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History and Current Events October 2017
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| Ranger Games: A Story of Soldiers, Family, and an Inexplicable Crime by Ben BlumIn 2006, Alex Blum, a recently qualified Army Ranger on leave, drove the getaway car for a quartet of bank robbers, one of whom was a veteran Ranger who ranked above Alex. His cousin, author Ben Blum, spent a year trying to find out why Alex participated in this serious crime. In Ranger Games, Blum reports on Alex's trial, the defense lawyer's theory that Alex believed the bank heist was a required Army training exercise, and Ranger culture. This riveting, thought-provoking book reveals some sobering information about military training, mind games, and moral corruption. |
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The Story of Hebrew
by Lewis Glinert
This book explores the extraordinary hold that Hebrew has had on Jews and Christians, who have invested it with a symbolic power far beyond that of any other language in history. Hebrew endured long after it ceased to be a mother tongue, resulting in one of the most intense textual cultures ever known. It was a bridge to Greek and Arab science. It unlocked the biblical sources for Jerome and the Reformation. Kabbalists and humanists sought philosophical truth in it, and Colonial Americans used it to shape their own Israelite political identity. Today, it is the first language of millions of Israelis. The Story of Hebrew takes readers from the opening verses of Genesis—which seemingly describe the creation of Hebrew itself—to the reincarnation of Hebrew as the everyday language of the Jewish state.
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| Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World by Suzy HansenAfter winning a fellowship to fund a year abroad, journalist Suzy Hansen went to live in Istanbul, Turkey in 2007. Assuming, as she had been taught, that the rest of the world views the U.S. as generous and benevolent, she was shocked to learn otherwise. In Notes on a Foreign Country, Hansen relates her discovery that American self-perceptions are based on ignorance of history and international affairs. She recounts what she's learned about U.S. foreign policy during years spent in the eastern Mediterranean region and starkly illuminates the problems caused by American unawareness of the rest of the world. |
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| Alone: Britain, Churchill, and Dunkirk by Michael KordaAuthor and former editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster Michael Korda was born in England in 1933; his family went to the U.S. in 1941 for the duration of World War II. In Alone, Korda weaves his childhood memories of Britain with a thoroughly researched history of the early months of the war up through the 1940 evacuation from Dunkirk. This detailed history presents an "excellent revisitation" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) of military tactics and international politics, illuminated by Korda's personal recollections. |
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The Case for Impeachment
by Allan J Lichtman
Distinguished Professor of History at American University Allan J. Lichtman made headlines when he predicted that Donald J. Trump would defeat the heavily favored Democrat, Hillary Clinton, to win the presidential election. Now, in clear, nonpartisan terms, Lichtman lays out the reasons Congress could remove Trump from the Oval Office: his ties to Russia before and after the election, the complicated financial conflicts of interest at home and abroad, and his abuse of executive authority. The Case for Impeachment also offers a fascinating look at presidential impeachments throughout American history, including the often-overlooked story of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment, details about Richard Nixon’s resignation, and Bill Clinton’s hearings. Lichtman shows how Trump exhibits many of the flaws (and more) that have doomed past presidents. As the Nixon Administration dismissed the reporting of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as “character assassination” and “a vicious abuse of the journalistic process,” Trump has attacked the “dishonest media,” claiming, “the press should be ashamed of themselves.” Historians, legal scholars, and politicians alike agree: we are in politically uncharted waters—the durability of our institutions is being undermined and the public’s confidence in them is eroding, threatening American democracy itself.
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| Ghost of the Innocent Man: A True Story of Trial and Redemption by Benjamin RachlinViewing the history of a wrongful conviction through the lens of the trial, verdict, and imprisonment of Willie James Grimes, author Benjamin Rachlin traces the specifics of this case as well as the beginnings of North Carolina's Innocence Inquiry Commission. While other convictions had been questioned after DNA evidence was introduced, the Grimes case was a key factor in passing a 2006 state law that enables systematic challenges to mishandled prosecutions. For another unsettling look at a questionable conviction (in 1950s Alabama), check out S. Jonathan Bass' He Calls Me by Lightning. |
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First Nations Sacred Sites in Canada's Courts
by Michael Lee Ross
Canadian. The sacred sites of indigenous peoples are under increasing threat worldwide. The threat’s origin is traceable to state appropriation of control over their ancestral territories; its increase is fueled by insatiable demands on lands, waters, and natural resources. Because their sacred sites spiritually anchor their relationship with their lands, and because their relationship with their lands is at the core of their identities, threats to their sacred sites are effectively threats to indigenous peoples themselves. In recent decades, First Nations peoples of Canada, like other indigenous peoples, have faced hard choices. Sometimes, they have foregone public defence of their threatened sacred sites in order to avoid compounding disrespect and to grieve in private over the desecration and even destruction. Other times, they have mounted public protests – ranging from public information campaigns to on-the-ground resistance, the latter having occurred famously at Oka, Ipperwash, and Gustafsen Lake. They have also taken their fight to the courts. First Nations Sacred Sites in Canada’s Courts examines how Canada’s courts have responded.
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Trench Talk / Trench Life : A Beginner's Guide to World War One
by Frederic Winkowski
This concise, handsomely illustrated, boots-on-the ground guide provides a unique introduction to life on the Western Front during World War I. Readers will learn about the drastic living circumstances of characters Tommy Atkins, Poilu, and Doughboy, respectively the foot soldiers of Britain, France, and the United States. We all know something of how these men existed in muddy trenches, subject to shelling, snipers and waiting for the next Big Push; but it is through the unique vocabulary of those troops, with their newly coined words, slang, and euphemisms that we can most easily enter their world. Readers will learn the meaning behind the long lost wartime language of these soldiers, with such words and phrases as: Black Hand Gang, Ace, Crummy, Barker, Dud, Come-alongs, Hush-hush, and Over the top. Based on extensive research, Trench Talk Trench Life is a wide-ranging and sympathetic look at the lives of initially patriotic, but ultimately tenacious front line soldiers of the Western Front.
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Russia: 100 years since the Revolution
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| Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Aleksievich; translated by Bela ShayevichIf you want a closeup view of the end of the Soviet Union and the beginnings of the new Russia, check out this moving oral history collection that provides an eye-opening look at the Soviet and post-Soviet soul. Sharing the stories of a wide variety of people from across the vast country, 2015 Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Aleksievich provides a thorough, fascinating look at war, freedom, family, and more, giving voice to those who've seen so much upheaval. For further reading on travels in contemporary Russia, pick up Anne Garrels' Putin Country. |
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| The End of Tsarist Russia: The March to World War I and Revolution by Dominic LievenAccording to Cambridge historian Dominic Lieven, World War I arose from Eastern European imperialism -- the Austro-Hungarians vs. the Russians. Though Western Europe was soon sucked into the maelstrom, the Teutonic and Slavic factions had the most to lose and gain. Drawing on materials in Russian archives only recently made accessible, Lieven traces the impact of the Bolshevik upheaval on the outcome of the World War and explores how these conflicts influenced the development of the next Russian empire -- the Soviet Union. Library Journal calls The End of Tsarist Russia a "fascinating reappraisal" of the Russian/Soviet role in the 20th century. |
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| The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee MyersIn The New Tsar, former New York Times Moscow bureau chief Steven Myers recounts in great detail the career of Vladimir Putin, who emerged on the Russian political scene in the 1990s and succeeded Boris Yeltsin as President in 2000. Myers describes Putin's initial economic reforms, which transformed the Russian economy, but which he soon followed with oppressive authoritarian measures and military actions that created global angst. Offering a personal assessment and political analysis designed to help Westerners understand the Russian leader, Myers presents a "highly effective portrait of a frighteningly powerful autocrat" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| The Invention of Russia: From Gorbachev's Freedom to Putin's War by Arkady OstrovskyAward-winning journalist Arkady Ostrovsky, formerly the Moscow bureau chief for the Economist, traces the rise of the new Russia out of the ruins of the Soviet Union in this "troubling and superbly documented" (Booklist) account. After Mikhail Gorbachev liberalized journalistic, economic, and political policies, his successors reversed course and reestablished absolutist governmental control. Relying on the press to create the stories he wants people to hear, current President Vladimir Putin has recreated Russian rule according to the Stalinist model. If you're interested in Russia's role in international affairs or the power of propaganda, you'll find The Invention of Russia gripping and enlightening. |
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| The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag MontefioreFor three centuries, until 1918, the Romanov dynasty ruled a sixth of the world's surface. In this comprehensive and absorbing narrative, author Simon Sebag Montefiore details the unlikely birth of their power in 1613 and traces their rule until their downfall. Utilizing correspondence, diaries, and other primary materials, Montefiore draws compelling portraits of each of the rulers and their spouses, creating a history of Russian imperial leadership and illuminating the autocratic and violent character of their reigns. Current affairs buffs who are intrigued by the authoritarian methods of President Vladimir Putin will find this a thought-provoking examination of Russian political traditions. |
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