History and Current Events March 2020 Recent Releases: History A game of birds and wolves : the ingenious young women whose secret board game helped win World War II by Simon Parkin What it is: Tells the triumphant story of The Wrens, a group of young women who helped devise a winning strategy to defeat the Nazi U-boats and deliver a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. Why you might like it: "The Wrens...were instrumental to an Allied victory, but few among us know what we owe to them. Parkin’s respect and affection for these women is apparent on every page, and his extensive research and excellent storytelling go a long way toward paying that debt." (BookPage) Franklin & Washington : the founding partnership by Edward J. Larson What it's about: The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and award-winning author of Summer for the Gods presents a dual biography of the two Founding Fathers to illuminate in fresh detail how their underexplored relationship forged the United States.  Is it for you? "Students of American Revolutionary history and the birth of the Republic will find here an inspired approach for considering the lives and legacies of these two founding fathers." (Booklist) The splendid and the vile : a saga of Churchill, family, and defiance during the blitz by Erik Larson What it is: The best-selling author draws on personal diaries, archival documents and declassified intelligence in a portrait of Winston Churchill that explores his day-to-day experiences during the Blitz and his role in uniting England. Reviewers say: "Larson’s skill at integrating vast research and talent for capturing compelling human dramas culminate in an inspirational portrait of one of history’s finest, most fearless leaders." (Booklist)  "A captivating history of Churchill's heroic year..." (Kirkus) The bomb : presidents, generals, and the secret history of nuclear war by Fred M. Kaplan What it's about: The national-security columnist for Slate and Pulitzer Prize finalist, combining deep reporting with historical research, and discussing theories that have dominated nightmare scenarios, presents a history of American policy on nuclear war. Is it for you? "Kaplan synthesizes a wealth of material into lucid, easy-to-follow anecdotes that reveal the complex nature of planning for nuclear war. Readers with the stomach for pondering Armageddon will find this well-written history to be full of insights." (Publishers Weekly) A woman of no importance : the untold story of the American spy who helped win World War II by Sonia Purnell What it is: Traces the lesser-known story of mid-20th-century spy Virginia Hall, detailing her pivotal role in coordinating Resistance activities in Europe that helped change the course of World War II.  What she achieved: "Hall's daring efforts in the breakout of Resistance prisoners in the Vichy-run internment camp at Mauzac, in March 1942, was a stunning achievement considering the enormous danger of getting caught and tortured by the Gestapo." (Kirkus) Recent Releases: Current Events Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools  by Diane Ravitch What it is: an impassioned, well-researched analysis of how the school privatization movement fails students and teachers, and how grassroots efforts are leading the charge to prioritize America's public schools.  Author alert: Historian Diane Ravitch is the former U.S. assistant secretary of education and the author of Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools. The scientist and the spy : a true story of China, the FBI, and industrial espionage by Mara Hvistendahl What it's about: Describes the fascinating and very real phenomenon of the industrial espionage perpetrated by China and the threat is poses to Western competitiveness and reveals what the United States is doing to combat the theft of proprietary innovation. Is it for you? "This engaging book has something for everyone; it can be read as a spy thriller, an examination of U.S.-China relations, or a case study of agricultural espionage." (Library Journal;) A very stable genius : Donald J. Trump's testing of America by Philip Rucker What it is:  A Washington Post national investigative reporter and the White House bureau chief share personal revelatory insights into Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, its consequences and the underlying patterns beneath a deceptively chaotic Trump administration. Reviewers say: "Rucker and Leonnig try to account for their sources' private agendas... and reveal new details about well-known events...The president's critics will find their worst suspicions confirmed by this doggedly reported account." (Publishers Weekly) Women and War Searching for the Amazons: The Real Warrior Women of the Ancient World by John Man What it is: a sweeping history of the women warriors of central Asia whose mystique inspired the ancient Greeks to create myths about them that endure to this day. Why you might like it: Historian John Man's playful account debunks many common misconceptions about the Amazons' way of life (no, they did not cut off their right breasts to improve their skills with a bow).   Further reading: For another scholarly yet accessible history of this formidable culture, check out Adrienne Mayor's The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World.  Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy...  by Lynne Olson Starring: French Resistance operative Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, aka "Hedgehog," who led a spy network of thousands in occupied France and whose efforts crucially helped secure an Allied victory on D-Day.  Read it for: evocative period detail, white-knuckle cat-and-mouse games, and dramatic political intrigue.  Don't miss: Fourcade's multiple escapes from captivity. Women Warriors: An Unexpected History by Pamela D. Toler What it is: a spirited exploration of women warriors, many of them from non-Western countries, who "have been pushed into the shadows, hidden in the footnotes, or half-erased."   Featuring: the Trung sisters of Vietnam, who led an uprising to drive the Chinese out of their homeland; Buffalo Calf Road Woman, the Northern Cheyenne woman who felled Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn; mestiza military leader Juana Azurduy de Padilla, who defended Bolivia from Latin American colonization; Hausa queen Amina, who led a three-decade campaign of territorial expansion in present-day Nigeria.       D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped... by Sarah Rose What it is: a gripping tribute to the women spies employed by Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) during WWII, whose contributions were crucial to the war effort in occupied France. Is it for you? This fast-paced blend of thriller, social history, biography, and romance offers something for every reader.   Try this next: Larry Loftis' suspenseful biography Code Name: Lise centers on Odette Sansom, one of the spies profiled in D-Day Girls.  Liar, temptress, soldier, spy : four women undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott What it is: Drawing from primary source material and interviews, the author weaves together the adventures of four courageous women who risked everything to become spies during the most tumultuous years of the war.  Reviewers say: "This inspiring collective biography reads like a novel while shedding some much-needed light on fascinating chapters in both Civil War and women’s history." (Booklist) Contact your librarian for more great books!  If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contactthe Winfield Public Library 630-653-7599, 0S291 Winfield Rd. Winfield, IL 60190