New Releases: Explorers and Ancestors

If your school was like my school, you had to memorize a bunch of sixteenth century explorers and where they went and absolutely nothing about the consequences of their actions. Enter Ferdinand Magellan! The publisher describes this as “a study in failure” and says that Magellan was “focused less on circumnavigating the world or cornering the global spice market than on exploiting Filipino gold.” If you want to find out the researched truth about one of the famed explorers, check this out.

Newton’s ancestors demonstrate what can at the least be called a colorful history. In this delve into hereditary traits, genetics, and more, she looks into how much we might be influenced by those who came before us, how intergenerational trauma might come into play, and “modernity’s dismissal of ancestors.” Which is legit! This is Newton’s first book and it looks fascinating.

Musician and writer Henry shares how he became an activist and how he was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. As the subtitle might suggest, Henry discovered that many white friends and colleagues “were more interested in debating whether racism existed or whether Henry was being polite enough in the way he used his voice.” His work now is focused on social justice and nonviolent social change.

I love a collection, and this one shares twelve stories highlighting parts of the immigrant experience, including exploitation by employers, a frequent inability to get a driver’s license, difficulty obtaining healthcare, among other issues.