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History and Current Events August 2018
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| Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation by Robert W. FieselerIn June 1973, 32 people died after an arsonist set New Orleans' Up Stairs Lounge ablaze. The tragedy remained the deadliest attack on a gay club in the United States until the Pulse shooting in 2016.
Debut author Robert W. Fieseler's vivid account of the attack's aftermath -- in which indifferent authorities failed to identify the perpetrator -- spotlights a forgotten moment in the gay rights movement and the costly toll of the uphill battle to equality. |
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| Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for... by Margalit FoxWhat it is: a page-turning true crime account of the 1908 wrongful murder conviction of Jewish German immigrant Oscar Slater, featuring an unlikely hero at its center -- Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle.
Don't miss: New York Times writer Margalit Fox's extensive research richly reconstructs how Doyle used his famous creation's deduction methods to exonerate Slater. |
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| The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke by Andrew LawlerPart detective story, part archaeological exploration, this inquisitive study examines the disappearance of 115 colonists from the Roanoke Colony in 1590. In the ensuing centuries, many theories have been put forth as to the colony's ultimate fate, all without conclusive evidence. With an accessible narrative that will appeal to both history buffs and general readers, The Secret Token is an engrossing mystery. |
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| Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History... by Lynn Vincent and Sara VladicOn July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine torpedoed and sank the USS Indianapolis just days after a highly classified mission to deliver "Little Boy", the atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima. All but 317 of the 1,196 crew perished after the initial attack and over the course of the next four days before help arrived. |
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| A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker... by Paul FischerIn 1978, South Korean actress Choi Eun-Hee and her ex-husband, director Shin Sang-Ok, were abducted under the orders of Kim Jong-Il and forced to create North Korean propaganda films to help bolster the country's lagging film industry. This gripping exploration of North Korean filmmaking history offers an illuminating glimpse into a secretive culture, sure to satisfy true crime fans, cinephiles, and Korean history enthusiasts. |
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| Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth GreenwoodA fascinating and lighthearted survey of "pseudocide" (faking one's death), that was inspired by author Elizabeth Greenwood's frustrations with mounting student loan debt. Greenwood's attempt to stage her death in the Philippines, a country known for having high rates of death fraud is a must read. |
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| Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier by Tom KizziaIn 2002, the fundamentalist Pilgrim family squared off against the National Park Service after their 420-acre homestead infringed on land owned by Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The initial skirmish kicked off an investigation that uncovered the Pilgrim family's chilling history -- and the fact that its patriarch was not what he seemed. A longtime Alaska journalist (and Pilgrim family neighbor), Tom Kizzia had unparalleled access to the secretive family throughout the course of his reportage. |
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| American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey ToobinIn this propulsive account of Patty Hearst's 1974 kidnapping by the radical Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin offers a balanced view of Hearst's subsequent federal trial, demonstrating both sides' incompetence and opportunism. Hearst an later claimed to have joined the SLA in earnest, famously robbing a bank with them.
Though Toobin never states whether he believes Hearst acted of her own accord, he provides plenty of detailed research for readers to draw their own conclusions. |
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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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