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New History & Biography MARCH |
Click on the title to check availability or to log in and place holds online. To place holds by phone, please call us at (708) 366-5205, ext. 316. |
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Kennedy's Coup: A White House Plot, a Saigon Murder, and America's Descent Into Vietnam by Jack CheeversCombining the dark intrigue of a Cold War thriller and the propulsive writing of a novel, Kennedy's Coup is a landmark work that will change your understanding of America's involvement in one of the most controversial and consequential wars in our history. Based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests, Cheevers vividly recreates the Kennedy Administration's secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam's defiant president. The brutal assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem by his own generals--which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting amid JFK's wavering--led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. The definitive history of one of the most catastrophic decisions ever made by a US president, shedding new light on events that altered the world.
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A Scandal in Königsberg by Christopher ClarkAs told by one of our greatest historians, the story of the scandal that took down two Lutheran preachers in the heart of nineteenth-century Prussia. In 1835, Johannes Ebel and Georg Heinrich Diestel were tried for having started a cult. Worse: It was a cult that encouraged scandalous sexual behavior in women, including the daughters of prestigious Prussian families. The trial would absorb and polarize the city of Konigsberg for half a decade and ruin the lives and careers of its defendants, despite their eventual legal exoneration. The great Cambridge historian Christopher Clark--known for The Sleepwalkers, his monumental, defining study of the causes of the First World War--came across the files containing this story three decades ago; it has been swirling in his mind ever since. In gripping, narrative prose, Clark immerses us in a Konigsberg scarred by the horrors of the Napoleonic Wars.
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The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home by Wil HaygoodAward-winning author and journalist Wil Haygood explores how the Vietnam War became a mirror for the struggle of Black Americans--fighting for freedom abroad while demanding equality at home--and a powerful lens through which to understand the racial and political divides that continue to shape American life. Haygood illuminates a generation caught between two battles: one on the front lines in Vietnam and another for justice and dignity in America. The War Within a War is both sweeping history and intimate revelation, capturing the tragedies and triumphs, the honor and hypocrisies, the courage and cowardice that shaped an era and whose repercussions resonate today.
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The Typewriter and the Guillotine: An American Journalist, a German Serial Killer, and Paris on the Eve of WWII by Mark BraudeThe endlessly compelling untold story of a trailblazing Paris correspondent for The New Yorker, who sounded the alarm about the rise of fascism in Europe while becoming enmeshed in the sensational case of a German serial killer stalking the streets of the French capital on the eve of WWII. While working tirelessly to alert American readers to the dangers of the Third Reich, Janet Flanner became gripped by the disturbing crimes of a man who embodied all of the darkness she was being forced to confront. Flanner covered his crimes, capture, and highly politicized trial, seeing the case as a metaphor for understanding the tumultuous years through which she'd just passed and to prepare herself for the dangers to come. This is the story of an indomitable journalist set against a glamorous, high-stakes backdrop--a tightly-coiled drama full of romance and intrigue.
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Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island by Mike PittsA vital and timely work of historical adventure and reclamation by British archeological scholar Mike Pitts--a book that rewrites the popular yet flawed history of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and uses newly unearthed findings and documents to challenge the long-standing historical assumptions about the manmade ecological disaster that caused the island's collapse. Archeological writer and scholar Mike Pitts offers a direct challenge to the orthodoxy of Rapa Nui, bringing to light new research and documents that tell a dramatic and surprising story about what really led to the island's downfall. Relying on the latest archaeological findings, Pitts paints a vastly different portrait of what life was like on the island before the first Europeans arrived, investigating why a Polynesian people who succeeded for centuries throughout the South Pacific supposedly failed to thrive in Rapa Nui. The Island at the Edge of the World will change the way people think about Easter Island, its colonial legacy, and where the blame for its devastation truly lies.
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Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by Liza MinnelliGlobal icon Liza Minnelli shares her inspiring story: stepping out from the long shadow of a mega-star mother and legendary film director father, fighting a lifetime battle with addiction, and emerging from it all to become a once-in-a-lifetime artist. This fascinating, untold story reveals the intimate truth of the only child born to Hollywood legends Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland. For the first time, here is Liza up close: Raw, strong, sexy, hilarious and heartbreaking. Liza's book celebrates supreme artistry and, more importantly, her human rights activism. It's time to tell the truth, Liza says, and help people heal, as I have, one day at a time.
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In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man: A Memoir by Tom JunodFrom two-time National Magazine Award winner Tom Junod, a searching, brilliantly stylized memoir about a charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image, the many secrets he hid, the son's obsessive quest to uncover them, and ultimately, the true meaning of manhood.
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You with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir by Christina ApplegateUnflinchingly honest and darkly funny, You with the Sad Eyes unveils a side of Christina Applegate we've never seen, forever cementing her formidable and iconoclastic legacy. Applegate rocketed to stardom on the sitcom Married...with Children and went on to captivate audiences in classics like Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead..., Anchorman, and Dead to Me in her five-decade long career. Then it all stopped. A Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis in 2021 confined her to a king-sized bed and the company of memories she'd rather forget: memories of the self-doubt and body dysmorphia that stalked her meteoric rise, of her mother's fight against addiction and abuse after her father left. Now, at her most intimate and vulnerable, she unveils a story not even those closest to her fully know.
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Leaving Home: A Memoir in Full Colour by Mark HaddonAn unflinching, brilliantly written, darkly funny, lavishly illustrated memoir by the acclaimed author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. A ringing testament about how one artist sees the world, and how his experiences have shaped his vision. Tender, addictive, informative and unlike anything else, it's a gem. As bracing as it is embracing, Leaving Home is about escaping a place that never felt like home and learning to create somewhere that does.
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