|
History and Current Events September 2017
|
|
|
|
|
Jumping at shadows : the triumph of fear and the end of the American dream
by Sasha Abramsky
"Why does a disease that killed only a handful of Americans like ebola provoke panic, but the flu-which kills tens of thousands each year-is dismissed with a yawn? Why is an unarmed young black woman who knocks on a stranger's front door to ask for help after her car breaks down perceived to be so threatening that the stranger shoots her dead? In Jumping at Shadows, Sasha Abramsky sets his sights on America's most dangerous epidemic: irrational fear. In this meditation on the paralyzing terror Americansfeel when confronted with something they don't understand-from foreigners to tropical viruses to universal health care-Abramsky delivers an eye-opening analysis of our misconceptions about risk and threats, and how our brains interpret them, both at a neurological level and at a conscious one. What emerges is a journey through a political and cultural landscape that is defined by our fears, which are often misplaced. Ultimately, Abramsky shows that our fears can teach us a great deal about our society, exposing our deeply ingrained racism, classism, xenophobia, and susceptibility to the toxic messages of demagogues"
|
|
|
The Vietnam War : an intimate history
by Geoffrey C Ward
A vibrantly photographed companion to the multi-part PBS film examines the Vietnam War's role in debates that continue in today's world, drawing on extensive interviews with contributors at all levels in America and Vietnam to explain why and how the war happened as well as its complicated legacy.
|
|
| Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis... by Bruce HendersonOffering a riveting closeup of a specialized group of U.S. Army personnel in World War II, Sons and Soldiers brings to life the stories of German Jews who escaped the Nazi regime in the 1930s and subsequently made significant contributions to the Allied victory. Called the "Camp Ritchie Boys" from the camp where they were trained as interrogators, they were deployed in Europe with major combat units from D-Day on. Featuring six of the men, historian Bruce Henderson chronicles the Ritchie Boys' service. World War II buffs and readers interested in Jewish history shouldn't miss this inspiring account. |
|
| American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica HesseBeginning in November 2012, an arson spree terrorized a rural county in Virginia for six months. In American Fire, journalist Monica Hesse traces the fiery trail of Charlie Smith and Tonya Bundick, who torched unoccupied buildings near where they lived in economically depressed but tightly knit Accomack County. Like Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, the deadly pair were romantically entwined; their motives remained elusive until after their capture. True crime aficionados and those interested in the economic fates of rural communities will want to pick up this compelling story. |
|
| Putin: His Downfall and Russia's Coming Crash by Richard LourieIn Putin, Russian affairs expert Richard Lourie offers a sobering analysis of Vladimir Putin's rise to power and the reasons why Lourie predicts disaster for Putin's regime. Cataloguing Putin's failure to assure the diversification of Russia's economy, his craving for personal power, and his desire to recreate the Russian empire, Lourie proposes a variety of possible outcomes while arguing that Putin's leadership is making the Russian economy unsustainable. This is a thought-provoking and eye-opening discussion for Russia-watchers. For additional insight into Putin and Russia, try Steven Lee Myers' The New Tsar. |
|
Award-Winning History Books
|
|
| Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven BeckertWinner of Columbia University's 2015 Bancroft prize and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Empire of Cotton portrays in riveting detail how cotton production and manufacture transformed global economics. This extensively researched, vividly described history depicts the contrast between pre-industrial and industrial labor and reveals the relationships over millennia between warfare, slavery, and cotton. Harvard University historian Sven Beckert's "highly detailed, provocative" (Booklist) work offers a must-read portrayal of the development of capitalism. |
|
| Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, the Northfield Raid, and the Wild West's Greatest Escape by Mark Lee GardnerIn Shot All to Hell, historian Mark Lee Gardner explores the careers of celebrity outlaws Jesse and Frank James and their gang. Focusing on their best-known raid, an 1876 deadly bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, Gardner writes a page-turner "that's as entertaining as it is historically accurate" (Publishers Weekly). Explaining the gang's origins as Confederate-sympathizing bushwhackers, depicting their flamboyant taste in clothing and horses, and graphically characterizing their ruthlessness, this volume won the 2014 Spur Award for Western History (given by the Western Writers of America). |
|
| Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam by Fredrik LogevallIn a narrative highlighted with vivid portraits of Vietnamese and French leaders, Embers of War chronicles the last four decades of French dominion in Indochina, leading up to the U.S. military's involvement in Vietnam. Focusing on the intricate diplomatic and political situation in Southeast Asia, acclaimed historian Fredrik Logevall exposes French colonial administrators' missteps and traces the Western powers' failure to grasp Vietnamese nationalists' desire for independence and self-rule. Though this 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning history ends where the U.S. war in Vietnam begins, Logevall's analysis explains why American intervention there was doomed before it started. |
|
|
Black earth : the Holocaust as history and warning
by Timothy Snyder
The award-winning author of Bloodlands presents a history of the Holocaust that offers insights into Hitler's genocidal views and the partisan groups who supported Jewish targets, arguing that wrong conclusions about the Holocaust are compromising the world's future. Map(s)
|
|
| The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea WulfDid you know that the U.S. state of Nevada was almost named "Humboldt," after the Enlightenment-era German explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt? During his lifetime, Humboldt was the "most famous man in the world after Napoleon," but is hardly remembered today. This multiple award-winning book restores Humboldt to his rightful place in history, describing his life as well as his many contributions to science. For example, Humboldt came up with the concept of climate zones, discovered the magnetic equator, and redefined our concept of nature itself -- as a web of life connecting every organism on Earth. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contact the Fremont Public Library District at 847-566-8702. |
|
|