History & Politics

1619 is the year captive Africans were first brought to the shores of North America and enslaved in the colonies. Thus begins a new history of our country that centers the supremacist systems of oppression, the resistance against them, and the ongoing pursuit of justice. Originally a NYT Magazine project, Hannah-Jones paints a comprehensive landscape with contributions by historians, scholars, poets, and artists, that casts a vital perspective on all aspects of where we’ve come from and how we must choose to move forward. An incomparable must-read. —Melinda

Reading this book is like attending the most thorough lecture series on a singular historical event. Andrés Reséndez, UC Davis professor of history, sets out to highlight Lope Martín, a mixed-race navigator and pilot who, for the first time in recorded European history, successfully circumnavigated the Pacific in 1565. Résendez details geologic, scientific, political, and intercultural history to give context to the full magnitude of Martín’s feat, and so evokes a vivid, visceral 16th century world.—Jocelyn

As we approach the 30th anniversary of Anita Hill’s landmark testimony, the veteran lawyer and professor goes beyond her personal story towards a legal and social history of sexual harassment in the US, ultimately charting a course, even in times of doubt, toward hope and determination to end gender-based violence for all races, classes, sexualities, and genders. Believing is an inspiring, informative book continuing a conversation whose importance has only expanded with our growing awareness and intersectional understanding.—Jocelyn

California Congressman Adam Schiff was one of the few voices (with a pulpit) whose outrage and emotion were on full display when our democracy was almost taken over by autocracy. His new book is both a personal account of the events surrounding the January 6th riot, as well as a huge warning that the threat to democracy is not over. “If there is still an American democracy fifty years from now, historians will be very grateful for this highly personal and deeply informed guide to one of its greatest crises. We should be grateful that we can read it now.” —Timothy Snyder, bestselling author of On Tyranny.—S.B.

For almost half of the 16th century, four women shaped Europe in powerful and irreparable ways. Mary Tudor, Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart, and Catherine de Medici are often portrayed as bitter rivals, but revisionist historian Quiligen uses letters and records of gifts to untangle the web of patriarchal views of these women. Each one has a complicated history with the others and I loved diving deep into their shared bonds. It certainly made me look at them all in a different light.—Ivy

In this far-ranging yet deeply personal book, Farah Jasmine Griffin has gifted us with a richly experiential Black literature survey, all without sitting in a lecture hall or in front of a computer. As the chair of the Department of African American & African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University, Griffin knows how to thematically frame her course, but the heart of the book and her passion comes from her father whose cherished presence lives on in the library, music, and inquisitive nature he bequeathed her as a child.—Melinda

The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes is as infuriating as it is fascinating. It chronicles the erased history of Scottish aristocrat Ewan Forbes, a transgender man whose life spanned most of the 20th century and established important legal precent for trans rights. The suppression of his story and the facts of his case by the UK government has inhibited the expansion of trans rights for decades. Now rescued from obscurity, I hope this timely addition to trans history will help secure the still-vulnerable rights of trans people in the courts internationally.—Brooks

As Blair Imani states in the introduction to this empowering and accessible primer, we are already smart but we can all get smarter. Her book is a wonderful resource wherever you are on your learning curve. From topics on race and class, gender and disability, Imani leads us through the historical contexts and current landscapes, as well as her own welcomed personal experiences and insight, ending each with reflection questions to help us further our own growth. What a great gift for anyone.—Melinda

From one of the founding members of the Occupy movement and author of the critically acclaimed Debt comes a posthumous epic that will change the way you see the past. It fundamentally questions major epochs (like the hunter-gatherer era) asking what really happened. It analyzes old structures and offers new paradigms from which to organize society. Readers of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens will be riveted by this well-researched and important new masterpiece of anthropology.—Jason

True stories of income inequality told with the style and readability of a great novel. Desmond, a Harvard-trained sociologist, lived in low-income neighborhoods for three years, recording the lives of people in the slums of Milwaukee, as they struggled (and failed) to keep a roof over their heads. It ends happily, with thoughtful solutions to ensure that everyone has a place to call home. Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. - Jason