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History and Current Events September 2021 |
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The Princess Spy: The True Story of World War II Spy Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones
by Larry Loftis
What it's about: Chronicles the extraordinary life of OSS spy Aline Griffith, who performed deep-cover intelligence missions during and after World War II throughout the upper echelons of European politics and society.
Reviewers say: “An entertaining biography [with a] fast-moving narrative...Espionage buffs will be enthralled.” —Publishers Weekly
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Voyagers: The Settlement of the Pacific
by Nicholas Thomas
What it's about: The islands of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia stretch across a huge expanse of ocean and encompass a multitude of different peoples. Starting with Captain James Cook, the earliest European explorers to visit the Pacific were astounded and perplexed to find populations thriving thousands of miles from continents. Who were these people? From where did they come? And how were they able to reach islands dispersed over such vast tracts of ocean?
Why you might like it: Drawing on the latest research, including insights gained from genetics, linguistics, and archaeology, distinguished anthropologist Nicholas Thomas provides a dazzling account of these long-distance migrations, the seagoing technologies that enabled them, and the societies they left in their wake.
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Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West
by Blaine Harden
What it's about: Documents the early 19th-century story of the Whitman and Spalding missionary families, exploring how after becoming the first Americans to cross the Rockies by covered wagon they embarked on propagandist agendas that fueled a massive and culturally catastrophic westward migration.
Reviewers say: “A well-written, fast-paced account . . . [that] succeeds in bringing often-forgotten history front and center . . . Highly recommended.” —Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
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The Plague Year: America in the Time of COVID
by Lawrence Wright
What it is: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright's well-researched and comprehensive chronicle of the first year of COVID-19.
Read it for: a sobering account of how bureaucratic red tape, government malfeasance, and misinformation spurred the disease's spread, featuring interviews with scientists and public health experts.
Did you know? In May 2020, Wright published the eerily prescient pandemic thriller The End of October.
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We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans in Comedy
by Kliph Nesteroff
What it's about: Acclaimed comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff focuses on one of comedy’s most significant and little-known stories: how, despite having been denied representation in the entertainment industry, Native Americans have influenced and advanced the art form.
Why you might like it: Featuring dozens of original interviews and the exhaustive research that is Nesteroff’s trademark, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem is a powerful tribute to a neglected legacy.
Reviewers say: “Richly researched and told through the vibrant voices of the comics themselves...Kliph Nesteroff’s extraordinary We Had a Little Real Estate Problem chronicles a legacy deserving of inclusion in the history of comedy in the U.S.” —BookPage (starred review)
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| The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn... by Deborah BlumWho it's about: USDA chemist Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, whose tireless efforts to improve food safety regulations led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.
Who it's for: Fans of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and readers who aren't faint of heart will appreciate Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Deborah Blum's stomach-churning chronicle that reveals the disturbing food preservation practices of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. |
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| The Bettencourt Affair: The World's Richest Woman and the Scandal That Rocked Paris by Tom SanctonHow it began: In early 2000s Paris, aging L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt's longtime entanglement with artist François-Marie Banier raised the suspicions of her daughter Françoise.
What happened next: When Françoise accused Banier of elder abuse, the allegations kicked off a dramatic saga whose ripple effects would reach all the way to the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Book buzz: Tom Sancton's well-researched expansion of his 2010 Vanity Fair article about the scandal was an NPR Best Book of 2017. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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