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History and Current Events July 2018
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| Asperger's Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna by Edith ShefferWhat 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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| Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, & Criminal in 19th-Century New York by Stacy HornWhat 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.
Did you know? Several authors visited the island -- Charles Dickens referred to it as "a lounging, listless madhouse;" journalist Nellie Bly's 1887 exposé Ten Days in a Mad-House recounts her undercover stint at the Women's Lunatic Asylum. |
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| Ruthless Tide: The Heroes and Villains of the Johnstown Flood by Al RokerWhat it's about: On May 31, 1889, the poorly engineered South Fork Dam -- built for a lake resort frequented by wealthy guests (including Andrew Carnegie) -- burst after a heavy rainfall, engulfing Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 20 million tons of water. The disaster killed over two thousand people and remains the deadliest flood in U.S. history.
What sets it apart: Al Roker combines a page-turning disaster epic with an informative morality tale, exploring how class and privilege played a part in facilitating the tragedy. |
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| Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall by Steven BrillWhat it is: a searing and insightful treatise on how well-intentioned structural changes in politics and the economy have led to what the author sees as a deteriorating American democracy.
What's inside: inspiring profiles of individuals (such as Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service) whose efforts and influence may help cure America of its current ills. |
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| West Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express by Jim DeFeliceWhat it's about: the oft-mythologized mail delivery enterprise that lasted less than two years before its operation was shuttered with the 1861 arrival of the transcontinental telegraph.
Why you might like it: Breezy and accessible, West Like Lightning brings to vivid life the major players of the Pony Express, including famous riders Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok.
Reviewers say: "Fans of the Old West will find many delightful nuggets in this fast-moving story" (Publishers Weekly). |
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What's inside: the incredible story of how a stay-at-home New York soccer dad illegally made millions off the world's most powerful and corrupt sports organization and became an unlikely FBI whistleblower.
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| Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street's Great Foreclosure... by David DayenWhat it is: an absorbing and sympathetic portrait of three ordinary home buyers who, at great personal sacrifice, pooled their resources to fight back against illegal foreclosures and raise public consciousness about the corrupt financial industry.
Reviewers say: David Dayen "elevates a muckraking exposé of fraudulent foreclosures to Hitchcockian levels of suspense" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous by Gabriella ColemanWhat it is: an eye-opening, immersive investigation of the worldwide Internet "hacktivist" collective, tracing its evolution from satirical trolling to legitimate political player in the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements, among others.
Featuring: leaked documents, chat logs, court records, and interviews.
What sets it apart: Considered the world's foremost scholar on Anonymous, anthropologist Gabriella Coleman writes humorously of the blurred lines between insider and outsider in this engrossing study. |
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What sets it apart:This captivating nonfiction investigation of the Pentagon Papers has captured widespread critical acclaim, including features in The Washington Post and on NPR, selection as a 2015 National Book Award finalist, and selection as a finalist for the 2016 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award.
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| No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State by Glenn GreenwaldWhat it's about: In this exciting analysis, journalist Glenn Greenwald recalls being the recipient of Edward Snowden's leaked National Security Agency (NSA) documents, triggering widespread debates over surveillance programs and rights to privacy -- and spurring personal and professional repercussions for Greenwald himself.
Is it for you? Accessible writing, paired with graphics and slides, makes the technical subject matter palatable to a wide readership; fans of Luke Harding's The Snowden Files will enjoy this similarly fast-paced work. |
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Contact Reference at (847) 720-3230 for more great titles! |
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