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History and Current Events September 2018
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| The Fighters by C.J. ChiversA collection of portraits detailing the experiences of six U.S. military servicemen serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, chronicled over 12 years of on-the-ground reportage. C.J. Chivers is a Gulf War veteran and New York Times senior editor who won a Pulitzer Prize for the story on which The Fighters is based. |
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| The Poisoned City: Flint's Water and the American Urban Tragedy by Anna ClarkThe ongoing man-made water crisis that has afflicted residents of Flint, Michigan since April 2014 and to date has resulted in 12 deaths. Detroit-based journalist Anna Clark pulls no punches in this compelling call to arms, utilizing extensive research to show how racial inequality, housing segregation, and government underfunding led to this "decades-old, slow-burn emergency." |
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| Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalized Harvard by Paul CollinsOn November 23, 1849, Boston physician George Parkman disappeared after making his rounds at Harvard Medical College. His dismembered body was later discovered in the lab of chemist John White Webster, spawning an infamous murder trial that produced legal and forensic precedents.
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| Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America by Beth MacyA gut-wrenching history of America's rising opioid epidemic that puts a human face on the disheartening statistics. Journalist Beth Macy began her research in her own community of Roanoke, Virginia, highlighting the day-to-day struggles of those from all walks of life struggling with addiction.
Further reading: American Fix: Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis -- and How to End It by Ryan Hampton. |
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Al Capone's Beer Wars: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago During Prohibition
by John J. Binder
Providing a big picture of how Chicago’s underworld evolved from 1920 to 1933, a history of organized crime in Chicago during Prohibition focuses on the Capone gang, who gained a virtual monopoly over organized crime in northern Illinois and beyond and describes the fight by federal and local authorities, as well as citizens’ groups, against organized crime.
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Gangland Chicago: Criminality and Lawlessness in the Windy City, 1837-1990
by Richard Lindberg
Chicago and its history are defined by such notorious crime figures as Al Capone and John Dillinger. Gangland Chicago vividly recounts the evolution of street gangs in Chicago before Capone and Dillinger, and the rise of organized crime that earned the Windy City a reputation for unchecked violence, lawlessness, and mayhem. This engrossing tale begins in the frontier saloons situated in the marshy flats of Chicago. It recounts the era of parlor gambling, commercialized vice districts continuing through the bloody Prohibition bootlegging wars; failed reform movements; the rise of post-World War II juvenile criminal gangs and the saga of the Blackstone Rangers in a chaotic, racially divided city.
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Mysterious Chicago : History at Its Coolest
by Adam Selzer
From Chicago historian Adam Selzer, expert on all of the Windy City’s quirks and oddities, comes a compelling heavily researched anthology of the stories behind its most fascinating unsolved mysteries.
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Poisoned: Chicago 1907, a Corrupt System, an Accused Killer, and the Crusade to Save Him
by Steve Shukis
A gripping tale of murder, sorcery, and criminal justice in turn-of-the-century Chicago, Poisoned is the fascinating true story (1907) of a mysterious Bohemian fortune teller charged with murdering a half-dozen people by slowly poisoning them with arsenic. Poisoned details the horrific murders, and the incredible events that followed Herman Billik's conviction: last second reprieves; legal battles carried all the way to the Supreme Court; frenzied mass demonstrations; corpses secretly exhumed in the middle of the night; and the revelation that key witnesses lied under oath. The case affected political campaigns, involved a Chicago Mayor, and featured an eventual showdown in the race for Governor of Illinois between two of the story's central figures. Indeed, if it were not true, no one would ever believe it.
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Duneland Stamp Club
Thursday, September 13, 4:00 pm
Library Meeting Room
This stamp collecting club meets the second Thursday of each month. New members are invited.
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Needle Arts League
Thursdays, September 13 & 20, 5:30 pm
Library Meeting Room
The Needle Arts League of Michigan City, formerly known as the Knit Club, joins the library in promoting all forms of needle arts. Membership is open to anyone interested in needle arts such as crochet, needlepoint, cross-stitch, crewel, tatting, and other hand stitching. All skill levels and ages are welcome. An exchange of skills and materials is encouraged. For more information, call 219-873-3049.
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Writing Out Loud: Jaimy Gordon
Saturday, September 15, 7:30 pm
Library Meeting Room
Jaimy Gordon is the National Book Award-winning author of Lord of Misrule. her third novel, Bogeywoman, was on the Los Angeles Times Best Books List for 2000, as well as on Context's booksellers' list of the Most Important Works of Fiction published that year. Jaimy was born and raised in Baltimore, a city which figures prominently in Bogeywoman. Gordon is also the author of a novella, Circumspections from an Equestrian Statue (Burning Deck), a narrative poem, The Bend, The Lip, The Kid (Sun), and the underground fantasy classic, Shamp of the City-Solo
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Films on DVD Series: Phantom Thread
Sunday, September 16, 2:00 pm
Library Meeting Room
The Films on DVD Fall series returns in collaboration with Purdue Northwest. Phantom Thread stars Academy Award nominee Daniel Day-Lewis. Set in 1950’s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose life is disrupted by a strong-willed woman who becomes his muse. Rated R.
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American Memory
Digital record of American history and creativity, chronicling historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America. Includes written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music.
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Indiana Memory
A free digital library of Indiana's unique cultural and historical heritage, including digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, maps, and other media.
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Axis 360 eBooks
Find popular fiction, non-fiction, and picture e-books and e-audiobooks for children, teens, and adults! It's simple--just download the app on your device, search for "Michigan City Public Library", and log in with your library card number and PIN.
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Library Catalog
Look up books and other materials, place items on hold, and more.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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