November 2017 list by Dan Berube
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The Last Castle
by Denise Kiernan
Documents the story of the Gilded Age mansion Biltmore, tracing George Vanderbilt's construction of his spectacular European-style estate with the help of two famed architects and the efforts of his bride, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser, to become its mistress and protector in the face of changing fortunes and times.
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| Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica BruderAuthor Jessica Bruder spent several years traveling with older Americans who have become itinerant workers in order to make ends meet. In Nomadland, she describes how they assume a "wheel estate" (instead of "real estate") existence as they travel from one seasonal job to the next, exchanging information on safe camping sites and enjoying the camaraderie of the road. Bruder vividly and sympathetically characterizes these "workampers" as she critiques the financial systems that have led them to adopt this solution. |
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A World Ablaze: The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation
by Craig Harline
October 2017 marks 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg and launched the Protestant Reformation. Craig Harline introduces us to the flesh-and-blood Martin Luther and tells the riveting story of the first crucial years of the crusade that would make Luther a legendary figure.
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| The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors by Dan JonesIn 1119, after the First Crusade, a remnant of Christian warriors formed a new kind of religious order: the Knights of Templar, devoted to protecting pilgrims from Europe to the Holy Land. An enduring legend grew up around the Templars, producing speculation, conspiracy theories, and eventually, charges of heresy. In The Templars, historian Dan Jones has separated myth from reality and allegation from truth. |
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| The Far Away Brothers by Lauren MarkhamAuthor Lauren Markham was working as a school counselor in California when she met identical twins Raúl and Ernesto Flores. The teenagers had fled El Salvador to escape deadly gang violence, knowing no English and unprepared for American society. Markham traces their harrowing journey to the U.S. and their struggles to survive in a strange land, shedding light on the difficulties of undocumented minors. |
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The Taking of K-129
by Josh Dean
A true story of Cold War espionage and engineering reveals how the CIA, the U.S. Navy and an eccentric billionaire spent six years and nearly a billion dollars to steal a nuclear-armed Soviet submarine after it sank in the Pacific Ocean.
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The Sunken Gold
by Joseph A. Williams
On January 25, 1917, HMS Laurentic struck two German mines off the coast of Ireland and sank. The ship was carrying 44 tons of gold bullion to the still-neutral United States via Canada in order to finance the war effort for Britain and its allies. Using newly discovered sources, author Joseph A. Williams provides the first full-length account of the quest for the Laurentic's gold.
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Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the world
by Laura Spinney
Describes the enormous-scale human disaster caused by the 1918 Spanish Flu and uses the latest findings in history, virology, epidemiology, psychology and economics to show how the pandemic permanently changed global politics, race relations, medicine, religion and the arts.
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Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening
by Manal Sharif
A memoir by a Saudi Arabian woman who became the unexpected leader of a movement to support women's rights describes how fundamentalism influenced her radical religious beliefs until her education, a job, and legal contradictions changed her perspectives.
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King of Spies: The Dark Reign of America's Spymaster in Korea
by Blaine Harden
Describes the story of army mechanic Donald Nichols, who was recruited by the Army’s Counter-Intelligence Corps to get close with South Korea’s first president, Syngman Rhee, and become a key player in the war effort during the North Korean invasion.
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Admissions: Life as a Brain Surgeon
by Henry Marsh
A memoir by the award-winning author of Do No Harm traces his post-retirement work as a surgeon and teacher in such remote areas as Nepal and Ukraine, illuminating the challenges of working in difficult regions and finding purposeful work after a career.
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Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel
by Bob Batchelor
A biography of the comic artist and pop culture icon traces his life from his Depression-era childhood to his years as an editor and his triumphs as the creator behind such superhero titans as Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Fantastic Four.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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