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History and Current Events August 2020
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Coffeeland : one man's dark empire and the making of our favorite drug
by
Augustine Sedgewick
A Harvard-educated economist documents the epic history of the role of coffee in connecting and dividing the modern world, tracing coffee’s unexpected 500-year evolution from an ingredient in a mysterious Muslim ritual to a major influencer in modern El Salvador.
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Revolver : Sam Colt and the six-shooter that changed America
by
Jim Rasenberger
A sweeping portrait of the inventor of the legendary Colt revolver shares engaging insights into the role of the six-shooter in triggering the industrial revolution and the resettlement of the American West. Illustrations. Maps.
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Our house is on fire : scenes of a family and a planet in crisis
by
Greta Thunberg
When climate activist Greta Thunberg was eleven, her parents, Malena and Svante, and her little sister, Beata, were facing a crisis in their own home. Greta had stopped eating and speaking, and her mother and father had reconfigured their lives to care for her. Desperate and searching for answers, her parents discovered what was at the heart of Greta's distress: her imperiled future on a rapidly heating planet. Steered by Greta's determination to understand the truth and generate change, they began to see the deep connections between their own suffering and the planet's. Written by a remarkable family and told through the voice of an iconoclastic mother, Our House Is On Fire is the story of how they fought their problems at home by taking global action. And it is the story of how Greta decided to go on strike from school, igniting a worldwide rebellion.
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The system : who rigged it, how we fix it
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Robert B. Reich
Reich presents an urgent analysis of how corruption in American politics and economics is triggering wage stagnation, volatile job markets and other consequences, outlining how it happened and how everyday citizens can promote change.
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Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State
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Barton Gellman
Then: In 2014, journalist Barton Gellman won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on Edward Snowden's leak of classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents.
Now: Gellman reflects on the pressures of his white-knuckle investigation and his complicated relationship with Snowden in this propulsive deep dive into the modern surveillance state.
For fans of: All the President's Men.
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Atomic spy : the dark lives of Klaus Fuchs
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Nancy Thorndike Greenspan
The author of The End of the Certain World draws on German archives and family correspondence in a portrait of the Cold War scientist that explores how Fuchs’s views about peace likely shaped his decision to commit espionage. Illustrations.
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The Louvre : the many lives of the world's most famous museum
by
James Gardner
Describes the history of the Louvre, which was a clay quarry in the first centuries AD, a fortress in 1191 and a royal residence in the 1300s until finally becoming a place to display national treasures after the French Revolution.
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Fire in Paradise : an American tragedy
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Alastair Gee
An account of the 2018 Camp Fire that razed the town of Paradise, California draws on hundreds of interviews with residents, firefighters, police and scientific experts to document its horrific impact, including the establishment of an unfolding refugee crisis.
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The year 1000 : when globalization began
by
Valerie Hansen
The author of The Silk Road draws on extensive research in a groundbreaking history of the explorations and trade commissions that connected the world’s most advanced societies for the first time 1,000 years ago. Illustrations. Maps.
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The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland
by
Walter Thompson-Hernandez
Welcome to: Richland Farms, the Compton, CA, ranch that's been a safe haven for the city's black cowboys for over 30 years.
Why you might like it: In this gritty and eye-opening expansion of his popular 2018 New York Times article, journalist Walter Thompson-Hernandez offers an immersive and empathetic glimpse into an underrepresented community; it's also set to be adapted for film.
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1939 : a people's history of the coming of World War ii
by
Fred Taylor
The best-selling author of Dresden draws on contemporary sources in an account of the fateful months between the Munich Agreement and Hitler's invasion of Poland that offers insight into the decisions of key leaders and the experiences of everyday citizens. Illustrations. Maps
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The Women With Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service...
by
Katherine Sharp Landdeck
Doing their part: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, more than 1,000 American women joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program, where they learned to fly planes big and small.
Author alert: Texas Woman's University history professor Katherine Sharp Landdeck imbues her engaging and richly detailed narrative with insights gleaned from her own experiences as a licensed pilot.
For fans of: Liza Mundy's Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II.
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Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell
by
Tom Clavin
What it is: a vivid and rip-roaring chronicle of the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881 Tombstone, Arizona; the final book in Tom Clavin's Frontier Lawman trilogy, following Dodge City and Wild Bill.
What sets it apart: This revisionist account plumbs the motivations behind the feud, details how pop culture has mythologized the incident, and explores the perspectives of Tombstone residents who wanted no part in the violence.
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The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That Helped America Win the Cold War by Antonio & Jonna Mendez with Matt Baglio What it is: a fast-paced account of husband-and-wife duo Antonio and Jonna Mendez's time spent working as CIA agents in 1970s Moscow.
Don't miss: the gadgets (including a rappelling tool nicknamed "the Spiderman") and techniques (disguises, sleight of hand, and misdirection taught by magicians) the pair utilized in their spycraft.
Movie buzz: Ben Affleck portrayed Antonio Mendez in the Oscar-winning Argo. | | Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall by Tim Mohr What it's about: the underground East German punk movement whose political activism contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Featuring: 15-year-old "Major," the self-proclaimed first punk in East Germany, known for her safety pin-adorned jackets.
Awards buzz: This engaging and richly detailed history was longlisted for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. | | The Mysterious Affair at Olivetti: IBM, the CIA, and the Cold War Conspiracy to Shut Down... by Meryle Secrest What it's about: how the development of the Olivetti Programma 101, the world's first desktop computer, was stalled by American intelligence fearful of the technology's use by China and the Soviet Union.
What happened: Prior to the P101's release, two Olivetti employees who worked on the project, including company heir Adriano Olivetti, died under suspicious circumstances. Coincidence -- or cover-up?
Who it's for: Readers who don't mind a bit of speculation in their history will enjoy this intensifying tale full of bizarre twists and turns. | | Blood and Sand: Suez, Hungary, and Eisenhower's Campaign for Peace by Alex Von Tunzelmann What it's about: how two 1956 crises -- the joint invasion of Egypt by Israeli, British and French forces, and a Soviet victory in the Hungarian Revolution -- almost plunged the world into nuclear war.
Read it for: a suspenseful, hour-by-hour account of the conflicts, which happened within weeks of each other.
Reviewers say: "an outstanding reexamination of these sad, history-altering events" (Booklist). | |
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Iredell County Public Library 201 North Tradd Street Statesville, North Carolina 28677 704-878-3090www.iredell.lib.nc.us/ |
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