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History and Current Events July 2019
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| Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense: The Courtroom Battle to Save His Legacy by Dan Abrams and David FisherThe plaintiff: GOP leader and New York state politician William Barnes, who sued a fellow Republican for libel in 1915.
The defendant: Barnes' friend turned rival, former president Theodore Roosevelt, whose accusation of corruption spurred the case.
The verdict: dramatic and suspenseful, this "fine and timely legal drama" (Booklist) examines resonant issues of political influence and overreach. |
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| The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick AtkinsonWhat it's about: the first two years of the American Revolutionary War and the stakes for both sides of the conflict.
About the author: Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson is the author of the Liberation Trilogy, which begins with An Army at Dawn.
Series alert: The British are Coming is the vivid 1st entry in the extensively researched Revolution Trilogy. |
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| Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide by Tony Horwitz1852: Reporter Frederick Law Olmsted tours the American South to cover the region's growing divisions on the eve of the Civil War.
2014: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz (who died in May 2019) retraces Olmsted's steps, juxtaposing his own commentary with his predecessor's to highlight the ways the South has changed -- and the ways it hasn't.
Don't miss: Horwitz's adventures in period-authentic transportation, including steamboat, coal barge, horseback, and mule. |
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Voices from Chernobyl
by Svetlana Alexievich
On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe. Voices from Chernobyl is the first book to present personal accounts of the tragedy. Journalist Svetlana Alexievich interviewed hundreds of people affected by the meltdown---from innocent citizens to firefighters to those called in to clean up the disaster---and their stories reveal the fear, anger, and uncertainty with which they still live.
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Cults and Secret Societies
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| The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff GuinnWhat it's about: the horrific descent of charismatic small-town pastor turned cult leader Jim Jones, who in 1978 led 918 of his Peoples Temple followers into taking their own lives before he took his own.
Want a taste? "Bodies everywhere, seemingly too many to count, innumerable heaps of the dead."
Book buzz: The Road to Jonestown was a 2018 Edgar Award Finalist for Best Fact Crime. |
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| The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors by Dan JonesWhat it is: an engaging account of the Knights Templar, the order of holy warriors established in 1119 and violently destroyed two centuries later.
Read it for: the well-researched separation of fact from myth, including discussions of enduring legends and conspiracy theories about the order.
Why you might like it: accessible prose makes The Templars a fascinating read for both general readers and fans of medieval history. |
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| Terror in the City of Champions: Murder, Baseball, and the Secret Society That... by Tom StantonWhat it is: a dual narrative of Detroit's tumultuous 1930s, which saw the concurrent rise of two dramatically different organizations: World Series hopefuls the Detroit Tigers and Ku Klux Klan offshoot Black Legion.
Starring: a colorful cast of characters, including Tigers manager Mickey Cochrane and baseball-loving Black Legion operative Dayton Dean.
Who it's for: sports fans and true crime aficionados. |
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American messiahs : false prophets of a damned nation
by Adam Morris
Draws on independent research in a controversial analysis of American perceptions about cults that argues that history's emblematic prophets and messianic figures gained power by exposing deep social injustices and tapping the human impulse to escape flawed cultural systems.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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