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History and Current Events August 2025 |
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Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America
by Scott Ellsworth
From the author of The Ground Breaking, a riveting new look at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. During the last ten months of the Civil War, the Confederacy launched a desperate, audacious war of terror against the north. In the North, Rebels attempted to derail trains, set buildings on fire, spread smallpox, and undermined public support for the Union army. Instead, history books and schools teach that John Wilkes Booth acted alone, was admired by neither side, and was a second-rate actor. This couldn't have been further from the truth: Booth was charming, a world-famous performer, and--most importantly--an ardent supporter of the Confederacy. In the sweltering summer heat of 1864, President Abraham Lincoln had a front-row view of the Civil War, as he dodged firing bullets from the approaching Confederate army at Fort Stevens. It was the first time in American history that a sitting president would come under enemy fire, but the history books would put a far greater focus on his assassination just eight months later. In Midnight on the Potomac, Scott Ellsworth rewrites history, arguing that the two events were in fact connected--and that Lincolns' assassination was likely ordered by leaders of the Confederate Army.
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| The CIA Book Club: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature by Charlie EnglishFormer Guardian journalist Charlie English evocatively chronicles the CIA's successful efforts to weaken Soviet censorship and control by distributing subversive and pro-democracy literature to Eastern Europe in the 1980s. Try this next: The Book Collectors: A Band of Syrian Rebels and the Stories That Carried Them Through a War by Delphine Minoui. |
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| Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan GreenwellIn her incisive debut, journalist Megan Greenwell draws upon her own experience as a former writer for Deadspin to investigate the damaging impact private equity firms have on American workers and communities. Further reading: These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs — and Wrecks — America by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner. |
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| Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays & Writings by Honorée Fanonne JeffersNational Book Award-nominated poet and novelist Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois) makes her genre-defying nonfiction debut with this unflinching and insightful essay collection exploring various crossroads Black women have faced throughout history. For fans of: In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose by Alice Walker; Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry. |
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| Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights... by Sam KeanBestselling science writer Sam Kean (The Icepick Surgeon) offers a lively chronicle of how experimental archeologists utilize evidence found at dig sites to replicate ancient rituals and customs, including hunting with period-appropriate weaponry, playing an Aztec ballgame, brewing ancient Egyptian beer, and even mummifying corpses. Further reading: Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive by Eliot Stein. |
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Motherland: A Journey Through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity
by Luke Pepera
Historian, archaeologist, and anthropologist Luke Pepera takes us on a personal journey discovering 500,000 years of African history and cultures in order to reclaim and reconnect with this extraordinary heritage. He tackles the question many people of African descent ask--Who are we? Where do we come from? What defines us? And it explores how knowledge of this deeper history might affect current understandings of African identity. Through thematically-linked chapters that explore aspects of African identity from nomadic culture and matriarchal society to beliefs about the afterlife and the tradition of oral storytelling, and interwoven with Luke's own experiences of exploring his Ghanaian family history and his personal questions of identity, this is a comprehensive, relevant and beautifully told new history of Africa, and how it has shaped the world we know today.
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| Their Accomplices Wore Robes: How the Supreme Court Chained Black America to the... by Brando Simeo StarkeyLegal scholar Brando Simeo Starkey's (In Defense of Uncle Tom) richly detailed history explores the role the United States Supreme Court has played in the systemic oppression of Black people. Try this next: The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told: Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution by Keith Richotte, Jr. |
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When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David and What Israel's Enemies Don't Want You to Know
by Doron Spielman
Recent excavations in Jerusalem have revealed that just south of the Old City lies an older site, known as the City of David. Archeologists at the site are unearthing evidence that proves the Jewish people's origin story in the land for over three millennia. This is the timely story of those who transformed City of David from a neglected hilltop village into one of the most important archeological heritage sites in the world, while facing powerful global institutions and terror groups that would do almost anything to keep this truth hidden. Highly relevant to the ongoing politicization of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book foreshadows the events and historical denialism that unfolded with Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. As former vice president of the City of David Foundation, Doron Spielman has guided numerous visitors--including donors, diplomats, professors, celebrities, and American politicians--on a journey into the City of David's tunnels. While often holding vastly different political views, these visitors agree on one thing: the story of the City of David must be told.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library
100 E. 4th Street
Michigan City, Indiana 46360
219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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