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History and Current Events December 2018
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| The Age of Walls: How Barriers Between Nations Are Changing Our World by Tim MarshallWhat it is: a sweeping survey of how physical barriers between countries shape political discourse and international relations.
Reviewers say: "This enlightening, shrewd assessment of the walls that separate us proves that there is actually far more that unites us" (Booklist).
Further reading: Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick by David Frye. |
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The fifth risk
by Michael Lewis
The best-selling author of Liar's Poker presents a narrative account of the post-2016 election chaos that took over Washington to reveal how a small number of uninformed Trump appointees are triggering devastating world consequences
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| LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. BrookingWhat it's about: how extremists and authoritarian regimes manipulate social media platforms to serve as "battlespaces" for political disputes, leading to trolling, disinformation, and memetic warfare.
Did you know? ISIS' recruiting tactics include mimicking the authentic feel of Taylor Swift's Instagram posts.
About the authors: Defense experts P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking are a contributing editor for Popular Science and a former research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, respectively. |
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Right Here, Right Now : Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption
by Stephen J. Harper
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper calls on conservatives in particular and policymakers in general to eschew ideology and instead draw on the ideas and institutions that have worked in past and can be refined and reformed for the future. His prescriptions cover trade, markets, immigration, business practices, the role of the nation state, and so on. The book sets out concrete steps for business and political leaders to take in order to address working-class to interests, aspirations, and concerns, and ultimately ensure that our economies and societies remain strong and dynamic in the age of disruption.
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Trust : Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country
by David Johnston
Canada's enduring success has been based on trust--trust in each other; in our businesses, organizations, and markets; and in our public institutions and the officials who run them. David Johnston--reflecting on seven decades of personal experiences including seven years as Governor General--identifies the 20 ways we can make ourselves, our organizations, and our institutions even more worthy of trust, and in doing so build a better Canada for coming generations and the world.
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Finding Franklin : the untold story of a 165-year search
by Russell A. Potter
"In 2014 media around the world buzzed with news that an archaeological team from Parks Canada had located and identified the wreck of the HMS Erebus, the flagship of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Finding Franklin outlines the larger story and the cast of detectives from every walk of life that led to the discovery, solving of one of the Arctic's greatest mysteries.
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Going deep : John Philip Holland and the invention of the attack submarine
by Lawrence Goldstone
A history of the controversial attack sub traces the lesser-known story of the submarine's invention, exploring how self-taught innovator John Philip Holland's obsession with the idea of controlled undersea navigation led to decades of skepticism, setbacks and innovation. By the author of Birdmen.
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Gunboats on the Great Lakes 1866-68 : The British Navy's Show of Force at the Time of Confederation
by Cheryl MacDonald
Here is the story of the three British gunboats which patrolled the Great Lakes as the politicians finalized the Confederation deal, and Irish nationalists recruited Civil War veterans and staged armed raids on Canada. Historian Cheryl MacDonald explores the impact of the Fenian attacks on average citizens, and examines how gunboat diplomacy--in this case, the presence of three British vessels--helped reassure thousands of Canadians and guarantee Canada's territorial sovereignty between 1866 and 1868.
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Northmen : the Viking saga, AD 793-1241
by John Haywood
Offers a historical look at the Vikings that places them within the wider geographical context of their world, from their origins to their eventual incorporation into Latin Christendom
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Sea power : the history and geopolitics of the world's oceans
by James Stavridis
A general and former commander of NATO describes the history and geography of the world’s oceans and the battles that have spanned them during the whole of human existence, from the Athenians to the nuclear submarines of the 20th century Cold War.
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| Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History by Brian Kilmeade and Don YaegerWhat it's about: the beginning of the Barbary Wars, instigated in 1801 when the newly elected President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay ransom to the Barbary States for captured American merchant ships.
Why you might like it: Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaegar's lively, suspenseful prose offers a page-turning adventure.
Try this next: For another accessible history of the First Barbary War, check out The Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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