Deer Park Public Library Deer Park, Texas
|
|
History and Current Events May 2017
|
|
|
|
| March 1917: On the Brink of War and Revolution by Will EnglundWorld War I began in August 1914, but the U.S. remained neutral until April 1917. In this riveting history, author Will Englund details President Woodrow Wilson's reasons for bringing his country into the war, illuminating other American leaders' arguments for and against war (including Congresswoman Jeannette Ranking, journalist H.L. Mencken, and former President Theodore Roosevelt). A major element in Wilson's thinking was Russian Tsar Nicholas II's March abdication, but the most significant factor was the escalating German submarine attacks on American shipping. Englund's discussion provides a "novel and persuasive point of entry" (Publishers Weekly) into the subject of U.S. participation in World War I. |
|
| Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David GrannIn 1920s Oklahoma, the Osage Indian Nation possessed immense wealth because their land contained large petroleum reserves. In Killers of the Flower Moon, New Yorker staff writer David Grann portrays a series of murders on the reservation. Local authorities couldn't solve the crimes, but an investigation by the relatively new FBI (led by the young J. Edgar Hoover) identified and charged the killers, whose primary motivation was greed. In this thoroughly researched history, Grann also reveals conspiracy and corruption beyond what the FBI discovered. Whether you're interested in Native American history or fascinated by true crime stories, check out this thrilling narrative, complete with photographs. |
|
| No One Cares about Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America by Ron PowersIn No One Cares about Crazy People, bestselling author Ron Powers combines a well-researched discussion of the social history of mental illness with an account of his two sons' schizophrenia. Sharply critiquing recent political comments about the mentally ill (as reflected in the book's title), Powers traces the treatment of these patients from 18th-century Britain's Bedlam hospital to 21st-century American practices. By describing his sons' ordeals, Powers makes the too-often ignored failures of mental health care heart-rendingly visible. This clear and powerful discussion updates and confirms the findings presented in Pete Earley's Crazy. |
|
| A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System by T.R. ReidAccording to acclaimed Washington Post correspondent T.R. Reid, the U.S. income tax code is a complete failure, bloated with loopholes and intelligible only to tax lawyers. In A Fine Mess, Reid reports on his exploration of taxation systems around the world, offering simpler approaches he says would work in the American economy. Pointing out that the income tax code has been completely reworked every 32 years since its 1913 inception, he argues that it's time for another overhaul. Though many individuals and groups will oppose the elimination of their favorite deductions, Reid's accessible explanations clarify the need for reform. |
|
| City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris by Holly TuckerDuring the reign of King Louis XIV of France, Paris suffered from a crime wave that culminated in the murders of two judicial officials. The second murder impelled Louis to appoint a crime czar to clean up the (literal) filth and corruption in the City of Light. As Paris' first police chief, Nicolas de la Reynie uncovered a crime ring that involved high-level French aristocrats, brought them to trial, and executed many. After de la Reynie's death, Louis himself destroyed a lot of the records, but author Holly Tucker mines other historical sources to chronicle the entire operation -- the cleanup of Paris, the crimes, and the punishments -- enriching her fascinating picture with details of Parisian daily life. |
|
| The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark MazzettiAfter the 9/11 attacks, the CIA changed its practice of shunning violence in its operations and adopted covert paramilitary techniques to carry out White House orders to assassinate specific enemies. In The Way of the Knife, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mark Mazzetti reviews the policy shift that now permits the use of predator drones, paramilitary contract agents, and similar operations, obscuring the distinction between espionage and acts of war. Focusing on less-well-known operations in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen, Mazzetti details the CIA's work and explains how these maneuvers prompt increased anti-Americanism abroad. This is "a well-reported, smoothly written" account, says Kirkus Reviews. |
|
| Every Man in This Village Is a Liar: An Education in War by Megan K. StackWhen Megan Stack was a child, she learned from a Marine veteran that people affected by war could "survive and not survive, both at the same time." In this eloquent memoir, she herself goes to war as a young journalist. Covering the time between September 11, 2001 and the end of 2006, Stack describes her encounters with warlords, CIA operatives, and regular people, as well as how she witnessed death and carnage, dealt with innocent people being killed, and heard government officials lie to the public. Stack visited Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Israel, among other places, and this evocative, personal book (a National Book Award finalist) provides much food for thought about the strife-filled Middle East. |
|
|
War
by Sebastian Junger
The #1 best-selling author of The Perfect Storm offers an on-the-ground account of a single platoon during its 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. Reprint. A best-selling book.
|
|
|
The long walk : a story of war and the life that follows
by Brian Castner
A memoir by a bomb-disposal veteran of the Iraq War traces his three tours of duty in the Middle East and his team's daily life-threatening efforts to stop roadside bombers, sharing additional coverage of the challenges he faced while reacclimating to civilian life. 75,000 first printing.
|
|
|
Consequence : A Memoir
by Eric Fair
A man questions everything--his faith, his morality, his country--as he recounts his experience as an interrogator in Iraq.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|