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History and Current Events March 2026 |
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| Football by Chuck KlostermanWhat's inside: Journalist Chuck Klosterman (The Nineties*) ruminates on his lifelong love of football in this funny and wide-ranging cultural history that's "a transcendent appraisal of America's favorite sport" (Publishers Weekly). Praise: "...unlike any book on the sport to come before: a hybrid of memoir, sports reporting, and cultural critique of both football and America itself... Klosterman’s essays offer fresh, fascinating perspectives on a sport that has come to dominate the American consciousness like no other in recent decades." (The San Francisco Chronicle) |
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| Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling by Danny FuntWhat's inside: Washington Post contributor Danny Funt's illuminating debut chronicles the evolution of legalized sports betting in the United States, detailing the rise of companies like FanDuel and DraftKings and how they prey upon consumers and athletes alike.
Praise: "Funt masterfully chronicles the meteoric rise in gambling and societal acceptance of a predatory business in a book that will simultaneously inform and alarm readers." (Booklist) |
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| Neptune's Fortune: The Billion-Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish... by Julian SanctonWhat's inside: Historian Julian Sancton's sweeping maritime saga chronicles the 2015 discovery of the San José, a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Colombia in 1708. Since the discovery of the wreck, the case has been mired in accusations that archaeologist Roger Dooley is a con artist and grave robber. Featuring interviews with Dooley, this compelling adventure tale will especially appeal to fans of wily storytelling and metanarrative like Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief. Praise: "Splendid... Sancton is an expert guide through eighteenth-century European geopolitics [and] modern marine archaeology." (The Wall Street Journal) |
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Praise: “Wry, sharp, and deeply personal.... (No Ordinary Bird) is a daughter’s raw, immersive journey through the myth and memory of a larger-than-life man and the fallout of his choices. The memoir is like Catch Me If You Can crossed with Narcos...Exquisitely written, fiercely researched, and emotionally fearless, this rare memoir is not to be missed.” (Library Journal) |
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What's inside: In this cheeky blend of history and self-help, Brown University scholars and best friends Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita give the juicy scoop on 16th and 17th century convent life to help readers cope with today's anxiety-ridden, hyper-connected world. Blending rigorous research, pop culture references, and personal anecdotes throughout, the authors present monastic responses to work woes, unholy diets, and crises of the soul with a wink and a prayer. Praise: "With impressive research and writerly aplomb... [the authors] enthusiastically populate seven sections—Girlfriends, Work, Body, Love, Money, Soul and Fame—with richly detailed, entertaining stories of indomitable, inspiring nuns..." (Bookpage) |
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Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights by Keisha N. BlainWhat's inside: A Library Journal Best Book of 2025, Without Fear examines the stories of how -- in fighting for their own liberation and equality -- Black women in the U.S. have paved the way for contemporary human rights standards and anti-oppression strategies. Praise: "Eye-opening… A thoroughly researched and invigorating look at a robust grassroots push for human rights in the 20th century." (Publishers Weekly) |
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Milena and Margarete: A Love Story in Ravensbrück by Gwen StraussWhat's inside: New York Times-bestselling author Gwen Strauss (The Nine) tells the love story of two women in Ravensbrück -- Milena Jesenská and Margarete Buber-Neumann -- in this profoundly moving celebration of love under the darkest of circumstances. Praise: "... a significant contribution to Holocaust literature. Queer people were targeted by the Nazis for persecution, but their stories are rarely heard: Victims silenced themselves to avoid stigmatization or prosecution in countries where homosexuality was a criminal offense. Strauss’ extensive research drew from the women’s letters, as well as Milena’s prewar journalism and Margarete’s memoirs, to tell their story. As a result, she brings to life voices that have too long been suppressed." (Bookpage) |
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| Praise: "Beautiful... If you, like Miles, were once a girl who found an expansive sense of wonder and possibility in wild spaces, this is a book to savor. " (BookPage) |
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What's inside: As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, and as clever as it is wise. Praise: "I give daily thanks for Robin Wall Kimmerer for being a font of endless knowledge, both mental and spiritual." (Richard Powers, The New York Times) |
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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