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History and Current Events January 2024 |
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Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose Its Harmful Secrets
by Jeff Horwitz
What It's About: An award-winning Wall Street Journal technology reporter provides an inside look into the ways Facebook used manipulative tactics to grow its business while ignoring the warnings from its own employees about the dangers of such methods.
Reviewers Say: "Readers interested in the ethics of the internet and technology...and social media's impact on society at large will be fascinated. Horwitz has created an essential resource." (Booklist)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book.
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| Ghosts of Honolulu by Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, Jr.What It's About: A fast-paced and dramatic true crime account chronicling the wartime exploits of Japanese American counterintelligence agent Douglas Wada and Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa, whose fates became intertwined following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Reviewers Say: "A fast-paced debut...Espionage buffs will savor this vibrant account." (Publishers Weekly)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book and an Audiobook on CD. |
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Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and the Marriage That Shook Europe
by John Guy
What It's About: Based on new research, this history of Henry VIII's courtship, short union, and brutal execution of Anne Boleyn dispels previously held myths about Boleyn's role in the marriage.
Reviewers Say: “The authors offer more nuance than the traditional view of Anne...A tragic historical tale delineated with admirable elucidation." (Kirkus Reviews)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book.
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The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism
by Tim Alberta
What It's About: An award-winning journalist paints a profoundly troubling portrait of the American evangelical movement in which he investigates the ways in which conservative Christians have pursued, exercised and often abused power in the name of securing this earthly kingdom.
Reviewers Say: "It’s an incisive, unsparing look at a movement in crisis." (Publishers Weekly)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book.
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The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder
by Douglas J. Preston
What It's About: From the haunted country of Italy to the largest tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, Douglas J. Preston presents extraordinary and enthralling true stories of Egyptian burial chambers, lost treasure, mysterious murders, strange crimes and more.
Reviewers Say: "[A] gripping compendium of [Preston's] journalistic work...This is unbeatable reading for armchair sleuths.” (Publishers Weekly (Starred Review))
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book.
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Murderabilia: A History of Crime in 100 Objects
by Harold Schechter
What It's About: A veteran true crime writer presents 100 murder-related artifacts spanning from 1808-2014, including the false teeth of a female serial killer and the newly cracked cipher of the Zodiac killer.
Reviewers Say: "It is the rare reference book that is compulsively readable, but Murderabilia is one...These two-to-four-pages-long articles provide fertile ground for true-crime fans" (Booklist)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book.
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November 1942: An Intimate History of the Turning Point of World War II
by Peter Englund
What It's About: In his well-researched latest, historian Peter Englund argues that November 1942 was the pivotal moment of World War II, utilizing diaries, letters, and memoirs with a sense of you-are-there urgency that captures everyday life during wartime.
Reviewers Say: "This gripping and propulsive account...recreates the daily uncertainty of war as experienced by regular people with limited information and few resources. It’s a monumental work of history." (Publishers Weekly (Starred review)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book.
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| Sailing the Graveyard Sea by Richard SnowWhat It's About: Historian Richard Snow's richly detailed latest chronicles the alleged mutiny aboard the USS Somers in 1842, which led to the hanging of three young crew members and the highly publicized court martial of the ship's tyrannical captain, commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie.
Reviewers Say: "“Gripping . . . Snow delves into the investigation and courtroom drama, drawing on court transcripts to vividly recreate scenes on board the Somers. Readers will be intrigued.” (Publishers Weekly)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book. |
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Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail
by Andrea Lankford
What It's About: When three young men vanish from the Pacific Crest Trail, a former park ranger launches an investigation with an eclectic team of amateurs who are determined to solve cases by land and by screen and find their hardships bearing strange fruits—ones that lead them to places and people they never saw coming.
Reviewers Say: "A gut-wrenching and compelling investigation of long-distance treks gone wrong.” (Kirkus)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book.
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UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Here--and Out There
by Garrett M. Graff
What It's About: This thrilling story of science, the Cold War, Nazi research, atomic anxieties, secret spy planes and the space race draws on original archival research, declassified documents and interviews to present a narrative history of humanity's hunt for alien life, including the military and CIA's secret, decades-long quest to study UFOs.
Reviewers Say: "Loads of fun, and Graff’s agnosticism has the potential to appeal to skeptics and believers alike. . . a fascinating dive down the rabbit hole.” (Publishers Weekly)
In Our Collection: This is available as an Adult Nonfiction book.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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