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History and Current Events August 2025 |
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| Praise: "A story as fascinating as it is undersung... a riveting account centered on Poland in the turbulent 1980s, when the ‘war of ideas’ could exact real casualties... perfectly, painfully timely... A reminder of what’s lost when a government no longer believes in the power of its own ideals." (The New York Times Book Review) |
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The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century by Tim WeinerWhat's inside: this masterful, modern history of the CIA spans from 9/11 through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to today's conflicts with Russia, China, and the U.S. President. About the author: An authoritative reporter on the CIA for four decades, Weiner is a recipient of the National Book Award (for Legacy of Ashes*) as well as the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Praise: "No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has... The Mission deserves to win Weiner a second Pulitzer." (The Guardian) |
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| Threads of Empire: A History of the World in Twelve Carpets by Dorothy ArmstrongWhat it is: Material culture historian Dorothy Armstrong offers an epic, well-researched world history through the lens of twelve individual carpets woven between 500 BC and the present, exploring the practical and symbolic roles they had in shaping human civilization. Praise: "Meticulously researched… An intriguing, revelatory historical perspective." (Kirkus) |
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What's inside: a riveting dual biography of pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart and her ambitious husband and manager, publisher George Putnam. Journalist Laurie Gwen Shapiro (The Stowaway) dives into the pair's partnership, exploring complex personal and professional dynamics previously clouded over by Earhart's glossy mythology. Praise: “[Shapiro’s] appealingly flawed Earhart is high-minded and courageous but also overconfident and careless; Putnam, meanwhile, is a narcissistic and manipulative con man who once staged his own kidnapping for publicity. This nuanced reprisal of Earhart’s life... makes her saga all the more captivating." (Publishers Weekly) |
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What's inside: an eye-opening, deeply researched history of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo: a group of grandmothers who fought to find their stolen grandchildren during Argentina's brutal dictatorship in the 1970's-1980's. Praise: “An enthralling history of a human rights movement whose mission remains as urgent as ever... A Flower Traveled in My Blood reads like a Cold War thriller... Gilliland interrogates what it means to pursue—and ultimately find—justice for the victims of these crimes against humanity.” (The Nation) |
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When We Sold God's Eye: Diamonds, Murder, and a Clash of Worlds in the Amazon by Alex CuadrosWhat's inside: the remarkable true story of how the Cinta Larga, a tribe first contacted by Westerners in the 1960s, came to run an illegal diamond mine in the depths of the Amazon that ended in tragedy. Based on six years of intensive research, journalist Alex Cuadros reveals a story of survival and adaptation, elusive wealth and environmental degradation, and cultural genocide and revenge in a complex nation-state with growing geopolitical power. Praise: "A devastating portrait of the toll that human rapacity exacts on individual lives..." (The New Republic) |
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Praise: "...a reminder that we are selective about our heroes... American history was made not just by the Founding Fathers but also by the messy rascals and gamblers and liars and killers who have long filled out its more sordid chapters. Our nation has always been shaped by the latter, too, it turns out, and reading about them years after the fact, antiheroes though they may have been, is still a hell of a good time." (The Washington Post) |
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Praise: "Thrilling... With cinematic flair, Orbanes narrates the clandestine meetings between spies that led to the false game sets’ development... While some of the stylishly written scenes are clearly speculative, it’s all so gripping that readers won’t mind suspending a bit of disbelief." (Publishers Weekly) |
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| Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream*by Megan GreenwellWhat's inside: Journalist Megan Greenwell investigates how private equity firms have grown to manage nearly every aspect of American life: hospitals, daycare centers, supermarkets, voting machines, newspapers, nursing homes, fertility clinics, prisons, highways, real estate, and even municipal services like water systems, fire departments, and emergency medical services. With incisive, biting commentary, Greenwell reveals the damaging impact private equity firms have had on American workers and communities. Praise: "[An] indictment of an industry that has cannily tilted the playing field in its favor. Bad Company details how clichéd abstractions like ‘consolidation’ and ‘efficiency’ have given cover to real betrayals.” (The New York Times) |
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What's inside: Legendary investor Ray Dalio (Principles*) explores what he calls the 'Big Debt Cycle' to help policymakers, investors, and the general public grasp where we are—and where we are headed—with the national debt and its stakes on our collective wellbeing. Praise: "Ray Dalio's brilliant, iconoclastic approach to understanding financial markets and the economy has richly rewarded him with the predictive powers that made him one of the great investors of our time. This book distills his insights and applies them to the current perilous moment...an invaluable resource for policy makers, investors, and citizens.” (Lawrence H. Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury) |
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| Praise: "Deftly moving between sharp critique and an intimate, confessional tone, this astonishes." (Publishers Weekly) |
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What's inside: Atlantic critic and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert gives a blistering critique of how early-aughts pop culture turned women and girls against each other. This devastating portrait eschews millennial nostalgia, instead focusing on how an age of American materialism, excess, and power-worship spawned a puritanical and chauvinistic culture. Praise: "Searing… rigorously researched but never stuffy… Gilbert has compiled perhaps the first comprehensive examination of turn-of-the-millennium mainstream, cool-kid trends and ephemera, and how they were largely molded by those in power to sell a generation of girls and young women reality-warping lies." (The New York Times) |
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Linguistics, Now and Then
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Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Languageby Adam AleksicWhat's inside: an energetic journey into how modern language is shaped by algorithms, technology, and parasocial interactions. Aleksic gives a fascinating look at how communication is changing in both familiar and unprecedented ways, including evolving iconography (emojis), syntax, and words for taboo subjects. About the author: Aleksic is a professional linguist and content creator, who posts educational videos as the “Etymology Nerd” to more than three million followers. The Washington Post calls him "a code-switcher for the algorithmic age, fluent in both the old language and the new." Praise: "...a fascinating blend of etymology, psychology, cultural analysis and first-person perspective. The book acts as both a snapshot of our current, social media-imbued society and as an intellectual foundation for language developments to come..." (Associated Press) |
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What's inside: In this sweeping history, journalist Laura Spinney delves into the odyssey of Indo-European languages from their linguistic wellspring: Proto-Indo-European. Consulting with linguists, archaeologists, and geneticists, and retracing the steps of nomads, monks, warriors, and kings, Spinney deftly constructs a compelling, worldly word history.
Praise: "... a remarkable account of humanity's quest to rediscover its ancient origins, using modern methods to illuminate the world as it was before the advent of written history. For Spinney, this distant and obscure past holds lessons for the future, as the preservation and purity of language is increasingly a contemporary concern." (The Wall Street Journal)
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Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It*
by Janina Ramirez
What it is: a revisionist history of Europe's medieval period that spotlights the contributions of influential and overlooked women.
Featuring: "King" Jadwiga, Poland's first woman monarch; nun and polymath Hildegard of Bingen, regarded as the founder of natural history in Germany; and mystic Margery Kempe, who authored the first autobiography written in English.
Praise: "Extensive, well-researched, and readable, this book invites us to reassess the historical record. A great choice for any history buff." (Kirkus)
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 Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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