The Telephone: A New History

James Gleick

Pinpoint: How GPS Is Changing Technology, Culture, and Our Minds

Greg Milner

The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives, 1660–1900

Barbara Burman

Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse

Eric Jay Dolin

Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy

Hallie Lieberman

Butter: A Rich History

Elaine Khosrova

The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary

Sarah Ogilvie

The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance

Henry Petroski

Paper: Paging Through History

Mark Kurlansky

Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature

Marion Rankine

Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World

Sue Shephard

Eyeliner: A Cultural History

Zahra Hankir

The Library: A Fragile History

Andrew Pettegree

Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization

Tim Queeney

Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves

Nicola Twilley

Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World

Victoria Finlay

Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks—A Cool History of a Hot Commodity

Amy Brady

Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything

Salvatore Basile

The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger

Marc Levinson

The Perfection of the Paper Clip: Curious Tales of Invention, Accidental Genius, and Stationery Obsession

James Ward

Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World

Irene Vallejo

Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close

Hannah Carlson