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History and Current Events August 2020
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The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life
by
Alex Trebek
What to Expect: The book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek’s thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy.
About the Author: Debuting as the host of Jeopardy! in 1984, Alex Trebek has been like a family member to millions of television viewers. Last year, he announced that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
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Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt
by
Steven Johnson
Who he was: Henry Every was the seventeenth century's most notorious pirate. The press published wildly popular--and wildly inaccurate--reports of his nefarious adventures and the British government offered enormous bounties for his capture, alive or (preferably) dead.
What to expect: Johnson uses the extraordinary story of Henry Every and his crimes to explore the emergence of the East India Company, the British Empire, and the modern global marketplace.
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Exercise of Power by Robert M. Gates What it is: an incisive exploration of the uses and misuses of American power, written by former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.
Topics include: the 2003 invasion of Iraq; China's rise as a global superpower; North Korea's nuclear capabilities; Russia's destabilizing influence.
Reviewers say: "a judicious yet bracingly contrarian take on military and foreign policy from the ultimate insider" (Publishers Weekly). | | Our Time Is Now by Stacey Abrams What it is: a well-researched history of voter suppression and disenfranchisement in the United States.
Is it for you? Policy wonks and progressives looking for a hopeful rejoinder to current political discourse will be inspired by politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams' proposals to end suppression tactics.
Author alert: 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Abrams made history in 2019 by becoming the first African American woman to deliver the response to the State of the Union address. | | 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. | |
Dead Doubles: The Portland Spy Ring and the Hunt for the KGB's Greatest Illegals
by
Trevor Barnes
What to expect: A high-suspense account of one of the most notorious spy cases from the Cold War traces the 1961 international manhunt for five Soviet spies whose activities exposed the shadowy world of deep-cover KGB operatives.
Real-life le Carré: Based on revelatory, newly-released archival material and inside sources from around the world, Dead Doubles follows the hunt for the highly damaging Portland Spy Ring.
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The Quiet Americans: Four CIA Spies at the Dawn of the Cold War
by
Scott Anderson
The Setting: At the end of World War II, the United States dominated the world militarily, economically, and in moral standing. But Soviet Union was already executing a plan to expand and foment revolution around the world.
The Plot: The Quiet Americans chronicles the exploits of four spies who ran covert operations across the globe, trying to outwit the ruthless KGB in Berlin, parachuting commandos into Eastern Europe, plotting coups, and directing wars against Communist insurgents in Asia.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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