Our Time Is Now (Audiobook)
by Stacey Abrams

What it is: a well-researched history of voter suppression and disenfranchisement in the United States.

Is it for you? Policy wonks and progressives looking for a hopeful rejoinder to current political discourse will be inspired by politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams' proposals to end suppression tactics.

Author alert: 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Abrams made history in 2019 by becoming the first African American woman to deliver the response to the State of the Union address.

Exercise of Power: American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward...
by Robert M. Gates

What it is: an incisive exploration of the uses and misuses of American power, written by former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.

Topics include: the 2003 invasion of Iraq; China's rise as a global superpower; North Korea's nuclear capabilities; Russia's destabilizing influence. 

Reviewers say: "a judicious yet bracingly contrarian take on military and foreign policy from the ultimate insider" (Publishers Weekly).  

Raising Our Hands : How White Women Can Stop Avoiding Hard Conversations, Start Accepting Responsibility, and Find Our Place on the New Frontlines (ebook)
by Jenna Arnold

Jenna Arnold, director of strategic engagement for the historic 2017 Women’s March, helps American white women (one of the most powerful demographics in the world, but too often passive) understand how their influence, power, and voice can better servethose most in need, and how you can take an active role in creating a better future.

The Sirens of Mars : Searching for Life on Another World (ebook)
by Sarah Stewart Johnson

A Georgetown University planetary scientist presents a deeply personal account of the search for life on Mars, tracing her own journey as a scientist while exploring the work of historical scientists and artists whose achievements were inspired by the planet. Maps.

Bright Precious Thing : A Memoir (ebook and Audiobook)
by Gail Caldwell

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe literary critic and best-selling author of Let’s Take the Long Way Home chronicles the women’s movement from the 1960s through the #MeToo era to evaluate its impact on her feminist pursuits.

Covid-19 : The Pandemic That Never Should Have Happened and How to Stop the Next One
by Debora Mackenzie

In an accessible narrative, a veteran science journalist lays out the shocking story of how the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic happened and how to make sure this never happens again. 50,000 first printing.

Spies in the Family: An American Spymaster, His Russian Crown Jewel, and the... (ebook and Audiobook)
by Eva Dillon

Who it's about: Russian double agent Dimitri Polyavok and his handler, American CIA operative Paul Dillon (the author's father), two men on opposite sides of the Cold War who nonetheless struck up a lifelong friendship. 

Why you might like it: Eva Dillon's intimate and well-researched account alternates between both men's experiences and explores the surprising commonalities in their home lives and career trajectories.  

The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That Helped America Win the Cold War
by Antonio & Jonna Mendez with Matt Baglio

What it is: a fast-paced account of husband-and-wife duo Antonio and Jonna Mendez's time spent working as CIA agents in 1970s Moscow. 

Don't miss: the gadgets (including a rappelling tool nicknamed "the Spiderman") and techniques (disguises, sleight of hand, and misdirection taught by magicians) the pair utilized in their spycraft.

Movie buzz: Ben Affleck portrayed Antonio Mendez in the Oscar-winning Argo. 

Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall (ebook and Audiobook)
by Tim Mohr

What it's about: the underground East German punk movement whose political activism contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Featuring: 15-year-old "Major," the self-proclaimed first punk in East Germany, known for her safety pin-adorned jackets. 

Awards buzz: This engaging and richly detailed history was longlisted for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.

Blood and Sand: Suez, Hungary, and Eisenhower's Campaign for Peace
by Alex Von Tunzelmann

What it's about: how two 1956 crises -- the joint invasion of Egypt by Israeli, British and French forces, and a Soviet victory in the Hungarian Revolution -- almost plunged the world into nuclear war.

Read it for: a suspenseful, hour-by-hour account of the conflicts, which happened within weeks of each other.

Reviewers say: "an outstanding reexamination of these sad, history-altering events" (Booklist).