Books

While not a history textbook by any means, "Sapiens" manages to rather effectively break down some of the most significant changes over the course of human history. Although sometimes speculative, Harari's view of history frequently engages the reader with "what if's" that may just make you reevaluate your place in our shared story. 

One of the more serious criticisms of "Sapiens," though, is that it often fails to adequately address African history, focusing instead on the advancements of Eurasia and the Americas.

- Not Herodotus

"Stamped from the Beginning" offers readers the opportunity to engage the United States' troubled relationship with African Americans generation by generation. From the indignantly racist colonist Cotton Mather to antiracist activist Angela Davis, Kendi expertly follows the paths of racist thought throughout the history of the United States.

For readers who may not have the time to engage with such an extensive work, I would recommend "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You" by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.

- Not Herodotus

"Previous histories of Reconstruction have focused on Washington politics. But in this sweeping, prodigiously researched narrative, Douglas Egerton brings a much bigger, even more dramatic story into view, exploring state and local politics and tracing the struggles of some fifteen hundred African-American officeholders, in both the North and South, who fought entrenched white resistance. Tragically, their movement was met by ruthless violence-not just riotous mobs, but also targeted assassination. With stark evidence, Egerton shows that Reconstruction, often cast as a “failure” or a doomed experiment, was rolled back by murderous force. The Wars of Reconstruction is a major and provocative contribution to American history."

"In The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, Treuer... trace[s] the tribes’ distinctive cultures from first contact... 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."