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History and Current Events December 2025 |
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Recent Releases - History |
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| The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding by Joseph J. EllisPulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph J. Ellis writes an incisive exploration of how America's Founding Fathers were complicit in slavery and Indigenous dispossession despite their calls for universal freedom. Ellis tells a story that is rooted in the coexistence of grandeur and failure, brilliance and blindness, grace and sin. "As the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence approaches, The Great Contradiction can help us better understand what we are celebrating--and at whose expense." (Book Page) |
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The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto: The True Story of Five Courageous Young Women Who Sparked an Uprising
by Elizabeth R. Hyman
A Holocaust historian, archivist, and history blogger adds a new dimension to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II, shining a long overdue spotlight on five young, Polish Jewish women--champions who helped lead the resistance, sabotage the Nazis, and aid Jews in hiding across occupied Poland and Eastern Europe. "It's a spellbinding saga of daring acts of resistance in the face of certain death." (Publishers Weekly)
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The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery
by Siddharth Kara
In late October 1780, a slave ship set sail from the Netherlands, bound for Africa's Windward and Gold Coasts, where it would take on its human cargo. The Zorg (a Dutch word meaning care) was one of thousands of such ships, but the harrowing events that ensued on its doomed journey were unique. By the time its journey ends, the Zorg would become the first undeniable argument against slavery. For the first time, concepts such as human rights and morality entered the discourse on slavery in a courtroom case that boiled down to a simple yet profound question: Were the Africans on board people or cargo? Publishers Weekly calls it "both a harrowing glimpse of slavery's horrors and an incisive investigation into one of history's most reviled crimes."
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| The Traitors Circle: The True Story of a Secret Resistance Network in Nazi Germany... by Jonathan FreedlandIn this evocative and nail-biting account, journalist and bestselling author Jonathan Freedland chronicles the lesser-known story of German resistance movements during World War II. They form a circle of unlikely rebels, drawn from the German elite: two countesses, a diplomat, an intelligence officer, an ambassador's widow and a pioneering head mistress. What unites every one of them is a shared loathing of the Nazis, a refusal to bow to Hitler and the courage to perform perilous acts of resistance. |
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A Short History of the Gaza Strip
by Anne Irfan
From a leading scholar of Palestine-Israel, a brief, essential history of the besieged strip of land, through six pivotal moments in its modern history, beginning with Israel's expulsion of the Palestinian people upon its establishment in 1948. As Irfan takes us through Israel's occupations of Gaza, the Palestinian national struggle and formation of the PLO, the first intifada, the creation of the Palestinian Authority, and the rise of Hamas, she tackles widespread historical ignorance and untangles contradicting narratives. "Readers seeking context to the awful headlines from the region should seek out this thought-provoking book. Robust research underpins this judicious record of Palestinian life." (Kirkus Reviews)
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The American Revolution: An Intimate History
by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War: a richly illustrated, human-centered history of America's founding struggle--expanding on the landmark, six-part PBS series. The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. In this sumptuous volume, historian Geoffrey C. Ward ably steers us through the international forces at play, telling the story not from the top down but from the bottom up--and through the eyes of not only our Founding Fathers but also those of ordinary soldiers, as well as underrepresented populations such as women, African Americans, Native Americans, and American Loyalists, asking who exactly was entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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Recent Releases - Current Events |
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This Is for Everyone: The Unfinished Story of the World Wide Web
by Tim Berners-Lee
An account of the rise of the digital world and a crucial guide to the future of the Internet--from the inventor of the World Wide Web. In this intimate memoir, Berners-Lee tells the story of his iconic invention, exploring how it launched a new era of creativity and collaboration while unleashing powerful forces that imperil truth and privacy and polarize public debate. "A tech pioneer recalls creating the web--and asks users to help safeguard its future." (Kirkus Reviews)
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Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice
by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
The world knows Virginia Roberts Giuffre as Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's most outspoken victim: the woman whose decision to speak out helped send both serial abusers to prison, whose photograph with Prince Andrew catalyzed his fall from grace. But her story has never been told in full, in her own words--until now. In April 2025, Giuffre took her own life. She left behind a memoir written in the years preceding her death and stated unequivocally that she wanted it published. "It will take years to unfurl the tentacles Epstein wrapped around finance, law, media and politics. But Nobody's Girl floats free, self-assured and self-contained--a true American tragedy. The devastation is in the details." (New York TImes Book Review)
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Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley
by Jacob Silverman
A searing insight into the radicalization of Silicon Valley, from Elon Musk to Peter Thiel, David Sacks and Donald Trump, and how it will affect the future of all our lives. And we enter the strange, darkly comic world of the tech-oligarchy where libertarian dreams meet authoritarian impulses, and where the people with the most influence over our lives are the least accountable. "A book that should trouble your dreams." (Kirkus Reviews)
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The New Age of Sexism: How AI and Emerging Technologies Are Reinventing Misogyny
by Laura Bates
Gender equality is something that has been a constant battle. With the advent of ever more high-tech equipment at our fingertips, there is a new wave of technologies that threaten this notion. With misogyny baked into their design, these technologies are dragging women back to the dark ages. This book will dive into where and what the dangers are, exploring everything from AI to sex robots and the metaverse. "This is a disquieting, Cassandra-like plea for a future that doesn't simply automate misogyny forever." (Publishers Weekly)
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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630-653-7599, 0S291 Winfield Rd.
Winfield, IL 60190
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