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History and Current Events January 2019
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| Heirs of the Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster... by H.W. BrandsWhat it is: a fascinating peek into how the ideological tensions of post-American Revolution politicians led to the Civil War; a revealing examination of how bygone rifts continue to resonate in contemporary American politics.
Who it's for: chock-full of duels, debates, scandals, and betrayals, this riveting, character-driven popular history will appeal to readers of Douglas Brinkley and Stephen E. Ambrose. |
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| The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul... by Andrew DelbancoWhat it's about: This sweeping and accessible chronicle reveals how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ultimately drove the United States to war, forcing a divided America to confront the myth of benevolent slavery and its own hypocrisy as a newly "free" country.
Want a taste? "Even free black people in the North -- including those who had never been enslaved -- found their lives infused with terror of being seized and deported." |
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The High Road : A Pot Grower's Journey from the Black Market to the Stock Market
by Pete Young
A native of Long Island, New York, Pete Young first grew cannabis on the roof of a friend's apartment building when he was fifteen years old. A fascination with marijuana cultivation quickly followed, with Young mastering techniques like HID lighting, water polymers, and genetics. Young moved to Canada in the late 1980s and soon began selling seeds out of the Great Canadian Hemporium in London, Ontario.
After police raided the head shop he took part in one of the first constitutional challenges to Canada's drug laws. When he befriended a young man whose severe cystic fibrosis was aided by one thing only - marijuana consumption - Young began growing for medicinal users, and eventually became one of the biggest producers and distributors of illicit medical marijuana in Canada. Along the way he overcame every obstacle a guerilla grower faces, including crop theft, forest fire, police arrest, bankruptcy, home invasion, physical assault and, perhaps most intimidating of all, hungry male deer.
In 2015, Young stepped onto the right side of the law when he co-founded and was named master grower at Indiva, a Health Canada-licensed producer of medical marijuana.
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A future of faith : the path of change in politics and society
by Francis
Inspiring and insightful, Pope Francis’s views on immigration, poverty, diversity, globalization, and more are borne from his Christian faith and basic humanity. Meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century requires compassion for those in need, a willingness to work towards common goals without domineering other cultures, and the ability to negotiate with trust, respect, and dignity. And for the first time, Pope Francis shares insights into his own personality, and the formation of his faith, including his experience with psychotherapy, and some of the most important women in his upbringing. Controversial, bold, personal, and illuminating― A Future of Faith will serve to be essential reading for not only Catholics, but those who want to see how the “people’s pope” confronts the social injustices of the world with the foresight to create positive change.
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| Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages That Shaped Europe by Deborah CadburyWhat it is: the captivating story of how, six decades into her rule, a scheming Queen Victoria began arranging marriages for her 42 grandchildren in an effort to extend constitutional monarchy and maintain political alliances throughout Europe.
For fans of: Downton Abbey, The Crown, and Victoria.
Try this next: For another enthralling book on Her Majesty's family relationships, check out Lucy Worsley's Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life. |
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The Invention of Murder: how the Victorians revelled in death and detection and created modern crime
by Judith Flanders
Murder in the 19th century was rare. But murder as sensation and entertainment became ubiquitous – transformed into novels, into broadsides and ballads, into theatre and melodrama and opera – even into puppet shows and performing dog-acts. In this meticulously researched and compelling book, Judith Flanders – author of ‘The Victorian House’ – retells the gruesome stories of many different types of murder – both famous and obscure. From the crimes (and myths) of Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper, to the tragedies of the murdered Marr family in London’s East End, Burke and Hare and their bodysnatching business in Edinburgh, and Greenacre who transported his dismembered fiancée around town by omnibus. With an irresistible cast of swindlers, forgers, and poisoners, the mad, the bad and the dangerous to know, ‘The Invention of Murder’ is both a gripping tale of crime and punishment, and history at its most readable.
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| How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth GoodmanWhat it's about: historian and BBC presenter Ruth Goodman's charming and lighthearted efforts to recreate Victorian daily routines.
Living history: Goodman brushed her teeth with soot, laundered clothes by hand, performed 19th-century calisthenics, ate pigs feet and suet pudding, and mastered wearing a corset.
Don't miss: Goodman making condoms out of sheep's guts. |
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| Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese OneillWhat it is: an irreverent, lough-out-loud "guide" to proper Victorian womanhood.
Chapters include: "Getting Dressed: How to Properly Hide Your Shame;" "Running a Proper Household: The Gentle Art of Dictatorship"
Featuring: 200 images from the era's publications and public service flyers, accompanied by Therese Oneill's tongue-in-cheek captions. |
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| The Wicked Boy: An Infamous Murder in Victorian London by Kate SummerscaleWhat it is: a surprising "whydunit" that doggedly investigates the case of Nattie and Robert Coombes, who were charged with the 1895 murder of their mother when they were only 12 and 13 years old.
Book buzz: The Wicked Boy won the 2017 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime Book.
Reviewers say: "a tragedy that reads like a Dickens novel, including the remarkable payoff at the end" (Publishers Weekly). |
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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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