Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America

by Mayukh Sen

“Taste Makers stretches from World War II to the present, with absorbing and deeply researched portraits of figures including Mexican-born Elena Zelayeta, a blind chef; Marcella Hazan, the deity of Italian cuisine; and Norma Shirley, a champion of Jamaican dishes.” (goodreads) 

 

Dinner with the President : Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House

by Alex Prud’Homme

“A wonderfully entertaining, often surprising narrative history of presidential food: from Washington's lack of it at Valley Forge to Trump's well-done steaks with ketchup--what they ate, why they ate it, and what it all means...” (goodreads)

 

 

 

The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories about the Origins of Everything We Eat

by Matt Siegal

“An entertaining look at the little-known history surrounding the foods we know and love. Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English?” (goodreads) 

 

 

High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America 

by Jessica B. Harris

“Harris takes the reader on a harrowing journey from Africa across the Atlantic to America, tracking the trials that the people and the food have undergone along the way. From chitlins and ham hocks to fried chicken and vegan soul, Harris celebrates the delicious and restorative foods of the African American experience and details how each came to form such an important part of African American culture, history, and identity” (goodreads)

 

 

The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History

by Kassia St. Clair

“Design journalist Kassia St. Clair guides us through the technological advancements and cultural customs that would redefine human civilization—from the fabric that allowed mankind to achieve extraordinary things (traverse the oceans and shatter athletic records) and survive in unlikely places (outer space and the South Pole).” (goodreads)

 

 

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat

by Bee Wilson 

“Blending history, science, and anthropology, Wilson reveals how our culinary tools and tricks came to be, and how their influence has shaped modern food culture. The story of how we have tamed fire and ice and wielded whisks, spoons, and graters, all for the sake of putting food in our mouths, Consider the Fork is truly a book to savor.” (goodreads)

 Boxers

by Gene Luen Yang 

The Boxer Rebellion in China told from a Rebel’s point of view.

“China, 1898. Bands of foreign missionaries and soldiers roam the countryside, bullying and robbing Chinese peasants. Little Bao has had enough. Harnessing the powers of ancient Chinese gods, he recruits an army of Boxers—commoners trained in kung fu—who fight to free China from "foreign devils." (goodreads) 

 

 

Saints

by Gene Luen Yang

The Boxer Rebellion in China as seen through the eyes of a young girl.

Companion piece to Boxers “China, 1898. An unwanted and unwelcome fourth daughter, Four-Girl isn't even given a proper name by her family when she's born. She finds friendship—and a name, Vibiana—in the most unlikely of places: Christianity. But China is a dangerous place for Christians. The Boxer Rebellion is in full swing, and bands of young men roam the countryside, murdering Westerners and Chinese Christians alike. Torn between her nation and her Christian friends, Vibiana will have to decide where her true loyalties lie ... and whether she is willing to die for her faith.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

The Harlem Hellfighters

by Max Brooks

“In 1919, the 369th infantry regiment marched home triumphantly from World War I. They had spent more time in combat than any other American unit, never losing a foot of ground to the enemy, or a man to capture, and winning countless decorations. Though they returned as heroes, this African American unit faced tremendous discrimination, even from their own government. The Harlem Hellfighters, as the Germans called them, fought courageously on--and off--the battlefield to make Europe, and America, safe for democracy.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

Normandy: A Graphic History of D-Day, The Allied Invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe 

by Wayne Vansant

“Normandy depicts the planning and execution of Operation Overlord in 96 full-color pages. The initial paratrooper assault is shown, as well as the storming of the five D-Day Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. But the story does not end there. Once the Allies got ashore, they had to stay ashore.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

Days of Sand

by Aimée de Jongh

“United States, 1937. In the middle of the Great Depression, 22-year-old photographer John Clark is brought in by the Farm Security Administration to document the calamitous conditions of the Dust Bowl in the central and southern states, in order to bring the farmers’ plight to the public eye. When he starts working through his shooting script, however, he finds his subjects to be unreceptive. What good are a couple of photos against relentless and deadly dust storms? The more he shoots, the more John discovers the awful extent of their struggles, coming to question his own role and responsibilities in this tragedy sweeping through the center of the country.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

 American Film: A History

by Jon Lewis

“A beautiful book and a brisk read, American Film is the most enjoyable and interesting overview of the history of American filmmaking available. Focused on aspects of the film business that are of perennial interest to undergraduates, this book will engage students from beginning to end.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

Bach, Beethoven and the Boys: Music History as It Ought to Be Taught

by David Barber

“Bach, Beethoven and the Boys chronicles the lives of the great (and not-so-great) composers as you've never read them before - exploring their sex lives, exposing their foibles and expanding our knowledge of these remarkable but also human creatures.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

 Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres

by Kelefa Sanneh

“An epic achievement and a huge delight, the entire history of popular music over the past fifty years refracted through the big genres that have defined and dominated it: rock, R&B, country, punk, hip-hop, dance music, and pop.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

 Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

by Orlando Figes

“Beginning in the eighteenth century with the building of St. Petersburg-a "window on the West"-and culminating with the challenges posed to Russian identity by the Soviet regime, Figes examines how writers, artists, and musicians grappled with the idea of Russia itself-its character, spiritual essence, and destiny.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern

by Carol Strickland

“The Annotated Mona Lisa takes art history out of the realm of dreary textbooks to a world of dynamic design, succinct page-length essays, and instructive sidebars. These graphic device heighten the reader's ability to retain an impressive amount of information, even through a cursory reading. A brief runthrough of the book's captions and sidebars provides a mini crash course in art history.” (Cochise county library catalog description)

“If you are like me, your reading list is long, and you may have a bookshelf full of wonderful titles you haven’t read yet. For this month, select the book that has been waiting the longest to be read.”

 

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

by Charles C. Mann

“In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

1776

by David McCullough

“In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence - when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

1920: The Year of the Six Presidents

by David Pietrusza

“The presidential election of 1920 was one of the most dramatic ever. For the only time in the nation’s history, six once-and-future presidents hoped to end up in the White Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, and Theodore Roosevelt. It was an election that saw unprecedented levels of publicity — the Republicans outspent the Democrats by 4 to 1 — and it was the first to garner extensive newspaper and newsreel coverage. It was also the first election in which women could vote.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

1968: The Year That Rocked the World

by Mark Kurlansky

“In this monumental book, Mark Kurlansky brings to teeming life the cultural and political history of that pivotal year, when television's influence on global events first became apparent, and spontaneous uprisings occurred simultaneously around the world. Encompassing the diverse realms of youth and music, politics and war, economics and the media, 1968 shows how twelve volatile months transformed who we were as a people–and led us to where we are today.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever

by Bill Madden

Weaving together the narrative of one of baseball's greatest seasons with the racially charged events of that year, 1954 demonstrates how our national pastime—with the notable exception of the Yankees, who represented "white supremacy" in the game—was actually ahead of the curve in terms of the acceptance of black Americans, while the nation at large continued to struggle with tolerance. (goodreads)

 

What She Left Behind: A Haunting and Heartbreaking Story of 1920s Historical Fiction

by Ellen Marie Wiseman

The breakout novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Collector, What She Left Behind weaves together riveting stories of past and present, exploring the strength of women in two different times as they face adversity in two very different ways. Go inside the horrifying walls of a 1920s New York asylum as a wrongly imprisoned woman fights for what is most important to her—and meet the young woman confronting the pain and mystery of her own family’s mental illness two generations later. (goodreads) 

 

 

 

The Point of Light

by John Ellsworth

“For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and The Nightingale comes an emotionally gripping, beautifully written historical novel about one woman’s epic, triumphant search for war crimes evidence during the darkest times of World War II.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

Where We Belong

by Lynn Austin

“In Chicago in 1890, rules and expectations for women are strict, their roles in life limited. But sisters Rebecca and Flora Hawes are not typical Victorian ladies. Their love of adventure and their desire to use their God-given talents have delivered them to the Sinai Desert. Accompanied by Soren Petersen, their somber young butler, and Kate Rafferty, a street urchin learning to be their ladies' maid, the two women are on a quest chasing rumors of an important biblical manuscript. As the expedition becomes more dangerous, the travelers recall the events that shaped them and the journeys and providence that brought them to this very time and place.” (Cochise county library catalog description) 

 

 

 

The Spartan Dagger

by Nicholas Guild

Ancient Sparta comes to life in this vivid tale of murder and vengeance. On a cold night, at the outskirts of a peasant village, two Spartan youths wait to perform an ancient rite of passage. A family--father, mother, and their son--approaches, unarmed and defenseless. The young men step into the moonlight and claim their manhood by killing the adults. The boy escapes. The Spartans have no idea how terrible an enemy they have called forth. Nothing could have prepared them for the boy, Protos, whose name means “destined,” whose cunning and inborn skill with weapons renders his enemies almost defenseless, and whose heart knows no pity. The Spartans have oppressed his people for centuries, and to break their power is to free all those they hold in subjection. As Protos grows to manhood, he begins to understand that his private war against his parents’ murderers is also a struggle for liberation. (goodreads)

 

 

 

House of Gold

by Natasha Solomons

“From the New York Times bestselling author of The House at Tyneford, an epic family saga about a headstrong Austrian heiress who will be forced to choose between the family she's made and the family that made her at the outbreak of World War I.” (goodreads)

 

Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power

by Pekka Hämäläinen

“This first complete account of the Lakota Indians traces their rich and often surprising history from the early sixteenth to the early twenty-first century. Pekka Hämäläinen explores the Lakotas’ roots as marginal hunter-gatherers and reveals how they reinvented themselves twice: first as a river people who dominated the Missouri Valley, America’s great commercial artery, and then—in what was America’s first sweeping westward expansion—as a horse people who ruled supreme on the vast high plains.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present

by David Treuer

“In The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, Treuer melds history with reportage and memoir. Tracing the tribes' distinctive cultures from first contact, he explores how the depredations of each era spawned new modes of survival. The devastating seizures of land gave rise to increasingly sophisticated legal and political maneuvering that put the lie to the myth that Indians don't know or care about property. The forced assimilation of their children at government-run boarding schools incubated a unifying Native identity. Conscription in the US military and the pull of urban life brought Indians into the mainstream and modern times, even as it steered the emerging shape of self-rule and spawned a new generation of resistance. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee is the essential, intimate story of a resilient people in a transformative era.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

We are an Indian Nation: A History of the Hualapai People

by Jeffrey P. Shepherd

“This book focuses on the historical construction of the Hualapai Nation in the face of modern American colonialism. Drawing on archival research, interviews, and participant observation, Jeffrey Shepherd describes how thirteen bands of extended families known as The Pai confronted American colonialism and in the process recast themselves as a modern Indigenous nation.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

Searching for Savanna: The Murder of one Native American Woman and the Violence Against the Many

by Mona Gable

“A gripping and illuminating investigation into the disappearance of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind when she was eight months pregnant, highlighting the shocking epidemic of violence against Native American women in America and the societal ramifications of government inaction.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

by David Grann

"This essential book introduces young readers to the Reign of Terror against the Osage people--one of history's most ruthless and shocking crimes." (Cochise county library catalog description)

 How the Old World Ended: The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution 1500-1800

by Jonathan Scott

A magisterial account of how the cultural and maritime relationships between the British, Dutch and American territories changed the existing world order – and made the Industrial Revolution possible. (goodreads)

 

 

 

American Women’s Suffrage: Voices from the Long Struggle for the Vote 1776–1965

by Susan Ware

“Expertly curated and introduced by scholar Susan Ware, 90 pieces by over 70 writers tell the full history of the movement—from Abigail Adams in 1776, urging that the Continental Congress attend to women’s political and economic rights, to the Declaration of Sentiments in 1848 that took up that call again; from the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 to passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, which finally ended the Jim Crow era disenfranchisement of black women and men in the South.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution That Transformed the South

by Bruce Levine

“In this major new history of the Civil War, Bruce Levine tells the riveting story of how that conflict upended the economic, political, and social life of the old South, utterly destroying the Confederacy and the society it represented and defended. Told through the words of the people who lived it, The Fall of the House of Dixie illuminates the way a war undertaken to preserve the status quo became a second American Revolution whose impact on the country was as strong and lasting as that of our first.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement

by Fergus M. Bordewhich

“Bound for Canaan tells the stories of men and women like David Ruggles, who invented the black underground in New York City; bold Quakers like Isaac Hopper and Levi Coffin, who risked their lives to build the Underground Railroad; and the inimitable Harriet Tubman. Interweaving thrilling personal stories with the politics of slavery and abolition, Bound for Canaan shows how the Underground Railroad gave birth to this country's first racially integrated, religiously inspired movement for social change.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America

by Philip Dray

“From the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, the first real factories in America, to the triumph of unions in the twentieth century and their waning influence today, the con-test between labor and capital for their share of American bounty has shaped our national experience. Philip Dray’s ambition is to show us the vital accomplishments of organized labor in that time and illuminate its central role in our social, political, economic, and cultural evolution.” (goodreads)

 

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

by Isabel Wilkerson

In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.

 

 

 

When Paris Sizzled: The 1920s Paris of Hemingway, Chanel, Cocteau, Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, and Their Friends

by Mary McAuliffe

“When Paris Sizzled vividly portrays the City of Light during the fabulous 1920s, les Annees folles, when Parisians emerged from the horrors of war to find that a new world greeted them--one that reverberated with the hard metallic clang of the assembly line, the roar of automobiles, and the beat of jazz. Mary McAuliffe traces a decade that saw seismic change on almost every front, from art and architecture to music, literature, fashion, entertainment, transportation, and, most notably, behavior.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America

by Marcia Chatelain

“In Franchise, acclaimed historian Marcia Chatelain uncovers a surprising history of cooperation among fast food companies, black capitalists, and civil rights leaders, who—in the troubled years after King’s assassination—believed they found an economic answer to the problem of racial inequality. With the discourse of social welfare all but evaporated, federal programs under presidents Johnson and Nixon promoted a new vision for racial justice: that the franchising of fast-food restaurants, by black citizens in their own neighborhoods, could finally improve the quality of black life. Synthesizing years of research, Franchise tells a troubling success story of an industry that blossomed the very moment a freedom movement began to wither.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War

by Malcolm Gladwell

“An exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war. In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

Triangle: The Fire That Changed America

by David von Drehle

"David Von Drehle transports us to a beautiful spring day in March 1911 when 146 workers—most of them young immigrant women—lost their lives. Employees had just begun preparing to leave the Triangle shirtwaist factory in New York’s Greenwich Village when a fire broke out and within minutes consumed the building’s upper three stories. It was the worst workplace disaster in New York City history until 9/11.” (goodreads)

 Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

by James W. Loewen

“James W. Loewen, a sociology professor and distinguished critic of history education, puts 12 popular textbooks under the microscope-and what he discovers will surprise you. In his opinion, every one of these texts fails to make its subject interesting or memorable. Worse still is the proliferation of blind patriotism, mindless optimism and misinformation filling the pages. From the truth about Christopher Columbus to the harsh reality of the Vietnam War, Loewen picks apart the lies we've been told.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II

by Liza Mundy

“Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.” (goodreads) 

 

 

 

Vietnam: A History

by Stanley Karnow

“This monumental narrative clarifies, analyzes, and demystifies the tragic ordeal of the Vietnam war. Free of ideological bias, profound in its understanding, and compassionate in its human portrayals, it is filled with fresh revelations drawn from secret documents and from exclusive interviews with participants-French, American, Vietnamese, Chinese: diplomats, military commanders, high government officials, journalists, nurses, workers, and soldiers. Originally published a companion to the Emmywinning PBS series, Karnow’s defining book is a precursor to Ken Burns’s ten-part forthcoming documentary series, The Vietnam War. Vietnam: A History puts events and decisions into such sharp focus that we come to understand – and make peace with – a convulsive epoch of our recent history.” (goodreads)

 

 

 

The Korean War

by Matthew Ridgeway

“It is a book that takes a close look at MacArthur, his failings and brilliance, and a hard look at the idea of limited war. Infused with a humane leader's appreciation for the ordinary fighting soldier, Ridgway's history also teaches important lessons about Vietnam and any future conflict. Above all, he emphasizes: We should not involve ourselves in escalating warfare without a specific and attainable goal.” (goodreads)