Microhistories

Explore history through a single object or event.

Updated October 11, 2025
Rochester Public Library RPL Staff
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Microhistories

Explore history through a single object or event.

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The mosquito : a human history of our deadliest predator
Winegard, Timothy C.
Paper Book
"Hugely impressive, a major work."--NPR A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining...
Salt : a world history
Kurlansky, Mark
Paper Book
From the award-winning and bestselling author of Cod comes the dramatic, human story of a simple substance, an element almost as vital as water, that has created fortunes, provoked revolutions, directed economies and enlivened our recipes. Salt is common, easy to obtain and...
The professor and the madman : a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary
Winchester, Simon.
Paper Book
Now a major motion picture
Underland : a deep time journey
Macfarlane, Robert
Paper Book
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2019 WINNER OF THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020 SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2020 'You'd be crazy not to read this book'...
Krakatoa : The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883
Winchester, Simon
Paper Book
Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far...
Caesar's last breath : decoding the secrets of the air around us
Kean, Sam
Paper Book
The Guardian's Best Science Book of 2017: the fascinating science and history of the air we breathe. It's invisible. It's ever-present. Without it, you would die in minutes. And it has an epic story to tell. In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times<...
The rise and fall of the dinosaurs : a new history of a lost world
Brusatte, Stephen
Paper Book
"THE ULTIMATE DINOSAUR BIOGRAPHY," hails Scientific American: A thrilling new history of the age of dinosaurs, from one of our finest young scientists. "A masterpiece of science writing." --Washington Post A New York Times Bestseller * Goodreads Choice Awards ...
Isaac's storm : a man, a time, and the deadliest hurricane in history
Larson, Erik.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The riveting true story of the Galveston hurricane of 1900, still the deadliest natural disaster in American history--from the acclaimed author of The Devil in the White City "A gripping account ... fascinating to its core, and all the...
How to change your mind : what the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression, and transcendence
Pollan, Michael
Paper Book
"Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured." --New York Times A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and New York Times Notable Book A brilliant and brave investigation into...
The gene : an intimate history
Mukherjee, Siddhartha
Paper Book
The #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller The basis for the PBS Ken Burns Documentary The Gene: An Intimate History From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies--a fascinating history of the gene and "a magisterial account of...
Dead wake : the last crossing of the Lusitania
Larson, Erik
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania "Both terrifying and enthralling."--Entertainment Weekly"Thrilling, dramatic and powerful."...
One summer America, 1927
Bryson, Bill.
Paper Book
A Chicago Tribune Noteworthy Book A GoodReads Reader's Choice In One Summer Bill Bryson, one of our greatest and most beloved nonfiction writers, transports readers on a journey back to one amazing season in American life. The summer of 1927 began with one of the...
Seabiscuit : an American legend
Hillenbrand, Laura
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the author of the runaway phenomenon Unbroken comes a universal underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend. "Fascinating . . . Vivid . . . A first-rate piece of storytelling, leaving us not only...
The song of the cell : an exploration of medicine and the new human
Mukherjee, Siddhartha
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological and Life Sciences and the 2023 Chautauqua Prize! Named a New York Times Notable Book and a Best Book of the Year by The Economist, Oprah Daily, BookPage, Book Riot, the New York Public...
At home : a short history of private life
Bryson, Bill
Paper Book
From the author of that classic of modern science writing, A Short History of Nearly Everything, comes a work of what you might call domestic science: our homes, how they work, and the fascinating history of how they got that way. Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian...
Bunk : the rise of hoaxes, humbug, plagiarists, phonies, post-facts, and fake news / Kevin Young
Young, Kevin
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction "There Kevin Young goes again, giving us books we greatly need, cleverly disguised as books we merely want. Unexpectedly essential."--Marlon James Award-winning poet and critic Kevin Young tours us...
Find this list online: https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/352.580/list/6554

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