Introduction Taking a look at where we've been can often give us insight into how we got where we are. Some events are so dramatic that they have a lasting impact on not only the people how lived through them but also future generations. By taking a narrative approach to history, many authors entertain as well as educate. The Adult Services Department at Naper Blvd. encourages you to explore these works detailing a variety of historic events.
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Seabiscuit: An American legend
by Laura Hillenbrand
The Horatio Alger-s of horses, jockey, trainer, and owner all united at precisely the right time towards the end the Great Depression. The legalization of gambling on horse races, the parimutuel betting machine preventing corruption, and the advent of American mass culture via narrative radio broadcasts created a distinct phenomenon. Charles Howard's intuitive understanding of the power of image and the art of marketing cemented the union. Each member of the team became celebrities in America. While delivering biographies of all the players, Hillenbrand explains historical jockey and horse racing practices. Each of Seabiscuit's races from 1936 to 1939 are covered as individual events, including The Match of the Century. A horse like Seabiscuit, "the people's horse", will never be seen again, as the ethos and events are firmly rooted in their time period. -- Karen T.
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1968: The year that rocked the world
by Mark Kurlansky
For readers who lived through the year 1968 as well as those not yet born in 1968, this compelling juxtaposition of pivotal events occurring around the world brings a global perspective to the political, cultural, economic and social changes experienced in many countries during this eventful year.The author deftly describes the impact of social changes such as the influence of TV news on public awareness and opinion, due, in part, to the airing of graphic footage which included Viet Nam War battles, political unrest in Prague, Paris or Mexico City, starvation in Biafra, the Apollo space flights, or the police response to the protestors at Chicago’s Democratic National Convention.The author makes the world history of 1968 understandable and engaging for students, history-buffs, or anyone remotely interested in that year’s world events. -- Debra G.
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Sea of Glory: America's voyage of discovery : the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
by Nathaniel Philbrick
The story of the U.S. ExEx, which should be as important in history as the Lewis and Clark expedition, has been largely forgotten. Among other things the expedition confirmed the existence of Antarctica and its status as a continent, claimed the Columbia River and Puget Sound for the U.S. (despite British presence there), mapped the coastline of Washington and Oregon, surveyed many Pacific islands, and collected thousands of species of plants and animals that formed the basis of the Smithsonian expedition. The author touches upon exploration, discovery, high-risk situations, extreme weather conditions, survival, the 19th century, ocean navigation, circumnavigation, ethnology, biology, and geographical surveys. -- Beth M.
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Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath
by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman
Using primary sources, especially solider diaries, from both sides, the Normans do an excellent job of describing events from both sides of the victor-defeated divide. The Japanese are presented not as evil, but as products of their environment, culture, and military training. Surprised by their victory, the lack of Japanese logistical planning killed many survivors during the trek through the jungle. Unfortunately, the famed "Death March", was only the beginning of the horrors for the American and Filipino Bataan survivors. After arriving at the POW camps, malnutrition, disease, and racism continued to decimate the ranks. Overall, Tears in the Darkness is a must read for those interested in World War II. The text makes this overlooked corner of the war come brutally to life. Although the writing is very accessible, the events themselves make restrict the audience somewhat. -- Karen T.
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The Rape of Nanking: The forgotten holocaust of World War II
by Iris Chang
A chilling account of the 1937-1938 Nanjing Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War, in which an estimated 300,000 Chinese civilians and surrendered soldiers were tortured, raped, and slaughtered by the Japanese Imperial Army after Nanjing, then Chinese capital, was captured. The book was hailed by some as the first to introduce to the Western world of the atrocities but criticized by others as seriously flawed in its research. The information is based upon the extensive diaries of two westerners, a Nazi businessman and an American missionary, in Nanjing at the time who helped Chinese civilians seek refuge. -- Yan X.
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Washington's Crossing
by David Hackett Fischer
As the title suggests this is the story of that pivotal moment in the American Revolution when George Washington crossed the Delaware River and defeated the Hessian mercenaries sent to crush the poorly trained American militia/army. But to tell that story Fischer must first flesh out all of the characters, their motivations, their experiences, their triumphs and their defeats. Generals, armies, revolutionaries, British regulars, and mercenaries are all brought to life as well as the campaigns they fought and the reasons they fought them. This book brings the revolutionary war to life so that we can understand the extraordinary circumstances and fortunate events that helped those early colonists win the war and bring this new country into being. -- Diana J.
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The Johnstown Flood
by David G. McCullough
Around 11:00pm on May 30, 1899, the rain started to fall. The storm systems which had dumped rain across Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee had reached Pennsylvania. By June 1, more than 2,000 people were dead and Johnstown, Pennsylvania had been largely wiped off the map. In the mountains above Johnstown, a poorly constructed earth and wood dam built to enhance the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, a favourite resort spot of Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon, and other nineteenth-century industrial tycoons, gave way releasing tons of water and mud. David McCullough brings this national scandal to life in an engaging, accessible manner. McCullough’s writing gives us insight into the lives of the average citizens of Johnstown, a mining and iron works hub, as well as the industrialists who created the dam. The disaster was one of the first tests of the American Red Cross and lead to major legislative and legal changes which still impact American lives today. -- Karen T.
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The Worst Hard Time: The untold story of those who survived the great American dust bowl
by Timothy Egan
New York Times reporter Egan provides a dramatic account of the causes and effects of the Great American Dust Bowl which as it happens was largely a man-made ecological disaster. Despite sometimes fraudulent hype by government and private agencies promoting homesteading, the Southern Great Plains was not suitable for farming. Vast areas of native prairie grasses were ploughed up to plant wheat, and then the Great Depression and eight years of drought followed soon after. When wheat prices crashed, farms were abandoned and continuous winds sent the eroded soil airborne. The author personalized the story by focusing on a group of courageous immigrant survivors whose stories he collected while researching the book. -- Beth M.
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A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the great California earthquake of 1906
by Simon Winchester
On April 18, 1906, the Earth “shrugged”, resulting in the destruction of San Francisco area. San Francisco had undergone a rapid boom in population and growth due to the California Gold Rush resulting in meager city planning and inadequate construction regulation as well as political corruption. Winchester combines science and history to explain the social and political consequences of this natural disaster in a way that keeps the pages turning. From the science of plate tectonics to the need for building regulation and fire fighting infrastructure, Winchester makes the entire story engrossing, accessible, and relevant. Winchester shows how one earthquake, and the resulting multiple day firestorm, has changed American politics, city planning, and society. -- Karen T.
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