Harford County Public Library: History and Current Events: January 2026

The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB
by Gorden Corera

How do you steal a library? Not just any library but the most secret, heavily guarded archive in the world. The answer is to be a librarian. To be so quiet, that no-one knows what you are up to as you toil undercover and deep amongst the files. The work goes on for decades but remains so low key, that even after your escape, aided by MI6, no one even notices you are gone. The Spy in the Archive tells the remarkable story of how Vasili Mitrokhin--an introverted archivist who loved nothing more than dusty archives--ended up changing the world.

The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings from History
by Odd Arne Westad

From a renowned Yale historian comes a chilling look at the looming threat of the next Great Power war and the urgent interventions necessary to avoid it in the twenty-first century. The vast majority of people alive today have come of age in a world of remarkable stability, presided over by either one or two Superpowers. This is not to say the world has been peaceful; but it has, to a great extent, been predictable. As an increasing number of Great Powers jostle for regional supremacy, as well as competitive advantage in nuclear technology, artificial intelligence, space exploration, and trade, our world has become more fragile, unpredictable--and combustible. The outbreak of global war among today's Great Powers seems increasingly likely. Such war, as Odd Arne Westad powerfully argues in this urgent book, would be of a magnitude and devastation never before seen.

America: 250 Years of Freedom
by Jack D. Warren

From noted American historian, Editor-in-Chief of The American Crisis, and author of Freedom, America's First Veterans, and the Presidency of George Washington, Jack D. Warren Jr's America: 250 Years of Freedom is a celebration of the extraordinary history and achievements of the United States of America, from the Declaration of Independence to the present, and an exploration of the ideals of liberty, equality, natural and civil rights, and responsible citizenship.

The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia's Short-Lived Victory Over Totalitarianism
by Mikhail Zygar

From one of Russia's smartest and best-sourced (The New York Times) reporters comes a gripping and urgent exploration of why the Soviet Union's collapse was incomplete and the Cold War was never over--revealing the resurgence of imperialism in Russia and its current implications for the war in Ukraine. Russian-born journalist Mikhail Zygar was ten years old when the Soviet Union collapsed. Now, after nearly ten years of research, he offers a timely and compelling new approach on Russian history--one that rewrites everything we thought we knew about the fall of the Soviet Union--and argues that its ending is yet to come.

Capitalism: A Global History
by Sven Beckert

No other phenomenon has shaped human history as decisively as capitalism. It structures how we live and work, how we think about ourselves and others, how we organize our politics. Sven Beckert, author of the Bancroft Prize–winning Empire of Cotton, places the story of capitalism within the largest conceivable geographical and historical framework, tracing its history during the past millennium and across the world.

Captain's Dinner: A Shipwreck, an Act of Cannibalism, and a Murder Trial That...
by Adam Cohen

In 1884, the starving crew of the shipwrecked yacht Mignonette killed and cannibalized the vessel's cabin boy in accordance with the "custom of the sea." The resulting murder trial set a precedent that changed the course of legal history. Journalist Adam Cohen's engaging true crime account offers a richly detailed chronicle of the rapidly shifting mores of the Victorian era. For fans of: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann.

The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
by Walter Isaacson

Bestselling biographer Walter Isaacson (Steve Jobs) turns his attention to the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence (which begins with "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."), offering a word-by-word breakdown of its significance. Published to coincide with the document's 250th anniversary, this "short, smart analysis" (Kirkus Reviews) will appeal to fans of The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America by Jeffrey Rosen.

Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History...
by Christine Kuehn

Journalist Christine Kuehn's fast-paced debut details how she learned her grandfather, Otto Kuehn, was a Nazi intelligence agent whose family was sent to pre-World War II Hawaii after his half-Jewish daughter's affair with Joseph Goebbels was discovered.

Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department
by Carol Leonnig

From Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis, a shocking investigation of unparalleled depth into the subversion of the Justice Department over the last decade, culminating in President Donald Trump upending this cornerstone of democracy and threatening America's rule of law as we have long known it.

Contact your librarian for more great books!