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History and Current Events January 2019
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Fame : the hijacking of reality
by Justine Bateman
Explores fame and its darker side from the inside, analyzing the author's experience of it as a producer and actress and discussing how reality television and social media have changed what it means to be famous
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The Age of Walls: How Barriers Between Nations Are Changing Our World
by Tim Marshall
What it is: a sweeping survey of how physical barriers between countries shape political discourse and international relations.
Reviewers say: "This enlightening, shrewd assessment of the walls that separate us proves that there is actually far more that unites us" (Booklist).
Further reading: Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick by David Frye.
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The apprentice : Trump, Russia, and the subversion of American democracy
by Greg Miller
In a book based on hundreds of interviews with those within President Donald Trump's inner circle, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter investigates the Kremlin’s covert attempt to help Trump win the presidency, Trump’s allegiance to Vladimir Putin and Robert Mueller’s investigation.
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Capitalism in America : a history
by Alan Greenspan
The former Federal Reserve Chairman and the acclaimed Economist historian trace the epic story of America's evolution from a small patchwork of threadbare colonies to the world's most powerful engine of wealth and innovation
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Impeachment : an American history
by Jeffrey A Engel
Four experts on the American presidency review the only three impeachment cases from history—against Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton—and explore its power and meaning for today.
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Presidents of war
by Michael R Beschloss
The best-selling author of The Conquerors charts the controversial leadership, public reputations and evolving political powers of American wartime Presidents from the War of 1812 through Vietnam, including Lincoln, Wilson and LBJ
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American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts
by Chris McGreal
What it is: a compassionate, deftly researched examination of the medical establishment and pharmaceutical industry's culpability in America's staggering opioid crisis.
About the author: Guardian reporter Chris McGreal pulls no punches in his urgent and incisive debut.
Did you know? In 1908, physician Hamilton Wright, the United States' first opium commissioner, described Americans as "the greatest drug fiends in the world."
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| Heirs of the Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster... by H.W. BrandsWhat it is: a fascinating peek into how the ideological tensions of post-American Revolution politicians led to the Civil War; a revealing examination of how bygone rifts continue to resonate in contemporary American politics.
Who it's for: chock-full of duels, debates, scandals, and betrayals, this riveting, character-driven popular history will appeal to readers of Douglas Brinkley and Stephen E. Ambrose. |
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| The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul... by Andrew DelbancoWhat it's about: This sweeping and accessible chronicle reveals how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ultimately drove the United States to war, forcing a divided America to confront the myth of benevolent slavery and its own hypocrisy as a newly "free" country.
Want a taste? "Even free black people in the North -- including those who had never been enslaved -- found their lives infused with terror of being seized and deported." |
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Rampage : MacArthur, Yamashita, and the battle of Manila
by James Scott
The author of Target Tokyo presents a history of the Battle of Manila that traces the capture of the Philippine capital by Japanese forces, the massacre of an estimated 100,000 civilians and liberation campaign that ultimately destroyed the city
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| Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages That Shaped Europe by Deborah CadburyWhat it is: the captivating story of how, six decades into her rule, a scheming Queen Victoria began arranging marriages for her 42 grandchildren in an effort to extend constitutional monarchy and maintain political alliances throughout Europe.
For fans of: Downton Abbey, The Crown, and Victoria.
Try this next: For another enthralling book on Her Majesty's family relationships, check out Lucy Worsley's Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life.
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| The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith FlandersWhat it's about: Offering striking imagery and a strong sense of place, this colorful social history vividly recreates the London that Charles Dickens occupied: squalid, overpopulated, pungent, and loud.
Read it for: Judith Flanders' insights on how the rapidly transforming London informed Dickens' work (including how the meaning of the word "Dickensian" changed over time).
Reviewers say: "This is a superb portrait of an exciting, thriving, and dangerous city" (Booklist). |
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| How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth GoodmanWhat it's about: historian and BBC presenter Ruth Goodman's charming and lighthearted efforts to recreate Victorian daily routines.
Living history: Goodman brushed her teeth with soot, laundered clothes by hand, performed 19th-century calisthenics, ate pigs feet and suet pudding, and mastered wearing a corset.
Don't miss: Goodman making condoms out of sheep's guts. |
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| Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese OneillWhat it is: an irreverent, lough-out-loud "guide" to proper Victorian womanhood.
Chapters include: "Getting Dressed: How to Properly Hide Your Shame;" "Running a Proper Household: The Gentle Art of Dictatorship"
Featuring: 200 images from the era's publications and public service flyers, accompanied by Therese Oneill's tongue-in-cheek captions. |
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| The Wicked Boy: An Infamous Murder in Victorian London by Kate SummerscaleWhat it is: a surprising "whydunit" that doggedly investigates the case of Nattie and Robert Coombes, who were charged with the 1895 murder of their mother when they were only 12 and 13 years old.
Book buzz: The Wicked Boy won the 2017 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime Book.
Reviewers say: "a tragedy that reads like a Dickens novel, including the remarkable payoff at the end" (Publishers Weekly).
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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