|
|
History Reads Book Club 2019 This book club, in partnership with the McLean County Museum of History, will focus on books about Illinois history. These may include fiction, nonfiction, biography, or books by local or other Illinois authors. History Reads meets quarterly in February, May, August, and November at 7pm. See specific dates below. The group will meet in the Governor Fifer Courtroom on the second floor of the museum, except the November meeting, which will meet in the Library's Community Room. Join us as we explore the richness of Illinois' history and its people. Copies of each book will be available to check out at Bloomington Public Library. New members are welcome at any time. Ask a librarian at the Reference Desk to receive your copy of the book. See below for details about the titles we'll discuss in 2019. |
|
|
|
|
|
The last Lincolns : the rise and fall of a great American family
by Charles Lachman
Most books about Abraham Lincoln end with his assassination--but that event takes place near the beginning of this singular title. This American tragedy tells the story of the acrimony that consumed the Lincolns after the president's murder. Author Lachman traces the story to the last generation. An unforgettable glimpse into the legacy of the man who could unite a nation--but not his own family.
|
|
|
|
Corrupt Illinois : patronage, cronyism, and criminality
by Thomas J. Gradel
Public funds spent on jets and horses. Shoeboxes stuffed with embezzled cash. Ghost payrolls and incarcerated ex-governors. Illinois' culture of "Where's mine?" and the public apathy it engenders has made our state and local politics a disgrace. In Corrupt Illinois, veteran political observers Thomas J. Gradel and Dick Simpson take aim at business-as-usual. Naming names, the authors lead readers through a gallery of rogues and rotten apples to illustrate how generations of chicanery have undermined faith in, and hope for, honest government. Corrupt Illinois lays out a blueprint to transform our politics from a pay-to-play–driven marketplace into what it should be: an instrument of public good.
|
|
|
|
Escape betwixt two suns : a true tale of the underground railroad in Illinois
by Carol Pirtle
Although the northern Illinois chapters of the story of Susan “ Sukey” Richardson’ s escape from slavery on the Underground Railroad are documented, the part played by southern Illinois in that historic episode has remained obscure. Carol Pirtle changes that with her investigation into the 1843 suit Andrew Borders lodged against William Hayes, charging his neighbor with helping slaves from the Borders estate escape to Galesburg. Pirtle documents Hayes’ s involvement in the Illinois Underground Railroad through approximately two hundred letters received by Hayes from the early 1820s until his death in 1849. Many of these letters specifically corroborate his participation in the escape of slaves from the Borders estate
|
|
|
|
The woman who smashed codes : a true story of love, spies, and the unlikely heroine who outwitted America's enemies
by Jason Fagone
In The Woman Who Smashed Codes, Jason Fagone chronicles the life of this extraordinary woman, who played an integral role in our nation’s history for forty years. After World War I, Smith used her talents to catch gangsters and smugglers during Prohibition, then accepted a covert mission to discover and expose Nazi spy rings that were spreading like wildfire across South America, advancing ever closer to the United States. As World War II raged, Elizebeth fought a highly classified battle of wits against Hitler’s Reich, cracking multiple versions of the Enigma machine used by German spies.
|
|
|
|
|
|