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History and Current Events November 2026 |
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| How Bright the Path Grows: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the March on... by Marcia ChatelainIn this thought-provoking and well-researched corrective, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marcia Chatelain (Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America) spotlights the crucial but little-known contributions Black women activists made to the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Further reading: Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African
American Women in the Civil Rights Movement by Janet Dewart Bell. |
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| Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City by Anand GiridharadasOn May 1, 2023, Jordan Neely, a Black unhoused man experiencing a psychotic episode on the New York City subway, was placed in a chokehold by a fellow passenger, white former Marine Daniel Penny, until he died. Investigative journalist Anand Giridharadas’ nuanced account looks beyond the headlines to reveal the complexity of the tragedy, exploring themes of race and privilege, homelessness, mental health care, and America’s criminal justice system. Further reading: In the Shadow of Freedom: The Enduring Call for Racial Justice by Alessandra Harris. |
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The Biggest Lie: The Prehistory of American Fascism, 1818-1915
by Joseph Kelly
Historian Joseph Kelly's well-researched revisionist account explores the origins of American fascism in the Antebellum South, detailing how the 1818 Missouri Compromise helped advance the ideology. Further reading: The Secret War Against Hate: American Resistance to Antisemitism and White Supremacy by Steven J. Ross.
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The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
by Richard Bell
Historian Richard Bell reveals the full breadth and depth of America's founding event: the American Revolution was not only the colonies' triumphant liberation from the rule of an overbearing England, it was also a cataclysm that pulled in participants from around the globe and threw the entire world order into chaos. Repositioning the Revolution at the center of an international web, Bell's narrative ranges as far afield as India, Africa, Central America, and Australia. As his lens widens, the 'War of Independence' manifests itself as a sprawling struggle that upended the lives of millions of people on every continent and fundamentally transformed the way the world works, disrupting trade, restructuring penal systems, stirring famine, and creating the first global refugee crisis--
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Focus on: Native American Heritage Month
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| The Free and the Dead: The Untold Story of the Black Seminole Chief, the Indigenous Rebel... by Jamie HolmesJournalist and historian Jamie Holmes’ fast-paced account of the Seminole Wars (1817-1858), America’s longest military engagement until the Vietnam War, reveals little-known aspects of the conflict and spotlights the diversity of the Seminole Nation, which included formerly enslaved Africans. Further reading: Osceola and the Great Seminole War: A Struggle for Justice and Freedom by Thom Hatch. |
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On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe
by Caroline Dodds Pennock
What it is: a thought-provoking revisionist history that explores how Indigenous Americans who willingly traveled or were forcibly transported to Europe during the Age of Discovery impacted the politics and culture of their colonizers.
Read it for: a well-researched account of the Colonial period that eschews Eurocentric narratives and prioritizes the perspectives of colonized populations.
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Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
by Kathleen DuVal
Award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal's sweeping and scholarly history offers a corrective to Eurocentric narratives about Indigenous Americans by spotlighting one thousand years of Native autonomy, governance, and resistance. For fans of: National Book Award-winning The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk.
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Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America
by Pekka Hämäläinen
What it is: a sweeping, revisionist North American history that centers Indigenous agency and resistance.
Why you should read it: Finnish scholar Pekka Hämäläinen's well-researched chronicle eschews traditional narratives that portray Native populations solely as colonized people doomed to extinction.
Try this next: For another compelling corrective to Eurocentric histories, read The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by Ojibwe historian David Treuer.
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Indigenous from A to Z
by Traci Sorell
From an award-winning author-illustrator team, Indigenous from A to Z offers a bold, beautiful, authentic view of Indigenous peoples' history, culture, values, and future--essential for Native American Heritage Month and all year round. Welcome to Indigenous from A to Z, a stunning alphabetical introduction to the rich history of Native peoples across the USA. Letter by letter, award-winning author Traci Sorell (Cherokee) offers terms that speak to both the vast diversity among Native Nations and the many connections they share, building an essential foundation of understanding for young readers. From the past shown in B is for Before 1492 and C is for Colonialism, to the vibrant culture revealed in J is for Joking and M is for Music, to the dynamic future promised by O is for Organize and R is for Reclaim, this powerful book captures the legacy and living history of Indigenous peoples today. The sweeping illustrations by artist Natasha Donovan (M tis) encompass both the vastness of the changes Indigenous people have experienced and the specificity of individual artists, scientists, and other significant figures. Rich backmatter explains the visual and textual references. The book concludes with a Z to A listing of twenty-six Native Nations, coming full circle to say: We're surviving, Striving towards thriving, and Indigenous to this land--Always.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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