{"title":"Best History Books of 2025","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"a-flower-traveled-in-my-blood","title":"A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER • \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e“[An] astonishing story…Powerful…Harrowing…Absorbing and lucid…You would have to harden your heart to be unmoved by the Abuelas’ quest.” \u003cb\u003e—Jennifer Szalai, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Inspiring…A triumphant saga of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the face of pure malevolence.” —Hampton Sides • “Enthralling…Written with the nail-biting verve of a thriller.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review) • “Extraordinary...A harrowing and timely reminder of what happens when democracy succumbs to despotism.” —Adam Higginbotham • \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e“[A] cinematically detailed, deeply researched narrative.” \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e • “Piercing, emotional...Will resonate for generations.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA remarkable new talent in narrative nonfiction delivers the epic true story of a group of courageous grandmothers who fought to find their grandchildren who were stolen.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the early hours of March 24, 1976, the streets of Buenos Aires rumble with tanks as soldiers seize the presidential palace and topple Argentina’s leader. The country is now under the control of a military junta, with army chief Jorge Rafael Videla at the helm. With quiet support from the United States and tacit approval from much of Argentina’s people, who are tired of constant bombings and gunfights, the junta swiftly launches the National Reorganization Process or \u003ci\u003eEl Proceso\u003c\/i\u003e—a bland name masking their ruthless campaign to crush the political left and instill the country with “Western, Christian” values. The junta holds power until 1983 and decimates a generation.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOne of the military’s most diabolical acts is kidnapping hundreds of pregnant women. After giving birth in captivity, the women are “disappeared,” and their babies secretly given to other families—many of them headed by police or military officers. For mothers of pregnant daughters and daughters-in-law, the source of their grief is twofold—the disappearances of their children, and the theft of their grandchildren. A group of fierce grandmothers forms the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, dedicated to finding the stolen infants and seeking justice from a nation that betrayed them. At a time when speaking out could mean death, the Abuelas confront military officers and launch protests to reach international diplomats and journalists. They become detectives, adopting disguises to observe suspected grandchildren, and even work alongside a renowned American scientist to pioneer groundbreaking genetic tests.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Flower Traveled in My Blood \u003c\/i\u003eis the rarest of nonfiction that reads like a novel and puts your heart in your throat. It is the product of years of extensive archival research and meticulous, original reporting. It marks the arrival of a blazing new talent in narrative journalism. In these pages, a regime tries to terrorize a country, but love prevails. The grandmothers’ stunning stories reveal new truths about memory, identity, and family.","brand":"None","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46158509899953,"sku":"9781668017142","price":39.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Kobo eBook","offer_id":46158509932721,"sku":"905160d8-71d8-381d-be37-1ff68c7a5694","price":1.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46651404058834,"sku":"9781668017159","price":27.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0655\/8980\/5233\/files\/1_71b3e375-ce6a-485a-a752-332739b494b5.jpg?v=1763716257"},{"product_id":"52-ways-to-reconcile","title":"52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom bestselling author of the Misewa Saga series David A. 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About how one man – Vasili Mitrokhin – turned first disaffected dissident and then traitor to the KGB, stealing the most secret Soviet archives and smuggling them to the West. How do you steal a library? Not just any library but the most secret, heavily guarded archive in the world. The answer is to be a librarian. To be so quiet, that no-one knows what you are up to as you toil undercover and deep amongst the files. The work goes on for decades but remains so low key, that even after your escape, aided by MI6, no-one even notices you are gone.The Spy in the Archive tells the remarkable story of how Vasili Mitrokhin – an introverted archivist who loved nothing more than dusty files – ended up changing the world. As the in-house archivist for the KGB, the secrets he was exposed to inside its walls turned him first into a dissident and then a spy, a traitor to his country but a man determined to expose the truth about the dark forces that had subverted Russia, forces still at work in the country today.Bestselling writer and historian Gordon Corera tells of the operation to extract this prized asset from Russia for the first time. It is an edge-of-the-seat thriller, with vivid flashbacks to Mitrokhin’s earlier time as a KGB idealist prepared to do what it took to serve the Soviet Union and his growing realisation that the communist state was imprisoning its own people. It is the story of what it was like to live in the Soviet Union, to raise a family and then of one man’s journey from the heart of the Soviet state to disillusion, betrayal and defection. At its heart is Mitrokhin’s determination to take on the most powerful institution in the world by revealing its darkest secrets. 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A prospector who had been swept up in the Klondike Gold Rush, Darrell later made his name as an expert guide, trapper, and restless wanderer who ventured where few others dared. At a time when travel by dogsled in the North was the norm, Darrell became legendary for traversing thousands of kilometres alone and on foot; ranging over mountains and across windswept tundra from Alaska to Hudson Bay. During his epic journeys, he helped rescue sailors trapped in sea ice, led Mounties on their patrols, and even guided some of the era’s most famous explorers. Roald Amundsen, the first person to reach the South Pole, held Darrell in awe, remarking once that with men like him, he could go to the moon. Contemporaries regarded Darrell as the hardiest, most competent explorer of his day. Despite clues reported by Inuit trappers and Mounted Police inquiries, his fate remains a mystery. While his disappearance sparked headlines around the world, Darrell’s name would soon also vanish from the history books, ironically, just as surely as he had in the wild.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet Darrell left behind a trail of letters, journals, and hand-drawn maps. With these faded clues and his zeal for adventure, Adam Shoalts retraces Darrell’s forgotten routes through the wilderness, searching for cabin ruins and old campsites. He unearths water-stained records and tracks down elderly individuals in the hopes that they might remember someone who’d known Darrell. Part detective story, part biography, and part first-person adventure narrative, \u003ci\u003eVanished Beyond the Map\u003c\/i\u003e combines expeditions with historical research to solve one of exploration history’s enduring cold cases—the mystery of Hubert Darrell.","brand":"None","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46235471446226,"sku":"9780735236868","price":37.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Kobo eBook","offer_id":46235471478994,"sku":"933e4307-25be-36da-9ebc-df2757521c2a","price":16.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0655\/8980\/5233\/files\/1_12163642-2ad2-4dc7-ba52-65f73ed95813.jpg?v=1763718213"},{"product_id":"the-crisis-of-canadian-democracy-1","title":"The Crisis of Canadian Democracy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Coyne, one of Canada’s most esteemed political thinkers, delivers a powerful exposé of the nation’s crumbling democratic institutions. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith characteristic wit, insight, and rigor, Coyne dismantles the comforting myths Canadians tell themselves about their political system, revealing a parliamentary structure eroded by unaccountable leaders, disempowered MPs, manipulated elections, and systemic dysfunction. The Crisis of Canadian Democracy is both a wake-up call and a call to action, offering compelling solutions to restore genuine self-government to Canadian politics. 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From the windows of her beloved Jeu de Paume museum, where she had worked and ultimately spied, she could see the battle to liberate Paris thundering around her. The Jeu de Paume, co-opted by Nazi leadership, was now the Germans’ final line of defense. Would the museum curator be killed before she could tell the truth—a story that would mean nothing less than saving humanity’s cultural inheritance?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on troves of previously undiscovered documents, \u003ci\u003eThe Art Spy\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles the brave actions of the key Resistance spy in the heart of the Nazi’s art looting headquarters in the French capital. A veritable female Monuments Man, Valland has, until now, been written out of the annals. While Hitler was amassing stolen art for his future Führermuseum, Valland, his undercover adversary, secretly worked to stop him. She came face to face with Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, passed crucial information to the Resistance network, and faced death during the last hours of Liberation Day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the same time, a young Free French soldier, Alexandre Rosenberg , was fighting his way to Paris with the Allied forces battling to liberate France. Alexandre's father was the exclusive art dealer for Picasso, Matisse, George Braque, and Fernand Léger. 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The Acropolis and the Colosseum? Perhaps the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle and the rule of the Caesars? Or the birth of democracy and the vast reach of an empire? This well-trodden history of great thinkers, military leaders, and early state formation in the classical world still enthralls us, but it tells only half the story…\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eHow democratic was Athenian democracy? How much power did states wield beyond their city walls? And who looked upon the systems of domination that prevailed and sought to create something different?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eRadical Antiquity\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003etakes you on a unique journey in search of anarchy, statelessness, and social experimentation in the Graeco-Roman world. 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Researched across more than 30 countries, it brings the dazzling civilizations of pre-colonial Africa vividly to life. A book that feels both long-overdue—and wholly worth the wait.” —British Vogue\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEveryone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor too long, Africa’s history has been dominated by western narratives of slavery and colonialism, or simply ignored. Now, in this work of decolonized history, Zeinab Badawi sets the record straight.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this fascinating nonfiction history book, Badawi guides us through Africa’s spectacular history—from the very origins of our species, through ancient civilizations and medieval empires with remarkable queens and kings, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence. Visiting more than thirty African countries to interview countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, she unearths buried histories from across the continent and gives Africa its rightful place in our shared world history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe result is a gripping new account of Africa: an epic, sweeping history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat happens when Africa’s history is finally told from an African perspective?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePre-Colonial Africa:\u003c\/b\u003e Journey through the dazzling civilizations and remarkable medieval empires of a continent, based on research across more than thirty countries.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAncient Civilizations:\u003c\/b\u003e Go beyond the Nile to discover the magnificent and often overlooked histories of the Kingdom of Kush, Aksum, and more.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Origins of Humankind:\u003c\/b\u003e Explore our shared beginnings on the African continent and understand why this story is for everyone.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAn African Perspective:\u003c\/b\u003e Experience the continent’s epic, sweeping history not as a Western narrative, but as a story told by African historians, archaeologists, and storytellers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"None","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46814709219538,"sku":"9780063335417","price":40.5,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Kobo eBook","offer_id":46814709252306,"sku":"e5322d2d-160e-39a8-b9bc-7236cdf9b0e9","price":19.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0655\/8980\/5233\/files\/image_c9314f6d-3375-4bb0-9922-3571acbfba52.jpg?v=1775574448"},{"product_id":"empire-of-ai-dreams-and-nightmares-in-sam-altmans-openai","title":"Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book • Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction • A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Bestseller • Named a Best Book of the Year by \u003ci\u003eSmithsonian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eScientific American, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eElle •\u003c\/i\u003e Winner of the Porchlight Business Book Award\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A bestselling page-turner that has made waves not just in Silicon Valley but around the world . . . 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Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, the organization was meant, its leader Sam Altman told us, to act as a check against more purely mercantile, and potentially dangerous, forces. What could go wrong?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOver time, Hao began to wrestle ever more deeply with that question. Increasingly, she realized that the core truth of this massively disruptive sector is that its vision of success requires an almost unprecedented amount of resources: the “compute” power of high-end chips and the processing capacity to create massive large language models, the sheer volume of data that needs to be amassed at scale, the humans “cleaning up” that data for sweatshop wages throughout the Global South, and a truly alarming spike in the usage of energy and water underlying it all. The truth is that we have entered a new and ominous age of empire: only a small handful of globally scaled companies can even enter the field of play. At the head of the pack with its ChatGPT breakthrough, how would OpenAI resist such temptations?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSpoiler alert: it didn’t. Armed with Microsoft’s billions, OpenAI is setting a breakneck pace, chased by a small group of the most valuable companies in human history—toward what end, not even they can define. All this time, Hao has maintained her deep sourcing within the company and the industry, and so she was in intimate contact with the story that shocked the entire tech industry—Altman’s sudden firing and triumphant return. The behind-the-scenes story of what happened, told here in full for the first time, is revelatory of who the people controlling this technology really are. But this isn’t just the story of a single company, however fascinating it is. The g forces pressing down on the people of OpenAI are deforming the judgment of everyone else too—as such forces do. Naked power finds the ideology to cloak itself; no one thinks they’re the bad guy. But in the meantime, as Hao shows through intrepid reporting on the ground around the world, the enormous wheels of extraction grind on. By drawing on the viewpoints of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents the fullest picture of AI and its impact we’ve seen to date, alongside a trenchant analysis of where things are headed. 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