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History and Current Events February 2026 |
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24 Hours at the Capitol: An Oral History of the January 6th Insurrection
by Nora Neus
The 24 Hours in Charlottesville author offers a minute-by-minute account of the January 6 riots through never-before-heard stories of those who were there Neus goes beyond mainstream reporting to reveal important truths about the US white nationalist movement This bracing account reconstructs what it was actually like in and around the Capitol during those 24 hours. Lawmakers recount donning gas masks and being evacuated to safe rooms. Police officers recall insurrectionists screaming at them and calling them traitors. Staffers remember walking over pools of blood as they ran for their lives. A young Asian-American staffer recalls locking herself in a room just feet from the rioters, mentally preparing to be raped. A mostly Black janitorial staff began cleaning the blood of insurrectionists off the marble floor on the Capitol before the building was even officially secured. Neus's sources include original interviews, court documents, firsthand accounts, the US Capitol Historical Society's oral history project on the insurrection, and the work of Tim Heaphy, chief investigator of the congressional January 6 Select Committee. January 6 was largely planned right out in the open, but lawmakers and government officials underestimated the threat in part because it was coming from white people. Neus examines the underlying racial implications of not only the attack itself, but also in the planning and coordination of the response.
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The Body Digital: A Brief History of Humans and Machines from Cuckoo Clocks to ChatGPT
by Vanessa Chang
A dazzling tour of the history of technology and its complex relationship to the human body What is the relationship between our bodies and our senses and technology? In today's world of blinding technological change, of artificial intelligence and deepfakes and Chat GPT, it is easy to forget that we have always had complicated relations with technology--whether that technology is computers, player pianos, and even eyeglasses. In this wide-ranging and fascinating study, Vanessa Chang takes us on a historical tour of the interactions between our bodies and machines, showing that the advent of new technologies has always been met with varied reactions, from misplaced fear to tragic over-optimism. The result is cultural critique of the highest order and a profound demonstration of the eternal truth that in order to understand the future, we must look to the past.
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The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s
by Jason Burke
An epic, authoritative, gripping account of the years when a new wave of revolutionaries seized the skies and the streets to hold the world for ransom In the 1970s, an unprecedented wave of international terrorism broke out around the world. More ambitious, networked and far-reaching than ever before, new armed groups terrorized the West with intricately planned plane hijackings and hostage missions, leaving governments scrambling to cope. Their motives were as diverse as their methods. Some sought to champion Palestinian liberation, others to topple Western imperialism or battle capitalism; a few simply sought adventure or power.
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| Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America's New Age of Disaster by Jacob SoboroffMSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff's urgent and affecting chronicle of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires blends personal reflections (Soboroff's childhood home was destroyed) with accounts from meteorologists, firefighters, politicians, and area residents. For fans of: Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson. |
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Focus on: Black History Month
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The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
by Richard Rothstein
In this thoroughly researched analysis, housing policy expert Richard Rothstein traces the development of America's restrictive residential codes back to the early 20th century. He shows that modern segregation is built on overlapping local, state, and federal laws -- not just on prejudice-based social customs. Whether you're looking for a comprehensive review of law and policy or an accessible discussion of the history, you'll find The Color of Law both informative and sobering.
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American Scare: Florida's Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives
by Robert W. Fieseler
A vital expos for both our history and our present day, American Scare tells the riveting story of how the Florida government destroyed the lives of Black and queer citizens in the twentieth century. In January 1959, Art Copleston was escorted out of his college accounting class by three police officers. In a motel room, blinds drawn, he sat in front of a state senator and the legal counsel for the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, nicknamed the Johns Committee. His crime? Being a suspected homosexual. And the government of Florida would use any tactic at their disposal--legal or not--to get Copleston to admit it. Using a secret trove of primary source documents that have been decoded and de-censored for the first time in history, journalist Robert Fieseler unravels the mystery of what actually happened behind the closed doors of an inquisition that held ordinary citizens ransom to its extraordinary powers. A propulsive, human-centered drama, with fascinating insight into Florida politics, American Scare is a page-turning reckoning of our racist and homophobic past--and its chilling parallels to today.
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| The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women's... by Lindsey StewartBlack feminist philosopher Lindsey Stewart's sweeping and richly detailed follow-up to The Politics of Black Joy traces the origins and evolution of West African spiritual practices in America, popularized by enslaved conjure women who utilized their skills to heal their communities. Try this next: When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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