood and manhood. He argues that our attitudes, our institutions, and our laws have failed to keep up. Conservative and progressive politicians, mired in their own ideological warfare, fail to provide thoughtful solutions.
Reeves looks at the structural challenges that face boys and men and offers fresh and innovative solutions that turn the page on the corrosive narrative that plagues this issue. Of Boys and Men argues that helping the other half of society does not mean giving up on the ideal of gender equality.
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The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany by Gwen StraussThe Nine follows the true story of the author’s great aunt Hélène Podliasky, who led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German forced labor camp and made a ten-day journey across the front lines of WWII from Germany back to Paris."I almost didn't finish this book. Not because it wasn't extraordinary―but because it was too extraordinary. Because somewhere around the third chapter, I realized I was holding my breath, terrified that if I exhaled too loudly, these nine women might disappear like smoke, like so many others did...They made promises to each other's children they'd never met, memorized addresses of families they might never find, carried letters for lovers who were probably already dead. They survived not in spite of love but because of it." ―The Book NookThe nine women were all under thirty when they joined the resistance. They smuggled arms through Europe, harbored parachuting agents, coordinated communications between regional sectors, trekked escape routes to Spain and hid Jewish children in scattered apartments. They were arrested by French police, interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo. They were subjected to a series of French prisons and deported to Germany. The group formed along the way, meeting at different points, in prison, in transit, and at Ravensbrück. By the time they were enslaved at the labor camp in Leipzig, they were a close-knit group of friends. During the final days of the war, forced onto a death march, the nine chose their moment and made a daring escape. Drawing on incredible research, this powerful, heart-stopping narrative by Gwen Strauss is a moving tribute to the power of humanity and friendship in the darkest of times.
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Conspiracy theories are on the rise because officials refuse to enforce accountability for real conspiracies. Uncritical faith in broken institutions is as dangerous as false narratives peddled by propagandists.
The truth may hurt―but the lies will kill us.
They Knew discusses conspiracy culture in a rapidly declining United States struggling with corruption, climate change, and other crises. As the actions of the powerful remain shrouded in mystery―“From Norman Baker to Jeffrey Epstein, Iran-Contra to January 6" (VF)―it is unsurprising that people turn to conspiracy theories to fill the informational void. They Knew exposes the tactics these powerful actors use to placate an inquisitive public.
Here, for the first time, Kendzior blends her signature whip-smart prose and eviscerating arguments with lyrical and intimate examinations of the times and places that haunt American history. "America is a ghost story," writes Kendzior, as she unearths decades of buried history, providing an essential and critical look at how to rebuild our democracy by confronting the political lies and crimes that have shaped us.
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By now, the basic contours of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrendous crimes—his decades-long serial abuse of young women and underage girls—are familiar. But for all that has been written about Epstein since his shocking death in a lower Manhattan jail cell, an astonishing amount remains unknown. A shy Brooklyn kid turned renegade financier, Jeffrey Epstein never wanted to play by the rules of polite society. He was elusive in life and he has remained just as elusive in death.
What is known is that he had amassed nearly $600 million by the time of his death. That fortune allowed Epstein to pursue a privileged, secretive life, jetting between his fortress-like homes in Manhattan, New Mexico, and Little St. James, his private island. Behind these closed doors, Epstein socialized with scientists and world leaders and preyed on powerless young women.
In The Spider, Barry Levine shines a light into the darkest corners of Epstein’s world, including
• Epstein’s young adulthood and earliest accusations of sexual misconduct
• the murky sources of Epstein’s fortune and business dealings
• Epstein’s circle of confidantes and employees, particularly the nature of his long relationship with socialite Ghislaine Maxwell
• his ties to powerful men, including Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump
• Epstein’s last hours as a free man in Paris and the secret operation to arrest him at a New Jersey airport before he could flee
• details on Epstein’s final days in jail and the mystery surrounding his death
Featuring rare and never-before-seen photographs, The Spider exposes how Epstein operated and evaded justice for so long—and how he drew so many others into his criminal web. |
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Opening Manassas: The Iron Brigade, Stonewall Jackson, and the Battle on Brawner's Farm, August 28, 1862 by Lance J. HerdegenIn August 1862, Robert E. Lee struck north to carry the war away from Richmond. His opponent at the head of the recently constructed Army of Virginia, Maj. Gen. John Pope, was new to the theater and had just suffered a bloody awakening at Cedar Mountain on August 9. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s wing marched first, swinging behind Pope and destroying the massive Union supply depot at Manassas Junction. The stunning move shocked the Union high command. Pope withdrew from his defensive line along the Rappahannock determined to find and eradicate the Confederates. First he had to find them. Unbeknownst to Pope, Jackson had deployed his men in a strong wooded defensive position along an abandoned railroad cut. All Old Jack needed was a reason to sally forth and strike an unsuspecting piece of Pope’s scattered army. That opportunity presented itself on the afternoon of August 28 when the Western men, soon to be known as the Iron Brigade, marched along the Warrenton Pike, unaware that danger lurked just yards away off their exposed left flank.
One battle, two authors. This unique study uses a fog-of-war approach to unfold the battle as the soldiers of both sides would have experienced it, and how the various officers reacted with only the information they had at the time. Award-winning author Lance J. Herdegen handles the Union side of the equation, while preservation historian and veteran of the National Park Service, Bill Backus, chronicles the Confederate perspective. Together, chapter by chapter, they march their respective forces to the point of destiny and discover unexpected insights into the engagement and the leadership decisions of both sides. The affair was a rude baptism of blood for Western Union men, while the bold thrust by Jackson revealed his location and put his entire command in serious peril.Opening Manassas is based on primary source material and a complete understanding of the terrain. Its unique dual-author and fog-of-war approach, together with its original maps and explanatory notes, makes it a must-have book for students of the Civil War.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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