Apple: The First 50 Years by Leander Kahney is a concise, engaging corporate history that traces the company’s journey from its founding in 1976 through its 50th anniversary in 2026. Published in early 2026 by Portfolio/Penguin, the book offers a balanced, non-hagiographic look at Apple’s evolution—celebrating its iconic innovations while candidly addressing missteps, internal conflicts,…

Isabella I of Castile: A Life from Beginning to End (History of Spain) by Hourly History is a concise, accessible biography of one of the most consequential monarchs in European history. Published in 2017 (with reprints still widely available in 2026), this short book (roughly 50–60 pages) offers a straightforward chronological overview of Isabella’s life,…

Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood by Piu Eatwell is a gripping, meticulously researched true-crime narrative. It was published in early 2026 by Pegasus Crime. The book re-examines the infamous 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short—the young woman whose body was found severed in half in a vacant Los Angeles lot—and uses the…

Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage by Vincent Cannato is a sharp, unflinching work of social and political history. It was published in early 2026 by Basic Books. The book uses the 1984 subway shooting by Bernhard Goetz as a central lens to examine how…

The Typewriter and the Guillotine: An American Journalist, a German Serial Killer, and Paris on the Eve of WWII by John K. Wilson is a gripping historical true-crime narrative. It was published in February 2026 by St. Martin’s Press. The book weaves together three strands: the final days of 1930s Paris, the sensational 1939 trial…

The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home by Wallace Terry is a powerful, unflinching oral history first published in 1984. It remains one of the most important firsthand accounts of the Vietnam War from the perspective of African American soldiers. The book combines raw interviews with Black GIs who…

American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology edited by Annette Gordon-Reed and Eric Foner is a powerful, wide-ranging collection of primary sources and short interpretive essays. Published in early 2026 by W. W. Norton & Company, the anthology brings together more than 100 documents spanning from the colonial…

Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island – A Provocative Archaeological Study of Colonial Legacy, Indigenous Reclamation, and the Collapse Myth by Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt is a groundbreaking, myth-busting work of archaeology and history. Published in early 2026 by Oxford University Press, the book offers a radical…

Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America by Jeff Young is a powerful dual biography that examines the lives and legacies of two towering Black American icons—Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson—during the pivotal mid-20th century struggle for civil rights and equality. Published in early 2026 by St. Martin’s Press, the book explores…

Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution by Joseph J. Ellis is a concise yet powerful reinterpretation of the American founding era. Published in early 2026 by Alfred A. Knopf, the book argues that the Revolution was never truly “finished”—its central promises of liberty and equality remain contested, incomplete, and at…