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History and Current Events February 2026 |
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Witness to War: The Story of the Civil War Told By Those Who Lived It
by J. Mark Powell
From the first shots at Fort Sumter to the mourning of Lincoln's death-experience the Civil War as it happened, through the voices of those who were there.History comes to life in the words of those who lived through the American Civil War.The Civil War was one of the great events of United States history, and the widespread literacy of the mid-nineteenth century made it possible for an unprecedented number of Americans to record their thoughts, observations, descriptions, and opinions of the war. This book prints more than 500 letters-all of them in print for the first time-to reveal life during the Civil War. Presented chronologically from Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 through his assassination in 1865, the letters follow the entire arc of the Civil War as it unfolds in real time through the words of everyday people-military and civilian, Union and Confederate, white and black, men, women, and even a few children. In their own words, they offer deeply held opinions about Lincoln, slavery, abolition, and the war; sometimes humorous observations on the course of the conflict and its leaders; poignant expressions of grief for the fallen and longing for the absent; and unforgettable descriptions of combat from First Manassas to Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and more.Highlights from the letters include: People about here talk of nothing now but pork and politics. Pork, however, will soon be all sold, and then we'll hear of nothing but secession. South Carolina needs a good mauling.Them damn abolitionists are a blowing their horn, 'Why don't the army move?' I would like to have some of them down here with a knapsack on that weighs about 200 lbs. I would run them on the double quick all day long.I don't care how soon you desert and come home and your folks don't care either. How I wish you would have taken my advice and stayed at home with me. Oh Joe, desert and come home.I was under the enemy's fire for 7 days. You said something about the woods burning. They was burning some as the cannon fired them. We fought through the fires and whipped them back.The nation has met with a sore bereavement by the sudden death of our President. I hope they will find the vile assassin that perpetrated the hellish deed and make him stretch hemp on the first tree that they come to after they catch him.Witness to War lets the participants speak for themselves, offering a fresh, human perspective on a war that still holds and haunts us more than 150 years later.
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Twilight of Camelot: The Short Life and Long Legacy of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy
by Steven Levingston
From the author of the insightful and well-crafted (The Wall Street Journal) Kennedy and King comes a heart-wrenching and sensitive examination of the tragic loss of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's premature son, Patrick, and how their shared grief brought them closer together in the months leading up to his assassination. In April 1963, President Kennedy and the First Lady announced the pregnancy of their third child--joyful news after years of miscarriages and the stillborn birth of a daughter in 1956. But on August 7th, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was born six weeks premature and died less than two days later. In this probing, soulful account of the struggle to save Patrick, Steven Levingston takes us inside the long-troubled relationship of Jack and Jackie as they faced one of the most difficult experiences of their marriage. With a perceptive and eloquent (The Christian Science Monitor) voice, Levingston reveals how Patrick's death, tragic as it was, ultimately brought the couple closer together and set the President on a trajectory to be a better husband and father in the months leading up to their fateful campaign trip to Dallas. For his definitive account of Patrick's brief but influential life, Levingston draws on first-ever interviews with doctors who treated Jackie and Patrick, in-depth revelations of the Secret Service agent in whose speeding car Jackie nearly gave birth prematurely, and on new archival documents. Twilight of Camelot is a fresh and humanizing portrait of one of the most famous and complicated couples of the 20th century, and a pulsating drama that illuminates one of the least-known periods in Kennedy family history.
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Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria
by Loubna Mrie
A stunning memoir of personal rebellion and political awakening from a young woman raised to be loyal to a brutal regime--and the unimaginable cost of choosing freedom Like any good Alawite girl, every day at school, Loubna Mrie pledged allegiance to Hafez al-Assad. When she complained about memorizing his speeches for class, she was told to shorten her tongue--without the president, her family believed, the Alawites would be persecuted by the Sunni majority, as they had been for centuries before the Assads came to power. A girl's role was to obey, not to question. Loubna's father, a mercurial businessman with close ties to the Assad regime, ruled over his wife and daughters with absolute authority. In their world, loyalty was sur-vival. Curiosity was blasphemy. Dissent was betrayal. But everything changed in 2011, when the pro-democracy uprisings of the Arab Spring reached Syria. Unable to suppress her curiosity, Loubna attended an anti-government protest. What she witnessed--the courage, the brutality, and the lies that followed--ignited something in her that would not be extinguished. She joined the resistance, risking her life by fearlessly proclaiming her Alawite heritage and, later, as a photojournalist documenting the war for Reuters and other outlets. Her defiance would come at a devastating cost: the loss of loved ones, her community, and ultimately her country. Leaving behind everything she knew, she would have to find a new home within herself. Defiance is the unforgettable account of one woman's fight for freedom--against a father, a dictator, and the weight of inherited belief. From the streets of Aleppo to exile in New York City, it offers an electrifying portrait of moral courage in the face of authoritarianism and violence. Told with clarity, fury, and grace, Defiance offers a rare ground-level portrait of what it means to wake up, to resist, and to become.
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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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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... 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... 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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