Handley Regional Library System: History and Current Events: April 2026

Recent Releases

Kennedy's Coup: A White House Plot, a Saigon Murder, and America's Descent Into Vietnam
by Jack Cheevers

In his richly detailed latest, political reporter Jack Cheevers (Act of War) utilizes previously unavailable government documents to chronicle the Kennedy administration's role in the 1963 ousting and assassination of South Vietnam president Ngo Dinh Diem. Try this next: All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

The Navigator's Letter: The True Story of Two WWII Airmen, a Doomed Mission, and the Woman Who Bound Them Together
by Jan Cress Dondi

A USA Today Bestseller, The Navigator's Letter brings to light one of the best untold and dangerous stories of World War II, chronicling a moving and heroic story of patriotic duty, familial bonds, brotherhood, and love. Intertwined with events of WWII, the story follows the two B-24 navigators coursing through wartime, both with ties to the same woman. Their lives unfurl with the Air Force's darkest day, Operation Tidal Wave...

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

The Great Resistance: The 400-Year Fight to End Slavery in the Americas
by Carrie Gibson

Historian Carrie Gibson's (El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America) sweeping history illuminates four centuries of enslaved people's resistance to the Atlantic slave trade and "insists on the primacy of the enslaved themselves as agents of their own liberation"(Kirkus Reviews). Further reading: Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World by Sudhir Hazareesingh.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

American Grammar: Race, Education, and the Building of a Nation
by Jarvis R. Givens

A new history of US education through the nineteenth century that rigorously accounts for Black, Native, and white experiences; a story that exposes the idea of American education as the great equalizer to not only be a lie, but also a myth that reproduces past harms.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World
by Tilar J. Mazzeo

The true story of the first female captain of a merchant ship and her treacherous navigation of Antarctica's deadly waters, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot. Set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush and taking us to the brink of Antarctica, [this book] finally gives Mary Ann Patten her due.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology
by Jon Meacham (editor)

Edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham and spanning 1619 to the present, this thought-provoking anthology explores the promises and failures of American democracy, featuring primary sources including speeches, letters, poems, and more. Try this next: Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

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, offering a fresh, human perspective on a war that still holds and haunts us more than 150 years later.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster
by Shelley Puhak

Writer and poet Shelley Puhak's (The Dark Queens) nuanced and demythologizing latest examines the life and exploits of 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Báthory, whose conviction of (and imprisonment for) torturing and murdering 80 girls and women was the result of a smear campaign. It's "a stunning feminist reconsideration of one of history's most reviled villainesses" (Publishers Weekly). Try this next: When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold by Alia Trabucco Zerán.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

The Unfinished Business of 1776: Why the American Revolution Never Ended
by Thomas Richards

A clarion call for taking back the American Revolution from the far right, published for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence In a sharp, irreverent, deeply informed account of the nation's founding moment and its enduring legacies, historian Thomas Richards Jr. invites us to see the Revolution not just as a one-time fight for political freedom from Britain but as an ongoing struggle for equality, justice, and social and political independence for all Americans. A myth-busting book about the history we think we know, The Unfinished Business of 1776 is the perfect antidote to jingoistic celebrations of America--offering an inclusive vision of our common past.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen
by Cheryl W. Thompson

NPR investigative journalist and the daughter of a Tuskegee Airman, Cheryl W. Thompson explores the stories of the 27 Tuskegee Airmen - the Black pilots who fought for America in WWII - who went missing in combat, the lives they lived, the reasons their planes went down, why the remains of all but two were never found, and the impact their disappearances had on their families and communities. After 80 years, Forgotten Souls honors the impact they made, and the sacrifices they endured on America's behalf.

This is available in our Adult Nonfiction collection.

Contact your librarian for more great books!