Exploring the Past: A Look at the Compelling New History Releases for September 2026

From the classical age of Alexander the Great and Roman statesman Cicero to the United States on September 11, 2001, this month’s new history releases cover a wide swath of the past. What gripping historical read will you pick up this month? As autumn approaches, publishers are rolling out a diverse array of non-fiction titles that explore the triumphs, tragedies, and enduring complexities of human history. Readers with an appetite for the past will find no shortage of compelling narratives, ranging from ancient political intrigue and military conquest to twentieth-century civil rights struggles and the modern geopolitical events that continue to shape our world.

Among the standout releases arriving this month are meticulously researched biographies, gripping investigations of historical turning points, and poignant memoirs that trace the intricate pathways of diaspora and memory. Whether examining the final, turbulent days of the Roman Republic, the harrowing minutes of a national tragedy on American soil, or the profound legal battles that sparked the global abolitionist movement, these new books offer fresh perspectives on eras both familiar and forgotten.

Cicero’s Tongue: The Life of Rome’s Greatest Orator and the End of the Republic

When the Roman statesman Cicero was murdered in 43 BCE, his head was cut off, and his tongue pierced with pins—a final, brutal act of revenge against a man whose words had shaped a generation and made him many enemies. Rising from provincial obscurity to the highest elected office in Rome, Cicero became the greatest orator of his age, a figure who believed that speech itself could defend a republic. His legacy has endured for millennia, serving as a touchstone for political philosophy, rhetoric, and the art of governance.

In a gripping new biography, the distinguished classicist Catharine Edwards brings Cicero vividly to life, revealing both the brilliance and the contradictions of a man caught between principle and ambition. Edwards explores the multifaceted life of a political titan who navigated the treacherous waters of the late Roman Republic, a time defined by intense factionalism, collapsing democratic norms, and the looming shadow of autocracy. At a moment when democratic institutions feel fragile, and the power of persuasion is once again under scrutiny, Cicero’s life speaks to us with renewed urgency. Readers seeking to understand the delicate machinery of a republic under pressure will find this volume an illuminating and timely addition to classical scholarship.

Confronting America: A Call to Return to Foundational Values

In Confronting America, bestselling authors Bill O’Reilly and Josh Hammer turn their attention to the contemporary cultural and political landscape of the United States. The authors argue that Americans have lost sight of the fundamental values that historically made the nation strong and resilient. Rather than looking to nostalgia or expanding government programs for solutions, O’Reilly and Hammer contend that the path forward requires a deliberate recommitment to informed citizenship, strong families, honest education, meaningful work, generosity, self-respect, and a willingness to put country and community ahead of individual self-interest.

At the heart of their new book is a straightforward and provocative challenge to the public: “Americans need to wise up.” Throughout the pages of Confronting America, the authors outline their perspective on how citizens can reclaim these core principles and address the deep-seated divisions facing the country today. By combining historical context with sharp commentary on modern society, the book aims to provoke serious discussion about the future of the American experiment and the responsibilities of civic participation.

An Inconvenient Woman: Keri Leigh Merritt’s Definitive Biography of Lillian Smith

Born in Florida to a deeply religious family, Lillian Smith (1897-1966) was a white Southern woman living in the heart of the Jim Crow South who continually defied the rigid social stereotypes of her era. Among her many bold departures from convention, she lived openly with her partner, Paula, and dedicated her literary platform to publishing works by both Black and American authors, fostering cross-racial dialogue at a time of profound segregation. Furthermore, Smith firmly believed and publicly argued that the system of racism inflicted profound moral and psychological damage on white Americans as well.

Drawing extensively on previously unpublished archival research, and bringing a modern appreciation to Smith’s complex and pioneering identity, An Inconvenient Woman by historian Keri Leigh Merritt presents the definitive biography of a remarkable figure. The book chronicles Smith’s unwavering dedication to racial equality and her willingness to endure ostracization from her own community in pursuit of justice. Merritt’s work illuminates the life of a woman who refused to conform to the expectations of her time and whose voice remains an essential chapter in the history of the American civil rights movement.

Alexander: A Cinematic Retelling of History’s Most Elusive Conqueror

Alexander the Great, a wide-eyed boy from the hills of Macedon who ruled most of the known world by his mid-twenties, stands as one of history’s greatest military minds. For centuries, historians, refugees, poets, and explorers have told his story, analyzing his sweeping campaigns, his tactical brilliance, and the vast empire he forged across three continents. And yet, despite the mountains of written record, Alexander himself has frequently remained an elusive historical mystery, often obscured by the myths and legends that accumulated around him almost immediately after his death.

However, over the last few years, a series of remarkable archaeological discoveries and scholarly breakthroughs has changed everything. Now, for the first time since antiquity, historians are equipped to tell a radically different story—the narrative of a young man whom almost no one noticed, until the sudden day he became king. It is the chronicle of a monarch who became a military hero, a hero who was elevated to the status of a living god, and a man who ultimately died broken-hearted in Babylon.

Utilizing cutting-edge research and a unique narrative approach, simply titled Alexander, the book thrusts readers directly into the ancient world in ways that have rarely been achieved in non-fiction. Readers are invited to experience the environment as Alexander and his contemporaries did: to see the same stars wheeling overhead, feel the harsh desert wind, and understand the full, unvarnished horror of ancient battle. This cinematic work of non-fiction offers a revelatory retelling of one of the most famous, scrutinized, and fascinating stories in the annals of human history.

Ash and Honor: The Untold 368 Minutes of 9/11

Publishing in coordination with the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Ash and Honor delivers a dramatic, minute-by-minute account of the military, national security, and aviation response to the devastating events that reshaped the modern world. While the broad strokes of that tragic day have been exhaustively reported over the past two decades, this new release serves as a masterclass in narrative journalism, placing what really happened behind closed doors into a shocking new context.

Investigative journalist Jeffrey Robinson has woven together the firsthand accounts of more than 60 American and Canadian eyewitnesses to history, many of whom have never before spoken publicly about their experiences. By capturing these voices, the book takes readers on a unique journey deep inside the most crucial and devastating 368 minutes of contemporary time. Ash and Honor stands as a definitive chronicle of the chaos, confusion, turmoil, and pandemonium, narrated directly by the sources who guided North America through the ash and honor of its darkest day.

The Zorg: The Landmark Slave Ship Trial That Ignited the Abolitionist Movement

Originally recognized as one of The New York Times 100 Most Notable Books of 2025, a Time Magazine Must-Read, and a New Yorker Essential Read, Siddharth Kara’s powerful historical investigation is now widely available in paperback. The narrative centers on late October 1780, when a slave ship named the Zorg set sail from the Netherlands, bound for Africa’s Windward and Gold Coasts to acquire its human cargo.

When a series of unpredictable weather events and navigational errors caused the Zorg to sail disastrously off course and run critically low on supplies, the ship’s captain made the horrific decision to throw more than a hundred enslaved people overboard in order to conserve provisions for the crew and protect the most valuable remaining human property. Following this atrocity, the ship’s owners filed an insurance claim for their financial loss—marking a grim first for slaves who had not been killed due to onboard insurrection or died of natural causes.

When the insurers refused to pay, the dispute went to trial. The courts initially found in favor of the owners, with the presiding Chief Justice infamously comparing the enslaved Africans to livestock. However, sparked by the profound moral outrage of an observer present in court that day, a retrial was ordered. For the first time in such a legal proceeding, fundamental concepts of human rights and morality entered the courtroom discourse, boiling the entire legal battle down to a simple yet profound question: Were the Africans on board people or cargo?

What followed was a fascinating and high-stakes legal drama in England’s highest court that transformed the brutal calculus of the slave trade into front-page news across the nation. The case of the Zorg catapulted the nascent anti-slavery movement from a minor evangelical concern into one of the most consequential moral campaigns in human history, directly sparking the powerful abolitionist movements in both Great Britain and the young United States.

The Eternal Forest: A Lyrical Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora

Also arriving in paperback this month is Elena Sheppard’s The Eternal Forest, a deeply personal memoir of the Cuban diaspora that traces one family’s exile from the island through a lyrical exploration of memory, cultural mythology, and the broader history of Cuban-American relations.

Cifuentes, Cuba, in the 1950s was remembered by the author’s grandparents, Rosita and Gustavo Delgado, as a nearly idyllic Eden. However, when Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, Gustavo was quickly placed on a list of political undesirables. By the end of 1960, the couple and their two young daughters had fled to Florida, firmly convinced that they would be able to return to Cifuentes within a few months once Castro’s regime inevitably collapsed. They never went back, and a vital piece of each family member’s identity remained frozen in that moment of displacement.

In 1987, Elena became the first member of Gustavo and Rosita’s family to be born in the United States. Yet, through the vivid memories preserved in her grandmother’s mind, Cuba formed the bedrock of her childhood imagination. In The Eternal Forest, Sheppard takes readers inside these generational stories, moving back and forth across the narrow Florida Straits separating Miami and Havana, as well as weaving between past and present to uncover family secrets on the verge of being lost to time. Written in lyrical yet unflinching prose, the memoir seeks to understand the nature of inheritance, the transmission of trauma and memory across generations, and the poignant reality of yearning for an island one can never fully know.