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History and Current EventsMarch 2015
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As always, if the library does not own one of the books on this list, please feel free to place a request. We will contact you when your book is available.
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New and Recently Released!
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| The Cause of All Nations: An International History of the American Civil War by Don H. DoyleIn The Cause of All Nations, historian Don Doyle examines the American Civil War from a broad international perspective. Both proponents and opponents of democracy in Europe saw the War Between the States as a referendum on republican forms of government: a Northern victory would affirm the viability of popular self-rule, while if the South won, government by the people would receive a death-blow. Throughout, American agents from both sides of the conflict tried to shape international public opinion. In a starred review, Library Journal calls this an "essential read for anyone interested" in the Civil War. |
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| Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Eric FonerThe Underground Railroad, which protected free blacks in the North and assisted escaping slaves from the South, played a major role in the abolitionist movement. Award-winning historian Eric Foner documents the activities of the Railroad's supporters in New York City while providing a gripping account of death-defying escapes and courageous efforts to help escapees to freedom -- often despite northerners' resistance to the abolitionists. Gateway to Freedom offers a "sweeping, detailed look" (Booklist) at an aspect of U.S. history from the 1840s to the end of the Civil War. |
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| Murder at Camp Delta: A Staff Sergeant's Pursuit of the Truth About Guantánamo... by Joseph HickmanIn Murder at Camp Delta, Joseph Hickman, a military veteran and experienced corrections administrator who served in a unit at the Guantánamo detention center, examines three suspicious deaths that occurred while he worked there. After returning from Gitmo, he consulted with a group of analysts at Seton Hall University, who studied the Navy's report on the deaths and found incongruities. Though the U.S. government would not confirm Hickman's accounts of what he witnessed and what he suspected, his report offers disturbing food for thought about the management of Gitmo and the government's policies regarding interrogation techniques there. |
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| Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill LeovyAward-winning reporter Jill Leovy determinedly covers stories of violence for the Los Angeles Times online in The Homicide Report, which includes a searchable database. In Ghettoside, Leovy traces detective John Skaggs' investigation of the murder of a young black man whose father happened to be an officer in the LAPD. Her compelling account combines true crime writing with sociological critique, suggesting that gangs arise because the police aren't effectively solving crimes -- or preventing them. Kirkus Reviews calls it a "sobering and informative look at the realities of criminality" in poor urban neighborhoods. |
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| The Train to Crystal City: FDR's Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and... by Jan Jarboe RussellA little-known episode in World War II history appears in The Train to Crystal City, which details how the U.S. incarcerated thousands of civilians in a Texas facility. Italian, Japanese, and German immigrants were sent there with their spouses and children, many of whom were U.S. citizens. Author Jan Russell portrays life in the camp, the struggles of those who were sent abroad in prisoner exchanges, and post-war expulsion of foreign nationals. This detailed work, partly based on personal interviews, provides a "necessary reminder of the dangers produced by wartime hysteria" (Booklist). |
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Focus on: Women in History
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| The Poker Bride: The First Chinese in the Wild West by Christopher CorbettDuring the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800s, many thousands of people from China migrated to the western U.S. One of them, who took the name Polly, was a concubine employed in a brothel, who married a saloonkeeper named Charlie Bemis. Polly lived with him for many years on their isolated farm in Idaho. In 1923, after Charlie's death, Polly emerged from the ranch and shared her story. In The Poker Bride, journalism professor Christopher Corbett relates Polly's experiences and those of many other Chinese immigrants, especially young women. Fans of women's history, immigration history, and the Gold Rush will want to grab this one. |
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| The Maid and the Queen: The Secret History of Joan of Arc by Nancy GoldstoneThough Saint Joan of Arc is widely credited with inspiring Charles VII to fight the English in order to gain the throne of France, Charles' mother-in-law, Yolande of Aragon, may have been the true power behind both Joan and Charles. In The Maid and the Queen, historian Nancy Goldstone examines the connections between Yolande and Joan while detailing Yolande's diplomatic and political achievements during the Hundred Years War. Kirkus Reviews calls this book a "knowledgeable and accessible account of a turning point in French history." |
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| Miss Anne in Harlem: The White Women of the Black Renaissance by Carla KaplanDuring the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, African Americans contributed significantly to artistic achievement and innovation, especially in music and dance. White men often went uptown to enjoy the vibrant club scenes, but white women who participated too obviously in black culture risked social disgrace. Some women (collectively known as "Miss Anne") broke these racial barriers anyway; in Miss Anne in Harlem literary scholar Carla Kaplan features six of them in detailed accounts of their lives with vivid depictions of Harlem's artistic movement. Illustrations and additional contextual material make this an eye-opening portrait of the period. |
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| A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance... by Caroline MooreheadA Train in Winter describes the experiences of 230 French women held under brutal conditions by the Gestapo just outside Paris during World War II. Some were active in the French Resistance, but many others had been arrested for apparently insignificant gestures -- or for no reason at all. Drawn primarily from personal, in-depth interviews with survivors, this book sensitively portrays women who forged unbreakable bonds of loyalty, trust, and friendship in a crucible of hate. For another powerful look at European women's experiences during this war, try the anonymously authored A Woman in Berlin or Agnes Humbert's Résistance. |
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| The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan... by Jack WeatherfordIn Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, award-winning anthropologist Jack Weatherford examined the life and legacy of the much-maligned 13th-century empire-builder. In The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, he continues his study with the polygamous and prolific leader's daughters, at least four of whom became queens and provided stability among the lands that made up the Mongol empire. Unfortunately, warring among family members resulted in a takeover by male relatives, and the record of the women's achievements was literally cut out of the Mongols' history book. Pick up this compelling account to find out what the censors omitted. |
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