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History and Current EventsSeptember 2015
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"Never in the field of human conflict, has so much, been owed by so many, to so few!" ~ Winston Churchill (1874-1965), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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| The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal by David E. HoffmanIn 1978, at the height of the Cold War, Adolf Tolkachev, a Soviet military engineer, began passing details of the USSR's technological developments to the CIA in Moscow. Tolkachev's information allowed the U.S. to match and surpass Soviet weapons development, justifying the astronomical sums the CIA paid him. In this riveting, well researched book, author David Hoffman traces the heart-stopping risks that marked both Tolkachev's activities and those of the CIA. The Billion Dollar Spy brings Tolkachev to life while revealing some of the most significant -- and dangerous -- intelligence gathering of the era. |
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| Putinism: Russia and Its Future with the West by Walter LaqueurSince Vladimir Putin became the President of Russia in 2012, many Western observers have expressed concern that he might be leading his country back to Soviet-style totalitarianism. In Putinism, historian Walter Laqueur argues, on the contrary, that Putin's style more closely resembles pre-1917 Russia than Cold War-era totalitarianism. Identifying Putin's differences from Communist leaders and similarities to pre-Communist Russian nationalists, Laqueur lays out the political characteristics the West needs to be aware of in dealing with Putin. Booklist observes that Laqueur's analysis is "cogent and must be seriously considered." |
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| The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True... by Al RokerThe gigantic hurricane that struck the Texas Gulf Coast in September 1900, destroying Galveston, still stands as the deadliest natural disaster in American history. In The Storm of the Century, NBC weather reporter Al Roker clearly describes the storm's genesis and its progress across the Atlantic and through the Gulf to Galveston. The book's power, however, arises from his compelling and poignant use of primary sources to portray sights and sounds in the flattened city and the feelings of individual Galveston residents and those who came to help in the aftermath. For more on this historic catastrophe, don't miss Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm. |
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| Zero Zero Zero by Roberto Saviano; translated by Virginia JewissItalian journalist Roberto Saviano, who wrote a courageous critique of the Neapolitan crime syndicate in Gomorrah, turns his attention to the worldwide cocaine trade in Zero Zero Zero. Offering an anthropological perspective on everyone from individual users to international crime lords, he also keenly analyzes the capitalist system that manages the global flow of drugs and reaps tremendous profits from them. Concluding that cocaine directly or indirectly affects everyone, Saviano paints a "dark, relentless" (Kirkus Reviews) panorama from which it's difficult to turn away. For additional sobering reports on drug trafficking, read Sam Quinones' Dreamland or Joan Grillo's El Narco. |
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| Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War by Susan SouthardOn August 9, 1945 a U.S. Army Air Force plane dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. The immediate effects, as in the bombing of Hiroshima three days earlier, were devastating. The long term effects have also caused much suffering, though fewer reports on them have been available in the U.S. Drawing on extensive interviews with five people who were teenagers in Nagasaki when it was bombed, as well as official and public records, author Susan Southard vividly recounts the instantaneous death and destruction and the survivors' subsequent challenges. Library Journal counts Nagasaki among the "definitive histories of the end of World War II." |
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| Double Agent: The First Hero of World War II and How the FBI Outwitted and... by Peter DuffyDuring World War II, even before Germany declared war on America on December 11, 1941, Nazi agents operated a very effective ring of German-American spies within the U.S. When German native (and American citizen) William Sebold went to Germany in 1939 to visit family, German intelligence officers tried to recruit him. Sebold, however, contacted the FBI when he returned to New York and agreed to supply information on Nazi espionage. In the compelling Double Agent, journalist Peter Duffy provides exciting, well documented details of Sebold's work. For another engaging account of World War II spying, Hervie Haufler's The Spies Who Never Were relates the exploits of British counterintelligence agents. |
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| Dam Busters: The True Story of the Inventors and Airmen Who Led... by James HollandIn May 1945, the RAF launched a radical attempt to hinder the Third Reich's war production by destroying German hydroelectric dams. The specialized bomb they used had never been tested in realistic conditions, the bombers had to fly unusual approaches at night to deliver the bombs, and they had only weeks to get ready. The mission was triumphant, though costly, and it boosted British morale while creating a legend that inspired a film (1955's The Dam Busters). In this "authoritative" (Publishers Weekly) account, historian James Holland describes the project's technical development and the gripping details of the raid. World War II and military history buffs won't want to miss this one. |
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| With Wings Like Eagles: The Untold Story of the Battle of Britain by Michael KordaFollowing the British Expeditionary Force's retreat from Dunkirk in May 1940, RAF Fighter Command remained the final defense against a German invasion of Britain. The Luftwaffe launched bombing raids on English targets, but the RAF pilots held them off until September, when Adolf Hitler canceled his planned sea and air offensive against the U.K. In this detailed history of the Battle of Britain, author Michael Korda relates the work of Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding to prepare the RAF and provides stirring accounts of the fighter pilots' exploits against German raids. Complete with photographs, With Wings Like Eagles will equally thrill general history readers and World War II military enthusiasts. |
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| Road to Valor: A True Story of World War II Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who... by Aili McConnon and Andres McConnonThough Benito Mussolini's Italy was a strong ally of Germany during World War II, many Italians, including Tour de France champion Gino Bartali, weren't sympathetic with the Fascist leadership. In this well documented and inspiring biography, journalists Aili and Andres McConnon relate how, while supposedly training in the mountains of Tuscany, Bartali secretly carried false documents that enabled Jewish refugees to escape to safety. While it also recounts Bartali's early life and his racing triumphs, Road to Valor includes the story of one of the hundreds of rescued Jewish families. The Boston Globe says the McConnons have chronicled these heroic events "powerfully and well." |
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| Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. NormanThousands of American and Filipino POWs died during the notorious Bataan Death March, victims of Japanese brutality. Both comprehensive and nuanced, this unflinching account describes how foot soldiers (on both sides) paid the ultimate price for decisions made at the highest levels of command. The story of Montana-born American POW Ben Steele provides a moving focal point: his raw post-war drawings depict the hell that Bataan's survivors endured for another four years in Japanese prison camps. For more, try Hampton Sides' highly recommended Ghost Soldiers, a compelling history of the desperate rescue mission that finally saved the few remaining POWs. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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