History and Current Events
February 2021
Recent Releases
Julian Bond's Time to Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement
by Julian Bond

What it is: an incisive collection of college course lectures delivered by professor, social activist, and civil rights leader Julian Bond (1940-2015).

Why you might like it: Photographs, intimate firsthand accounts, and detailed historical context enrich this detailed you-are-there chronicle of many of the civil rights era's pivotal moments.

Who it's for: This accessible work will enlighten and inspire history buffs, general readers, and activists alike.
The office of historical corrections : a novella and stories
by Danielle Evans

The award-winning author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self examines race, grief and apology in a history-inspired anthology that complements the title novella with the stories, “Boys Go to Jupiter” and “Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain.”
The age of wood : our most useful material and the construction of civilization
by A. R. Ennos

A scholarly and scientific examination of the unrecognized role of trees in the planet’s ecosystem reveals wood’s unexpected influence on human evolution, civilization and the global economy. By the author of Trees.  Illustrations.
Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
by Andrea Pitzer

1594 Netherlands: Dutch navigator William Barents embarked on the first of three Arctic expeditions seeking a northern route to China.

But then... during the third expedition, Barents and his crew became icebound in Nova Zembla, where they spent a year battling the elements, hungry polar bears, and disease.  

Read it for: a dramatic, vividly recreated survival story aided by journal entries, archival materials, and the author's own travels to the Arctic.
Unsinkable: Five Men and the Indomitable Run of the USS Plunkett
by James Sullivan

What it's about: the USS Plunkett, the United States Navy destroyer that played a crucial role in the Allied war effort.

Why you might like it: This richly detailed history chronicles daily crew life as much as it does the ship's more dramatic wartime exploits.

Featuring: well-researched accounts of five crew members' experiences, including those of John Gallagher, the author's great-uncle.
Black History Month
Vanguard : how black women broke barriers, won the vote, and insisted on equality for all
by Martha S. Jones

Examines the struggle of African American women to achieve equality and political power by examining the lives and work of black women, including Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Fannie Lou Hamer. 
The other Madisons : the lost history of a president's Black family
by Bettye Kearse

A Pushcart Prize-nominated writer and descendant of an enslaved cook describes the rich oral traditions that documented her shared ancestry with President James Madison and the human realities of rape and incest throughout the slave era. 
The black cabinet : the untold story of African Americans and politics during the age of Roosevelt
by Jill Watts

Describes the group of African-Americans that joined the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression, forming the Black Cabinet, who worked to devise and recommend solutions to the exclusion and racism they faced as part of the New Deal.
Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights
by Gretchen Sorin

What it is: an accessible and engaging history of the freedoms (and limitations) of 20th-century Black mobility.

Why you might like it: Featuring photos, interviews, and author Gretchen Sorin's own memories of family car trips, Driving While Black spotlights the ways in which Black travel signaled Black resistance.

Further reading: Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor. 
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Madison County Public Libraries
1335 North Main Street
Marshall, North Carolina 28753
828-649-3741
https://www.madisoncountylibrary.net/