|
History and Current Events August 2020
|
|
|
|
Our Time Is Now by Stacey Abrams What it is: a well-researched history of voter suppression and disenfranchisement in the United States.
Is it for you? Policy wonks and progressives looking for a hopeful rejoinder to current political discourse will be inspired by politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams' proposals to end suppression tactics.
Author alert: 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Abrams made history in 2019 by becoming the first African American woman to deliver the response to the State of the Union address. | |
Why we're polarized by Ezra Klein A journalist, political commentator and cofounder of Vox explains how today’s rigidly partisan politics came to be, why we all participate in it and what it means for America’s future. 125,000 first printing. Tour.
|
|
Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall by Tim Mohr What it's about: the underground East German punk movement whose political activism contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Featuring: 15-year-old "Major," the self-proclaimed first punk in East Germany, known for her safety pin-adorned jackets.
Awards buzz: This engaging and richly detailed history was longlisted for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. | | The Mysterious Affair at Olivetti: IBM, the CIA, and the Cold War Conspiracy to Shut Down... by Meryle Secrest What it's about: how the development of the Olivetti Programma 101, the world's first desktop computer, was stalled by American intelligence fearful of the technology's use by China and the Soviet Union.
What happened: Prior to the P101's release, two Olivetti employees who worked on the project, including company heir Adriano Olivetti, died under suspicious circumstances. Coincidence -- or cover-up?
Who it's for: Readers who don't mind a bit of speculation in their history will enjoy this intensifying tale full of bizarre twists and turns. | |
Our man down in Havana : the story behind Graham Greene's Cold War spy novel by Christopher Hull Combining biography, history and politics, an investigation into the real story behind Graham Green’s beloved satirical spy novel, which foretold the Cold War’s most perilous episode, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, exploits a wealth of archival material and interviews with key protagonists.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|