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History and Current Events March 2019
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Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring
by Richard Gergel
What it's about: On February 12, l1946, African American veteran Isaac Woodard was beaten and permanently blinded by Batesburg, South Carolina police chief Lynwood Shull after a dispute with a bus driver.
What happened next: President Truman established the President's Committee on Civil Rights, which led to the desegregation of the U.S. armed services in 1948. After Shull was acquitted, Judge J. Waties Waring, who had presided over the case, dedicated the rest of his career to fighting racial injustice.
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| Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet by Will HuntWhat it is: a brisk, panoramic exploration of the history, science, and mythology of subterranean spaces, written by a self-proclaimed urban explorer and underworld enthusiast.
Featuring: Paris catacombs, Australian ochre mines, New York City subway tunnels, and Turkish underground cities.
For fans of: unique and offbeat travelogues. |
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Good and Mad : the Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger
by Rebecca Traister
What it's about: an exploration of the transformative power of female anger and its ability to transcend into a political movement. This book tracks the history of women's anger as political fuel, from suffragettes campaigning for voting rights to the Women's March and the #MeToo movement.
The author is: the New York Times best-selling author of the All the Single Ladies
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| The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David TreuerWhat it is: a vivid 125-year history of Native America that details the ways that tribes have survived -- and thrived -- in the face of adversity.
About the author: David Treuer is an Ojibwe novelist and historian who grew up on Minnesota's Leech Lake Indian Reservation.
Reviewers say: "A welcome modern rejoinder to classics such as God is Red and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Camelot's End: Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight That Broke the Democratic Party by Jon WardWhat it is: a captivating account of the 1980 Democratic primary battle between sitting president Jimmy Carter and Senator Ted Kennedy.
Did you know? Incumbent presidents seeking reelection have been challenged from within their own party "only a handful of times."
Why it's significant: Campaign tensions led to divisions within the Democratic party that continue to resonate. |
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Blood Royal : a True Tale of Crime and Detection in Medieval Paris
by Eric Jager
What it's about: In this true crime story set in 15th century Paris, one of history's first detectives uncovers a shocking conspiracy while he investigates the murder of the brother to King Charles by a band of masked assailants.
The author is: a UCLA professor and expert in medieval literature
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The Man From the Train : the Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
by Bill James
What it is: A celebrated statistician uses his analytic skills and interesting sleuthing techniques to uncover the culprit in a 100 year-old cold case involving a spate of axe bludgeoning deaths across the country, from Iowa to Louisiana.
The author is: pioneering baseball analyst Bill James, who created the Sabermetrics statistical analysis system.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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