|
History and Current Events May 2021
|
|
|
|
| We Are Each Other's Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy by Natalie BaszileWhat it is: an inspiring collection of interviews, essays, photographs, and poems chronicling Black farming in the United States, from the Emancipation to the present.
Why you should read it: Queen Sugar author Natalie Baszile's engaging and well-researched anthology pays tribute to an essential (but lesser-known) facet of American history. |
|
| In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the... by Laurence BergreenWhat it's about: how pirate Sir Francis Drake's exploits on behalf of Elizabeth I helped establish the British Empire.
Why you might like it: Rife with descriptive accounts of swashbuckling derring-do and plenty of court intrigue, acclaimed historian Laurence Bergreen's dramatic latest offers fresh insights into the relationship between Drake and the queen. |
|
| Children Under Fire: An American Crisis by John Woodrow CoxWhat it is: a sobering study examining the traumatic impact of gun violence on children.
What's inside: heartwrenching profiles of survivors and those who've lost loved ones to gun violence; persuasive calls for gun reform backed by extensive research.
Book buzz: Children Under Fire is an expansion of reporter John Woodrow Cox's Pulitzer Prize-nominated Washington Post series. |
|
| Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America by Alec MacGillisWhat it is: an impassioned account of Amazon's destabilizing impact on American communities and labor practices, featuring interviews with Amazon employees.
Topics include: how Amazon fosters competition between cities vying to host its new facilities, despite limited job growth for the "winners;" how its campuses contribute to gentrification and displacement.
For fans of: Jessica Bruder's Nomadland. |
|
| Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico by Juan Villoro; translated by Alfred MacAdamWhat it is: Mexican novelist Juan Villoro's inventive essay collection exploring the history of Mexico City, from ancient times to the present.
What sets it apart: Villoro's engaging nonlinear narrative, grouped by themes including "Places," "City Characters," and "Ceremonies," evokes the experience of travel by encouraging readers to discover the city on their own terms.
What's in a name? "Horizontal Vertigo" refers to the decision to build the city outward rather than upward to mitigate damage from earthquakes. |
|
| The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights by Dorothy WickendenStarring: "co-conspirators and intimate friends" Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward, and Martha Coffin Wright, each of whom played a key role in the women's suffrage and abolitionist movements.
Read it for: an accessible and eye-opening history of the intersection of progressive causes in 19th-century America and the often unheralded women at the forefront of fighting for them. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Avon Lake Public Library 32649 Electric Blvd. Avon Lake, Ohio 44012 440-933-8128alpl.org |
|
|
|