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History and Current Events January 2018
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| The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Daniel EllsbergWhat it's about: Author Daniel Ellsberg (who leaked the Pentagon Papers) recounts his role in the RAND Corporation's 1960s study of the U.S. policy on nuclear strikes. Framed as a memoir, The Doomsday Machine explains how the nuclear policy developed, its flaws (which continue to the present), and the urgency of reducing the availability of nuclear weapons.
Why you'll want to read it: This sobering and thought-provoking book shines a spotlight on issues that have become more prominent since North Korea started demonstrating their missile capabilities. |
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| It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree by A.J. JacobsWhat it's about: A global adventure in family tree-climbing, Esquire contributing editor A.J. Jacobs' engaging study of genealogy and genetics provides often startling insight into tradition, clannishness, and individual identity.
Is it for you? This peripatetic approach to individual family history and the history of human beings offers laugh-out-loud humor and intriguing information, whether you're interested in genealogy or hadn't given it a second thought. |
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| Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O'DonnellWhat it's about: Host of The Last Word on MSNBC and advisor to U.S. Senate committees Lawrence O'Donnell became fascinated with politics at age 17 when he observed the 1968 general elections. Here he reviews the tumultuous political year and the race that captivated him. Is it for you? Whether you remember 1968 yourself or know it from history, you'll enjoy the ringside seat O'Donnell offers in Playing with Fire.
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| Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom by Russell ShortoWhat it's about: Drawing on his subjects' diaries and correspondence as well as official records and other sources, historian Russell Shorto highlights the ideals of the American Revolutionary period by vividly portraying six individuals of the time. Why it's significant: Revolution Song presents history through personal life stories, offering a closeup of both social life and political philosophy. He adds power to his narrative by connecting the individuals' concerns to vital issues of our time. |
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When the world seemed new : George H.W. Bush and the end of the Cold War
by Jeffrey A Engel
Based on unprecedented access to previously declassified documents and dozens of interviews with key policymakers, an account of the critical events faced by the 41st President examines his pivotal role in ending the Cold War.
Why it's significant: The end of the Cold War was a tremendous shock to international affairs, upending world order.
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The future is history : how totalitarianism reclaimed Russia
by Masha Gessen
The award-winning Russian-American journalist and author of the best-selling The Man Without a Face traces how within the space of a generation, Russia has succumbed to a more virulent and resistant strain of autocracy as demonstrated by the experiences of four prototype individuals born at the once-presumed dawn of Russian democracy.
Why you should read it: Russian Gessen presents keen observations about her native country from the point of view of those experiencing its return as an aggressive world power.
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Friends divided : John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
by Gordon S Wood
A dual portrait of the second and third presidents shares insights into their disparate backgrounds, the partnership decisions that helped establish America's foundation and the unexpected ways their subsequent falling out and reconciliation corrected the course of a young republic. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire of Liberty.
Why it's significant: Noted historian Wood makes clear just how fragile the American experiment had become once George Washington retired to Mount Vernon.
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Armed in America : a history of gun rights from colonial militias to concealed carry
by Patrick J. Charles
"This illuminating study traces the transformation of the right to arms from its inception in English and colonial American law to today's impassioned gun-control debate. As historian and legal scholar Patrick J. Charles shows, what the right to arms means to Americans, as well as what it legally protects, has changed drastically since its first appearance in the 1689 Declaration of Rights. Armed in America explores how and why the right to arms transformed at different points in history.
Why you should read it: Readers looking to sort through the shrill rhetoric surrounding the current gun debate and arrive at an informed understanding of the legal and historical development of the right to arms will find this book to be an invaluable resource"
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Scalia speaks : reflections on law, faith, and life well lived
by Antonin Scalia
A collection of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s finest speeches covers topics as varied as the law, faith, virtue, pastimes and his heroes and friends.
Why you should read it: The book gives a deeply personal perspective of this influential jurist who served the Court Supreme for over three decades..
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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