| History and Current Events May 2007 |
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"People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them."
~ from James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son
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| New and Recently Released! |
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The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- by Susan Wise Bauer
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Publisher:
W.W. Norton
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Pub Date:
03/26/2007
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Check library catalog
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ISBN:
039305974X
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For a sweeping, thorough introduction to the ancient worlds of Rome, Greece, Sumer, Mesopotamia, India, China, and Egypt, look no further than this 1st volume of a new series by College of William & Mary professor Susan Wise Bauer. With detailed timelines and maps, profiles of key figures, and studies of cultural, economic, and political institutions, The History of the Ancient World links historical events across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and will guide you through the complications arising from assassinations, wars, and natural disasters. |
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Bomb Squad: A Year Inside the Nation's Most Exclusive Police Unit
- by Richard Esposito and Ted Gerstein
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Publisher:
Hyperion
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Pub Date:
03/06/2007
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ISBN:
1401301525
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For one full year, journalists Richard Esposito and Ted Gerstein observed the 33 male technicians who make up the New York City Bomb Squad, shadowing them during training and even watching--from a distance--during live events. Through the voices of these men and the tales of those who came before them, Esposito and Gerstein explore foiled plots, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and 9/11; they also describe the training and technology of bomb-busting. As former Nightline anchor Ted Koppel puts it, "Forget 24; this is the real thing." |
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What This Cruel War Was Over: Soldiers, Slavery, and the Civil War
- by Chandra Manning
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Publisher:
Random House
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Pub Date:
04/03/2007
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ISBN:
0307264823
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Using regimental newspapers and the diaries and letters of soldiers on both sides of the conflict, Georgetown professor Chandra Manning provides a vivid look at what slavery meant to Union and Confederate troops during the U.S. Civil War. Her analysis reveals that, long before the Emancipation Proclamation, both Union and Confederate soldiers believed that slavery was the issue at the heart of the war. The contemporary first-person accounts from a broad array of soldiers make this work "unique, provocative, and immensely valuable" (Publishers Weekly). |
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The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Wrote the U.S. Constitution
- by David O. Stewart
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Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
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Pub Date:
04/10/2007
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ISBN:
0743286928
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This retelling of the events of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and the birth of the U.S. Constitution has already received much praise. Author and lawyer David Stewart grounds his tale in the records of the convention and the letters of its members, making his depictions of the quarrels, debates, and sweltering heat of that landmark summer come alive. Full of drama and fine characterization, the narrative reads like an exceedingly well-researched novel--"descriptive history at its best," says Publishers Weekly. |
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Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe that Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign - by Stephan Talty |
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Publisher:
Crown Publishers
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Pub Date:
04/17/2007
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ISBN:
0307236609
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No mere gimmick to sell rum to bar-goers, Captain Morgan was a Welsh privateer based in Jamaica and commissioned by the British to steal from Spanish ships. Smart, resourceful--and eventually "fabulously rich"--Henry Morgan also raided wealthy cities to prove that Spain, though dominant in the New World, was not invulnerable. It was due to him, his pirate armies, and their violent raid on Panama that Spain was eventually forced to give up their stranglehold on the Americas. Fer a rousin' tale o' adventure and greed, check out Empire of Blue Water. |
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Poor People
- by William T. Vollmann
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Publisher:
Ecco
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Pub Date:
03/01/2007
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ISBN:
0060878827
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Journalist William Vollmann visited prostitutes, homeless men and women, and other impoverished people in countries as diverse as Russia, the U.S., Afghanistan, and Thailand, to ask this question: "Why are you poor?" The answers he received drew on a range of belief systems and are collected here in a series of essays based on those interviews. The accompanying black and white photographs add interest, but at heart this is a book that aims to understand poverty in a "persistent and compassionate pursuit of the truth" (Booklist). |
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| Focus on: Survival Stories |
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102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers
- by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn
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Publisher:
Times Books
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Pub Date:
12/01/2004
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ISBN:
0805076824
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Based on thousands of interviews, phone messages, emails, and radio transmissions, this inspiring account tracks the movements of the thousands of people who were inside the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. Although clearly focused on the noble and often heroic efforts of the men and women who helped each other escape--or who stayed with those unable to get out--102 Minutes also raises questions about building safety, New York's emergency preparedness, and governmental miscommunication. "Brilliant and troubling," says The New York Times. |
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Last Man Out: The Story of the Springhill Mine Disaster
- by Melissa Fay Greene
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Publisher:
Harcourt
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Pub Date:
04/01/2004
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ISBN:
015602957X
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In 1958, a subterranean event known as a "bump" at Nova Scotia's Springhill Mine compressed the mine's deep chambers, instantly killing 74 miners and trapping many others. After more than a week had passed, the last two groups of survivors were rescued; those 19 men, injured and struggling to stay alive, surfaced amid a great deal of publicity (this was Canada's first nationally televised disaster). Using historical records and interviews with survivors, author Melissa Fay Greene recreates the situation both above- and below-ground and its emotional and economic aftermath. |
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Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival
- by Dean King
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Publisher:
Back Bay Books
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Pub Date:
04/12/2005
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ISBN:
0316159352
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In 1815, a crew of twelve American sailors was shipwrecked at the edge of the Sahara desert, captured by nomads, and sold into slavery. Their subsequent ordeal is told here in startling detail, supported not only by the diaries of two of the survivors but also by the author's retracing of part of their 800-mile journey over the Sahara. Subsisting on a diet of locusts, animal bone marrow, and camel urine, with their feet torn to shreds and their skin and eyes abraded by sand and wind, six of the men eventually gained freedom. "A page-turner," says The Washington Post--but make sure to have a glass of water handy. |
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The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk
- by Jennifer Niven
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Publisher:
Theia
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Pub Date:
10/01/2001
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Check library catalog
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ISBN:
0786884460
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To save money, the scientist who planned the 1913 expedition to the Artic bought an inadequate and poorly equipped ship crewed by inexperienced sailors--though fortunately led by an experienced captain. It soon became trapped in an ice floe, stranding the expedition on an inhospitable island. Using the diaries of those stranded, author Jennifer Niven recreates their year-long struggle to survive, capturing both the physical privations the men and women endured as well as the noble--and selfish--actions they committed. "A riveting adventure," says Booklist. |
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Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home
- By Nando Parrado with Vince Rause
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Publisher:
Crown Publishers
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Pub Date:
05/09/2006
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Check library catalog
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ISBN:
1400097673
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In October 1972, a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team and assorted family members and supporters crashed in the snowy Andes. Those who survived the crash found themselves at 12,000 feet with no food, inadequate clothing, and no way to call for help. In Miracle in the Andes, survivor Nando Parrado provides his own chilling account of the crash, the struggle to survive in freezing temperatures, and his desperate hike to find help after two months without a sign of impending rescue. Booklist calls this an "amazing story of bravery and courage." |
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In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors
- by Doug Stanton
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Publisher:
Henry Holt
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Pub Date:
05/01/2003
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Check library catalog
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ISBN:
0805073663
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Shortly before the end of World War II, a Japanese submarine torpedoed the naval cruiser USS Indianapolis. It sank in 12 minutes, killing 300 men and sending the rest of the crew into the ocean to await rescue. By the time that a rescue was organized--after a fortuitous though accidental sighting by a patrol plane--600 more men had died, victims of both sharks and exposure. The story of the fiasco, due in part to misunderstanding and a lack of information, is a "gut-wrenching story of everyday heroes" (New York Post). |
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| Still looking for the right book? Contact your librarian. |
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