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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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| End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World by Naomi Klein and Astra TaylorAuthors and activists Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s incisive collaboration examines how ethno-nationalists, technocrats, and religious fundamentalists sow societal chaos by espousing apocalyptic worldviews. Try this next: The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change by Rebecca Solnit. |
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| The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World by Nathaniel PhilbrickHistorian and Pulitzer Prize finalist Nathaniel Philbrick’s sweeping latest explores the wide-ranging impact of the California Gold Rush, detailing how it spurred America toward civil war and led to technological advancements including the transatlantic railroad and the motion picture industry. Featuring profiles of figures from the era, this propulsive chronicle also utilizes more than 80 maps and illustrations. For fans of: Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West by Peter Cozzens. |
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Focus on: Native American Heritage Month
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| Native America: The Story of the First Peoples by Kenneth L. FederUtilizing historical records, archeological findings, and oral storytelling traditions, archeologist Kenneth L. Feder’s accessible and engaging volume surveys nearly 20,000 years of Indigenous North American history, centering Indigenous perspectives and rejecting the notion of Europeans’ “discovery” of America. Further reading: Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal. |
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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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| Living Indigenous Feminism: Stories of Contemporary Native American Women by Carolyn Ross Johnston and Terri McKinney BakerFeaturing biographies, interviews, poetry, memoirs, and oral history contributed by women from more than 20 nations and cultures, this richly detailed work views American history through the eyes of Indigenous women, celebrating their agency and resilience in the face of forced removal, the residential school experience, and more. Try this next: Warrior Princesses Strike Back: How Lakota Twins Fight Oppression and Heal Through Connectedness by Sarah Eagle Heart and Emma Eagle Heart-White. |
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| We Survived the Night by Julian Brave NoiseCatBlending elements of memoir and reportage with oral storytelling traditions, Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation filmmaker and activist Julian Brave NoiseCat spotlights contemporary Indigenous life in North America, highlighting the triumphs and travails of misrepresented communities. Try this next: Sugarcane, NoiseCat's documentary for which he became the first Indigenous American filmmaker nominated for an Academy Award; Rez Rules: My Indictment of Canada's and America's Systemic Racism Against Indigenous Peoples by Chief Clarence Louie. |
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| Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States: A Graphic Interpretation by Paul Peart-SmithCartoonist Paul Peart-Smith’s evocative, full-color graphic adaptation of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s award-winning 2014 book An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States is a “thoughtful, radically hopeful work that is sure to resonate with readers of all ages” (Booklist). For fans of: the graphic version of Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbooks Got Wrong, adapted and illustrated by Nate Powell. |
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| The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse by S.L. PriceSports journalist S.L. Price’s sweeping history of lacrosse covers everything from the game’s 12th-century invention by Indigenous North Americans and its appropriation by white colonists to the Haudenosaunee’s 3rd place finish in the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship and their efforts to compete under their own flag for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. Try this next: Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation by Michael Powell. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Rolling Meadows Library
3110 Martin Lane, Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008
(847) 259-6050rmlib.org |
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