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History and Current Events August 2018
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| Conan Doyle for the Defense by Margalit FoxA page-turning true crime account of the 1908 wrongful murder conviction of Jewish German immigrant Oscar Slater, featuring an unlikely hero at its center -- Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle.
New York Times writer Margalit Fox's extensive research richly reconstructs how Doyle used his famous creation's deduction methods to exonerate Slater. |
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| Squeezed: Why Our Families Can't Afford America by Alissa QuartAn in-depth and ambitious look at the systemic hardships faced by the American middle class, offering policy-based solutions.
Nickel and Dimed author Barbara Ehrenreich calls Squeezed "a keen, elegantly written, and scorching account of the American family today." |
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The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels
by Jon Meacham
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham helps us understand the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in our history when hope overcame division and fear.
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| Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth GreenwoodA fascinating and lighthearted survey of "pseudocide" (faking one's death), inspired by author Elizabeth Greenwood's frustrations with mounting student loan debt. For fans of Mary Roach and Susan Orlean. |
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| Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier by Tom KizziaIn 2002, the fundamentalist Pilgrim family squared off against the National Park Service after their 420-acre homestead infringed on land owned by Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The initial skirmish kicked off an investigation that uncovered the Pilgrim family's chilling history -- and the fact that its patriarch was not what he seemed.
A longtime Alaska journalist (and Pilgrim family neighbor), Tom Kizzia had unparalleled access to the secretive family throughout the course of his reportage. |
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| 17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis, and the Biggest Cover-Up in History by Andrew MortonA revelatory chronicle of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's close ties to Adolf Hitler, who planned to install the pair as puppet monarchs after his invasion of Britain.
Chapters include "Sex, Drugs, and Royal Blackmail;" "A Shady Royal in a Sunny Place;" "The Hunt for Pirate Gold."
Reviewers say: "reads like a good spy thriller" (Booklist); "hard to put down" (Library Journal). |
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| American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey ToobinA propulsive account of Patty Hearst's 1974 kidnapping by the radical Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), an organization she later claimed to have joined in earnest, famously robbing a bank with them.
Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin offers a balanced view of Hearst's subsequent federal trial, demonstrating both sides' incompetence and opportunism.
Though Toobin never states whether he believes Hearst acted of her own accord, he provides plenty of detailed research for readers to draw their own conclusions. |
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