"As our train approached a bridge spanning the railroad tracks, I saw people waving at us from above, and then, suddenly, loaves of bread came raining down on us."
~ from Thomas Buergenthal's A Lucky Child |
|
| The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group... by Fergus M. BordewichImagine being a member of the first U.S. Congress, in 1789. The Constitution is ratified, the representatives and senators are elected and assembled in New York City…but where do you start? In The First Congress, historian Fergus Bordewich recounts how the first President, George Washington, and the nation's inaugural Congress addressed a plethora of issues, including the Bill of Rights, location of the national capital, and how to fund the government, to name a few. Vivid portraits of leading statesmen, especially James Madison, and striking details about what they had to invent fill the pages in Bordewich's well-researched and engaging account. |
|
| The Black Calhouns: From Civil War to Civil Rights with One African American... by Gail Lumet BuckleyIn The Black Calhouns, author Gail Lumet Buckley, daughter of singer and civil rights activist Lena Horne, details her extended family's history, starting with her great-great-grandfather's 1860s Atlanta business enterprise. Though her narrative centers on the successful experiences of Buckley's family through 150 years, grim reminders of American segregation and racial oppression come to life as she recounts white opposition to Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, and the 20th-century civil rights movement. Readers who appreciated Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, especially, will want to take in Buckley's individual family account of the Great Migration period. |
|
| 1916: A Global History by Keith JefferyWhile most histories of World War I focus on the conflict in Western Europe, historian Keith Jeffery analyzes the war's far-reaching impact in other regions. In 1916, he looks at a dozen of the year's major events (such as the Easter Uprising in Ireland, Russian internal politics, and the East African campaign) and their significance for the world's future. Jeffery also brings to life the experiences of women, civilians, African soldiers and laborers, and other under-represented groups, while emphasizing social commonalities around the world. Library Journal says that Jeffery employs a "creative and remarkable approach to history" in this richly detailed work. |
|
| West of Eden: An American Place by Jean SteinIn West of Eden, author Jean Stein draws on hundreds of oral accounts to stitch a rich tapestry depicting Hollywood and Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century. Focusing on five well-known figures, one of whom is Stein's father Jules, the founder of MCA, she portrays studio moguls, actors, oil barons, and their spouses, lovers, and families. Both insightful and gossipy, this history of Tinseltown has much to offer movie buffs, celebrity enthusiasts, and popular history lovers, who will appreciate Stein's "exhaustive research and brand-new interviews" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
| The Last Thousand: One School's Promise in a Nation at War by Jeffrey E. SternHaving already spent years in Afghanistan, international affairs journalist Jeffrey Stern embedded himself in a Kabul slum to learn about an unusual educational effort. In The Last Thousand, he portrays the efforts of a Shia teacher called Aziz to educate thousands of Hazara boys and girls (a disadvantaged Afghan ethnic group) in his secular school. Illuminating his narrative with vivid portraits of the school's leaders, Stern frames his account with the impending withdrawal of American troops and resulting complications for ethnic minorities left behind. Through his focus on a particular institution, Stein makes sense of both individual human struggles and broad cultural, religious, and political forces in this accessible account. |
|
Focus on: The Nazi Holocaust
|
|
| A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas BuergenthalAt ten years old, Thomas Buergenthal had already survived the Polish Ghetto of Kielce and two Nazi labor camps before being transported to Auschwitz, where he was separated from his parents. As one of the camp's youngest prisoners, Buergenthal had several near-brushes with death, but fate -- or luck, to which he attributes his survival -- always intervened. In this inspiring memoir, Buergenthal, who became a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, recounts his extraordinary story. For additional personal accounts of Auschwitz, try Laurence Rees' oral history-based Auschwitz. |
|
| The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the... by Patrick DesboisAccording to author Patrick Desbois, a quarter of the six million people killed during the Holocaust were executed and buried in mass graves. Desbois, a French priest, led an effort early in the 21st century to locate burials in Ukraine and interview witnesses. The Holocaust by Bullets documents his team's findings, which include archival materials, heart-wrenching recollections of the killings, and physical evidence from the gravesites. The gruesome eyewitness accounts reveal that children were forced to help with the burials and that some victims were buried alive, among other atrocities. Kirkus Reviews calls this detailed narrative "agonizing to read and utterly necessary." |
|
| Born Survivors: Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage... by Wendy HoldenIn 1944, three women in the early stages of pregnancy were separated from their husbands and incarcerated in the Auschwitz death camp. All three managed to conceal their pregnancies from the Nazis, and their children were born just before the Allied liberation of the concentration camps. In this remarkable account, author Wendy Holden draws from interviews, letters, and other documents to chronicle the women's lives before 1939, their arduous struggles in the slave-labor camp, and their ultimate triumph, thanks in part to secretly kind prison guards and other strangers. |
|
| Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy LowerHistorical accounts of the Third Reich generally portray women as supporting Hitler on the home front, while their active participation in violent operations has been overlooked. Historian Wendy Lower's ground-breaking study, drawn from extensive archival research, vividly details how women were employed in Eastern Europe to identify Jews to be executed, loot Jewish property, and even kill the disabled. Some of the women cooperated under duress, but the stunning truth is that many relished the violence. Booklist praises Hitler's Furies as "a welcome addition to the literature on the Holocaust." |
|
| 50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission ... by Steven PressmanDuring the late 1930s, the Nazis were severely restricting Jewish emigration while also making it clear that Jews weren't welcome in Germany and Austria. In 50 Children, journalist Steven Pressman recounts a carefully planned but dangerous rescue of Jewish children from Vienna undertaken by his wife's grandparents, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus. This thoroughly researched, heart-rending account details the Krauses' plan, their personal recollections, and their travel to Vienna to locate 50 children and bring them to Pennsylvania. Pressman's reports on American resistance to aiding the Jews creates a disturbing counterpoint to the Krauses' inspiring story in this absorbing expansion on his HBO documentary of the same name. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|