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History and Current Events July 2019
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Upheaval : Turning Points for Nations in Crisis
by Jared Diamond
Diamond compares how six countries have survived recent upheavals -- ranging from the forced opening of Japan by U.S. Commodore Perry's fleet, to the Soviet Union's attack on Finland, to a murderous coup or countercoup in Chile and Indonesia, to the transformations of Germany and Austria after World War Two.
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Humans : A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up
by Tom Phillips
The former BuzzFeed UK editorial director demonstrates how human civilization has been built upon thousands of years of trial and mostly error, citing examples ranging from the sinking of the Titanic to reality-star election wins.
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Murder aboard : the Herbert Fuller tragedy and the ordeal of Thomas Bram
by C. Michael Hiam
From an author praised by the Wall Street Journal for his “eye for a good story” comes an account of Herbert Fuller tragedy of 1896, a tragedy that occurred on the high seas and one involving the senseless slaughter of three of the twelve souls on board. Stunned by this act of random violence, and in sure knowledge that one or more of their own was the murderer, the living turn the vessel to shore, 750 miles distant.
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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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Triumph : life after the cult : a survivor's lessons
by Carolyn Jessop
Continues the author's accounts after she left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, describing her struggles with her daughter's return to the cult and her own discoveries about how to achieve healthy change.
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| The Black Hand: The Epic War Between a Brilliant Detective and the Deadliest Secret... by Stephan TaltyWhat it's about: the Italian crime organization Black Hand's reign of terror in early 20th-century New York City and the efforts of NYPD officer Joseph Petrosino, the "Italian Sherlock Holmes," to stop them.
Movie buzz: Leonardo DiCaprio will star as Petrosino in a future film.
Try this next: William Oldfield and Victoria Bruce's similarly fast-paced history Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society, which chronicles a Midwestern postal worker's attempts to take down Black Hand. |
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Manson : the life and times of Charles Manson
by Jeff Guinn
Based on new interviews, a revealing account of one of the most notorious criminals in American history puts Manson in the context of his times, the turbulent end of the 60s, revealing a rock star wannabe whose killings were directly related to his musical ambitions. (true crime).
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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