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History and Current EventsMarch 2016
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"Peshawar's beautiful -- a true city of the East, teeming with people, noisy, polluted, with nonstop traffic. BRRRMMM, BRRRMMM." ~ from Emmanuel Guibert and Didier Lefèvre's The Photographer
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| In a Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan and Caren ZuckerIn 1943, Donald Triplett of Forest, Mississippi was the first person to be diagnosed with autism. This comprehensive history of the condition by journalists John Donvan and Caren Zucker traces Triplett's story (which has a positive outcome) and those of many others. The book describes unfortunate early approaches to autism and includes recent advances in diagnosis, education, and social inclusion, offering hope for people with autism and their families. For more on current views of the subject, try Steve Silberman's accessible and richly detailed Neurotribes. |
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| Agincourt: The Fight for France by Ranulph FiennesIn the early 15th century, English kings struggled to retain control over their territories in France. The crucial battle in this rivalry occurred at Agincourt in October 1415. In Agincourt, noted British explorer Ranulph Fiennes recounts the conflict while detailing how several of his ancestors participated -- on both sides of the fight! Both an intriguing family history and a vividly described military drama, this book also illuminates the centuries-long English-French animosity that dates at least to William's 1066 defeat of Harold. Publishers Weekly calls this a "stylish, substantive" commentary. |
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| Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.Author Eddie Glaude, chair of Princeton's Center for African American Studies, clearly and accessibly discusses race in contemporary American society, pointing out that African Americans suffered disproportionately from the 2008 recession and have yet to recover. Glaude argues that the main problem in U.S. racial inequities stems from white people's ignorance of the conditions in black communities as well as habitual assumptions that white people have more value than blacks. Democracy in Black calls for major changes in social and political thinking in order to work towards racial equality. |
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| The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America... by Ethan MichaeliFounded in 1905 by Georgia native Robert Abbott, Chicago's newspaper The Defender (now The Chicago Defender) served for decades as a prominent voice for African Americans throughout the country, including the Jim Crow South. Author Ethan Michaeli, a former Defender reporter, provides a riveting account of the newspaper's achievements and of a century of American history in this well-documented and engrossing chronicle. For more details on the Defender's work, try James McGrath Morris' biography of Defender reporter Ethel Payne in Eye on the Struggle. |
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| City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp by Ben RawlenceIn the desert of northern Kenya, half a million refugees live in the Dabaab camp, where they are relatively safe from Somalia's civil war but beleaguered by crime and living in miserable conditions. In City of Thorns, author Ben Rawlence relates what he learned during four years of working there for Human Rights Watch. Offering a moving portrayal of individual lives while painting a broader picture of the region's political situation, Rawlence lays out a riveting analysis of a major human rights disaster. This is a "significant, timely, and gloomy tale," says Kirkus Reviews. |
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| Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story by Peter BaggeIn this "modern masterpiece" (Publishers Weekly), cartoon artist Peter Bagge vividly portrays contraception pioneer Margaret Sanger, presenting her in lively fashion rather than as a remote historical figure. Bagge's compelling text and drawings relate Sanger's life from her childhood through her career as a feminist health advocate and "Woman Rebel" (the title of the journal she published). If you're interested in the history of women's health or curious about Sanger's life, be sure to check out this biographical study. Extensive notes and an afterword reveal the depth of Bagge's research. |
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| The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert and Didier Lefèvre; design by Frédéric Lemercier; translated by Alexis SiegelIn a riveting compilation of photographs by Didier Lefèvre and illustrations by Emmanuel Guibert, The Photographer recounts Lefèvre's dangerous 1986 round trip between Normandy and Afghanistan as a documentary photographer for Doctors Without Borders. Lefèvre's photographs provide most of the storytelling, while his text and Guibert's drawings fill in context, supply information where relevant photographs are unavailable, and transport readers to the middle of Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. The French-language edition of this account of life in a war zone won a Bédélys Prize in Canada and was a European bestseller. |
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| The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnellThis graphic novel adaptation of Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" offers more than an illustrated version of the speech. Author Jonathan Hennessey breaks the text down into phrases and connects them to the Battle of Gettysburg and to the historic political and social issues of the Civil War. Through this analytical presentation and Aaron McConnell's illustrations, readers can appreciate the impact of the battle and the significance of this speech in the context of American history. For another revelatory graphic presentation of a historic American document, read the authors' The United States Constitution. |
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| Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me by Harvey Pekar and J.T. WaldmanHarvey Pekar, widely acclaimed for using the graphic novel format for biography and history, grew up in parallel with the creation and development of the State of Israel. This posthumous memoir depicts Pekar and artist J.T. Waldman exploring the history of Israel from biblical times to the present. Though Pekar's parents were strong Zionists, he disagreed with Israel's treatment of Palestinians and its relationships with neighboring Arab nations. Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me intertwines Pekar's life story, Israeli history, and conversations between Pekar and Waldman. Booklist calls this a "canny treatment" of the controversy over Israeli policies. |
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| Footnotes in Gaza by Joe SaccoIn Footnotes in Gaza, award-winning comics journalist Joe Sacco relates how he sought out refugees who witnessed the 1956 massacres of Palestinians in the Sinai villages of Rafah and Khan Younis. Interweaving the survivors' accounts with his depiction of life in Gaza in 2003, he also vividly portrays the risks he took to collect the interviews. Sacco's photo-like exterior details and cartoon-style renditions of people and interiors add visual impact this gripping account, which presents the first full report on the events of 1956 and brings home to readers the realities of life in contemporary Gaza. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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