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History and Current Events February 2026 |
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| Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America's New Age of Disaster by Jacob SoboroffMSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff's urgent and affecting chronicle of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires blends personal reflections (Soboroff's childhood home was destroyed) with accounts from meteorologists, firefighters, politicians, and area residents. For fans of: Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson. |
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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. An epic achievement, his book takes us into merchant businesses in Aden and car factories in Turin, onto the terrifyingly violent sugar plantations in Barbados, and within the world of women workers in textile factories in today's Cambodia.
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| The Great Resistance: The 400-Year Fight to End Slavery in the Americas by Carrie GibsonHistorian Carrie Gibson's (El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America) sweeping history illuminates four centuries of enslaved people's resistance to the Atlantic slave trade and "insists on the primacy of the enslaved themselves as agents of their own liberation"(Kirkus Reviews). Further reading: Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World by Sudhir Hazareesingh. |
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Focus on: Black History Month
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| My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future by Alice RandallIn her impassioned and insightful blend of history and memoir, Nashville-based songwriter and producer Alice Randall (the first Black woman to co-write a number one country song) spotlights trailblazing yet forgotten Black country musicians whose artistry has influenced the genre. Try this next: Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King by Preston Lauterbach. |
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| HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience by Ayesha Rascoe (editor)Edited by NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, this inspiring essay collection features 16 pieces penned by graduates of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), detailing how their college experiences shaped them. Further reading: Historically Black Colleges and Universities' Guide to Excellence by William R. Harvey. |
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| The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women's Magic by Lindsey StewartBlack feminist philosopher Lindsey Stewart's sweeping and richly detailed follow-up to The Politics of Black Joy traces the origins and evolution of West African spiritual practices in America, popularized by enslaved conjure women who utilized their skills to heal their communities. Try this next: When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery. |
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| A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics by Juanita TolliverJournalist Juanita Tolliver's evocative and illuminating debut chronicles the little-known story of a fundraiser actress Diahann Carroll hosted for presidential hopeful Shirley Chisholm in 1972, whose attendees included Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton, comedian Flip Wilson, and future congresswoman Maxine Waters. Try this next: Shirley Chisholm: Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics by Anastasia C. Curwood. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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