|
History and Current Events August 2018
|
|
|
|
| Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation by Robert W. FieselerWhat it's about: In June 1973, 32 people died after an arsonist set New Orleans' Up Stairs Lounge ablaze. The tragedy remained the deadliest attack on a gay club in the United States until the Pulse shooting in 2016.
Why it's significant: Debut author Robert W. Fieseler's vivid account of the attack's aftermath -- in which indifferent authorities failed to identify the perpetrator -- spotlights a forgotten moment in the gay rights movement and the costly toll of the uphill battle to equality. |
|
|
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
by Nelson Mandela
Arrested in 1962 as South Africa’s apartheid regime intensified its brutal campaign against political opponents, forty-four-year-old lawyer and African National Congress activist Nelson Mandela had no idea that he would spend the next twenty-seven years in jail. During his 10,052 days of incarceration, the future leader of South Africa wrote a multitude of letters to unyielding prison authorities, fellow activists, government officials, and, most memorably, to his courageous wife, Winnie, and his five children.
|
|
|
Kompromat : How Russia Undermined American Democracy
by Jeff Pegues
In this compelling account of how the Russians hacked the 2016 election, CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues reveals how far the Kremlin poked into voter databases and why it happened. He also investigates the steps taken to shore up election systems in states across the country ahead of the 2018 midterm and indeed the 2020 Presidential election.
|
|
|
Tesla : inventor of the modern
by Richard Munson
Nikola Tesla invented the radio, robots, and remote control. His electric induction motors run our appliances and factories, yet he has been largely overlooked by history. In Tesla, Richard Munson presents a comprehensive portrait of this farsighted and underappreciated mastermind.
|
|
| Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth GreenwoodWhat it is: a fascinating and lighthearted survey of "pseudocide" (faking one's death), inspired by author Elizabeth Greenwood's frustrations with mounting student loan debt.
Don't miss: Greenwood's attempt to stage her death in the Philippines, a country known for having high rates of death fraud.
For fans of: Mary Roach and Susan Orlean. |
|
| Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier by Tom KizziaWhat it's about: In 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.
About the author: A longtime Alaska journalist (and Pilgrim family neighbor), Tom Kizzia had unparalleled access to the secretive family throughout the course of his reportage. |
|
| 17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis, and the Biggest Cover-Up in History by Andrew MortonWhat it is: a 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). |
|
| American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey ToobinWhat it is: a 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.
What sets it apart: Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin offers a balanced view of Hearst's subsequent federal trial, demonstrating both sides' incompetence and opportunism.
Why you might like it: 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. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|