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History and Current Events June 2023 |
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| The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned BlackhawkWhat it is: an incisive and richly detailed study exploring how Indigenous Americans were instrumental in the evolution of United States history.
Why you might like it: Penned by Western Shoshone Yale historian Ned Blackhawk, this sweeping account de-centers Eurocentric perspectives in its retelling of America's past.
Try this next: Indigenous Continent: The Epic Conquest for North America by Pekka Hämäläinen. |
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| Fire on the Levee: The Murder of Henry Glover and the Search for Justice after Hurricane... by Jared Fishman with Joseph HooperHow it began: In 2009, federal prosecutor Jared Fishman learned about the death of 31-year-old Black man Henry Glover, whose charred remains were found in a car in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
What happened next: Aided by a rookie FBI agent, Fishman discovered that Glover was murdered by a white police officer -- and that the New Orleans Police Department had facilitated a massive cover-up.
Reviewers say: "a scathing and timely look at police brutality in America" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Searching for Savanna: The Murder of One Native American Woman and the Violence... by Mona GableWhat it's about: In 2017, pregnant 22-year-old Spirit Lake Tribe member Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind disappeared. After her body was recovered in a nearby river, her infant daughter was found in the care of her white neighbors, who were later arrested for her murder.
Read it for: a sobering look at the ongoing -- and underreported -- violence against Indigenous women.
Further reading: Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by Jessica McDiarmid. |
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| Birth: Three Mothers, Nine Months, and Pregnancy in America by Rebecca GrantWhat it is: an intimate chronicle of how three first-time mothers navigated their pregnancy and childbirth experiences at Portland, Oregon's Andaluz Waterbirth Center.
What sets it apart: Journalist Rebecca Grant's engaging reportage and her subjects' firsthand experiences shine a light on the rising practice of midwifery in American maternal healthcare. |
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| You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That... by Paul KixWhat it's about: the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's (SCLC) 1963 efforts to desegregate Birmingham, Alabama.
Read it for: a suspenseful and richly detailed account of a pivotal moment during the civil rights movement, which saw the elevation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the era's defining leaders.
Reviewers say: "Readers will be riveted from the first page to the last" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The Windsors at War: The King, His Brother, and a Family Divided by Alexander LarmanWhat it is: historian Alexander Larman's follow-up to 2020's The Crown in Crisis, which chronicled the 1936 abdication of British monarch Edward VIII.
What it's about: George VI's early years on the throne, which were tested by the rise of fascism around the globe, his own brother's dalliances with Adolf Hitler, and the advent of World War II.
Featuring: rare and previously unpublished archival materials. |
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| Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and... by Jean M. Twenge, PhDWhat it's about: how the six generations currently living in the United States engage with each other.
What's inside: conversational chapters devoted to a single generation, each detailing the attitudes, traits, and the events that shaped them.
About the author: Jean M. Twenge is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University. |
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| Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge, From Ancient Wisdom to Modern... by Simon WinchesterWhat it is: a sweeping history of the transmission of knowledge, from antiquity to the present.
Topics include: the evolution of sites of knowledge, including libraries and museums; the invention of the printing press and newspapers; propaganda and misinformation; the Internet and artificial intelligence.
Reviewers say: "Essential reading" (Booklist Reviews). |
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| The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan by Mitchell ZuckoffWhat it's about: American diplomat Sam Aronson's nail-biting efforts to rescue women's rights activist Homeira Qaderi and her son during the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Read it for: a vivid and evocative tale of courage that's "a definitive account of this moment in history" (Booklist Reviews).
Further reading: The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan by Elliot Ackerman; Qaderi's 2020 memoir Dancing in the Mosque. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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