David Adams

Fall’s histories recover the lost stories of Black pioneers; offer new takes on the Revolutionary War, the Middle Ages, the Ottoman Empire, and U.S. pacifism; and reveal secret CIA missions in Africa and Afghanistan.

Borman’s ‘Crown & Sceptre’ (Atlantic Monthly, Feb.) chronicles the British monarchy’s triumphs, scandals, and changes.

Spring brings histories of environmental disasters and journalistic crusades; accounts of epic expeditions to discover the source of the Nile and a lost city in Afghanistan; and portraits of two American political dynasties.

Major themes this season include the 2020 election, threats to democracy and liberal values, the roots of conspiracy thinking, the environmental cost of America’s eating habits, and the ongoing crusade against racial injustice.

The struggle for racial justice takes center stage this season, alongside surveys of Russian history, WWII espionage sagas, studies of white supremacist ideology in U.S. institutions, and tributes to pioneering Black Americans.

Under the microscope this spring: the Supreme Court, housing segregation, endemic poverty, police brutality, the patriarchy, immigration, whistleblowers, Hollywood abusers, cancel culture, the war in Ukraine, and Gerald Ford.

Hope springs eternal in a season marked by profiles of crusading lawmakers, tributes to female rule breakers, deep dives into landmark protest movements, stories of rescue and survival, and studies of what it means to make amends.

The author’s latest novel, ‘This Strange Eventful History’ (Norton, May), chronicles three generations of a pied-noir family—and much of her own family history.