history

  • 7 Page-Turning Nonfiction History Books

    7 Page-Turning Nonfiction History Books

    It is a truism that we ignore history at our own peril. However, few of us want to page through dusty textbooks, and often what we want is entertainment. Fortunately, enjoyment and learning go hand in hand in these nonfiction history books that are written with the flair of a novel. These titles, a mix… Continue reading

  • Nonfiction for Women’s History Month

    Nonfiction for Women’s History Month

    Celebrate Women’s History Month with this selection of recently published memoirs and history highlighting women in the United States, and find more in our booklist Women’s History Month 2025. The Movement: How Women’s Liberation Transformed America, 1963-1973 by Clara Bingham Weaving together over 100 oral histories, Bingham brings to life the first ten years of… Continue reading

  • Celebrate Disability Pride Month with the Library

    Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July, marking the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. Disability is something that nearly every person experiences at some point in their lives, but it is also a distinct identity impacting how folks interact with the world. The… Continue reading

  • Charles Curtis, America’s first mixed-race Veep

    Kamala Harris is breaking barriers with her election to the Vice Presidency, however, she was not the first person of color to achieve that office. Obscured along the decades, Charles Curtis, a United States Senator who was a one-eighth Native American member of the Kaw Nation of Kansas, was elected to serve as Vice President… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2020: History or alternate history

    “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” – Winston Churchill One of the squares for adult bingo this year is History or Alternate History.   History is just one great big story told from different perspectives.  Also, since it’s so diverse the chances are high that you will find a story… Continue reading

  • Throwback Thursday: March 31, 2008

    Seattle Reads, the arts, and gentrification was the topic in our Throwback Thursday post on March 31, 2008. If you have picked up this year’s Seattle Reads novel, The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu you’ve had a chance to get one novelist’s take on some of the issues and pressures that can… Continue reading

  • Queer Comics for LGBT History Month

    October is LGBT History Month! Let us celebrate and read some recently published comics and graphic novels by queer creators and about queer characters and stories! Continue reading

  • The Apollo 11 Anniversary 1969-2019

    What began as one small step for [a] man, is now one giant leap through half a century of the calendar of human history, as we commemorate the first landing on the moon, July 20, 1969. With the anniversary comes books and other resources highlighting the landing, the astronauts, and the space race—which was an… Continue reading

  • Bird Week: Shakespeare’s Birds

    Bird Week: Shakespeare’s Birds

    The Seattle Public Library is partnering with the Seward Park Audubon Center for Bird Week, April 23-30, in celebration of the center’s tenth anniversary and the National Audubon Society’s 2018 Year of the Bird. ‘Tis unnatural, Even like the deed that’s done. On Tuesday last, A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place, Was by a… Continue reading

  • The Vietnam War: Essential Accounts

    There is no single story of the Vietnam War. In our second of four lists commemorating the premiere of Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s ten part documentary series on the Vietnam War, we feature twenty-five memoirs and personal accounts of the War and its aftermath, representing a wide array of experiences and voices. Here are some highlights. Continue reading

  • The Vietnam War: Essential History

    As our city and our nation tunes in to the premiere presentation of Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s ten part documentary series on the Vietnam War, interest is spiking in books and films that explore the War and the era from all angles. In the first of a four part series featuring lists including one hundred… Continue reading

  • Celebrating the Lake Washington Ship Canal Centennial

    Did you know the Ballard Locks turns 100 this year? In recognition of the anniversary, we’ve combed through our archives and digitized some of the most interesting maps, photos, postcards, correspondence, and more related to the history of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. You can find the collection at www.spl.org/shipcanal. Continue reading

  • Inside the Story: Immersive and Personal Journalism

    Memoir tends to be subjective, while journalistic writing aims at objective treatment of a topic. Then there are those books that combine these strengths, exploring a topic of interest from within, either through the eyes of someone whose experience gives them a revealing perspective, or a journalist who immerses themselves in the world they’re writing about. In both cases, the… Continue reading

  • A Little History of Seafair

    With Seafair just around the corner, ever wonder about the history? The Seafair Beginnings article on HistoryLink,org writes, “The first Seafair took place from August 11 to 20, 1950. Hundreds of thousands of people enjoyed more than 100 events throughout King County. The events ranged from a 25-mile bicycle race around Lake Sammamish to a decorated-boat… Continue reading

  • 125th Anniversary Series: Librarian Spotlight on Roberta Meredith (1927-1958)

    2016 marks the 125th anniversary of The Seattle Public Library. After it was adopted as a department of the city in 1890, the Library opened its first reading room in Pioneer Square on April 8, 1891. To honor this milestone, we will be posting a series of articles here about the Library’s history and life in… Continue reading

  • 125th Anniversary Series: Seattle in 1891

    -posted by Jade D. “Changing lives. Creating the Future.” 2016 marks the 125th anniversary of The Seattle Public Library. After it was adopted as a department of the city in 1890, the Library opened its first reading room in Pioneer Square on April 8, 1891. To honor this milestone, we will be posting a series… Continue reading

  • Peculiar Nonfiction

    ~posted by Frank Nonfiction is vast. When you look beyond cookbooks and biographies, you’ll find some niche titles that you may not have known there was an audience for. Here are some of the most singular works of nonfiction published in the past year; perhaps one of these oddball titles is just the one for you.… Continue reading

  • The History Behind the Story, Part I

    ~posted by Emily You may not think of George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones (GoT) as historical fiction, but even if you take away the dragons and zombies, much of the drama of the novels and TV series is just as strange as the truth. Martin combines elements of fantasy and folklore with actual events from… Continue reading