History and Current Events

Discover new releases in history and current events.

Updated October 8, 2025
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe
Gabriele, Matthew.
Paper Book
The authors of The Bright Ages return with a real-life Game of Thrones--the story of the Carolingian Civil War, a bloody, protracted battle pitting brother against brother, father against son, that would end an empire, upend a continent, and redefine the future of Europe By...
One day, everyone will have always been against this
El Akkad, Omar
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD * SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 PALESTINE BOOK AWARDS * From award-winning novelist and journalist Omar El Akkad comes a powerful reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrays its fundamental...
The JFK conspiracy : the secret plot to kill Kennedy--and why it failed
Meltzer, Brad
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR 2025 From the New York Times bestselling authors of The Nazi Conspiracy and The Lincoln Conspiracy comes a true, little-known story about the...
Rot : an imperial history of the Irish famine
Scanlan, Padraic X.
Paper Book
A "vigorous and engaging" (Fintan O'Toole, New Yorker) new history of the Irish Great Famine, showing how the British Empire caused Ireland's most infamous disaster In 1845, European potato fields from Spain to Scandinavia were attacked by a novel pathogen....
(un)kind : how 'be kind' entrenches sexism
Smith, Victoria
Paper Book
'Victoria Smith is a brilliant writer who every feminist should read' Sharron Davies 'This brilliant book shows how demands for compassion and generosity can be a mask for sexist ideology' Susanna Rustin A brilliantly witty and insightful analysis of how...
Medieval Women
Jackson, E.
Paper Book
Beautifully illustrated, large format volume accompanies the British Library's major Autumn 2024 exhibition Through a selection of detailed expert essays and some 40 spotlight studies, Medieval Women reveals a rich and complex picture of their world, full of colourful characters and intriguing...
Propaganda girls : the secret war of the women in the OSS
Rogak, Lisa
Paper Book
The incredible untold story of four women who spun the web of deception that helped win World War II. Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter from Hawaii. Zuzka Lauwers grew up in a tiny Czechoslovakian village and knew five languages by the time she was 21. Jane...
Fifteen
Geroux, William
Paper Book
The revelatory true story of the long-forgotten POW camps for German soldiers erected in hundreds of small U.S. towns during World War II, and the secret Nazi killings that ensnared fifteen brave American POWs in a high-stakes showdown. "In the pantheon of American history, it...
The memory palace : true short stories of the past
DiMeo, Nate
Paper Book
Incredible true stories reveal strange new magic in American history in this wondrous first book from the creator of the award-winning podcast The Memory Palace. "Nate DiMeo zooms in on stories of mishap, invention and adventure. . . . These brief historical lessons read...
The Nazi mind : twelve warnings from history
Rees, Laurence
Paper Book
How could the Nazis have committed the crimes they did? Why did commandants of concentration and death camps willingly - often enthusiastically - oversee mass murder? How could ordinary Germans have tolerated the removal of the Jews? In THE NAZI MIND, bestselling author Laurence Rees combines...
Why nothing works : who killed progress--and how to bring it back
Dunkelman, Marc J.
Paper Book
A provocative exploration about the architecture of power, the forces that stifle us from getting things done, and how we can restore confidence in democratically elected government-"the best book to date on the biggest political issue that nobody is talking about" (Matthew Yglesias) ...
The waiting game : the untold story of the women who served the Tudor queens
Clark, Nicola (Associate lecturer in history)
Paper Book
'Written in a lively, accessible style, The Waiting Game is full of insight' Suzannah Lipscomb, Literary ReviewEvery Tudor Queen had ladies-in-waiting. They were her confidantes and her chaperones. Only the Queen's ladies had the right to enter her most private chambers,...
The last tsar : the abdication of Nicholas II and the fall of the Romanovs
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi
Paper Book
A HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Impressive, often brilliant' THE TIMES 'Mesmerising and damning' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Certain to become the definitive work' DOUGLAS SMITH 'Elegantly written and...
Freedom : memoirs 1954-2021
Merkel, Angela
Paper Book
'A great accomplishment . . . A wonderful reflection of an extraordinary sweep of history' Barack Obama Timely, intimate and important, the long-awaited memoirs from one of the most influential leaders of our times For 16 years, Angela Merkel was Chancellor...
Hope dies last : visionary people across the world, fighting to find us a future
Weisman, Alan
Paper Book
One of Heatmap's 18 Climate Books to Read in 2025 The award-winning environmental journalist's extraordinary, long-awaited portrait of hope and resilience as we face a fractured and uncertain future In this profoundly human and moving narrative, the...
Conspiracy theory : the story of an idea
Dunt, Ian
Paper Book
AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK 'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford 'I wish I could make Ian and Dorian's work mandatory' Sathnam Sanghera What makes people believe in...
Abundance
Klein, Ezra.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025 "A must-read for progressives who want a blueprint for reforming government so it can deliver for working people." --Barack Obama * "A terrific book...Powerful and persuasive." --Fareed Zakaria...
Last seen : the enduring search by formerly enslaved people to find their lost families
Giesberg, Judith Ann
Paper Book
"[A] meticulously excavated tribute to the formerly enslaved mothers, fathers, siblings, and kin who published 'last seen' advertisements in search of loved ones stolen from them in bondage...a vital work of recovery." --Ilyon Woo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Master, Slave,...
Who is government? : the untold story of public service
Lewis, Michael
Paper Book
"Perhaps never before has there been a book better timed or more urgent." --Washington Post One of President Obama's 2025 Summer Reads As seen on CBS Mornings, CNN Anderson Cooper, ABC News Live, MSNBC Morning Joe, and many more ...
El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary
Berend, Nora.
Paper Book
"Rodrigo Diaz lived a violently colourful life in eleventh-century Spain. An ambitious military leader, exile and brutal mercenary, he served Christian kings, fought against Christian princes in service of Muslim rulers, raided and killed Muslims and eventually struck out on his own, carving out an...
The secret history of the Five Eyes : the untold story of the international spy network
Kerbaj, Richard
Paper Book
The first published account of the Five Eyes, the elite spy network created by Britain and the United States that industrialised espionage operations.
The forbidden garden of Leningrad : a true story of science and sacrifice in a city under siege
Parkin, Simon
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2025 An Economist Book of the Year 'An astonishing story brilliantly told . . . It is as moving as it is gripping to read' Jonathan Dimbleby, author of Endgame 1944 'A...
Illegals
Walker, Shaun
Paper Book
'Absolutely fascinating' Andrew Marr'A brilliant historical investigation that's as gripping as a Le Carré novel' Tom Burgis'Shaun Walker skilfully shows how Russia's modern-day election meddling is rooted in the subterfuge and trickery of the bad old days. This is a fascinating read.' Oliver...
The crossing : El Paso, the Southwest, and America's forgotten origin story
Parker, Richard (Journalist)
Paper Book
A radical work of history that re-centers the American story around El Paso, Texas, gateway between north and south, center of indigenous power and resistance, locus of European colonization of North America, centuries-long hub of immigration, and underappreciated modern blueprint...
Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare
Lechner, John.
Paper Book
"Extraordinary."-CHRIS MILLER, author of Chip War "Incredible."-ANNIE JACOBSEN, author of Nuclear War, via X From John Lechner, "an amazingly bold reporter" (Adam Hochschild), the shocking inside story of how the Wagner Group made...
The rebel empresses : Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France, power and glamour in the struggle for Europe
Goldstone, Nancy
Paper Book
From the acclaimed author of In the Shadow of the Empress comes the thrilling, "richly detailed, entertaining" chronicle of two of the most influential and glamorous women in nineteenth-century Europe--Elisabeth, empress of Austria, and Eugénie, empress of France--and their efforts to rule...
Paris Undercover: A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal
Goodman, Matthew.
Paper Book
Two women in Nazi-occupied Paris created a daring escape line that rescued dozens of Allied servicemen. With one still in a German prison camp, the other wrote a book about it-a memoir built on fabrications. Now the bestselling author of Eighty Days shares their incredible, never-before...
The folly of realism : how the West deceived itself about Russia and betrayed Ukraine
Vindman, Alexander S.
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller  A chilling analysis of how Western indecision and apathy made possible the return of brutal Russian expansionism with catastrophic consequences - "A must-read for anyone who wants to understand what went...
Being Jewish after the destruction of Gaza : a reckoning
Beinart, Peter
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A bold, urgent appeal from the acclaimed columnist and political commentator, addressing one of the most important issues of our time "At this painful moment, Peter Beinart's voice is more vital than ever. His reach is broad--from the tragedy of...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.