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History and Current Events August 2018
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Asperger's Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna
by Edith Sheffer
What it's about: Psychiatrist Hans Asperger's early benevolent work with autistic children turned sinister as he fell in line with the Nazi regime, experimenting on -- and eventually killing -- children deemed "inferior."
About the author: Historian Edith Sheffer is the parent of a child with autism and the author of Burned Bridge: How East and West Germans Made the Iron Curtain.
Is it for you? Readers who enjoy surveys of medical ethics like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will appreciate this thought-provoking cautionary tale.
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Berlin 1936 : sixteen days in August
by Oliver Hilmes
Describes the events at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin through the recollections and viewpoints of a diverse group of ordinary people, including Nazi leaders, foreign diplomats, athletes, journalists, writers, socialites, nightclub owners and jazz musicians.
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Catching Thunder : The True Story of the World's Longest Sea Chase
by Eskil Engdal
December, 2014: In the forbidding waters off Antarctica, Captain Hammarstedt of the Bob Barker embarks on a voyage unlike any seen before. Across ten thousand miles of hazardous seas, Hammarstedt's crew will relentlessly pursue the Thunder --an infamous illegal fishing ship--for what will become the longest chase in maritime history.
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Channel of Peace : Stranded in Gander on 9/11
by Kevin Tuerff
When Kevin Tuerff and his partner boarded their flight from France to New York City on September 11, 2001, they had no idea that a few hours later the world--and their lives--would change forever. After U.S. airspace closed following the terrorist attacks, Kevin, who had been experiencing doubts about organized religion, found himself in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, with thousands of other refugees or "come from aways.
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Chernobyl : the history of a nuclear catastrophe
by Serhii Plokhy
In Chernobyl , Serhii Plokhy draws on new sources to tell the dramatic stories of the firefighters, scientists, and soldiers who heroically extinguished the nuclear inferno. He lays bare the flaws of the Soviet nuclear industry, tracing the disaster to the authoritarian character of Communist party rule, the regime's control of scientific information, and its emphasis on economic development over all else.
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Christmas: A Biography
by Judith Flanders
In most Western countries, Christmas is celebrated even by people for whom it's not a religious observance, and this isn't a recent development. In this accessible, richly detailed study, social historian Judith Flanders chronicles a "biography" of the holiday from the fourth century to the present day. She highlights secular Christmas celebrations as well as the evolution of religious observances. For another recent look at secularism and Christmas, pick up Canadian historian G.Q. Bowler's Christmas in the Crosshairs.
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| Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for... by Margalit FoxWhat it is: a page-turning true crime account of the 1908 wrongful murder conviction of Jewish German immigrant Oscar Slater, featuring an unlikely hero at its center -- Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle.
Don't miss: New York Times writer Margalit Fox's extensive research richly reconstructs how Doyle used his famous creation's deduction methods to exonerate Slater. |
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Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, & Criminal in 19th-Century New York
by Stacy Horn
What it is: a somber study of New York City's Blackwell's Island (now Roosevelt Island), purchased in 1828 for utopian aims but quickly overrun by corrupt officials. Poorly maintained hospitals, prisons, and an insane asylum housed residents who were punished and mistreated.
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Evolution : The Human Story
by Alice Roberts
This unrivaled illustrated guide to human evolution brings you face-to-face with your ancient ancestors. Traveling back in time almost eight million years, the book charts the development of our species, Homo sapiens, from tree-dwelling primates to modern humans.
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Harpoon : inside the covert war against terrorism's money masters
by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner
An Israeli activist and founder of Tel Aviv's Israel Law Center presents a revelatory account of Israeli's strategic efforts to target the finances that support terror organizations, a campaign that was adapted by the U.S. to combat ISIS and drug cartels.
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New power : how power works in our hyperconnected world--and how to make it work for you
by Jeremy Heimans
Two visionary thinkers and political influencers share game-changing perspectives into how power works differently in today's hyper-connected world, explaining how some of the biggest stories of our age, from the rise of Uber to the election of Trump, reflect new currents of open, participatory and peer-driven power that can be driven toward collective agendas.
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Nomadland : surviving America in the twenty-first century
by Jessica Bruder
The author chronicles her time embedded in a pool of transient older Americans who have taken to the road in late-model RVs, travel trailers, and vans, forming a growing community of nomads, migrant laborers who call themselves "workampers."
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The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
by Nelson Mandela
The first, and only, authorized and authenticated collection of correspondence spanning the 27 years Nelson Mandela was held as a political prisoner.
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The Trigger : Narratives of the American Shooter
by Daniel J. Patinkin
Author Daniel J. Patinkin exhaustively interviewed each of six shooters about their life experiences and about the unique circumstances that compelled them to use a firearm against another person. The result is a series of profound narratives that is sure to distress and challenge the reader, but also, perhaps, to provide enlightenment and inspiration.
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