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History and Current Events October 2020 Please click here to check out our new YouTube channel.
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Disloyal : A Memoir: the True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump
by Michael Cohen
Why it is significant: Micheal Cohen was once Donald Trump's fiercest surrogate, closest confidant, and staunchest defender. As Trump's lawyer and "fixer," Cohen not only witnessed firsthand but was also an active participant in the inner workings of Trump's business empire, political campaign, and presidential administration..
About the author: Michael Cohen is an American attorney and businessman. He acted as Special Counsel to President Donald J. Trump from 2017-2018 and as Executive VP for the Trump Organization before then. Cohen lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
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A Furious Sky : the Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes
by Eric Jay Dolin
What it is: A best-selling author tells the history of America itself through its 500-year battle with the fury of hurricanes.
Reviewers say: "Weather watchers, science buffs, and social historians will enjoy this history of the hurricane both as a chronology and for the individual tales of surviving nature's fury." -- Library Journal, May 1, 2020
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| Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. What it's about: how James Baldwin's writings on the failures of the civil rights movement remain just as relevant today.
Read it for: an impassioned and incisive blend of history, literary analysis, and own voices memoir.
Topics include: mass incarceration; the Black Lives Matter movement; Confederate monument removals; the election of Donald Trump. |
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Killing the Rising Sun : How America Vanquished World War II Japan
by Bill O'Reilly
What it is about: Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe but is escalating in the Pacific, where American soldiers face an opponent who will go to any length to avoid defeat. The Japanese army follows the samurai code of Bushido, stipulating that surrender is a form of dishonor. Killing the Rising Sun takes readers to the bloody tropical-island battlefields of Peleliu and Iwo Jima and to the embattled Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur has made a triumphant return and is plotting a full-scale invasion of Japan.
Series alert: Book 9 in the Killing series. 1. Killing Lincoln : The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever 2. Killing Kennedy : The End of Camelot 3. Killing Jesus : A History 4. Killing Patton : The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General 5. Killing Reagan : The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency 6. Killing the Rising Sun : How America Vanquished World War II Japan 7. Killing England : The Brutal Struggle for American Independence 8. Killing The SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History.
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| Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel WilkersonWhat it's about: the "shape-shifting, unspoken, race-based" caste system that has shaped four centuries of American history.
Read it for: a timely and thought-provoking exploration of how rigid social hierarchies dehumanize the people who live within them.
Book buzz: This impassioned latest from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson (The Warmth of Other Suns) was recently named an Oprah's Book Club pick. |
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U.S. Elections and Voting
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| One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol AndersonWhat it is: a compelling study of how voter disenfranchisement tactics (such as voter ID laws, roll purges, gerrymandering, and lack of accessibility) are implemented to keep African Americans from the polls.
Reviewers say: "illuminating and clarifying" (Publishers Weekly); "could not be more timely" (Kirkus Reviews).
Try this next: Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in America by Gilda R. Daniels. |
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| Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the... by Tina CassidyWhat it's about: the antagonistic relationship between tireless Quaker suffragette Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson in the years before the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Why you might like it: This vivid and dramatic account offers an inspiring portrait of a pioneering yet underappreciated activist.
Don't miss: Wilson's first inauguration being upstaged by a suffragist parade organized by Paul. |
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| Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O'DonnellWhat it's about: Host of MSNBC's The Last Word Lawrence O'Donnell became fascinated with politics at age 17 during the 1968 general elections. Here he reviews the tumultuous political year and the race that captivated him. Is it for you? Whether you remember 1968 yourself or know it from history, you'll enjoy the ringside seat O'Donnell offers in Playing with Fire.
Further reading: For general background on the 1960s, pick up Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin's America Divided. |
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| Deep State: Trump, the FBI, and the Rule of Law by James B. StewartWhat it is: a clear-eyed investigation of the FBI's activities in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election.
Who it's for: Though Deep State treads familiar ground, readers who found The Mueller Report lacking will want to check out this revealing behind-the-scenes account featuring interviews with key officials.
About the author: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James B. Stewart is a columnist for the New York Times. |
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| Camelot's End: Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight That Broke the Democratic Party by Jon WardWhat it is: a captivating account of the 1980 Democratic primary battle between sitting president Jimmy Carter and Senator Ted Kennedy.
Did you know? Incumbent presidents seeking reelection have been challenged from within their own party "only a handful of times."
Why it's significant: Campaign tensions led to divisions within the Democratic party that continue to resonate. |
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Contact your librarian fore more great books!
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