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History and Current Events March 2019
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Queen Victoria : twenty-four days that changed her life
by Lucy Worsley
The BBC historian presenter and best-selling author of Courtiers explores the life and myriad roles of Queen Victoria as they reflected her defiance of gender conventions and defining position in a time of extraordinary change and political resistance.
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| Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet by Will HuntWhat it is: a brisk, panoramic exploration of the history, science, and mythology of subterranean spaces, written by a self-proclaimed urban explorer and underworld enthusiast.
Featuring: Paris catacombs, Australian ochre mines, New York City subway tunnels, and Turkish underground cities.
For fans of: unique and offbeat travelogues. |
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| Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated... by Larry LoftisWho it's about: Odette Sansom, a French woman recruited by England's Special Operations Executive to spy for Britain during World War II.
Is it for you? Readers who enjoy fast-paced histories that read like thrillers will find much to appreciate in this dramatic tale.
Don't miss: Sansom's relationship with her commanding officer is "the stuff of romance novels" (Publishers Weekly). |
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When women ruled the world : six queens of Egypt
by Kara Cooney
A professor of Egyptology at UCLA explores the lives of the queens of Egypt, including Hatshepsut, Nefertiti and Cleopatra who transcended traditional patriarchal obstacles and describes what the modern world can learn from example.
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Blamed and Broken : The Mounties and the Death of Robert Dziekanski
by Curt Petrovich
Images of Robert Dziekanski convulsing after being shocked by a Mountie’s Taser went viral in 2007. International outrage and domestic shame followed the release of that painful video. It had taken just twenty-six seconds for four Mounties to surround and stun the Polish would-be immigrant at Vancouver International Airport. A decade later, after millions of dollars spent on an inquiry, and bungled prosecutions laden with bias and interference, the tragic impact of those fleeting seconds on the people involved — Dziekanski's mother and the four Mounties — is at last revealed.
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Forgotten & Untold Histories
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| The Sultan and the Queen: The Untold Story of Elizabeth and Islam by Jerry BrottonWhat it's about: the unlikely trading alliance between Elizabeth I of England and Sultan Murad III of the Ottoman Empire that was forged after Elizabeth's 1570 excommunication from the Catholic Church.
Read it for: a fascinating exploration of Eastern influences on Elizabethan culture, including the works of Shakespeare and Marlowe.
Who it's for: readers who enjoy immersive microhistories. |
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The Men Who United the States: America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics...
by Simon Winchester
Organizing his subject into five categories (Wood, the Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal), historian Simon Winchester traces the history of the U.S. through depictions of people who made important discoveries and promoted particular techniques and methods. From the Lewis and Clark expedition launched by Thomas Jefferson to rural electrification under FDR, Winchester traces the territorial expansion and the physical -- and social -- unification of the country. His enthusiastic account of American history highlights surprising details and illustrates how his "passion for his subjects saturates his works" (Kirkus Reviews).
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Black like me : the definitive Griffin estate edition, corrected from original manuscripts
by John Howard Griffin
Studs Terkel tells us in his Foreword to the definitive Griffin Estate Edition of Black Like Me: "This is a contemporary book, you bet." Indeed, Black Like Me remains required reading in thousands of high schools and colleges for this very reason. Regardless of how much progress has been made in eliminating outright racism from American life, Black Like Me endures as a great human and humanitarian document. In our era, when "international" terrorism is most often defined in terms of a single ethnic designation and a single religion, we need to be reminded that America has been blinded by fear and racial intolerance before. As John Lennon wrote, "Living is easy with eyes closed." Black Like Me is the story of a man who opened his eyes, and helped an entire nation to do likewise.
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Bloodlands : Europe between Hitler and Stalin
by Timothy Snyder
A book with 32 maps offers an eye-opening history of the combined mass murder of 14 million people committed by Hitler's and Stalin's regimes in the area between Germany and Russia during the time when both men were in power. By the author of The Reconstruction of Nations.
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| Washington's Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course... by Patrick K. O'DonnellWhat it's about: the "Immortal 400" Maryland regiment that delayed the British during 1776's Battle of Brooklyn, enabling General Washington's successful evacuation of the Continental Army.
Why it matters: The Immortals' actions shaped the outcome of the Revolutionary War, but at great cost -- 256 perished during the battle.
For fans of: Band of Brothers and Frank Miller's 300. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Newmarket Public Library 438 Park Ave. Newmarket, Ontario L3Y1W1 905-953-5110www.newmarketpl.ca |
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