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History and Current Events July 2020
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| The Cubans: Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times by Anthony DePalmaWhat it is: an immersive portrait of everyday life for contemporary Cubans grappling with their country's "bizarre mash-up of an economy."
Read it for: the eye-opening interviews.
Author alert: A former Latin America correspondent for the New York Times, Anthony DePalma is the author of The Man Who Invented Fidel. |
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| Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State by Barton GellmanThen: In 2014, journalist Barton Gellman won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on Edward Snowden's leak of classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents.
Now: Gellman reflects on the pressures of his white-knuckle investigation and his complicated relationship with Snowden in this propulsive deep dive into the modern surveillance state.
For fans of: All the President's Men. |
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| The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China by Jonathan KaufmanStarring: the Sassoons and the Kadoories, two Jewish families originally from Baghdad whose business pursuits had a powerful impact on the economy of 19th- and 20th-century Shanghai.
Is it for you? This sweeping history confronts the darker aspects of the families' prosperity, including their willful ignorance of China's political troubles and their participation in the opium trade.
Don't miss: the Sassoons and the Kadoories putting aside their bitter rivalry to protect 18,000 Jewish refugees during World War II. |
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| Troop 6000: The Girl Scout Troop That Began in a Shelter and Inspired the World by Nikita StewartWhat it is: the uplifting story of a Girl Scout troop that was founded in a Queens, New York shelter, eventually expanding to include hundreds of girls in the New York City shelter system.
Read it if: you like social justice narratives; you're looking for a clear-eyed view on the challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness.
Reviewers say: "A tale of how grassroots spirit and gritty determination can bloom into hope" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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"You're in the Wrong Bathroom!" And 20 Other Myths and Misconceptions About...
by Laura Erickson-Schroth and Laura A. Jacobs
What it is: a sympathetic, advice-filled rebuttal to 21 common myths concerning transgender and gender-nonconforming people, co-written by a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist.
Myths include: "Trans People Are a Danger to Others, Especially Children;" "Trans People Are 'Trapped in the Wrong Body'"
Who it's for: readers curious to learn about the evolving language and conceptualizations of gender identity.
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| Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution by Kathleen DuValWhat it's about: the lesser-known "contest of empires" between British, Spanish, and French forces fighting for control of Florida's Gulf Coast during the American Revolution.
What sets it apart: Historian Kathleen DuVal's intimate account focuses on eight individuals involved in the conflict, including Chickasaw leader Payamataha, who advocated for neutrality; slave Petit Jean, who helped the Spanish defeat the British at sea; and French Cajun refugee and avowed pro-colonist Amand Broussard. |
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A Castle in Wartime: One Family, Their Missing Sons, and the Fight to Defeat the Nazis
by Catherine Bailey
What it's about: an aristocratic German Italian family living in northern Italy who resisted the Nazi regime and were later targeted for their connections to a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler.
Read it for: a pulse-pounding story of courage and survival.
For fans of: Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin.
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| In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown by Nathaniel PhilbrickSeptember 5, 1781: a decisive French victory at the Battle of the Chesapeake heralded the final days of the American Revolution.
Why you might like it: Author Nathaniel Philbrick draws upon letters, journal entries, sea logs, and his own firsthand knowledge of sailing to deliver a dramatic account of a key battle.
Author alert: Pulitzer Prize finalist Philbrick is the National Book Award-winning author of In the Heart of the Sea. |
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| Revolution Song: The Story of America's Founding in Six Remarkable Lives by Russell ShortoWhat it is: an evocative history of the American Revolution as experienced by six people navigating the era's nascent conceptions of individual freedom.
Featuring: Seneca diplomat Cornplanter, who fought with the British; soldier's daughter Margaret Moncrieffe, a demimondaine who eschewed the era's gender norms; Venture Smith, a Connecticut slave who bought his freedom. |
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999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz
by Heather Dune Macadam
What it's about: In 1942, the Slovakian government paid the Nazis approximately $200 per person to deport hundreds of Jewish women to Auschwitz. Told they were being recruited for factory work, the women were among the first of the concentration camp's 1.3 million prisoners.
Why you should read it: Written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation, this heartwrenching history collects interviews with survivors, family members, and witnesses, as well as testimonies from the USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive.
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Our mailing address is:
Orland Park Public Library14921 Ravinia Avenue Orland Park, IL 60462
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