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History and Current Events June 2025 |
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| Praise: “A sweeping, magisterial analysis of 300 years of conflicting geopolitical understandings of sovereignty that have defined Anglo-American and Spanish American relations... The relevance of this history cannot be overemphasized." (Science) |
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| Praise: "[A] magisterial and energetic account... This first-rate work is a must-read for any history lover. (Publishers Weekly) |
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| Praise: "This is great history... compulsively readable... There is no better writer of narrative history than the Pulitzer Prize–winning Atkinson.” (The New York Times) |
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| Praise: "[An] incisive chronicle... a perceptive take on the psychology of military leadership." (Publishers Weekly) |
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| Praise: "One of the best books on intelligence to be published in the last several years. An excellent and sweeping history of the Russian Illegals program, based on a great deal of original reporting and interviews with former Illegals & their families.” (Shashank Joshi, editor for The Economist) |
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The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine by Alexander VindmanWhat it's about: National security expert Alexander Vindman argues that Western indecision and short-sightedness enabled Russia's return to imperialism, culminating in the brutal invasion of Ukraine, while proposing a long-term, values-based approach to counteract Russian expansionism and uphold liberal democracy. Praise: "Vindman combines intricate analysis with personal observations…to make a spirited riposte to ‘realists’ who argue America has no vital interests in Ukraine. It’s a penetrating take on American foreign relations." (Publishers Weekly) |
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Praise: "... eye-opening and disturbing... a persuasive look at how the material harms of racism are still quantifiable today." (Publishers Weekly) |
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What's inside: a convincing, compassionate history of the troubled history of American orphanages and orphanhood, which draws from in-depth archival research, memoir, and cultural analysis. Praise: "The history is sweeping, damning and infuriating, and requires the depth and care that Martin deploys to understand it fully…. The Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow contributes to a cultural understanding in which orphanhood is neither manufactured, nor idealized, nor divorced from its dark history. Yet, it still carries an optimism... the hope that we might move beyond the fictional tropes and toward an accountability to American families that we have not yet achieved." (The Washington Post) |
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| Praise: "A wide-ranging look at visionaries who are working on ways to lessen the worst effects of climate change….[an] impeccably written and thoroughly inspiring narrative." (Kirkus) |
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What's inside: a lyrical, intimate social study of the "pastiri" people -- shepherds in the Balkans who continue to live in reciprocity with their landscape, despite increasing environmental threats to their livelihood. Bulgarian writer Kapka Kassabova shows how environmental change and industrial capitalism are endangering older, sustainable ways of living, revealing the limitations of much of modern life. Praise: "Fascinating... At its heart, this is an emotional story about the bonds between humans, animals, and the land. A lush ode to ‘one of the oldest nomadic peoples to have entered modernity with their animals." (Kirkus) |
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What's inside: At once a love letter, a time capsule, and a bridge between generations of queer women, A Place of Our Own invites readers into six iconic lesbian spaces over the course of the last sixty years. Journalist June Thomas explores the rural commune, the vacation spot, the feminist bookstore, and other spaces, blending her own experiences with archival research and interviews to illustrate the faces and places that have shaped the struggle for inclusive queer liberation. Praise: "An engaging and informative study that defies attempts to erase people or their places." (Kirkus) |
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The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs.The United States of America by Eric CerviniWhat's inside: the story of Frank Kameny, a rising astronomer and U.S. Defense Department employee, who was accused of homosexuality and fired by the U.S. government in 1957. Kameny fought back, founding the Mattachine Society of Washington -- the first organization to protest systematic persecution of gay federal employees -- and teaming up with other social rights movements in the 1960s to demand change. Acclaim: A finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History, Cervini's "riveting" account is "exhaustively researched and vividly written... eye-opening for anyone keen to have a crash course on LGBTQ politics." (New York Times Book Review) |
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Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Alex L. Combs and Andrew EakettWhat it is: This graphic novel-style nonfiction book explores the expansive, fluid meaning of what we call "trans" as reflected throughout history, using illustrated stories, quotes, and records to introduce readers to historical figures ranging from the controversial Roman emperor Elagabalus, to the swashbuckling seventeenth-century conquistador Antonio de Erauso, to veterans of the Stonewall uprising Marsha P. Johns and Sylvia Rivera. Praise: "Combs and Eakett do a fantastic job of providing readers an incredibly comprehensive and strongly researched—yet somehow compact—look into the history of trans identity." (School Library Journal) |
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What's inside: this "biography in essays" explores the life, music, and importance of Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, one of the greatest blueswomen of her generation. Best known for her two songs covered by white rock stars (Elvis Presley, "Hound Dog"; Janis Joplin, "Ball 'n' Chain"), Thornton was a formidable, subversive musician in her own right. A queer, Black musician herself, Lynnée Denise illuminates Thornton's trailblazing influence along race and gender lines. Praise: "Impressive research and thoughtful commentary illuminate the life and career of Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thornton (1926–84) in this eloquent volume....An engaging and well-written must-read..." (Library Journal) |
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The Old Gays Guide to the Good Life: Lessons Learned about Love and Death, Sex and Sin, and Saving the Best for Last by Mick Peterson, Bill Lyons, Robert Reeves, and Jessay MartinWhat's inside: Beloved foursome Mick Peterson, Bill Lyons, Robert Reeves, and Jessay Martin—the TikTok sensation @theoldgays—share humorous, heartbreaking, shocking, and profound tales from their generation, offering both sage and irreverent advice on aging, loving, and living long in the queer community. Praise: "... exuberant... this risqué rule book celebrates making the most of life at any age." (Publishers Weekly) |
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Behind the book: Several years ago, overwhelmed by feelings of hopeless and misanthropy, Thom began writing love letters to the outcasts she calls her kin, to people with good intentions who inflict accidental harm, and even to the those who outwardly stoke racism and transphobia, in an effort to fall back in love with humanity. Praise: "Heartrending...Thom’s unvarnished honesty and earnestness immediately draws readers in... This fierce and tender volume leaves a mark." (Publishers Weekly) |
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Where You'll Find Me: Risk, Decisions, and the Last Climb of Kate Matrosova*by Ty GagneWhat it's about: On Feb. 15, 2015, Kate Matrosova, an avid mountaineer, set off before sunrise for a traverse of the Northern Presidential Range in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Late the following day, rescuers carried her frozen body out of the mountains amid some of the worst weather ever recorded on these deceptively rugged slopes. At thirty-two, Matrosova was ultra-fit and healthy and had already summited much larger mountains on several continents. Her gear included a rescue beacon and a satellite phone. Yet, despite their best efforts, more than forty expert search and rescue personnel, a New Hampshire Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter, and a Civil Air Patrol Cessna airplane could not reach her in time to save her. What went wrong? In Where You'll Find Me, New Hampshire author Ty Gagne offers possible answers to that question, demonstrating why Matrosova's story — what we know and what we will never know--represents such an intriguing and informative case study in risk analysis and decision-making. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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