|
History and Current Events December 2018
|
|
|
|
From the Collection: Train Robbery! When most people think of train robberies, their first inclination is to think of a scene out of the 1870's or 1880's as outlaws with bandannas over their faces use their six-shooters to steal money, gold, and the valuables of passengers on the train. Although certainly not the first train robbery, the infamous 21 July 1873 James-Younger Gang’s holdup near Adair, Iowa set the stage for all train robberies that followed, remaining an indelible piece of American history. In a famous scene recreated for the silver screen in 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford, as the titular leads, respectively, blow up the baggage car of the Union Pacific Overland Flyer. Although outlaws are often thought of as living only in the 19th century, some of the most famous train robberies actually occurred in the 20th century. In fact, the actual destruction of the Flyer’s car mentioned above, occurred a mere 6 months before the turn of the 20th century. In 1963, a 15-man gang in England made off with £2.6 million (equivalent to $65.3 million today), in what was dubbed the Great Train Robbery. And outlaws were still robbing trains in the United States well into the 20th century too. The newspaper clipping seen above details the larceny of an Atlantic Coast Line rail car in December 1911, well after the Wild Bunch had seared itself into legend. The Atlantic Coast Line Rail Road, or ACLRR for short, made Wilmington, NC its home from 1900-1960. During its early years, the majority of the line’s freight was seasonal farm products. Most passengers travelling the line came from the Northeast and Midwest to destinations in Florida. At its height, the railroad maintained over 5100 miles of track. In 1960, the railroad’s new headquarters building opened in Jacksonville, FL. The move was short-lived as ACLRR merged with Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1967. Although the robbers in the case of the 1911 event seen here got away, the locomotive that they had targeted was largely carrying mail rather than valuables. It is also interesting to note that the posse sent out after the bandits was likely on horseback, just like a posse that one might think of when imagining the Old West. |
|
| Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim (editor)A stirring anthology of candid contributions from 21 black women writers (including Tayari Jones, Morgan Jerkins, Gabourey Sidibe, Jesmyn Ward, and Jacqueline Woodson) that celebrates the transformative power of being seen in literature. |
|
|
War Animals : The Unsung Heroes of World War II
by Robin Hutton
Highlights the animal heroes of World War II—who carried weapons, wounded men and messages through artillery fire—including G.I. Joe, a pigeon; Chips, a German Shepherd; and Bing, a paradog who jumped out of a plane on D-Day. By the national best-selling author of Sgt. Reckless
|
|
| LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. BrookingRead about how extremists and authoritarian regimes manipulate social media platforms to serve as "battlespaces" for political disputes, leading to trolling, disinformation, and memetic warfare. |
|
| Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History by Brian Kilmeade and Don YaegerIn Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaegar's lively, suspenseful prose, read about the beginning of the Barbary Wars, instigated in 1801 when the newly elected President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay ransom to the Barbary States for captured American merchant ships marking America's first overseas military action.
Try this next: For another accessible history of the First Barbary War, check out The Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks. |
|
| The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World by Lincoln PaineAn ambitious expedition along the earth's oceans, lakes, and rivers that illuminates the remarkable ways in which world history has been shaped by waterways. Such topics include how Viking expeditions impacted cultural exchange; the influence of religion on maritime law.
"an invaluable resource for salty dogs and landlubbers alike" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
|
Red Sky in Mourning : The True Story of a Woman's Courage and Survival at Sea
by Tami Oldham Ashcraft
Tami Oldham and her fiancé Richard Sharp set sail from Tahiti, both excellent sailors, with a bright future ahead of them. Twenty days into their journey, they ran into a monumental hurricane, in which Richard was blown overboard. With the masts gone, the engine shot, and Richard dead, Tami overcame tremendous odds to navigate herself to safety. It took her 41 days. This is her story
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
New Hanover County Library
201 Chestnut Street Wilmington, North Carolina 28401 910-798-6301 www.nhclibrary.org |
|
|
|