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History and Current Events May 2018
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| The Corporation: An Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld by T.J. EnglishWhat it's about: José Miguel Battle, a police officer and Bay of Pigs veteran, fled Castro's Cuba in the 1960s to build a criminal empire, becoming a "Godfather" to Cuban exile communities and leaving a bloody trail in his wake.
Is it for you? True crime fans will enjoy this fast-paced saga.
Media buzz: Academy Award-winning actor Benicio del Toro is set to play Battle in an upcoming film adaptation. |
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Napa at Last Light: America's Eden in an Age of Calamity
by James Conaway
Exposes the shadowy side of Napa Valley wine region of California uncovering the conflict between greed and tradition as multinational corporations take over the area and threaten land, water and life in their relentless pursuit of profits.
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Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars
by Linda Porter
A collective portrait of Charles I's six surviving children shares insights into their personalities, legacies and rivalries to examine how they were used in the parliamentary campaign against their father and were relegated to difficult marriages before Charles II eventually succeeded his father on the English throne more than a decade later. By the award-winning author of Katherine the Queen.
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Love and Death in the Sunshine State: The Story of a Crime
by Cutter Wood
An award-winning writer who was a motel guest documents the story of a missing Gulf Coast motel owner and the efforts of local detectives to identify her assailant, offering additional insights into the psychological factors that motivate domestic crimes as based on firsthand interviews with the case's chief suspect.
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Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Round the World
by Women's March Organizers and Conde Nast
In celebration of the one-year anniversary of Women’s March, a full-color book offers a front-row seat to one of the most galvanizing movements in American history, with exclusive interviews with Women’s March organizers, never-before-seen photographs and essays by feminist activists.
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How to Fix the Future
by Andrew Keen
A leading Internet commentator and author of The Cult of the Amateur showcases global solutions for preserving the fundamentals of humanity and civilized society in an increasingly perilous digital world.
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Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy
by Elaine Tyler May
What it's about: Author Elaine Tyler May argues that the current American political climate can be traced back to fearful citizens who have embraced personal security (gun ownership, gated communities, and socially isolated lifestyles) – despite the fact that crime rates continue to trend downward.
Why you should read it: This thought-provoking and sobering book not only attempts to explain our polarized world but also warns of the potentially lasting effects of these divisions on American society.
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Claiming My Place: Coming of Age in the Shadow of the Holocaust
by Planaria J Price
Documents the story of a young Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust by moving into Nazi Germany and hiding in plain sight, describing how she used her blonde hair and other Aryan features to assume a new identity and pass herself off as a non-Jewish woman in order to stay in the place she called home.
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Left Bank: Art, Passion, and the Rebirth of Paris 1940-50
by Agnès Poirier
Explores the lives of the poets, writers, artists and politicians who mingled in Paris between 1940 and 1950 and gave the world some of the most celebrated works of the past century, including Richard Wright, Albert Camus, James Joyce and Saul Bellow.
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High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing
by Ben Austen
Blends personal narrative, city politics and national history in the story of Chicago's iconic public-housing project to trace its evolution from a 1940s slum to a towering community only blocks from the Gold Coast, where crime and government failures impacted the lives of countless families before the razing and dispersals of 2011.
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The First Railroads: Atlas of Early Railroads
by Derek Hayes
For The First Railroads, Derek Hayes travelled to most of the locations mentioned and visited railway museums all over the world, amassing a wealth of information and illustrative materials, including never before seen ephemera. Here he proves again his reputation for in-depth research and rare photographs and maps -- and for making it enjoyably readable.
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Empire of Guns: The Violent Making of the Industrial Revolution
by Priya Satia
A prizewinning historian's reframing of the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of British empire and the emergence of industrial capitalism presents them as inextricable from the gun trade and the story of disgraced Quaker gunmaker Samuel Galton, sharing insights into modern debates about gun control and the complex partnerships of government, the economy and the military.
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Future Presence: How virtual Reality is Changing Human Connection, Intimacy, and the Limits of Ordinary Life
by Peter Rubin
Heralded as the most significant technological innovation since the smartphone, virtual reality is poised to transform our very notions of life and humanity. Though this tech is still in its infancy, to those on the inside, it is the future. VR will change how we work, how we experience entertainment, how we feel pleasure and other emotions, how we see ourselves, and most importantly, how we relate to each other in the real world. And we will never be the same.
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| The Family Medici: The Hidden History of the Medici Dynasty by Mary HollingsworthWhat it is: a concisely written chronology of the famous family's 500-year history, featuring period art linked to the Medici (whether by patronage or portrayal).
Why it's significant: Revelatory and myth-debunking, The Family Medici reveals the extent of this banking family's desire for power and influence. |
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| Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First... by Robert KursonWhat it is: an exhilarating account of the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon and the three astronauts who risked their lives to complete the mission, portrayed with dramatic storytelling flourish.
Want a taste? "Looking back down toward his spacecraft, Borman gave thanks to the scalded machine, an exquisite piece of design and daring."
Did you know? December 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission. |
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| The Little Book of Feminist Saints by Julia Pierpont; illustrated by Manjit Thapp What it is: an inspiring collection of 100 biographical portraits of trailblazing women throughout history, featuring anecdotes, trivia, and full-color illustrations.
Read it for: the "matron saint" names given to its subjects, a pithy nod to Catholic saint-of-the-day books and prayer devotionals.
Reviewers say: "A gloriously diverse, edifying, and curiosity-inspiring collection" (Booklist). |
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History in Graphic Novels
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| Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb by Jonathan Fetter-VormWhat it's about: The Manhattan Project, completed in 1946, produced the first atomic bomb. Power struggles and ethics debates marred the relationships of the major players involved, and none could imagine the extent of the bomb's devastation.
Why you should read it: Stark and straightforward black and white illustrations unflinchingly convey the harrowing implications of the Manhattan Project.
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| Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work) in Words and Pictures by Michael Goodwin; illustrated by Dan E. Burr What it's about: four centuries of economic history and theory, presented in thorough yet accessible chunks roughly the size of comic book panels.
What sets it apart: quirky, caricature-like art that helps the reader visualize dense concepts.
Further reading: Yoram Bauman and Grady Klein's two-volume Cartoon Introduction to Economics. |
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| The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey; illustrated by Aaron McConnellWhat it is: an earnest and entertaining history of the Constitution's development and implementation, including an illuminating discussion of each article and amendment.
Art alert: Surreal, inventive illustrations imagine the three branches of government as people with landmarks for heads (for instance, the legislative branch has a Capitol Building head).
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| March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell What it's about: Congressman John Lewis's early life and origins in the civil rights movement, during which he served as one of the first Freedom Riders and helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
Art imitates life: Lewis relied on a popular comic book of the time, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, to inform his efforts in the Nashville Student Movement.
Book buzz: The third book in this powerful three-volume memoir series won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. |
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| Mary Astor's Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936 by Edward SorelStarring: actress Mary Astor, who became a tabloid sensation following her highly publicized affairs and subsequent trial for custody of her daughter.
Don't miss: Cartoonist Edward Sorel explores his longtime fascination with Astor by imagining an interview between the two.
Read it for: excerpts from the diary in question (in which Astor graded her extramarital affairs).
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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