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History and Current Events October 2026 |
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| The Everest Mystery: Sandy Irvine, George Mallory, and the Truth Still Buried on Everest by Julie Summers and Jochen HemmlebHistorians Julie Summers and Jochen Hemmleb chronicle Sandy Irvine and George Mallory’s ill-fated 1924 expedition to summit Mt. Everest, during which the explorers perished…but how? And when? Drawing upon letters and journal entries, this evocative and richly detailed account offers a compelling historical mystery with a uniquely personal perspective -- Summers is Irvine’s great-niece. Booklist says, "everyone will be riveted by the personalities, the constraints of their era, and the courage and ingenuity they ultimately brought to it, whether or not they succeeded." |
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Exhumed: Unearthing the History of the American Vampire
by Aaron Mahnke
An engrossing and macabre exploration of the folklore and early medical practices that led to the New England Vampire Panic in the 1890s. What would drive a man to exhume the body of his daughter and remove her heart? Mahnke excavates the past to understand the hysteria that fueled the ghastly exhumation of Mercy Brown in 1892, who died of consumption at the age of 19. As shocking as Brown's exhumation might seem, it also reflected surprisingly common attitudes and beliefs about the relationship between the dead and the living, the nature of science and magic, and the fate of a human soul. It all builds to a revelatory understanding of human behavior that continues to this very day
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Queens and Kings: An Unusually Personal History
by Lucy Worsley
A colorful journey through some of the most significant moments in British history, as seen through Lucy Worsley's life and adventures as Chief Curator for Historic Royal Palaces. She traces royal footsteps through the corridors and cloisters, the courtyards and kitchens and breathes new life into moments of great joy and consequence, as well as tales of intrigue which lurked in the shadows of regal splendor. Packed with new stories told from unexplored places, this is a fresh history of the monarchy.
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American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump
by Kai Bird
A penetrating biography of super-lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn, whose shocking exploits over four decades have shaped the modern political era. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the many dramas of American political life had one common denominator: Roy Cohn. From the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, to the McCarthy era, to advising Nixon and mentoring a young Donald Trump, Cohn was a nefarious actor in a startling number of history-shaping events whose influence resonates to the present day.
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Recent Releases: Current Events
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| The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy by Gil DuránSan Francisco-based journalist Gil Durán’s debut is a fearless and urgent chronicle of the tech-authoritarian movement from its early days in San Francisco politics to its current moment on the international stage, exploring the wild and dystopian ambition of the technocrats at its center, and offering a road map to resistance. It’s “an ominous look at an insular elite arrayed against American democracy,” says Publishers Weekly. |
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| The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill LeporeTaking inspiration from Hannah Arendt’s 1951 classic The Origins of Totalitarianism, Pulitzer Prize winner Jill Lepore’s thought-provoking latest examines the origins and evolution of artificial intelligence, detailing AI’s damaging influence over politics, economics, and the everyday fabric of life. "Staggering, sobering, yet essential reading for all who want to understand the arc of this increasingly digital, online, corporate, and out-of-control world." (Booklist) |
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| The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unraveling Men by Jon RonsonIn his nuanced and compelling latest, bestselling investigative journalist Jon Ronson explores the modern masculinity crisis, focusing on the eyebrow-raising exploits of predatory steel industry heir Chris Mark; actor and alleged cannibal Armie Hammer; Ronson’s former friend, disgraced Irish showrunner Graham Linehan; “manosphere” content creator Dan Bilzerian; and more. "Ronson provides exacting details and insider perspectives amplifying his subjects' psychological motivations and their consequences." (Kirkus Reviews) |
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Don't Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech
by Claire Stapleton
A whip-smart, darkly funny, and timely memoir of one woman's twelve years inside Google and her transformation from insider to dissenter as the company's ideals begin to unravel from within. This is an insider's account of how power actually works--and a deeper reckoning with the stories we tell about work, purpose, and ourselves. In a culture that collapses identity into work, and as tech elites blur the line between private authority and public life, it asks: how much can you change from within--and when is it time to walk away?
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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630-653-7599, 0S291 Winfield Rd.
Winfield, IL 60190
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