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History and Current Events April 2018
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| The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South by Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington What it is: a deeply searing exposé detailing how a Mississippi medical examiner and a forensic dentist successfully gamed the criminal justice system to falsely imprison two innocent men. Why you should read it: The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist is timely in its examination of how professional misconduct, junk science, structural racism, and broken institutions deny justice to American citizens. |
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Rise and kill first : the secret history of Israel's targeted assassinations
by Ronen Bergman
A political and military analyst for Israel's daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, presents an assessment of Israel's state-sponsored assassination programs that evaluates the protective beliefs that are instituted into every Israeli citizen, the role of assassination in the state's history and the ethical challenges of Israel's policies on targeted killings.
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The triumph of Christianity : How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World
by Bart D Ehrman
The best-selling author of Misquoting Jesus traces the history of how Christianity evolved from the faith of a handful of peasants in rural Galilee to a dominant Western religion in less than four centuries, exploring how it was nearly fated to become an obscure sect of Judaism and how it has revolutionized culture, economics and law.
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| Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America by Catherine KerrisonWhat it is: a finely detailed portrait of Thomas Jefferson's daughters and the tumultuous times in which they lived. Reviewers say: "Incisive and elegant, Kerrison's book is at once a fabulous family story and a stellar work of historical scholarship" (Publishers Weekly). You might also like: Virginia Scharff's The Women Jefferson Loved, which explores how Jefferson was shaped by the women in his life. |
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| The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to... by Charles C. MannWhat it's about: In this dual biography, award-winning author Charles C. Mann explores how scientists Norman Borlaug and William Vogt's contributions to -- and opposing views of -- modern environmentalism reflect the challenges of maintaining a viable future. Why you should read it: Mann's stimulating account reveals the achievements of these overlooked contemporaries, masterfully examining both viewpoints without taking sides. |
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Focus on: The Holocaust and Resistance |
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The Crime of Complicity : The Bystander in the Holocaust by Amos N. GuioraComplicity is a ground-breaking examination of the legal culpability of the bystander told through the lens of the author's family experiences in the Holocaust. It provides an exploration of three distinct events: the death marches; the German occupation of Holland; and the German occupation of Hungary, all of which allow an in-depth discussion of the role of the bystander in varied circumstances.
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| Irena's Children: A True Story of Courage by Tilar J. MazzeoWhat it is: a gripping and succinct profile of the "female Schindler," Polish social worker Irena Sendler, who smuggled thousands of children out of the Warsaw ghetto and falsified paperwork to give them new lives. Don't miss: Tilar J. Mazzeo reveals Sendler's smuggling strategies, which included hiding children in coffins and toolboxes. Is it for you? Readers drawn to hopeful stories of courage and survival will find Irena's Children compelling. |
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Human rights after Hitler : the lost history of prosecuting Axis war crimes
by Daniel Plesch
Human Rights after Hitler is a groundbreaking history about the forgotten work of the UN War Crimes Commission (UNWCC), which operated during and after World War II in response to Axis atrocities. He explains the commission's work, why its files were kept secret, and demonstrates how the lost precedents of the commission's indictments should introduce important new paradigms for prosecuting war crimes today. The UNWCC examined roughly 36,000 cases in Europe and Asia. Thousands of trials were carried out at the country-level, and hundreds of war criminals were convicted. This rewrites the history of human rights in the wake of World War II, which is too focused on the few trials at Nuremberg and Tokyo.
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| Underground in Berlin: A Young Woman's Extraordinary Tale of Survival in the Heart of... by Marie Jalowicz SimonWhat it's about: Marie Simon, a Jewish Berliner, evaded arrest and deportation by hiding in plain sight and relying on the kindness of friends and strangers alike to stay one step ahead of the Gestapo. Why you should read it: Poignant and unflinching, this memoir conveys the moral ambiguity of war-torn Berlin. Further reading: Berlin at War, Roger Moorhouse's social history of Nazi Germany. |
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| Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning by Timothy SnyderWhat it's about: In this provocative analysis of the lessons to be learned from the Holocaust, historian Timothy Snyder argues that the weakening of national states opens up the possibility of history repeating itself -- and for genocides like the Holocaust to happen again. Who it's for: Readers familiar with Holocaust history and discourse. Further reading: Snyder's critically acclaimed Bloodlands, to which Black Earth serves as a companion volume. |
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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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