Edwards, Justene Hill. Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank. Norton. Oct. 2024. ISBN 9781324073857. 304p. $29.99. HISTORY

Using new archival findings, historian Edwards (Univ. of Virginia; Unfree Markets) offers a comprehensive account of the Freedman’s Bank and its social and economic impacts. After the Civil War, thousands of formerly enslaved people deposited millions of dollars into the bank, but nine years later it collapsed, contributing to race-based economic inequality in the U.S.

King, Charles. Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel’s Messiah. Doubleday. Oct. 2024. ISBN 9780385548267. 352p. $32. HISTORY

Bestselling and award-winning author King (international affairs and government, Georgetown Univ.; Gods of the Upper Air) tells the story of the people who contributed to the making of Handel’s Messiah oratorio. King illuminates the political and cultural backdrop during the creation of this enduring classic, which is still performed and beloved centuries later.

Robertson, Aaron. The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America. Farrar. Oct. 2024. ISBN 9780374604981. 400p. $30. HISTORY

Robertson, a writer, editor, translator, and judge for the 2024 International Booker Prize, debuts with a book that explores how Black Americans have sought to transform their lives, including through utopian experiments such as the Shrine of the Black Madonna Church, founded to combine religion with social activism. With a 75K-copy first printing.

Schwartz, Yardena. Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Union Square & Co. Oct. 2024. ISBN 9781454949213. 336p. $29.99. HISTORY

Drawing on extensive research and current interviews, award-winning print and TV journalist Schwartz aims to offer a balanced history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, beginning with the Hebron massacre of 1929 in British-governed Palestine, and giving context and a historical framework for the current war between Israel and Hamas. With a 75K-copy first printing.