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History and Current Events October 2019
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| A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century by Jason DeParleWhat it's about: the impact of global migration on three generations of a single Filipino family.
Why you might like it: Intimate and immersive, this resonant portrait puts a human face on a polarizing political issue. Author alert: New York Times journalist Jason DeParle is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. |
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| Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America by Christopher LeonardWhat it is: a comprehensive deep dive into Koch Industries, the privately owned conglomerate that is no stranger to corporate overreach and scandal.
Read it for: a fast-paced narrative that reads like a thriller.
For fans of: Andrew Sorkin's Too Big to Fail; Steve Coll's Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power. |
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| See Jane Win: The Inspiring Story of the Women Changing American Politics by Caitlin MoscatelloWhat it is: a lively and impassioned analysis of how women candidates are impacting the current political landscape.
Starring: four diverse Democratic women who ran for office for the first time during the 2018 midterms -- and won.
Want to run for office yourself? Check out June Diane Raphael and Kate Black's Represent: The Woman's Guide to Running for Office and Changing the World. |
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| City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York by Tyler AnbinderWhat it is: a vivid and sweeping four-century survey of immigrant life in New York City.
Did you know? The city's 19th-century ethnic communities were so siloed that venturing into other neighborhoods was referred to as "going to America."
Book buzz: A New York Times Notable Book in 2016, City of Dreams is also a Mark Lynton History Prize winner. |
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| Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary KristWelcome to... notorious Storyville, New Orleans, an early-20th-century red-light district and site of consternation for the city's reform-minded upper echelons.
Why you might like it: Populated by a large cast of characters (including a young Louis Armstrong), this lively history reveals a bygone era of a city bustling with wicked entrepreneurial spirit.
Don't miss: True-crime fans will enjoy reading about the unsolved case of the "Axman," a serial killer with possible ties to the Black Hand mafia. |
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| Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World by Thomas F. MaddenWhat it is: a briskly paced, millennia-spanning history of Europe's largest city, from its origins as a Greek settlement in 667 B.C. to the election of President Erdogan in 2014.
Why you might like it: Award-winning historian Thomas F. Madden's immersive chronicle charts the experiences of not just the city's rulers, but its ordinary citizens too. |
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| Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story by David MaranissWhat it's about: how Detroit's "golden moment" -- from fall 1962 to spring 1964 -- signaled the city's promise (and its eventual decline).
How it happened: As Detroit celebrated the emergence of Motown and the release of the first Ford Mustang, social unrest, white flight, and organized crime were on the rise, leaving an irrevocable mark on a city that was "dying and thriving at the same time."
Did you know? Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered an early version of his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Detroit Walk to Freedom in June 1963. |
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| City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris by Holly TuckerStarring: Nicolas de la Reynie, appointed by Louis XIV to serve as Paris' first police chief and investigate a spate of high-profile murders known as the "Affair of the Poisons."
What it's about: de la Reynie's attempts to reform the crime-ridden city, including the installation of street lanterns (which is how Paris came to be known as the City of Light).
Reviewers say: "for readers who enjoy their history mixed with scandal, blood, and deception" (Library Journal). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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