History and Current Events
October 2024
Recent Releases
What's Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring...
by Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack

The West Wing cast members Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack offer an engaging behind-the-scenes look at the Emmy Award-winning TV series, featuring interviews with cast and crew and reflections on the show's legacy. For fans of: The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinney.
Four shots in the night : a true story of spies, murder, and justice in Northern Ireland
by Henry Hemming

Drawing on archival research, interviews and the findings of a new complete police investigation, this gripping true account of Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness, who was implicated in the murder of an informant, discusses his role in the decades-long conflict that defined him—the Troubles.
Burma '44 : the battle that turned World War II in the East
by James Holland

The celebrated World War II historian recounts the remarkable Allied triumph at the fifteen-day Battle of the Admin Box in Burma (currently Myanmar), a pivotal moment in the Far East conflict.
Why empires fall : Rome, America, and the future of the West
by Peter Heather

"Why did Rome fall - and what can it teach us about the decline of the West today? A historian and a political economist investigate. Over the last three centuries, the West rose to dominate the planet. Then, suddenly, around the turn of the millennium, history reversed. Faced with economic stagnation and internal political division, the West has found itself in rapid decline. This is not the first time the global order has witnessed such a dramatic rise and fall. The Roman Empire followed a similar arc from dizzying power to disintegration - a fact that is more than a strange historical coincidence. In Why Empires Fall, historian Peter Heather and political economist John Rapley use this Roman past to think anew about the contemporary West, its state ofcrisis, and what paths we could take out of it. In this exceptional, transformative intervention, Heather and Rapley explore the uncanny parallels - and productive differences - between the two cases, moving beyond the familiar tropes of invading barbarians and civilizational decay to learn new lessons from ancient history. From 399 to 1999, the life cycles of empires, they argue, sow the seeds of their inevitable destruction. The era of western global domination has reached its end - so what comes next?"--Publisher's description
Twelve days : how the union nearly lost Washington in the first days of the Civil War
by Tony Silber

Told in real time, this is the story of President Abraham Lincoln, his cabinet, and his military commanders during the first days of the Civil War.
After 1177 B. C. : the survival of civilizations
by Eric H. Cline

In this gripping sequel to his best-selling "1177 B.C.," Eric Cline tells the story of what happened after the Bronze Age collapsed—why some civilizations endured, why some gave way to new ones and why some disappeared forever. Simultaneous eBook.
The presidents and the people : five leaders who threatened democracy and the citizens who fought to defend it
by Corey Lang Brettschneider

This meticulously researched account of assaults on democracy by five presidents who imprisoned critics, spread a culture of white supremacy and committed crimes with impunity shows how citizens like Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells and Daniel Ellsberg fought back against presidential abuses of power.
Chorus of the Union : how Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas set aside their rivalry to save the nation
by Ted McClelland

"Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas are a misunderstood duo. History remembers them as antagonists, and for most of the years the two men knew each other, they were. In the 1830s, they debated politics around the stove in the back of Joshua Speed's store in Springfield, Illinois. In the 1850s, they disagreed over the Kansas-Nebraska Act and debated slavery as opponents for a Senate seat. In 1860, they both ran for president. Lincoln and Douglas ended as allies, though, against the greatest threat-slavery-that our country has ever faced. When Douglas realized he was going to lose the 1860 election, he stopped campaigning for himself and went South to persuade the slave states to accept Lincoln as president. After that effort failed, and the newly formed Confederate States of America bombed Fort Sumter, Douglas met with Lincoln to discuss raising an army. The story of how Lincoln and Douglas put aside their rivalry to work together for the preservation of the Union has important lessons for our time. We have just been through a presidential election where the loser refused to concede defeat, with violent consequences. Not only did Douglas accept his loss, he spent the final days of his campaign barnstorming the country to build support for his opponent's impending victory, setting aside his long-held desire for the presidency for the higher principle of national unity. Also, by focusing on the importance of Illinois to Lincoln's political development, Chorus of the Union will challenge the notion that hewas an indispensable "great man." Lincoln was the right person to lead the country through the Civil War, but he became president because he was from the right place. Living in Illinois provided Lincoln the opportunity to confront Douglas over the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The debates with Douglas during the 1858 Senate campaign brought him the fame and prestige to contend for the Republican presidential nomination in 1860. Lincoln's moderate views on slavery, which he developed in the swing region of a swingstate, made him the ideal candidate for an election that had sweeping historical consequences"
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