|
History and Current Events October 2018
|
|
|
|
|
The Gutfeld monologues : Classic Rants from the Five
by Greg Gutfeld
"An interactive and annotated collection of Fox News star and New York Times bestselling author Greg Gutfeld's sharp, hilarious monologues on everything from politics to pop culture--updated with new commentary for the current day."
|
|
|
How fascism works : the politics of us and them
by Jason Stanley
A Yale philosopher and author of How Propaganda Works reveals the fascist politics behind today's ethnic, racial and religious divides, identifying 10 key examples of fascist politics that are used by today's leaders to hold onto power.
|
|
|
Palaces for the people : how social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life
by Eric Klinenberg
"An eminent sociologist--and coauthor, with Aziz Ansari, of the #1 New York Times bestseller Modern Romance--makes the provocative case that the future of democratic societies rests not only on shared values but also on shared "social infrastructure": the libraries, childcare centers, bookstores, coffee shops, pools, and parks that promote crucial, sometimes life-saving connections between people who might otherwise fail to find common cause."
|
|
|
One person, no vote : how voter suppression is destroying our democracy
by Carol Anderson
The New York Times best-selling author of White Rage presents a timely history of voter suppression that exposes America's insidious history of policies that have blocked African-American voting participation, placing particular focus on the Supreme Court's 2013 Shelby ruling.
|
|
| How Do We Look by Mary BeardWhat it's about: In this accessible, elegantly illustrated volume, classicist Mary Beard reexamines ancient art from viewers' (rather than artists') perspectives, exploring how bodies and the divine have been perceived throughout history.
What sets it apart: its joyful, accessible tone and its focus on non-Western, non-male-centric art.
Media buzz: How Do We Look is a companion to the BBC/PBS series Civilizations, for which Beard serves as a presenter. |
|
|
The Battle of Arnhem : the deadliest airborne operation of World War II
by Antony Beevor
The prize-winning historian and internationally best-selling author of D-Day reconstructs the devastating airborne battle of Arnhem. Antony Beevor, using often overlooked sources from Dutch, American, British, Polish, and German archives, has reconstructed the terrible reality of the fighting, which General Student called "The Last German Victory." Yet The Battle of Arnhem, written with Beevor's inimitable style and gripping narrative, is about much more than a single dramatic battle--it looks into the very heart of war.
|
|
|
Contempt : a memoir of the Clinton investigation
by Kenneth Starr
A former special prosecutor shares behind-the-scenes perspectives into the divisive impeachment of Bill Clinton to discuss key events and how they inform today's debates about presidential power, sexual harassment and what actions justify impeachment.
|
|
|
In search of Mary Shelley
by Fiona Sampson
Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein, a major new biography of Mary Shelley, written by an award-winning poet, shares literary insight into Shelley's firsthand experiences throughout her infamously turbulent life.
|
|
Spooky Histories & Places
|
|
| The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured... by Peter ManseauWhat it's about: the work of controversial "spirit photographer" William Mumler, who was tried for fraud in a highly publicized 1869 case that featured showman P.T. Barnum as a witness for the prosecution.
Worth a thousand words: Mumler's most famous photograph, taken six years after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, purportedly shows Lincoln's ghost hovering behind his wife.
Why you might like it: This balanced account allows readers to draw their own conclusions about Mumler and his work. |
|
| Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin DickeyWhat is it: a measured, cogent history of notable haunted houses, institutions, and towns in America.
Want a taste? "Ghost stories are how cities make sense of themselves: how they narrate the tragedies of their past, weave cautionary tales for the future."
Why you might like it: This intriguing road trip narrative poignantly grapples with what ghost lore reveals about thorny topics like race. |
|
|
Haunted bridges : over 300 of America's creepiest crossings
by Rich Newman
Across the country hundreds of bridges harbor some of the creepiest paranormal activity known to man. Invisible hands reach out and touch unsuspecting travelers. Residual ghosts haunt scenes of murders, accidents, hangings, and suicides. At some bridges a voice cries out in the darkness that sends a chill down the spine of anyone who hears it.
|
|
|
Tomes of terror : haunted bookstores and libraries
by Mark Leslie
Shares true stories of the supernatural in libraries, bookstores, and literary locales from around the globe, including a Tipp City, Ohio bookstore that is said to be haunted by several of the building's previous owners and tenants.
|
|
| The 37th Parallel: The Secret Truth Behind America's UFO Highway by Ben MezrichWhat it is: a lively and dramatic account of small-town police officer Chuck Zukowski's 3,000-mile quest to prove that UFOs exist, sparked by unexplained livestock mutilations in his rural Colorado town.
Places visited: the usual UFO "hot spots" like Roswell and Area 51, but also underground military bases and sacred Native American sites.
For fans of: The X-Files and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. |
|
| The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem by Stacy SchiffWhat it is: a gripping and vivid retelling of the Salem witch trials and their aftermath, recounted with verve in a conversational tone.
About the author: Historian Stacy Schiff is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra: A Life.
Try this next: Marilynne K. Roach's Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Accused and the Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials. |
|
|
|
|
|