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History and Current Events November 2022 |
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| Russia: Revolution and Civil War, 1917-1921 by Antony BeevorWhat it is: a sweeping and well-researched chronicle of the Russian Civil War, featuring firsthand accounts from people who lived through it.
Read it for: a vivid portrait of a devastating event whose impact still resonates throughout Eastern Europe.
Reviewers say: Prizewinning historian Antony Beevor's latest is "a definitive account" (Kirkus Reviews) that "illuminates the chaos and tragedy of Russian civil war" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners by Margaret A. BurnhamWhat it's about: how Jim Crow "blurred the lines between formal law and informal enforcement" in the 20th-century American South.
Why it matters: Drawing upon newspapers, transcripts, testimonies, and other legal documents, lawyer Margaret A. Burnham reveals the sobering stories behind the forgotten victims of racist violence.
About the author: Burnham is the founder and director of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project and a Senate-confirmed member of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board. |
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| Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future by Brandi Collins-DexterWhat it's about: how the Democratic Party alienates Black voters.
What's inside: an incisive and accessible mix of memoir, reportage, and pop culture analysis that explores how politicians' empty gestures have damaged their relationship with increasingly disillusioned constituents.
Book buzz: Black Skinhead was named one of "15 Works of Nonfiction to Read This Fall" by The New York Times. |
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| Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America by Pekka HämäläinenWhat it is: a sweeping, revisionist North American history that centers Indigenous agency and resistance.
Why you should read it: Finnish scholar Pekka Hämäläinen's well-researched chronicle eschews traditional narratives that portray Native populations solely as colonized people doomed to extinction.
Try this next: For another compelling corrective to Eurocentric histories, read The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by Ojibwe historian David Treuer. |
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| Bridge to the Sun: The Secret Role of the Japanese Americans Who Fought in the... by Bruce HendersonWhat it is: a richly detailed history that spotlights the role Japanese American soldiers played in the Pacific Theater in World War II.
Read it for: a moving chronicle of wartime courage in the face of racism both at home and abroad.
Further reading: Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II by Daniel James Brown. |
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Focus on: Native American Heritage Month
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| Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America by Nicole EustaceWhat it's about: In 1722 Pennsylvania, Seneca man Sawantaeny was murdered by two white fur traders, an event that impacted the tenuous relationship between Native populations and colonists for years to come.
Is it for you? Historian Nicole Eustace's scholarly and demystifying account explores how Indigenous concepts of restorative justice contrasted with the retributive justice espoused by the colonists.
Awards buzz: Covered with Night won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for History and was a 2021 National Book Award finalist. |
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| Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane MurdochStarring: Arikara freelance investigator Lissa Yellow Bird, who lives and works on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota.
What it's about: In 2012, Fort Berthold truck driver Kristopher Clarke disappeared. Yellow Bird took up the cause to find him, seeking redemption for her own troubled past along the way.
Why you should read it: Sierra Crane Murdoch's Pulitzer Prize finalist illuminates the impact of violence and neglect on tribal communities. |
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| Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation by Michael PowellWelcome to... the Navajo reservation's Chinle High School, home of the scrappy Wildcats, who've set their sights on a basketball championship despite the odds stacked against them.
Read it for: a clear-eyed portrait of reservation life and culture.
For fans of: Friday Night Lights and underdog sports stories. |
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| The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David TreuerWhat it is: a vivid 125-year history of Native America that details the ways that tribes have survived -- and thrived -- in the face of adversity.
About the author: David Treuer is an Ojibwe novelist and historian who grew up on Minnesota's Leech Lake Indian Reservation.
Reviewers say: Treuer's National Book Award finalist is "a welcome modern rejoinder to classics such as God is Red and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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