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History and Current Events May 2021
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| The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos by Judy BatalionWhat it's about: the courageous Jewish women resistance fighters operating in Poland during World War II.
Read it for: a propulsive and richly detailed account that's "sure to become part of the WWII canon" (Booklist).
Movie buzz: Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg has optioned The Light of Days for a film adaptation. |
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| In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the... by Laurence BergreenWhat it's about: how pirate Sir Francis Drake's exploits on behalf of Elizabeth I helped establish the British Empire.
Why you might like it: Rife with descriptive accounts of swashbuckling derring-do and plenty of court intrigue, acclaimed historian Laurence Bergreen's dramatic latest offers fresh insights into the relationship between Drake and the queen. |
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The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice
by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
What it's about: the Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ), an all-female militia established in 2013 to combat the Islamic State in Syria.
Don't miss: a pulse-pounding account of the Siege of Kobani; profiles of four YPJ fighters instrumental in retaking the city.
Reviewers say: "A well-told story of contemporary female warriors and the complex geopolitical realities behind their battles" (Kirkus Reviews).
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The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed
by Wendy Lower
How it began: In 2009, historian Wendy Lower saw a World War II-era photograph capturing the execution of a Ukrainian Jewish family.
What happened next: Lower spent years researching the photograph's origins and the identities of the victims, perpetrators, and photographer, constructing a compelling narrative of what happened that day.
Further reading: For another heartwrenching investigation of the atrocities committed against Ukrainian Jews during the Holocaust, check out Esther Safran Foer's memoir I Want You to Know We're Still Here.
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| Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America by Alec MacGillisWhat it is: an impassioned account of Amazon's destabilizing impact on American communities and labor practices, featuring interviews with Amazon employees.
Topics include: how Amazon fosters competition between cities vying to host its new facilities, despite limited job growth for the "winners;" how its campuses contribute to gentrification and displacement.
For fans of: Jessica Bruder's Nomadland. |
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Seen, But Not Seen
by Donald B. Smith
Throughout the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century, the majority of Canadians argued that European "civilization" must replace Indigenous culture. The ultimate objective was assimilation into the dominant society. Seen but Not Seen explores the history of Indigenous marginalization and why non-Indigenous Canadians failed to recognize Indigenous societies and cultures as worthy of respect
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Horizontal Vertigo [ebook]
by Juan Villoro
The title refers to the fear of ever-impending earthquakes that led Mexicans to build their capital city outward rather than upward. With the perspicacity of a keenly observant flaneur, Juan Villoro wanders through Mexico City seemingly without a plan, describing people, places, and things while brilliantly drawing connections among them. In so doing he reveals, in all its multitudinous glory, the vicissitudes and triumphs of the city ’s cultural, political, and social history:
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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