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History and Current Events April 2017
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In this Issue |
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Capturing Hill 70 : Canada's forgotten battle of the First World War | Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West | Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge | Twilight warriors : the soldiers, spies, and special agents who are revolutionizing the American way of war | Caught in the revolution : Petrograd, Russia, 1917--a world on the edge | |
Victoria The Queen : An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire | Frederick the Great : King of Prussia | Charlemagne | Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia | The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His... | |
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In August 1917, the Canadian Corps captured Hill 70, vital terrain just north of the French town of Lens. The Canadians suffered some 5,400 casualties and in three harrowing days defeated twenty-one German counterattacks. This spectacularly successful but shockingly costly battle was as innovative as Vimy, yet few Canadians have heard of it or of subsequent attempts to capture Lens, which resulted in nearly 3,300 more casualties. Capturing Hill 70 marks the centenary of this triumph by dissecting different facets of the battle, from planning and conducting operations to long-term repercussions and commemoration. It reinstates Hill 70 to its rightful place among the pantheon of battles that forged the reputation of the famed Canadian Corps during the First World War.
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| Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom ClavinWell known as an inspiration for many of Hollywood's Wild West shoot-em-ups, 1870s Dodge City, Kansas was a supply center, a railhead, and a host to gigantic stockyards. Attracting characters of all types, it existed on the fuzzy boundary between law and lawlessness, where tough and fearless men, among them Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, kept order. In this vivid portrait of the city and its denizens, award-winning journalist Tom Clavin traces Masterson's and Earp's careers, culminating with the final battle, called the Dodge City War, between lawmen and desperados. Wild West aficionados, especially fans of Jeff Guinn's The Last Gunfight, featuring Tombstone, Arizona, will find Dodge City un-put-downable. |
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| Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong DunbarWhen George Washington, the first President of the U.S., inhabited the Executive Mansion in Philadelphia, one of the enslaved people who accompanied George and Martha was a young seamstress named Ona Judge. When the Washingtons decided to give her as a wedding present to one of their granddaughters, Judge, who had met a lot of free blacks in Philly, took off. Despite intense and unremitting efforts to capture her, she lived free in New Hampshire for the half-century until her death. In this meticulously researched, thought-provoking account, the Washingtons, slavery, and the abolition movement provide the eye-opening context for Judge's inspiring escape. |
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Monarchs and Their Monarchies |
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Victoria The Queen : An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire
by Julia Baird
An account of the life of the longtime English monarch offers insight into the passionate and sensuous aspects of her character, placing her reign against a backdrop of dynamic world events while sharing insights into her relationship with Albert and her pivotal role in building the British empire.
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Frederick the Great : King of Prussia
by T. C. W Blanning
An extensive portrait of the contradictory ruler who helped elevate Prussia to a first-rate power in the 18th century explores such topics as his military accomplishments, his long relationship with Voltaire and his embrace of Enlightenment philosophies.
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Charlemagne by Johannes Fried"When Charlemagne died in 814 CE, he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Distinguished historian and author of The Middle Ages Johannes Fried presents a new biographical study of the legendary Frankish king and emperor, illuminating the life and reign of a ruler who shaped Europe's destiny in ways few figures, before or since, have equaled. -- Provided by publisher
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| Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia by Robert LaceyThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia owns one of the richest oil deposits in the world, but this wealth is only one among many social and political factors the royal family deals with. In this engaging and accessible analysis, author Robert Lacey incorporates his interviews with a variety of Saudi citizens, information about Islamic movements and history, foreign secularizing influences, and Saudi-led modernization efforts. He also looks at Saudi Arabia's shifting global political alliances. Publishers Weekly calls Inside the Kingdom "indispensable," praising the "depth, breadth, and evenhandedness" of Lacey's research. |
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| The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His... by Jack WeatherfordIn Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, bestselling author Jack Weatherford examined the life and legacy of the much-maligned 13th-century empire builder. 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, soon after Genghis Khan's death their male relatives took over, and the empire declined until another powerful queen -- Manduhai the Wise -- reunited the Mongols. Whether you're interested in Asian history or in women's studies, you'll enjoy this "uplifting, entertaining" (Kirkus Reviews) account. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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Lambton County Library 787 Broadway St. Wyoming, Ontario N0N1T0 519-845-3324www.lclibrary.ca |
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