History and Current Events
September 2020
Exploration and Exploitation
Silver, Sword, & Stone: Three Crucibles of the Latin American Story
by Marie Arana

What it is: A concise history that explores how exploitation, violence, and religion have shaped 1,000 years of Latin American history.

Why you might like it: Peruvian American author Marie Arana weaves her compelling narrative between past and present by profiling three contemporary Latin Americans (a Peruvian miner, a Cuban exile, and a Spanish priest in Bolivia) and connecting their stories to the history of the region.

 
Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood...
by William Carlsen

What it's about: In 1839, American diplomat John Lloyd Stephens and British architect Frederick Catherwood explored the jungles of  Yucatán, where they encountered 1,500-year-old Mayan ruins.

Why it matters: Stephens and Catherwood's findings challenged their contemporaries' notions of Indigenous cultural inferiority.    

Available in eBook & eAudiobook on Hoopla
The Last Wild Men of Borneo: A True Story of Death and Treasure
by Carl Hoffman

What it's about: Two enigmatic Westerners -- one a "buccaneer," the other a "do-gooder" -- who called Borneo home in the 1970s and '80s.

Starring: American art dealer Michael Palmieri, who made a fortune acquiring native relics for museums; and Swiss environmentalist Bruno Manser, who lived among the Penan tribe, fought logging efforts in the region, and mysteriously disappeared in 2000. 

Also available in eBook on OverDrive
Also available in eBook & eAudiobook on Hoopla
To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age...
by Edward J. Larson

What it is: A breathless account of a pivotal year for exploration, which saw concurrent expeditions led by Ernest Shackleton, Robert Peary, and Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi.

Where they went: Shackleton headed to Antarctica, where he set a new Farthest South record; Peary embarked on his eighth North Pole expedition; the Duke of the Abruzzi led a summit of K2 in Asia.    

Also available in eBook & eAudiobook on Hoopla
Contact your librarian for more great books!