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History and Current Events March 2019
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| eAudiobook on RBDigital
Who it's about: Odette Sansom, a French woman recruited by England's Special Operations Executive to spy for Britain during World War II.
Is it for you? Readers who enjoy fast-paced histories that read like thrillers will find much to appreciate in this dramatic tale.
Don't miss: Sansom's relationship with her commanding officer is "the stuff of romance novels" (Publishers Weekly). |
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"The author of Shadow War, a veteran with deep experience--as an 82nd Airborne paratrooper, private contractor, and professor of war studies at the National Defense University--delivers a highly provocative, even controversial, exploration of modern warfare and what we must do to win in the futureWar is timeless. Some things change--weapons, tactics, technology, leadership, objectives--but the propensity for humans to do battle does not. Today, more than eighty years after World War II and thirty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, we are again living in dangerous times. It is the age of Durable Disorder--a period of unrest created by numerous factors: China's rise, Russia's resurgence, America's retreat, the Middle East aflame, global terrorism, international criminal empires, climate change, dwindling natural resources, and bloody civil wars. The number of armed conflicts being waged has doubled since World War II, and of the approximately 194 countries of the world, nearly half are involved in some form of armed conflict. Millions of have been killed and millions more have become refugees, upending Western democracies. This devastating turmoil has given rise to difficult questions that hold meaning for us today and in the years to come. What is the future of war? Who and how will people fight? What factors will lead to warfare? How can we survive? If Americans are drawn into major armed conflict, can we win? In this thorough, insightful analysis, Sean McFate--a modern heir to Carl von Clausewitz, author of the classic On War--carefully constructs ten rules for the future of military engagement, explaining how to fight and win in an age of entropy and a global system very different from the past: one where corporations, mercenaries, and rogue states have more power and 'nation states' have less. McFate's new rules distill the essence of war, describing what it is in the real world, not what we believe or wish it to be. -- Provided by publisher.
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| eAudiobook on RB Digital
What it is: a vivid 125-year history of Native America that details the ways that tribes have survived -- and thrived -- in the face of adversity.
About the author: David Treuer is an Ojibwe novelist and historian who grew up on Minnesota's Leech Lake Indian Reservation.
Reviewers say: "A welcome modern rejoinder to classics such as God is Red and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Forgotten & Untold Histories
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| eAudiobook on Hoopla
What it's about: the unlikely trading alliance between Elizabeth I of England and Sultan Murad III of the Ottoman Empire that was forged after Elizabeth's 1570 excommunication from the Catholic Church.
Read it for: a fascinating exploration of Eastern influences on Elizabethan culture, including the works of Shakespeare and Marlowe.
Who it's for: readers who enjoy immersive microhistories. |
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| eAudiobook on RBDigital
Who it's about: the 19th-century black pioneers who established over 300 settlements in the Northwest Territory.
Featuring: Keziah and Charles Grier, who bought their own land in 1818 and became Underground Railroad conductors a few years later.
Book buzz: The Bone and Sinew of the Land was named one of Smithsonian's Best History Books of 2018; Booklist calls it "a moving and necessary corrective to American pioneer history." |
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| eAudiobook on RBDigital
What it's about: the War Refugee Board (WRB), which was created by President Roosevelt in 1944 to aid thousands of European Jews.
How'd they do it? The WRB team smuggled supplies into concentration camps, forged identity cards, funded French Resistance efforts, and engaged in bribery and money laundering.
Author alert: Rebecca Erbelding, a curator at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, spent over ten years researching for this book. |
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| eBook on OverDrive, eBook and eAudiobook on Hoopla & eAudiobook on RBDigital
What it's about: the "Immortal 400" Maryland regiment that delayed the British during 1776's Battle of Brooklyn, enabling General Washington's successful evacuation of the Continental Army.
Why it matters: The Immortals' actions shaped the outcome of the Revolutionary War, but at great cost -- 256 perished during the battle.
For fans of: Band of Brothers and Frank Miller's 300. |
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