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History and Current Events
February 2022
Recent Releases
Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks
by David Bushman & Mark T. Givens; foreword by Mark Frost

Who killed Hazel Drew? In 1908 upstate New York, 20-year-old domestic servant Hazel Drew was found murdered in a pond. More than 100 years later, the case remains unsolved.

Who it's for: True crime aficionados and fans of TV's Twin Peaks (which was inspired by the case) will enjoy this vivid and richly detailed investigation. 

Featuring: a foreword from Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost.
You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays
by Zora Neale Hurston; introduction and edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Genevieve West

What it is: a sweeping essay collection of pieces penned by author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960).

Read it for: an irreverent chronicle of Black life, culture, and creativity from the birth of the Harlem Renaissance to the civil rights movement. 

Essays include: "Race Cannot Become Great Until It Recognizes Its Talent;" "Which Way the NAACP?;" "Spirituals and Neo-Spirituals." 
Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955
by Harald Jähner; translated by Shaun Whiteside

What it's about: the perils and promises of life in postwar Germany.

Why you might like it: Journalist Harald Jähner's sobering and eye-opening chronicle reveals how everyday Germans grappled with the devastation of their past to create a better future. 

Book buzz: Originally published in Germany in 2019, Jähner's bestselling history won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. 
Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice
by Tony Messenger

What it's about: how the American justice system disproportionately penalizes the poor through costly legal fines and fees.

Who it's for: Readers who appreciate well-researched studies on the criminalization of poverty, like Matthew Desmond's Evicted, will find much to ponder in this thought-provoking call for change.

Author alert: St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger won the Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for his series on debtors' prisons.
Black History Month
Black Futures
by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham (editors)

What it is: an inventive and nonlinear mixed-media anthology that asks: "What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?"

What's inside: poetry, artwork, essays, memes, recipes, and interviews.

Contributors include: Ta-Nehisi Coates; Zadie Smith; Kiese Laymon; Samantha Irby; Hanif Abdurraqib; Ziwe Fumudoh.
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts
by Rebecca Hall; illustrated by Hugo Martínez

What it is: a poignant tribute to enslaved women who fought against their captors during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Why you should read it: Scholar Rebecca Hall's haunting graphic narrative is an "urgent, brilliant work of historical excavation" (Kirkus Reviews).

Art alert: Bold black-and-white die-cut illustrations are paired with letters, ship logs, court records, and forensic evidence to bring this affecting history to vivid life.
Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality For All
by Martha S. Jones

What it is: a moving and incisive history exploring Black women's fight for the right to vote, from the 19th century to the present.

Don't miss: Author Martha S. Jones' stories of her great-great grandmother, Susan Davis, a voting rights activist born enslaved.

Further reading: Recasting the Vote: How Women of Color Transformed the Suffrage Movement by Cathleen D. Cahill.
Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking
by Toni Tipton-Martin

What it is: a well-researched history of African American cuisine pairing recipes from old cookbooks with contemporary dishes.   

Recipes include: Sweet Potato Biscuits with Ham; Crab Cakes; Chicken and Dumplings; Braised Celery; Quick Eggnog; Pralines; Fruit Fritters. 

Awards buzz: Jubilee was named one of The New York Times' and NPR's best cookbooks of 2019.
The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History
by David Walker; illustrated by Marcus Kwame Anderson

What it's about: the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party.

Art alert: This thought-provoking and accessible graphic novel history features realistic illustrations rendered in eye-catching colors.

Reviewers say: "nuanced and gripping" (Library Journal); "concise yet in-depth" (Publishers Weekly).  
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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