[bksvol-discuss] Fw: History and Current Events September 2009
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 10:43:31 -0400
History and Current Events September 2009
"Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises
permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death
and taxes."
~ Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American statesman
New and Recently Released!
First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American
Mafia - by Mike Dash
Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 08/04/2009
ISBN-13: 9781400067220
ISBN-10: 1400067227
When Sicily got too hot for him after the murder of a cop, Giuseppe
Morello--also known as "The Clutch Hand"--made his way to America in 1892.
There he
started a successful counterfeiting operation in New York that soon expanded
into extortion and kidnapping. Considered a capo di capi (boss of bosses),
Morello was ruthless as he increased the Mafia's reach and influence; by the
time he was gunned down in 1930, organized crime had entered a sort of Golden
Age, dominated in New York by the Five Families. For more on the origins of the
Mob in the U.S., you can also try Thomas Reppetto's American Mafia.
First Chapter
The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream
- by Patrick Radden Keefe
Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 07/21/2009
ISBN-13: 9780385521307
ISBN-10: 0385521308
Expanding on a New Yorker article, journalist Patrick Radden Keefe traces the
story of a Chinese immigrant in New York named Cheng Chui Ping (known as Sister
Ping to her neighbors). Starting in 1982, Sister Ping built a
multimillion-dollar operation smuggling in poor Chinese workers, using a
violent Chinatown
gang to help oversee the immigrants and maintain her power. It wasn't until
1993, when a boat carrying 300 undocumented immigrants ran aground, that the
extent of her trafficking and money-laundering empire came to light. Even then,
it took nearly ten years before Sister Ping was put on trial. With immigration
a never-ending source of debate, this intriguing history is both fascinating
and timely.
NYPD Confidential: Power and Corruption in the Country's Greatest Police Force
- by Leonard Levitt
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 07/21/2009
ISBN-13: 9780312380328
ISBN-10: 0312380321
In NYPD Confidential, veteran police reporter and Edgar Award-winning author
Leonard Levitt delivers an eye-opening behind-the-scenes profile of New York's
Finest. Though he focuses on cover-ups and corruption at One Police Plaza and
New York's City Hall, Levitt also examines the rivalry between former Police
Commissioner William Bratton and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani for control over
and credit for the city's police force. In addition, Commissioners Howard
Safir, Bernard Kerik, and Ray Kelly are analyzed, as are contentious events
like the shooting of unarmed Amadou Diallo in 1999. For an insider's look at
the U.S.'s most powerful police force, you can follow up NYPD Confidential with
NYPD cop Edward Conlon's memoir, Blue Blood.
The Lady in Red: An Eighteenth-Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce - by
Hallie Rubenhold
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 07/07/2009
ISBN-13: 9780312359942
ISBN-10: 0312359942
You would be forgiven for judging this book by its bodice-baring cover, for in
tracing the high-profile breakup of Lord and Lady Worsley there are copious
descriptions of their scandalous sexual affairs and the trial through which Sir
Richard Worsley attempted to sue his wife's lover for damages to his property
(said "property" being his wife). The trial revealed much in the way of
bed-hopping, exposed both lord and lady to gossip and censure, and ended in one
of the world's first celebrity divorces. Author Hallie Rubenhold's exposé of
this Georgian naughtiness will have you "glued to the very last page" (Literary
Review).
First Chapter
Focus on: The U.S. Constitution
America's Constitution: A Biography - by Akhil Reed Amar
Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 09/13/2005
ISBN-13: 9781400062621
ISBN-10: 1400062624
In addition to placing the Constitution and its amendments in historical
context, Yale Law School professor Akhil Reed Amar offers a thought-provoking
analysis
of the creation of the document and delves into the interpretive disputes that
have attended it over the years. If you're looking for a definitive history
on America's Constitution, you've come to the right place--The Washington Post
calls it "elegantly written, thorough but concise, and consistently
enlightening"--but
if you want something a little lighter, try Jonathan Hennessey's graphic novel,
The United States Constitution.
First Chapter
Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution - by Woody Holton
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/02/2007
ISBN-13: 9780809080618
ISBN-10: 0809080613
Were the framers of the U.S. Constitution masterful politicians who wanted the
best for everyone? Did they believe that only the elite should have a hand
in governing the country? What were the greatest problems facing the
Continental Congress? Author Woody Holton answers these questions and more and
explains
how unruly Americans--ordinary citizens who challenged the tax
situation--forced the framers to adopt a document that would be accepted and
ratified by
the individual states. If you've ever wondered how individuals can influence
democracies, give this National Book Award finalist a chance.
First Chapter
A More Perfect Constitution: 23 Proposals to Revitalize Our Constitution and
Make America a Fairer Country - by Larry Sabato
Publisher: Walker & Company
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/02/2007
ISBN-13: 9780802716217
ISBN-10: 0802716210
For a slightly different take on the venerable document, pick up A More Perfect
Constitution, which suggests that it's about time for some revisions. The
23 proposals included here suggest changes to the structure of Congress, the
Electoral College, and the Supreme Court, and call for mandatory national
service (think the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps). In addition, author Larry Sabato
considers a single six-year term for the presidency and favors limiting
federal and Supreme Court justices to a single 15-year term. While not likely
to get through Congress anytime soon, his thought-provoking suggestions are
backed up with "strong, cogent arguments" (Publishers Weekly).
First Chapter
Table of Contents
The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution - by David O. Stewart
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 04/10/2007
ISBN-13: 9780743286923
ISBN-10: 0743286928
This retelling of the events of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and the
birth of the U.S. Constitution received much praise when it was published in
2007. 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.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Focus on: Vices
Opium: A History - by Martin Booth
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 06/01/1999
ISBN-13: 9780312206673
ISBN-10: 0312206674
Once used to calm infants and still used to relieve pain, opium and its
derivatives (like morphine and heroin) have also long been a major part of the
world's
illegal drug trade. These various uses (and the journey from medical aid to
illegal substance) are just one of many topics in this fascinating chronicle
of opium in history and current culture. From its role in international wars to
its chemical composition, everything you might ever want to know about
opium is discussed here, amid anecdotes that reference China's Kuomintang, the
CIA, and the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, among others. The author followed
up this treatise with Cannabis, but if you're looking for a closer look at the
opium trade in Afghanistan, try Joel Hafvenstein's Opium Season.
First Chapter
The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product
that Defined America - by Allan M. Brandt
Publisher: Basic Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 03/12/2007
ISBN-13: 9780465070473
ISBN-10: 0465070477
Cigarettes first arrived on the scene as the overlooked and unprofitable
sibling of chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, and cigars...but when they finally hit
the American consciousness, they did so with a vengeance still felt today. With
an aggressive marketing initiative behind it, cigarette smoking came to
be embraced by about half the U.S. population, despite claims of health risks.
Today, the number stands at about 20%, but as this cultural, political,
scientific, and legal history of the cigarette industry in the U.S. shows,
cigarettes are enjoying a growth in popularity in developing nations. No matter
your smoking preference, this is an informative look at a powerful industry.
Table of Contents
Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World - by David T.
Courtwright
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 03/23/2001
ISBN-13: 9780674004580
ISBN-10: 0674004582
This overview of the discovery, evolution, and exploitation of the big three
psychoactives (alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, according to author David
Courtwright)
focuses on their roles in human history, but also explains how they and more
potent substances have come to play such an influential role in cultures the
world over. In addition, Courtwright also covers how economic and cultural
forces have encouraged the spread of drug use and abuse, and peppers his book
with fun facts sure to stick in your brain.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography - by Dominic Streatfeild
Publisher: Picador
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 07/01/2003
ISBN-13: 9780312422264
ISBN-10: 0312422261
If you enjoy microhistories like Mark Kurlansky's Salt or wide-ranging exposés
like Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, you're going to want to pick up Cocaine,
which will provide you with an informative and detailed history of the drug's
uses and abuses. From New York crack houses to Bolivian jungles, from the
medicinal use of the coca leaf to the suffering of crack addicts, documentary
filmmaker Dominic Streatfeild offers "important social history in palatable
form" (Booklist). Delivered with a fair amount of humor, this is a worthy
survey of the cultivation and manufacture of cocaine.
First Chapter
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