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History and Current Events March 2020
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| Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, editorsWhat it is: an incisive collection of essays commemorating the centennial of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Topics include: immigration; intellectual freedom; racial discrimination.
What sets it apart: Well-known writers including Marlon James, Neil Gaiman, Jacqueline Woodson, Charlie Jane Anders, and Salman Rushdie offer insights and personal connections to some of the organization's most hard-fought battles. |
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The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History
by John T Kuehn
"The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History is a fascinating collection that educators, students, and historians will all find useful in helping them understand the causes and consequences of the most infamous military failures in history"
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| A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism by Caroline MooreheadWhat it's about: how a group of anti-fascist women in Italy's Piedmont region spearheaded the country's resistance efforts after Mussolini's fall in 1943, navigating a treacherous web of Nazi invaders, Italian fascists, and mistrustful Allies.
Read it for: a portrait of four heroic women eager to shake off the social norms of a system that preferred them to be passive.
Series alert: A House in the Mountains is the moving conclusion to the bestselling World War II-themed Resistance Quartet. |
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| The Hello Girls: America's First Women Soldiers by Elizabeth CobbsWhat it's about: During World War I, 223 American women enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and served as switchboard operators in France. Denied veteran's benefits after the war and classed as civilian employees, it took them more than 60 years to be formally recognized for their accomplishments.
For fans of: Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures.
Reviewers say: "A fresh, well-researched contribution to military and gender history" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Searching for the Amazons: The Real Warrior Women of the Ancient World by John ManWhat it is: a sweeping history of the women warriors of central Asia whose mystique inspired the ancient Greeks to create myths about them that endure to this day.
Why you might like it: Historian John Man's playful account debunks many common misconceptions about the Amazons' way of life (no, they did not cut off their right breasts to improve their skills with a bow).
Further reading: For another scholarly yet accessible history of this formidable culture, check out Adrienne Mayor's The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World. |
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Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II
by Liza Mundy
In this "sleek, compelling narrative" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), journalist Liza Mundy details women's secret and essential contributions to American military intelligence during the 1940s. Drawing on voluminous government records and interviews with some of the women, Code Girls describes their code-breaking work and its significance. For a close-up of one woman's contributions to cryptography, pick up Jason Fagone's The Woman Who Smashed Codes.
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| Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy... by Lynne OlsonStarring: French Resistance operative Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, aka "Hedgehog," who led a spy network of thousands in occupied France and whose efforts crucially helped secure an Allied victory on D-Day.
Read it for: evocative period detail, white-knuckle cat-and-mouse games, and dramatic political intrigue.
Don't miss: Fourcade's multiple escapes from captivity. |
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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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