Forsyth County Public Library: History and Current Events: April 2026

Recent Releases

The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender's Search for...
by Emily Galvin Almanza

Co-founder and executive director of Partners for Justice and former public defender, Emily Galvin Almanza, presents a thought-provoking and incisive examination of the failures of the American criminal justice system and offers solutions for reform. For fans of: The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander; Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

Kennedy's Coup: A White House Plot, a Saigon Murder, and America's Descent Into Vietnam
by Jack Cheevers

In his richly detailed latest, political reporter Jack Cheevers (Act of War) utilizes previously unavailable government documents to chronicle the Kennedy administration's role in the 1963 ousting and assassination of South Vietnam president Ngo Dinh Diem. Try this next: All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer.

A High Price for Freedom: Raising Hidden Voices from the African American Past
by Clyde W. Ford

House author and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library Publishing Project, Clyde W. Ford, surfaces the voices of those buried in the African American past to tell the stories of critical moments in the Black Freedom Struggle, challenging what readers think they know about Black history. Further reading: We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson.

Mafia: A Global History
by Ryan Gingeras

Historian Ryan Gingeras' (The Last Days of the Ottoman Empire) sweeping account surveys the origins and exploits of organized crime syndicates throughout the world, including the Mafia, Yakuza, Triad, and more. Try this next: Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia by Louis Ferrante.

The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin's Greatest Enemy
by Josh Ireland

Writer and editor Josh Ireland's fast-paced and compelling history details Soviet espionage efforts during World War II, focusing on the 1940 assassination of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. For fans of: The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre.

The Windsor Legacy: A Royal Dynasty of Secrets, Scandal, and Survival
by Robert Jobson

Penned by Robert Jobson, a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author and a front-line royal correspondent for over three decades, this extraordinary work will take readers deep into the heart of royal history as well as through the secrets that plague it to this day. From the abdication crisis, royal family entanglements, Cold War espionage, betrayal, and scandalous love affairs to more recent constitutional crises and the monarchy's most closely guarded secrets and feuds. Further reading: Winston and the Windsors: How Churchill Shaped a Royal Dynasty by Andrew Morton; Courtiers: Intrigue, Ambition, and the Power Players Behind the House of Windsor by Valentine Low.

Tom Paine's War: The Words That Rallied a Nation and the Founder for Our Time
by Jack Kelly

In January 1776, Thomas Paine--a recent immigrant to America --published Common Sense. His straightforward argument upended the fraud of monarchy and dismantled the idea of aristocratic privilege that had dominated the world for centuries. His words convinced Americans that the king had no divine right to rule them--they could rule themselves. He turned a rebellion over taxes and representation into a true Revolution. Jack Kelly tells a story of the power of words--and the power of belief--and how both speak as well to America's current crisis. For fans of: John Hancock: First to Sign, First to Invest in America's Independence by Willard Sterne Randall.

We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America
by Norah O'Donnell with Kate Andersen Brower

Emmy Award-wining journalist, Norah O'Donnell's sweeping and inspiring book surveys women's contributions throughout American history via 35 biographical profiles. Further reading: The American Women's Almanac: 500 Years of Making History by Deborah G. Felder.

The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster
by Shelley Puhak

Writer and poet Shelley Puhak's (The Dark Queens) nuanced and demythologizing latest examines the life and exploits of 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Báthory, whose conviction of (and imprisonment for) torturing and murdering 80 girls and women was the result of a smear campaign. It's "a stunning feminist reconsideration of one of history's most reviled villainesses" (Publishers Weekly). Try this next: She Kills: The Murderous Socialite, The Cross-Dressing Bank Robber, and Other True Crime Tales by Skip Hollandsworth.

Contact your librarian for more great books!