|
History and Current Events August 2019
|
|
|
|
| Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of World War II by Svetlana AlexievichWhat it is: Translated into English for the first time since its original 1985 publication, Last Witnesses collects wrenching firsthand accounts from 101 Russians who survived the horrors of World War II as children.
Is it for you? Rife with disturbing testimonies, Last Witnesses is "an excellent book but not for the faint of heart" (Kirkus Reviews).
Author alert: Belarusian journalist Svetlana Alexievich is the Nobel Prize-winning author of Voices from Chernobyl. |
|
|
Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide
by Tony Horwitz
1852: Reporter Frederick Law Olmsted tours the American South to cover the region's growing divisions on the eve of the Civil War.
2014: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz (who died in May 2019) retraces Olmsted's steps, juxtaposing his own commentary with his predecessor's to highlight the ways the South has changed -- and the ways it hasn't.
Don't miss: Horwitz's adventures in period-authentic transportation, including steamboat, coal barge, horseback, and mule.
|
|
|
The Conservative Sensibility
by George F Will
The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and best-selling author of Men at Work outlines revolutionary perspectives on American conservatism that reveal how the Founders' beliefs in natural rights established a political tradition under threat in today's world. 100,000 first printing
|
|
| Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram by Isha SesayWhat it's about: Two years after Boko Haram's 2014 kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls, CNN International correspondent Isha Sesay accompanied 21 recently freed survivors back home, developing a rapport with four of the girls and their families.
What sets it apart: Peabody Award winner Sesay draws from her own childhood in Sierra Leone to provide an empathetic and richly contextualized portrait of contemporary West African gender politics. |
|
|
Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism
by Terry McAuliffe
The former Governor of Virginia shares insights into the violent "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, discussing the events that led to the tragedy, his astonishment at Trump's response and the actions McAuliffe believes are necessary to prevent hate crimes.
|
|
| When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt by Kara CooneyWhat it is: a sweeping yet accessible survey of six queens who ruled in times of crisis throughout ancient Egypt's 3,000 year history.
Starring: "big three" queens Cleopatra, Nefertiti, and Hatshepsut, as well as the little-known Merneith, Neferusobek, and Tawosret.
Reviewers say: This evocative history "will enchant those wishing to imagine what ancient Egyptian court life was like" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
| The Civil War in 50 Objects by Harold Holzer and the New-York Historical SocietyWhat it is: a chronological and illustrated object history of the Civil War, featuring 50 New-York Historical Society artifacts curated by Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer.
Objects include: a child slave's shackles, a Confederate POW newspaper, a Union soldier's footlocker; a Zouave uniform; a recruitment petition for black troops; a draft wheel; prison art.
Did you know? The Civil War in 50 Objects is the American companion to the British Museum's A History of the World in 100 Objects, written by Neil MacGregor. |
|
| Rome: A History in Seven Sackings by Matthew KnealeWhat it's about: how 2,000 years of the Eternal City's history have been shaped by invading forces, from the chariot-riding Gauls in 387 B.C.E. to the Nazi occupation during WWII.
Want a taste? "The city has changed so greatly that there have been many Romes, each of which would be largely unrecognizable to Romans of other times."
Read it for: lively pacing and a suspenseful tone. |
|
| Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World by Tim MarshallWhat it's about: how the physical characteristics of a region (including topography, climate, and natural resources) impact international affairs.
Topics include: the Himalayas' significance in keeping China and India from warring with each other; how colonial powers' map-making efforts have resulted in nebulous regional borders; the division of the Koreas.
Try this next: Robert D. Kaplan's The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate. |
|
| A History of Food in 100 Recipes by William SitwellWhat it's about: First published in the U.K., this quirky and insightful Brit-centric culinary history traces the origins and cultural significance of 100 dishes, from ancient Egyptian breads (complete with instructive wall paintings) to celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's signature meat fruit.
Is it for you? Given the vast breadth of time periods covered, not every recipe in this chatty volume is instructive or practical for modern cooking.
Recipes include: "peas soope" (1669); salad dressing (1699); kedgeree (1845); roly-poly jam pudding (1861); peach melba (1903). |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|