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History and Current Events July 2024
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| Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World by Caroline AlexanderJournalist and New York Times bestselling author Caroline Alexander (The Bounty) surveys the lesser-known aerial exploits of the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II in this fast-paced and dramatic account featuring diary entries and previously unseen records. Further reading: Burma '44: The Battle That Turned World War II in the East by James Holland. |
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| Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam HigginbothamJournalist Adam Higginbotham's evocative follow-up to his Carnegie Medal-winning Midnight in Chernobyl is a compelling and well-researched chronicle of how NASA's negligence and hubris led to the 1986 Challenger explosion. Try this next: Bringing Columbia Home: The Final Mission of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew by Michael D. Leinbach and Jonathan H. Ward. |
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| Hip-Hop Is History by QuestloveGrammy Award-winning Roots drummer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Questlove's lively history explores the first 50 years of hip-hop music by spotlighting one song from each year since the genre's 1973 origins. Try this next: Chuck D Presents This Day in Rap and Hip-Hop History by Chuck D; The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop by Jonathan Abrams. |
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| The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis by George StephanopoulosPolitical commentator and former presidential advisor George Stephanopoulos offers a peek behind the curtain at America's most famous residence in this compelling history of the Situation Room, the White House communications hub where consequential decisions are made. Try this next: The Hidden History of the White House: Power Struggles, Scandals, and Defining Moments by Corey Mead. |
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| American Civil Wars: A Continental History, 1850-1873 by Alan TaylorTwo-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor (American Republics) explores the overlapping yet intertwined conflicts of the American Civil War, the Second Franco-Mexican War, and the establishment of the Canadian Confederation in this "compulsively readable history of perhaps the most dramatic period in the history of North America" (Kirkus Reviews). Try this next: 1848: Year of Revolution by Mike Rapport. |
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The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents, 1773-1783
by Joseph J. Ellis
What it is: a thought-provoking history of the American Revolution that explores the complexities and contradictions of the colonists' fight for independence, which they referred to as "The Cause."
Read it for: a richly detailed rethinking of a pivotal era, written with wit and nuance by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph J. Ellis.
Don't miss: profiles of forgotten figures including Mohawk chief Joseph Brant and Billy Lee, George Washington's enslaved valet.
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On Juneteenth
by Annette Gordon-Reed
What it is: a concise and accessible essay collection exploring the origins and politics of Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating Black emancipation that originated in Texas.
Read it for: an incisive blend of history and memoir that illuminates Juneteenth's legacy and the ongoing calls to recognize it as a formal observance or federal holiday.
About the author: Historian and Texas native Annette Gordon-Reed is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello.
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Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II
by Daniel James Brown
What it's about: the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a Japanese American infantry regiment in World War II that became the most decorated unit for its size in United States military history.
Why you should read it: Drawing on interviews and oral histories from the Seattle-based Densho organization, this richly detailed account illuminates the sacrifices the 442nd soldiers made for their country even while their own families were being interned back home.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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