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History and Current Events September 2025 |
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Algospeak : how social media is transforming the future of language
by Adam Aleksic
An exploration of how the internet and social media are reshaping language, from viral slang to changing grammar, revealing how communication has evolved in response to algorithms, technology and cultural shifts in an era of unprecedented linguistic transformation. Illustrations.
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The fate of the day : the war for America, Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780
by Rick Atkinson
Chronicles the pivotal middle years of the American Revolution, tracing the Continental Army's fight for survival, George Washington's struggles for resources, Benjamin Franklin's diplomacy in Paris, and British attempts to suppress the rebellion in the face of mounting costs. Illustrations. Maps.
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Flashes of brilliance : the genius of early photography and how it transformed art, science, and history
by Anika Burgess
"Burgess explores how photographers uncovered new vistas, including dark caves and catacombs, cities at night, the depths of the ocean, and the surface of the moon. She describes how photographers captured the world as never seen before, showing for the first time the bones of humans, the motion of animals, the cells of plants, and the structure of snowflakes. She takes us on a tour of astonishing innovations, including botanist Anna Atkins and her extraordinary blue-hued cyanotypes and the world's first photobook; Eadweard Muybridge and âEtienne-Jules Marey's famed experiments in capturing motion and their long legacy; the work of Nadar, Carleton E. Watkins, and other leading pioneers of large-scale photography; and aerial photography using balloons, kites, and pigeons. Burgess also delves into the early connections between photography and society that are still with us today: how photo manipulation--the art of "fake images"--was an issue right from the start; how the police used the telephoto lens to surveil suffragists and others; and how leading Black figures like Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass adapted self-portraits to assert their identity and autonomy"
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Submersed : wonder, murder, and the beguiling world of amateur submarines
by Matthew Gavin Frank
"An exquisite, lyrical foray into the world of deep-sea divers, the obsession and madness that oceans inspire in us, and the story of submarine inventor Peter Madsen's murder of journalist Kim Wall-a captivating blend of literary prose, science writing, and true crime Submersed begins with an investigation into the beguiling subculture of DIY submersible obsessives: men and women-but mostly men-who are so compelled to sink into the deep sea that they become amateur backyard submarine-builders. Should they succeed in fashioning a craft in their garage or driveway and set sail, they do so at great personal risk-as the 2023 fatal implosion of Stockton Rush's much more highly funded submarine, Titan, proved to the world. Matthew Gavin Frank explores the origins of the human compulsion to sink to depth, from the diving bells of Aristotle and Alexander the Great to the Confederate H. L. Hunley, which became the first submersible to sink an enemy warship before itself being sunk during the Civil War. The deeper he plunges, however, the more the obsession seems to dovetail with more threatening traits. Following the grisly murder of journalist Kim Wall at the hands of eccentric entrepreneur Peter Madsen aboard his DIY midget submarine, Frank finds himself reckoning with obsession's darkest extremes. Weaving together elements of true crime, the strange history of the submarine, the mythology of the deep sea, and the physical and mental side effects of sinking to great depth, Frank attempts to get to the bottom of this niche compulsion to chase the extreme in our planet's bodies of water and in our own bodies. What he comes to discover, and interrogate, are the odd and unexpected overlaps between the unquenchable human desire to descend into deep water, and a penchant for unspeakable violence"
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The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück: How an Intrepid Band of Frenchwomen Resisted the...
by Lynne Olson
Historian Lynne Olson's (Empress of the Nile) disturbing yet inspiring latest focuses on four women French Resistance fighters who were captured and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, detailing how they worked together to survive World War II, help their fellow prisoners, and, post-war, seek justice for the atrocities they experienced. Further reading: The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany by Gwen Strauss.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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