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History and Current Events May 2021
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| In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the... by Laurence BergreenWhat it's about: how pirate Sir Francis Drake's exploits on behalf of Elizabeth I helped establish the British Empire.
Why you might like it: Rife with descriptive accounts of swashbuckling derring-do and plenty of court intrigue, acclaimed historian Laurence Bergreen's dramatic latest offers fresh insights into the relationship between Drake and the queen. |
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A Brief History of Earth : Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters
by Andrew H. Knoll
An acclaimed Harvard geologist presents a narrative chronicle of the Earth’s 4.6-billion-year evolution that places the environmental crises of today’s world in a context that explains the planet’s fragile capacity to support life. 150,000 first printing.
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| Children Under Fire: An American Crisis by John Woodrow CoxWhat it is: a sobering study examining the traumatic impact of gun violence on children.
What's inside: heartwrenching profiles of survivors and those who've lost loved ones to gun violence; persuasive calls for gun reform backed by extensive research.
Book buzz: Children Under Fire is an expansion of reporter John Woodrow Cox's Pulitzer Prize-nominated Washington Post series. |
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American Awakening : Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time
by Joshua Mitchell
America has always been committed to the idea that citizens can work together to build a common world. Today, three afflictions keep us from pursuing that noble ideal. The first and most obvious affliction is identity politics, which seeks to transform America by turning politics into a religious venue of sacrificial offering.
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| Eleanor in the Village: Eleanor Roosevelt's Search for Freedom and Identity in New York... by Jan Jarboe RussellWhat it's about: In 1920, during a rough patch in her marriage to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt moved to Greenwich Village, becoming active in the neighborhood's progressive causes.
Read it for: an evocative portrait of New York City's bustling bohemian scene and its impact on the future First Lady's political ambitions.
Did you know? Roosevelt's involvement in the city's lesbian circles caught the attention of J. Edgar Hoover, who racked up a nearly 4,000-page file on her. |
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| Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico by Juan Villoro; translated by Alfred MacAdamWhat it is: Mexican novelist Juan Villoro's inventive essay collection exploring the history of Mexico City, from ancient times to the present.
What sets it apart: Villoro's engaging nonlinear narrative, grouped by themes including "Places," "City Characters," and "Ceremonies," evokes the experience of travel by encouraging readers to discover the city on their own terms.
What's in a name? "Horizontal Vertigo" refers to the decision to build the city outward rather than upward to mitigate damage from earthquakes. |
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| The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights by Dorothy WickendenStarring: "co-conspirators and intimate friends" Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward, and Martha Coffin Wright, each of whom played a key role in the women's suffrage and abolitionist movements.
Read it for: an accessible and eye-opening history of the intersection of progressive causes in 19th-century America and the often unheralded women at the forefront of fighting for them. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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