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History and Current Events August 2025 |
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Dinner with King Tut : how rogue archaeologists are re-creating the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of lost civilizations
by Sam Kean
"Whether it's the mighty pyramids of Egypt or the majestic temples of Mexico, we have a good idea of what the past looked like. But what about our other senses: The tang of Roman fish sauce and the springy crust of Egyptian sourdough? The boom of medieval cannons and the clash of Viking swords? The frenzied plays of an Aztec ballgame...and the chilling reality that the losers might also lose their lives? History often neglects the tastes, textures, sounds, and smells that were an intimate part of our ancestors' lives, but a new generation of researchers is resurrecting those hidden details, pioneering an exciting new discipline called experimental archaeology. These are scientists gone rogue: They make human mummies. They investigate the unsolved murdersof ancient bog bodies. They carve primitive spears and go hunting, then knap their own obsidian blades to skin the game. They build perilous boats and plunge out onto the open sea--all in the name of experiencing history as it was, with all its dangers, disappointments, and unexpected delights. Beloved author Sam Kean joins these experimental archaeologists on their adventures across the globe, from the Andes to the South Seas. He fires medieval catapults, tries his hand at ancient surgery and tattooing,builds Roman-style roads--and, in novelistic interludes, spins gripping tales about the lives of our ancestors with vivid imagination and his signature meticulous research"
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A Jane Austen Year
by Jane Austen's House
This beautifully illustrated book charts the life of one of the world's most beloved authors through the letters, objects, and manuscripts that shaped her life. Published in partnership with the curators of Jane Austen's House, the enchanting Hampshire cottage where Jane Austen's genius flourished that now attracts thousands of visitors every year. Arranged over the course of a calendar year, from snowy scenes in January to festive recipes in December, specially commissioned photography of Austen's home and possessions are brought together with extracts from her books, reproductions of her letters, and stories of her life throughout the seasons.
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JFK : public, private, secret
by J. Randy Taraborrelli
"From the New York Times bestselling Kennedy historian and author of Jackie: Public, Private, Secret comes the other side of the story-her husband's: JFK: Public, Private, Secret. In this deeply researched presidential biography, J. Randy Taraborrelli tells John F. Kennedy's story in a provocative new way by revealing how public moments in his life were so influenced by private relationships with not only his family, but also Jackie's. But it's the secret life that also surprises."
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No more tears : the secret history of Johnson & Johnson
by Gardiner Harris
"When reporter Gardiner Harris met a woman at an airport bar whose entire family has been shattered by her nephew's use of the drug Risperdal, one she sold to his doctor as a drug sales rep, he began to wonder how many similar stories are out there. Thiswas in 2004, and since then, Harris has been investigating one of the largest players in Big Pharma, continuously reporting on it despite simultaneous landmark journalistic accomplishments, like exposing the extremely toxic mining conditions ignored by coal companies. For decades, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson was seen as a paragon of ethical conduct, especially considering the company's child-friendly products like baby powder and tearless shampoo. However, Harris has uncovered reams of evidence of deceitful and dangerous corporate practices that reveal a historic threat to the health of the American public."-- Provided by publisher
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Naples 1925 : Adorno, Benjamin, and the summer that made critical theory
by Martin Mittelmeier
"In the 1920s, the Gulf of Naples was a magnet for European intellectuals in search of places as yet untouched by modernity. Among the revolutionaries, artists, and thinkers drawn to Naples were numerous scholars, all at a formative stage in their journeys: Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer, Alfred Sohn-Rethel, Asja Lacis, Theodor W. Adorno, and many others. While all were indelibly shaped by the volcanic Neapolitan landscape, it was Benjamin who first probed the relationship between the porous landscape and the local culture. But Adorno went further, transforming his surroundings into a radical new philosophy--one that became a turning point in the modern history of the discipline."
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Anatomy of a cover-up : the truth about the RCMP and the Nova Scotia massacres
by Paul Palango
"How does one tell a story that nobody involved is willing to talk about? Investigative journalist Paul Palango's #1 national bestselling 22 Murders examined in forensic detail the shooting spree committed in April 2020 by Gabriel Wortman that began in tiny Portapique Bay, Nova Scotia, and ended thirteen hours later when Wortman was shot dead by RCMP officers. The episode left numerous serious questions in its wake-most especially why was the killer able to evade police in such limited geography for an entire night and much of the following morning? Theories emerged, in particular the likelihood that the killer or someone very close to him was acting as a police agent. Though Palango unearthed a treasure trove of evidence pointing to this possibility, the Mass Casualty Commission evaded all the big questions about the RCMP handling of the crime spree. To this day, no one has been held accountable. In this new book, Palango continues to crack the case while also delving deeper into many of the big questions that 22 Murders asked not only about the RCMP's relationship to the killer and his crimes, but also about the wall of secrecy and deceptions constructed by the RCMP and the criminal justice system. Drawing on his vast experience as an investigative reporter who'd found himself at the centre of many high-profile controversies over decades, he takes readers on an unprecedented journey through the sordid and largely unknown history of cover-ups in Canada, exposing new facts about each of them that may alter the public's perception of what really happened. As Palango fearlessly undresses politicians, police and journalists, his tour-de-force of reportage reveals to the world how the stories we think we know are often a complete facade"
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Meltdown : Greed, Scandal, and the Collapse of Credit Suisse
by Duncan Mavin
The author is uniquely sourced to tell the story of Credit Suisse's scandal-ridden demise, with dozens of inside-the-room contacts that spill exclusive details about the tawdry total meltdown of one of the biggest, most influential, and most scandal-ridden banks on the planet.
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Jack Ruby : the many faces of Oswald's assassin
by Danny Fingeroth
Jack Ruby changed history with one bold, violent action: killing accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV two days after the November 22, 1963, murder of President John F. Kennedy. But who was Jack Ruby--and how did he come to be in that spot on that day?
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Côte Saint-Luc Public Library
5851 Cavendish Blvd.
Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec H4W 2X8
514-485-6900csllibrary.org/ |
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