Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/02/2013
ISBN-13: 9780802119049
ISBN-10: 0802119042

Topsy vividly brings to life the grease-painted greed of rival circus owners, P.T. Barnum and Adam Forepaugh, the culture of animal cruelty that fueled their star elephant acts, and how the vicious feud between famed scientific innovators Thomas Edison (a proponent of AC electricity) and George Westinghouse (who advocated DC electricity) culminated in one elephant's horrifying public electrocution. Sensitive portraits of animal performers (like the ill-fated Topsy) make descriptions of their abuses that much harder to stomach. Readers are cautioned that this "fascinating, nuanced" and "incredibly entertaining" (Publishers Weekly) study of society at the dawn of the electric age -- and the heyday of circus entertainments -- packs a considerable emotional wallop.

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Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/23/2013
ISBN-13: 9781250024879
ISBN-10: 1250024870

The notoriety of high-profile Victorian murder cases (like the "Jack the Ripper" murders of Whitechapel prostitutes that rocked London in 1888) arose because it was such a rare crime, explains social historian and author Judith Flanders. Here she explores how a relatively few (albeit grisly) real-life crimes stoked Victorian society's hunger for titillating tales of violent death in sensationalized broadsides, plays, novels, and even puppet shows. Library Journal praises The Invention of Murder as an "absorbing contribution to the history of crime." Readers who loved Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective will especially enjoy this informed, lively morsel of history most macabre.

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Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/01/2013
ISBN-13: 9780393068498
ISBN-10: 0393068498

Brothers at War is a compelling, comprehensive history of the Korean War: how it started, why it still hasn't technically ended, and how North Korea still stockpiles weapons with assistance from China, while its people go without the basic necessities of life. The armistice signed in 1953 largely stopped the hostilities, but a peaceful settlement of the conflict has yet to be achieved. Historian and journalist Sheila Miyoshi Jager provides a long view of the war, chocked full of insights and impeccably researched detail: she depicts the roots of internal conflict in World War II and continues through the 2011 funeral of leader Kim Jong-il.

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Publisher: Hill and Wang
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/14/2008
ISBN-13: 9780809094707
ISBN-10: 0809094703

Historian and writer Jonathan Hennessey and artist Aaron McConnell tease out the stories behind each of the U.S. Constitution's seven articles and twenty-seven amendments to render their meanings more relevant and accessible to modern readers. Full color art ranges from realistic portraits of historic figures to inventive, symbolic depictions of the government's executive, judicial, and legislative branches as recognizably human figures with replicas of the White House, the Capitol, and the Supreme Court building in place of their heads. Readers seeking a solidly informed, engaging, and visually stimulating introduction to Constitutional history need look no further than this "surprising and effective accomplishment" (Library Journal).

Publisher: Hill and Wang
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/22/2006
ISBN-13: 9780809057399
ISBN-10: 0809057395

Using the graphic novel format to provide an accessible version of the 9/11 Commission's findings regarding both the terrorist attacks on the United States and its recommendations concerning what the United States government needs to do in its wake, Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón have created an "important" (Library Journal) visual adaptation to inform and engage readers. Should you own this book even if you have a copy of the report itself? School Library Journal says "the answer is an unequivocal yes," and Library Journal agrees that this appealing graphic adaptation "belongs in all libraries."

Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/12/2010
ISBN-13: 9780805092776
ISBN-10: 0805092773

Comics journalist Joe Sacco relates his investigation into the 1956 massacre of more than a hundred Palestinian refugees by Israeli soldiers in the city of Rafah. On the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Sacco embedded himself in Gaza and set about interviewing every witness he could find who had been in the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah on those fateful days. In arresting line drawings, he conveys the growth of present-day suffering from past violence. Photo-realistic renderings of architecture contrasts with cartoonish drawings of himself, and his interviewees -- whose words and experiences are the center of this "invaluable and wrenching" (Publishers Weekly) journalistic achievement.

Publisher: William Morrow
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/25/2013
ISBN-13: 9780061969768
ISBN-10: 0061969761

This fully illustrated graphic adaptation of the Gettysburg Address visually illuminates the events of the War, drawing on first-hand accounts from soldiers, slaves and key figures and providing a fresh understanding of this vital speech that marked America's new path forward.