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History and Current Events February 2025 |
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| Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific... by Olivia CampbellJournalist Olivia Campbell (Women in White Coats) reveals the compelling yet little-known story of four women scientists who fled Nazi Germany after their research was stymied and found success in the United States and Sweden. Try this next: Chamber Divers: The Untold Story of the D-Day Scientists Who Changed Special Operations Forever by Rachel Lance. |
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| The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Pryne by Kate Winkler DawsonWicked Words podcaster and true crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson's thought-provoking and richly detailed history explores a real-life murder trial that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne to write his 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter. Further reading: Deliberate Evil: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Daniel Webster, and the 1830 murder of a Salem Slave Trader by Edward J. Renehan, Jr. |
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| Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King by Preston LauterbachIn this nuanced and illuminating examination of Elvis Presley's complicated legacy, music journalist Preston Lauterbach (The Chitlin' Circuit) spotlights four trailblazing Black musicians whose artistry and style inspired a young Presley, but whom he rarely (if ever) credited. Try this next: Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters by Lynnée Denise. |
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| The JFK Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Kennedy -- and Why it Failed by Brad Meltzer and Josh MenschBestselling authors Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch's fast-paced and evocative follow-up to The Nazi Conspiracy details the little-known story of retired postal worker Richard Pavlick's foiled 1960 assassination attempt on President John F. Kennedy. Try this next: There Will Be Fire: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes That Changed History by Rory Carroll. |
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| Save Our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder by Matthew PearlIn his thrilling latest, Matthew Pearl (The Taking of Jemima Boone) chronicles the shipwreck and rescue of Irish ship captain Frederick Walker and his family and crew, who spent more than a year marooned on Midway Atoll and whose story inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write his 1892 novel The Wrecker. For fans of: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann. |
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Focus on: Black History Month
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| This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets by Kwame Alexander, editorPoet Kwame Alexander (Why Fathers Cry at Night) edited this joyful anthology, featuring works from more than 100 contemporary Black poets, that's being hailed as "essential" (Publishers Weekly) and "the most important poetry collection of this decade" (Library Journal). Further reading: African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song edited by Kevin Young.
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| An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created by Santi Elijah HolleySanti Elijah Holley's richly detailed history of the Shakur family (including Black Panther Party member Afeni Shakur, her son, rapper Tupac Shakur, and Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, currently exiled in Cuba) is "essential reading" (Booklist) that examines how their activism and influence shaped the Black liberation movement. Try this next: The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson. |
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| Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America by Joy-Ann ReidMSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid's inspiring dual biography explores the legacy of civil rights activists Medgar and Myrlie Evers and includes the author's interviews with Myrlie. Try this next: Stayed on Freedom: The Long History of Black Power Through One Family's Journey by Dan Berger. |
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| Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black... by Crystal WilkinsonFormer Poet Laureate of Kentucky Crystal Wilkinson's engaging blend of family history and food writing collects five generations of stories and recipes from Black Appalachian cooks. Further reading: The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty; Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin. |
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| The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War by Chad L. WilliamsNamed a 2023 Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor, historian Chad L. Williams' thoughtful account chronicles sociologist and Pan-Africanist activist W. E. B. Du Bois' failed, decades-long attempts to craft a narrative of Black American soldiers' experiences during World War I. Further reading: We Return Fighting: World War I and the Shaping of Modern Black Identity edited by Kinshasha Holman Conwill. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-557-4400
sfpl.org
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