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History and Current Events November 2018
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| Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates by Eric Jay DolinWhat it is: a dramatic, demythologizing history of colonial America's "Golden Age" of piracy.
Who it's for: Eric Jay Dolin's lively, well-researched narrative will appeal to both swashbuckling enthusiasts and general readers, though some may be put off by the book's graphic anecdotes of violence. Don't miss: Dolin's enthusiasm for pop culture's famous pirates. |
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Palaces for the people : how social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life
by Eric Klinenberg
"An eminent sociologist--and coauthor, with Aziz Ansari, of the #1 New York Times bestseller Modern Romance--makes the provocative case that the future of democratic societies rests not only on shared values but also on shared "social infrastructure": the libraries, childcare centers, bookstores, coffee shops, pools, and parks that promote crucial, sometimes life-saving connections between people who might otherwise fail to find common cause"
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The Fifth Risk : Undoing Democracy
by Michael Lewis
The best-selling author of Moneyball presents a narrative account of the post-2016 election chaos that took over Washington to reveal how a small number of uninformed Trump appointees are triggering devastating world consequences.
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Bad blood : secrets and lies in a Silicon Valley startup
by John Carreyrou
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of Theranos--the Enron of Silicon Valley--by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers.
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Battles that changed history
by Inc. Dorling Kindersley
Published in association with the Smithsonian, a full-color illustrated guide to history's most famous military battles profiles ancient wars through the conflicts of today, as well as their prominent leaders, including Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc and Napoleon.
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American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures
by America Ferrera (editor)
What it is: a powerful collection of 32 first-person essays written by immigrants or children of immigrants, including Al Madrigal, Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, Michelle Kwan, and Roxane Gay.
Want a taste? "We live as citizens of a country that does not always claim us or even see us, and yet we continue to build, to create, and to compel it toward its own promise."
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The Lumbee Indians : An American Struggle
by Malinda Maynor Lowery
As the largest tribe east of the Mississippi and the ninth largest in the country, the Lumbees have survived in their original homelands, maintaining a distinct identity as Indians in a bi-racial South. In a work both concise and expansive, Lumbee historian Malinda Maynor Lowery tells this story of survival with a breakthrough approach to rigorous scholarship and personal storytelling. The Lumbees' journey sheds new light on America's defining moments, from the first encounters with Europeans to the present day. How and why did the Lumbees fight to establish and resist the United States? How have they not just survived, but thrived, through Civil War, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights movement, and the War on Drugs, to ultimately establish their own constitutional government in the twenty-first century? Their fight for full federal acknowledgement continues to this day, while the Lumbee people's struggle for justice and determination continues to transform our view of the American experience
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The Cut Out Girl : A Story of War and Family, Lost and Found
by Bart Van Es
The author describes his friendship with an 80-year-old woman in Amsterdam who was smuggled as a child into his grandfather's family during the Nazi occupation and together they confront the dark truth of the Dutch cooperation in rounding up the Jews.
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| The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher ClarkWhat it is: a richly detailed and meticulously researched chronicle of the events that precipitated World War I.
Who it's for: World War I buffs who enjoy expansive yet accessible histories.
About the author: Christopher Clark is a history professor at Cambridge University who was knighted in 2015 for his services to Anglo-German relations. |
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| The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World by Greg King and Sue WoolmansWhat it's about: the scandalous and ill-fated romance between vilified Habsburg heir Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie Chotek, whose status as a lady-in-waiting prior to their marriage made her "unfit" for court life. Was their assassination a setup by rankled royal officials?
What sets it apart: With a focus more on romance than politics, this juicy history features ample descriptions of royal family life and plenty of court intrigue. |
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| The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate MooreWhat it's about: As World War I escalated, American women tasked with painting watch dials (many used by soldiers) were exposed to the gruesome effects of radiation poisoning.
Why it matters: The surviving workers eventually took their employers to court; the outcome improved labor laws and led to a greater scientific understanding of radiation's harmful effects.
Reviewers say: "written with clarity and a sympathetic voice that brings these figures and their struggles to life" (Library Journal). |
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| A Higher Form of Killing: Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of... by Diana PrestonWhat it is: a compelling account of how Germany changed the course of warfare in 1915, utilizing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to sink the Lusitania, firebomb London, and drop poison gas in trenches, setting the stage for even more powerful WMD deployments in future.
Read it for: historian Diana Preston's vivid prose, which complements the detailed firsthand accounts of the attacks. |
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| The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East by Eugene RoganWhat it is: a fresh and nuanced perspective of the Great War in the Middle East that examines the conflict's impact on the Ottoman Empire, which ultimately dissolved shortly thereafter.
Why it's significant: Oxford historian Eugene Rogan utilizes previously untranslated Arabic and Turkish primary sources (rather than Western accounts) to craft this illuminating history.
Reviewers say: "an extraordinary tale" (The New York Times). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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