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History and Current Events August 2018
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| Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation by Robert W. FieselerWhat it's about: In June 1973, 32 people died after an arsonist set New Orleans' Up Stairs Lounge ablaze. The tragedy remained the deadliest attack on a gay club in the United States until the Pulse shooting in 2016.
Why it's significant: Debut author Robert W. Fieseler's vivid account of the attack's aftermath -- in which indifferent authorities failed to identify the perpetrator -- spotlights a forgotten moment in the gay rights movement and the costly toll of the uphill battle to equality. |
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| The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke by Andrew LawlerWhat it is: Part detective story, part archaeological exploration, this inquisitive study examines the disappearance of 115 colonists from the Roanoke Colony in 1590.
Why you might like it: With an accessible narrative that will appeal to both history buffs and general readers, The Secret Token is an engrossing mystery.
Want a taste? "If you look at the maps long enough, Roanoke Island can begin to take on the shape of a question mark." |
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| Squeezed: Why Our Families Can't Afford America by Alissa QuartWhat it is: an in-depth and ambitious look at the systemic hardships faced by the American middle class, offering policy-based solutions.
About the author: Alissa Quart is the executive editor of the nonprofit Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
Book buzz: Nickel and Dimed author Barbara Ehrenreich calls Squeezed "a keen, elegantly written, and scorching account of the American family today." |
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| Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History... by Lynn Vincent and Sara VladicWhat it's about: On July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine torpedoed and sank the USS Indianapolis, with all but 317 of the 1,196 crew perishing after the initial attack and in the four days before help arrived.
Did you know? The Indianapolis was torpedoed mere days after the completion of its highly classified mission to deliver the atomic bomb "Little Boy" to the Pacific Islands. Little Boy, the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare, was dropped on Hiroshima one week after the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. |
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Beyond the map : unruly enclaves, ghostly places, emerging lands and our search for new utopias
by Alastair Bonnett
What it's about: Beyond the Map journeys out into a world of mysterious, daunting and magical spaces. It is a world of hidden cultures and ghostly memories, of uncountable new islands and curious stabs at paradise. From the phantom tunnels of the Tokyo subway to a stunning movie-set re-creation of 1950s-era Moscow; from the caliphate of the Islamic State to virtual cybertopias-- this book serves as an imaginative guide to the farthest fringes of geography.
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| Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth GreenwoodWhat it is: a fascinating and lighthearted survey of "pseudocide" (faking one's death), inspired by author Elizabeth Greenwood's frustrations with mounting student loan debt.
Don't miss: Greenwood's attempt to stage her death in the Philippines, a country known for having high rates of death fraud.
For fans of: Mary Roach and Susan Orlean. |
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Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital
by Sheri Fink
What it's about: In late August of 2005, floodwaters resulting from Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and made evacuation and rescue nearly impossible. At Memorial Hospital (like others around the city), there was no electricity to run life-sustaining equipment or power the air conditioning. Doctors and nurses faced critical decisions in horrendous circumstances. Subsequently, the coroner charged some hospital staff members with homicide in several patient deaths at Memorial.
What's been said: Physician and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sheri Fink's riveting and haunting Five Days at Memorial describes the city-wide situation in detail and carefully reviews the evidence in each of the Memorial Hospital homicide cases. Booklist says this book is indispensable for "understanding how people behave in times of crisis."
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Deadly feasts : tracking the secrets of a terrifying new plague
by Richard Rhodes
What it's about: The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb traces the spread of several new animal-related diseases, including "mad cow disease" and others that have spread throughout Europe and may soon emerge in the United States.
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The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret
by Catherine Bailey
What it's about: Historian Catherine Bailey reveals a thrilling piece of history that is more exciting -- and stranger -- than fiction. Developing a book on World War I, Bailey was doing research in the Duke of Rutland's family archives at Belvoir Castle, Rutland's primary home. She found odd gaps in the records and realized there might be a cover-up. Tracking down correspondence and getting some of it decoded, interviewing elderly former servants, and examining public records, Bailey discovered a scandalous series of actions that the ninth Duke of Rutland, John Manners, had tried to obscure. The Secret Rooms relates a fascinating and shocking piece of early 20th century history that nearly remained undiscovered.
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No one would listen : a true financial thriller
by Harry Markopolos
What it's about: The author tells the riveting story of how he and the investigative team he recruited tried desperately for 10 years to warn the government, the industry and the press that the most successful hedge fund in the industry was a complete fraud and that Bernie Madoff was a crook.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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