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History and Current Events July 2026 |
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Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr. by Lerone MartinFrom a preeminent King scholar, the origin story of the man, minister, and civil rights hero who would lead the nation and change the world.We know who Martin Luther King, Jr. became, but who was he at the beginning of his life? How did his youth inform his outlook and activism?Before Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader, a Nobel Laureate, and a global hero, he was an emotional boy, a middling high school student devoted to fashion, dancing, and dating. Lerone A. Martin, Faculty Director of the Martin Luther King Institute at Stanford University, traces these roots to develop a fuller understanding of the influential preacher's emotional life, his youthful confusion about his future and career direction, his teenage missteps, and his inspiration to fight for justice.Revelatory, humanizing, and compassionate, Young King unearths: MLK's Childhood on Auburn Avenue: his days as Little Mike--the ever-eager middle child and a precocious prankster--spent at Ebenezer Baptist Church and the Auburn Avenue Library in AtlantaEarly Encounters with Racism: his early experiences of segregation and the summers he spent on a Connecticut tobacco farm, his first trip outside the Jim Crow SouthCollege Life at Morehouse: his transformative time at Morehouse, playing basketball, hosting parties, studying sociology, and joining the Ministers' UnionPath to Seminary and Activism: his winding path to seminary and the co-development of his activist consciousness, his spiritual devotion, and his relationship with Coretta, his wife-to-beAs America undergoes another era of turmoil and change, this powerful biography provides a vital roadmap for how greatness comes to light. This essential work is a testament to how history shapes a leader.Young King includes rarely seen black-and-white photographs of an adolescent MLK from his high school days and college years.
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| The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright: The True Story of Mass Murder in Paradise by Casey ShermanJournalist Casey Sherman's richly detailed true crime account chronicles the shocking 1914 murders and arson that took place at architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin compound in Wisconsin. Among the victims were Wright's mistress, her two children, and four staffers; the suspected murderer died by suicide while being apprehended, leaving his motives a mystery. For fans of: Saving Sin City: William Travers Jerome, Stanford White, and the Original Crime of the Century by Mary Cummings. |
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| On Witness and Respair: Essays by Jesmyn WardMacArthur Fellow Jesmyn Ward's reflective latest collects nearly two dozen essays, lectures, and other pieces published from 2008-2025, covering writing, film, literature, and her experiences as a Black woman. Try this next: To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul by Tracy K. Smith. |
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Focus on: The American Revolution
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| Running from Bondage: Enslaved Women and Their Remarkable Fight for Freedom in... by Karen Cook BellScholar Karen Cook Bell's enlightening and well-researched history draws upon primary resources to detail enslaved women's resistance during America's Revolutionary era, spotlighting five women fugitives (whom she refers to as "Black Founding Mothers") who fought for their freedom while the nascent country was seeking independence. Try this next: The Escapes of David George: An Odyssey of Slavery, Freedom, and the American Revolution by Gregory E. O'Malley. |
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| The American Revolution and the Fate of the World by Richard BellIn his lively and accessible latest, historian Richard Bell reveals how the American Revolution was "a world war in all but name," detailing how the conflict impacted countries throughout the globe. Further reading: The American Revolution: A World War edited by Daniel K. Allison and Larrie D. Ferreiro. |
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| The Cause: The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773-1783 by Joseph J. EllisPulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph J. Ellis' thought-provoking chronicle of the American Revolution explores the complexities and contradictions of the colonists' fight for independence, which they referred to as "The Cause." This richly detailed rethinking of a pivotal era includes profiles of forgotten figures including Mohawk chief Joseph Brant and Billy Lee, George Washington's enslaved valet. Further reading: Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution by H.W. Brands. |
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| Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution by Woody HoltonAward-winning historian Woody Holton's revisionist account reveals how Black and Indigenous Americans, enslaved people, and women helped shape the outcome of the American Revolution, despite their conflicts with the colonists. Try this next: Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution by Denise Kiernan. |
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| The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America by Kostya KennedyJournalist Kostya Kennedy's insightful and accessible history chronicles Paul Revere's fateful midnight ride to warn American minutemen of the British army's impending arrival on April 18, 1775. Further reading: The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkinson. |
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| Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters by Edward J. LarsonPulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward J. Larson's concise history chronicles the events of the pivotal year of 1776, which began with many colonists not advocating for independence, and ended with the majority taking up the cause. For fans of: 1776 by David McCullough. |
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