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History and Current Events November 2019
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| The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution by Eric FonerDiscover how the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th constitutional amendments (also known as the Reconstruction amendments) impacted an America still reeling from the aftermath of the Civil War. Don't miss an incisive and resonant look into how the Reconstruction amendments are interpreted and debated in contemporary political discourse, particularly in relation to voter rights.
Library Journal calls Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner's latest "a must-read for anyone interested in U.S. history." |
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| The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. GraffA heartwrenching collection of first-person accounts from survivors, first responders, and witnesses of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. |
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| Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant by Anne Gardiner PerkinsIn 1969, 268 years after its founding, Yale University admitted women undergraduates for the first time (of the 575 accepted into the elite Ivy, 90% were white). Isolated from (yet harassed by) their male peers and professors, the women of Yale advocated for institutional reforms like gender-blind admissions, racial equality, and inclusive healthcare. |
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| Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History by Kurt AndersenA provocative, no-holds-barred exploration of how superstition, self-delusion, charlatanism, and conspiracy theories have always been richly embedded in the fabric of American life and culture. Areas of interest include the Salem witch trials; Dr. Oz; P.T. Barnum; 1960s counterculture; Satanic Panic; and Donald Trump. |
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| Whatever Happened to the Metric System?: How America Kept Its Feet by John Bemelmans MarcianoRich in political intrigue, this lively history chronicles four centuries' worth of attempts to convert America to the metric system. In this book, the reader will get a sense of author John Bemelmans Marciano's clever sense of humor, including the use of fractions to denote chapter headings.
Did you know? The U.S. is one of only three countries in the world that doesn't use the metric system (Myanmar and Liberia are the other two). |
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| Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah VowellRevolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette's 1824 return to American soil, where he was received with great fanfare by more than 80,000 onlookers.
This snarky romp is "especially recommended to those who are convinced that history is dry" (Library Journal). |
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| Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer WrightA lighthearted yet gruesome survey of 13 diseases, including the bubonic plague, syphilis, cholera, and leprosy.
Chapter titles include headings such as "Try Being Nice Instead of Burning People as Witches;" "Spread the Word That Vaccines Are the Best;" "Never Glamorize Ill Health." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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New Hanover County Library
201 Chestnut Street Wilmington, North Carolina 28401 910-798-6301 www.nhclibrary.org |
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