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History and Current Events October 2020
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| Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. What it's about: how James Baldwin's writings on the failures of the civil rights movement remain just as relevant today.
Read it for: an impassioned and incisive blend of history, literary analysis, and own voices memoir.
Topics include: mass incarceration; the Black Lives Matter movement; Confederate monument removals; the election of Donald Trump. |
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Uncrowned Queen: The Life of Margaret Beaufort, mother of the Tudors
by Nicola Tallis
In 1485, Henry VII became the first Tudor king of England. His victory owed much to his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Over decades and across countries, Margaret had schemed to install her son on the throne and end the War of the Roses. Margaret's extraordinarily close relationship with Henry, coupled with her role in political and ceremonial affairs, ensured that she was treated -- and behaved -- as a queen in all but name. Against a lavish backdrop of pageantry and ambition, court intrigue and war, historian Nicola Tallis illuminates how a dynamic, brilliant woman orchestrated the rise of the Tudors.
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The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move
by Sonia Shah
Reveals how the refugee crises and unusual animal migrations of today’s world can be linked to historical migrations in earlier eras, explaining that migration should be recognized as an ancient and lifesaving biological response to environmental change.
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The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
by Deirdre Mask
Finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction
When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class.
In this wide-ranging and remarkable book, Deirdre Mask looks at the fate of streets named after Martin Luther King Jr., the wayfinding means of ancient Romans, and how Nazis haunt the streets of modern Germany. The flipside of having an address is not having one, and we also see what that means for millions of people today, including those who live in the slums of Kolkata and on the streets of London.
Filled with fascinating people and histories, The Address Book illuminates the complex and sometimes hidden stories behind street names and their power to name, to hide, to decide who counts, who doesn’t―and why.
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Hunting the Unabomber: The FBI, Ted Kaczynski, and the Capture of America's Most Notorious Domestic Terrorist
by Lis W. Wiehl
The spellbinding account of the most complex and captivating manhunt in American history. "A true-crime masterpiece." -- Booklist (starred review)
From Lis Wiehl, New York Times bestselling author and "storyteller extraordinaire" (Steve Berry), with New York Times bestselling crime writer Lisa Pulitzer, the definitive, gripping account of the longest pursuit in FBI history: the quest to find and capture the domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski.
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U.S. Elections and Voting
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| One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol AndersonWhat it is: a compelling study of how voter disenfranchisement tactics (such as voter ID laws, roll purges, gerrymandering, and lack of accessibility) are implemented to keep African Americans from the polls.
Reviewers say: "illuminating and clarifying" (Publishers Weekly); "could not be more timely" (Kirkus Reviews).
Try this next: Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in America by Gilda R. Daniels. |
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| Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O'DonnellWhat it's about: Host of MSNBC's The Last Word Lawrence O'Donnell became fascinated with politics at age 17 during the 1968 general elections. Here he reviews the tumultuous political year and the race that captivated him. Is it for you? Whether you remember 1968 yourself or know it from history, you'll enjoy the ringside seat O'Donnell offers in Playing with Fire.
Further reading: For general background on the 1960s, pick up Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin's America Divided. |
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Campaigns and Elections: What Everyone Needs to Know
by Dennis W. Johnson
This book offers the most up-to-date examination of campaigns and elections, including the challenges and opportunities they present. It addresses fundamental questions about who votes in American elections, how legislative districts are reapportioned and why it matters, the realities of voter fraud, the pros and cons of reforming the Electoral College, the impact of dark money on campaigns, and the role of political consultants and specialists, among other topics. Given the fragility of our election process, what are the threats to a healthy American democracy? Do the candidates with the most money always win? This is not simply a book on how campaigns are run, but why campaigns and elections are integral components of American democracy and how those fundamental elements may be vulnerable to misuse.
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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