History and Current Events August 2019 Recent Releases 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari What it is: a multidisciplinary approach to understanding contemporary challenges and maintaining rational thinking in a "post-truth" world.  Lessons include: "When You Grow Up, You Might Not Have a Job;" "Some Fake News Lasts Forever;" "The Future Is Not What You See in the Movies."   Reviewers say: "This well-informed and searching book is one to be savored and widely discussed" (Publishers Weekly).  Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment by Linda Hirshman What it is: a 50-year chronicle of the ongoing fight to end sexual harassment, culminating in the rise of the #MeToo movement in 2017 and the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018.  Why you might like it: Lawyer Linda Hirshman pulls no punches in this illuminating and incisive history, discussing the unheralded women of color who have been crucial to the fight and the men in power who have been detrimental to it. Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill with Dan Piepenbring What it is: a provocative rejoinder to Vincent Bugliosi's 1974 true crime classic Helter Skelter. Read it for: Tom O'Neill and Dan Piepenbring's deep dive into alternative theories behind the Tate-LaBianca murders, including the possibility that Charles Manson was a subject in the CIA's LSD experiments.  What's inside: interviews with over 500 witnesses; redacted and never-before-seen police reports, FBI documents, and CIA files. Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram by Isha Sesay What it's about: Two years after Boko Haram's 2014 kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls, CNN International correspondent Isha Sesay accompanied 21 recently freed survivors back home, developing a rapport with four of the girls and their families. What sets it apart: Peabody Award winner Sesay draws from her own childhood in Sierra Leone to provide an empathetic and richly contextualized portrait of contemporary West African gender politics. History in Numbers Catch-67 : the left, the right, and the legacy of the Six-Day War by Micah Goodman Examines the internal Israeli debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict The Civil War in 50 Objects by Harold Holzer and the New-York Historical Society What it is: a chronological and illustrated object history of the Civil War, featuring 50 New-York Historical Society artifacts curated by Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer.   Objects include: a child slave's shackles, a Confederate POW newspaper, a Union soldier's footlocker; a Zouave uniform; a recruitment petition for black troops; a draft wheel; prison art.  Did you know? The Civil War in 50 Objects is the American companion to the British Museum's A History of the World in 100 Objects, written by Neil MacGregor.  Rome: A History in Seven Sackings by Matthew Kneale What it's about: how 2,000 years of the Eternal City's history have been shaped by invading forces, from the chariot-riding Gauls in 387 B.C.E. to the Nazi occupation during WWII. Want a taste? "The city has changed so greatly that there have been many Romes, each of which would be largely unrecognizable to Romans of other times."  Read it for: lively pacing and a suspenseful tone.    American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts by Chris McGreal What it is: a compassionate, deftly researched examination of the medical establishment and pharmaceutical industry's culpability in America's staggering opioid crisis.  About the author: Guardian reporter Chris McGreal pulls no punches in his urgent and incisive debut. Did you know? In 1908, physician Hamilton Wright, the United States' first opium commissioner, described Americans as "the greatest drug fiends in the world."  Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First... by Robert Kurson What it is: an exhilarating account of the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon and the three astronauts who risked their lives to complete the mission, portrayed with dramatic storytelling flourish.  Want a taste? "Looking back down toward his spacecraft, Borman gave thanks to the scalded machine, an exquisite piece of design and daring."  Did you know? December 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission.  Contact your librarian for more great books! Richmond Public Library 101 East Franklin Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 (804) 646-7223 rvalibrary.org/