History of Things You Didn't Know You Needed to Know

Updated June 9, 2026
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The history of pirates
Konstam, Angus.
Paper Book
A wonderful chronicle of thievery murder and torture on the high seas all in a beautiful oversized book
Salt : a world history
Kurlansky, Mark.
Paper Book
"Kurlansky finds the world in a grain of salt." - New York Times Book Review An unlikely world history from the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World Best-selling author Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common...
The age of wood : our most useful material and the construction of civilization
Ennos, Roland
Paper Book
A groundbreaking examination of the role that wood and trees have played in our global ecosystem--including human evolution and the rise and fall of empires--in the bestselling tradition of Yuval Harari's Sapiens and Mark Kurlansky's Salt. As the dominant species on...
Spook : science tackles the afterlife
Roach, Mary.
Paper Book
"What happens when we die? Does the light just go out and that's that--the million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my lap-top?" In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless...
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
Skloot, Rebecca, 1972-
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The story of modern medicine and bioethics--and, indeed, race relations--is refracted beautifully, and movingly."--Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE * ONE OF THE "MOST...
Eats, shoots & leaves the zero tolerance approach to punctuation
Truss, Lynne.
Paper Book
We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in email, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor...
Banana ball : the unbelievably true story of the Savannah Bananas
Cole, Jesse
Paper Book
2.8 million TikTok followers. 610k Instagram followers. Not only are these numbers more than any MAJOR-league team's, it is all organic and all because of one thing: the Bananas make baseball fun. They throw out a first banana rather than a ball. Their first-base coach does Thriller dance moves...
An edible history of humanity
Standage, Tom.
Paper Book
The bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses charts the enlightening history of humanity through the foods we eat. More than simply sustenance, food historically has been a kind of technology, changing the course of human progress by helping to build...
The warmth of other suns : the epic story of America's great migration
Wilkerson, Isabel.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER * ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR * TIME'S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE * ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S FIVE BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST...
The radium girls : the dark story of America's shining women
Moore, Kate (Writer and editor)
Paper Book
A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestseller! "The glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still." --NPR Books  Discover the gripping and inspiring true story of The Radium Girls, a groundbreaking work by acclaimed author Kate Moore....
The pencil a history of design and circumstance
Petroski, Henry.
Paper Book
Henry Petroski traces the origins of the pencil back to ancient Greece and Rome, writes factually and charmingly about its development over the centuries and around the world, and shows what the pencil can teach us about engineering and technology today.
Salt, sugar, fat : how the food giants hooked us
Moss, Michael
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Atlantic * The Huffington Post * Men's Journal * MSN (U.K.) * Kirkus Reviews * Publishers Weekly #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARD FOR WRITING AND...
Pickled, potted, and canned how the art and science of food preserving changed the world
Shephard, Sue.
Paper Book
From primitive drying and salting techniques to advancements in food preservation that have allowed us to send humans into space, Pickled, Potted, and Canned offers insight into the history, culture, and ingenuity of people struggling to feed themselves and cheat the seasons. 35 illustrations.
Spice the history of a temptation
Turner, Jack.
Paper Book
A brilliant, original history of the spice trade—and the appetites that fueled it. It was in search of the fabled Spice Islands and their cloves that Magellan charted the first circumnavigation of the globe. Vasco da Gama sailed the dangerous waters around Africa to India on a quest for...

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