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History and Current Events January 2021 |
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| Slanted: How the News Media Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism by Sharyl AttkissonWhat it is: a sobering and provocative investigation into the ways in which modern news media is manipulated.
About the author: Sharyl Attkisson is a five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and a recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award.
Is it for you? Readers may see Attkisson's discussion of Donald Trump's presidential misdeeds as apologia. |
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| The Killer's Shadow: The FBI's Hunt for a White Supremacist Serial Killer by John Douglas and Mark OlshakerWhat it's about: serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin's three-year crime spree, which began with a shooting at a St. Louis synagogue in 1977.
Read it for: FBI profiler John Douglas' breakneck pursuit of Franklin; the pair's confrontation once the latter was imprisoned.
Reviewers say: "This is a must read for those looking for insight into the minds of those instigating racial violence today" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen... by Rachel Maddow and Michael YarvitzStarring: disgraced vice president Spiro Agnew, who resigned in 1973 after he was caught committing tax fraud and running a bribery and extortion ring in his office.
Why you might like it: This well-researched examination of a lesser-known political scandal, which happened concurrently (but unrelatedly) with Watergate, offers striking parallels to current events.
Media buzz: Bag Man is an engaging expansion of the authors' podcast of the same name, which was nominated for a Peabody Award in 2018. |
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Icebound : shipwrecked at the edge of the world
by Andrea Pitzer
Documents the remarkable survival tale of 16th-century Dutch explorer and talented navigator Williams Barents, whose obsessive quest to chart the remote regions of the Arctic prompted three harrowing expeditions.
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| The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks; illustrated by Caanan WhiteWhat it is: a well-researched, lightly fictionalized account of the Harlem Hellfighters, the highly decorated all-Black Army regiment who fought in World War I.
Art alert: Caanan White's dark and detailed artwork doesn't shy away from gory imagery, starkly conveying the chaos and violence of war.
Book buzz: This New York Times bestseller from World War Z author Max Brooks was named a Library Journal Best Graphic Novel in 2014. |
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| Tetris: The Games People Play by Box BrownWhat it is: the complicated origin story of Tetris, "the game that escaped the USSR" in 1984 after its Russian creator smuggled it out of Moscow.
Why you might like it: Bestselling author and illustrator Box Brown (Andre the Giant: Life and Legend) presents the tale in a whimsical and engaging narrative.
Art alert: Straightforward illustrations feature hard edges and minimal coloring meant to evoke the visuals of the game's earliest iterations. |
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Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work) in Words and Pictures
by Michael Goodwin; illustrated by Dan E. Burr
What it's about: four centuries of economic history and theory, presented in thorough yet accessible chunks roughly the size of comic book panels.
What sets it apart: quirky, caricature-like art that helps the reader visualize dense concepts.
Further reading: Yoram Bauman and Grady Klein's two-volume Cartoon Introduction to Economics.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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