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History and Current Events January 2026 |
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| Captain's Dinner: A Shipwreck, an Act of Cannibalism, and a Murder Trial That... by Adam CohenIn 1884, the starving crew of the shipwrecked yacht Mignonette killed and cannibalized the vessel's cabin boy in accordance with the "custom of the sea." The resulting murder trial set a precedent that changed the course of legal history. Journalist Adam Cohen's engaging true crime account offers a richly detailed chronicle of the rapidly shifting mores of the Victorian era. For fans of: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann. |
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| The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter IsaacsonBestselling biographer Walter Isaacson (Steve Jobs) turns his attention to the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence (which begins with "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."), offering a word-by-word breakdown of its significance. Published to coincide with the document's 250th anniversary, this "short, smart analysis" (Kirkus Reviews) will appeal to fans of The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America by Jeffrey Rosen. |
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When You Come at the King: Inside Doj's Pursuit of the President, from Nixon to Trump
by Elie Honig
[A] deeply researched, keenly analytical, and frequently provocative chronicle of this singular judicial entity. . . . A senior legal analyst for CNN and former assistant U.S. attorney, Honig is well-suited to the task of providing a historical overview of the special counsel's function with the ever-evolving context of politics, partisanship and political skepticism. --Booklist (STARRED review)A fascinating, fast-paced insider's account....[a] riveting, deeply reported book. --Anderson CooperEvery page hums with gripping anecdotes and breaking news journalism. --Douglas BrinkleyImagine you've been put in charge of investigating your own boss--who also happens to be the most powerful person on the planet.You might unearth information that will be politically, professionally, and personally devastating to your subject, and you alone hold the power to indict and potentially imprison him. At the same time, the boss can fire you and end the case--and might even turn the tables and launch an inquiry aimed at you. As the lone-wolf assassin Omar put it in The Wire: You come at the king, you best not miss.That's the crucible for any Special Counsel. For decades, the Department of Justice has appointed outside prosecutors to handle our highest-stakes cases. But do these independent investigations lead to just results?In When You Come at the King, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig delivers a fast-paced, insider's account of the most important Justice Department investigations of the past fifty years, based on dozens of on-record interviews with firsthand participants. A Watergate prosecutor reveals she hid copies of key documents at home to guard against potential destruction of evidence by the president's allies. A member of the Iran-Contra prosecution team explains why they made a shocking election-eve revelation. A defense lawyer for Donald Trump details his private meeting with Jack Smith just days before Trump was indicted.From Ken Starr's investigation of Bill Clinton to modern cases involving Patrick Fitzgerald, Robert Mueller, Jack Smith, and more, Honig charts how the Special Counsel system developed and evolved over time. We know the maxim that a nation can be measured by how it treats its weakest members. This book explores an inverse corollary: A nation reveals much about itself by how it holds accountable its most powerful leaders when they've done wrong.Now, with the future of Special Counsels in doubt, When You Come at the King addresses the most important question of all: Can the system evolve to better serve the call for justice?
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Fight Oligarchy
by Bernie Sanders
Oligarchy is a system in which a small number of extremely wealthy individuals control the economic, political, and media life of a nation. It is a system in which ordinary people have very little power to determine the future of their country. If you're an American, it is the system in which you're living. That must change. In the wealthiest nation on earth we must build a political movement that creates a government that represents all Americans, not just a handful of billionaires.--Bernie Sanders NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Senator Bernie Sanders breaks down the unprecedented crises we face today in Trump's America, as Trump undermines democracy at every turn--and how we can effectively fight back. From the moment that Sanders began his Fighting Oligarchy tour in the early days of the Trump administration, it was clear that his message resonated with Americans across the political spectrum. Record-breaking crowds numbering in the tens of thousands showed up across the country. Large numbers of Americans, in red states and blue states, were prepared to stand up and fight back. In this book, he shows how we can continue that fight. In a series of short, pointed chapters, Sanders explains how the United States today is an oligarchic society in which a small handful of multibillionaires exercise enormous economic and political power. He describes what it means when the very rich get much richer, while the majority of Americans struggle to pay the rent and put food on the table. And he observes how a corrupt campaign finance system allows billionaires in both parties to increasingly control our political system. Sanders also discusses how, under Trump, we are rapidly moving toward authoritarianism-with a president who is undermining our democracy as he attacks Congress, the courts, the media, and law firms and universities in search of more and more power for himself. With relentless optimism and focused energy, Sanders reminds readers that true power rests with the people--and he presents a path forward to a reinvigorated democracy.
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The Devil's Castle: Nazi Eugenics, Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry's Troubled History Reverberates Today
by Susanne Paola Antonetta
In The Devil's Castle, Susanne Paola Antonetta weaves a haunting narrative that confronts the darkest chapters of psychiatric history while offering a bold vision for the future of mental health care. In 1939, the eugenics movement growing throughout the West did its worst in Nazi Germany. Through the Aktion T4 euthanasia program, five asylums and an abandoned jail were transformed into gas chambers. Tens of thousands of lives-predominantly adults with neuropsychiatric conditions-were extinguished in those structures, ultimately paving the way for the horrors of the Holocaust. Interlacing her experiences of psychosis with the complex history of psychiatry, Antonetta sheds light on the intersections of madness and societal perceptions of mental difference. She brings to life the stories of Paul Schreber and Dorothea Buck, two historical figures who act as models for mind care and acceptance-- Provided by publisher.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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