[bksvol-discuss] Fw: History and Current Events April 2008
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2008 08:36:49 -0400
New and Recently Released!
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America - by
David Hajdu
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/18/2008
ISBN: 9780374187675
ISBN-10: 0374187673
Early in the 20th century, comic books boomed in popularity--and as production
and readership expanded, so did the moral outrage generated by the comics.
By the 1950s, the argument was less that Sunday comics distracted people from
worship or that Superman exhibited Nazi-like authoritarian tendencies, and
more that comics-reading kids would become juvenile delinquents. As author
David Hajdu explains, the evidence supporting that claim was weak, but it still
led to book burnings, Senate hearings, ruined careers, and the end of an era.
Armchair historians and comic book buffs alike will find something to like
in The Ten-Cent Plague.
Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All
Time--the Building of the Panama Canal - by Matthew Parker
Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/18/2008
ISBN: 9780385515344
ISBN-10: 0385515340
It may have taken 400 years, but in 1914, the man-made Panama Canal opened for
traffic, finally linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Though it was one
of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century, building the canal
included a failed French attempt in the late 1800s; the successful American
effort
was achieved by laborers who were often treated abysmally. Author Matthew
Parker gives an account of the engineering problems, but the focus of his
"engrossing
narrative" (Publishers Weekly) is on "canalitis," the fever to succeed that
overcame anyone involved in the project. For more on the canal's history, try
David McCullough's The Path Between the Seas.
American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work
- by Nick Taylor
Publisher: Bantam Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/26/2008
ISBN: 9780553802351
ISBN-10: 0553802356
When U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt took over the Oval Office, the country
was mired in the Great Depression. To combat the high rate of
unemployment--about
25%--FDR put millions of people to work through the Works Progress
Administration (later the Work Projects Administration), part of a larger
network of
New Deal programs. Historian Nick Taylor's account of the origins of the WPA
examines the politics that surrounded it as well as its evolution and its
legacy. He pays particular attention to Harry Hopkins, the first commissioner,
and the results that the WPA produced. Publishing just in time for the 75th
anniversary of the New Deal's beginnings, American-Made is "vividly rendered"
(Kirkus Reviews).
First Chapter
Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East - by Robin Wright
Publisher: Penguin Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/28/2008
ISBN: 9781594201110
ISBN-10: 1594201110
Currently covering U.S. foreign policy for The Washington Post, journalist
Robin Wright has written about the Middle East for more than 30 years. Her
latest
book, Dreams and Shadows, focuses on the issues that the region is dealing with
today. She offers key insights into the decisive events that are reshaping
the region and examines the people who are leading the charge for change.
Cautiously optimistic about the future, Dreams and Shadows is for anyone
interested
in learning more about the modern Middle East.
Focus on: Battles
Gates of fire : an epic novel of the Battle of Thermopylae - Steven Pressfield
Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 11/1/1998
ISBN: 9780385492515
ISBN-10: 0385492510
Chronicles the battle of three hundred Spartan warriors against a huge force of
Persian soldiers in 480 B.C. against Sparta and its extraordinary culture.
Don't forget that the library has the DVD 300- starring Gerard Butler- in its
collection. Check it out!
First Chapter
Nelson's Trafalgar: The Battle that Changed the World - by Roy Adkins
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/31/2006
ISBN: 9780143037958
ISBN-10: 0143037951
Originally published in 2005 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the
Battle of Trafalgar, this account of Lord Nelson's staunch defense against
Napoleon's
invasion of England depicts not only the battle but the events leading up to
it, the conditions on board, and the aftermath. Whether you're newly interested
in the Napoleonic Wars, sea battles, or British history, or have read widely on
those subjects, you're in for a treat if you haven't read historian Roy
Atkins' work. From Royal Navy strategy to on-board cuisine, Nelson's Trafalgar
contains a wealth of fascinating detail.
Table of Contents
Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power - by Victor
Davis Hanson
Publisher: Anchor Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 8/1/2002
ISBN: 9780385720380
ISBN-10: 0385720386
Rather than looking at one particular battle in detail, Carnage and Culture
looks at how values shape military tactics and takes the position that,
historically,
Western civilizations are better at waging war than are non-Western
civilizations. Author Victor Davis Hanson researched nine specific battles
between
Western and non-Western forces to support this argument, and found that
technological superiority and voluntary armies (rather than conscripted forces)
are two of the key differences. The battles he explores include Salamis in 480
B.C., Lepanto in 1571, and the 1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Though you
may not agree with his thesis, it's a theory sure to spark discussion.
First Chapter
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors - by James D. Hornfischer
Publisher: Bantam Dell Publishing Group
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/29/2005
ISBN: 9780553381481
ISBN-10: 0553381482
Using eyewitness accounts, declassified Navy documents, and interviews and
correspondence with survivors, this highly detailed and rousing narrative by
author James D. Hornfischer chronicles the October 1944 battle off Samar, the
Philippines, between a vastly outnumbered fleet of American warships and
a flotilla of the Japanese Navy. Presenting the heroic efforts of the men
manning the ships and aircraft--many of whom continued to attack despite having
run out of ammunition--The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors "reads like a very
good action novel" (Publishers Weekly).
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam - by James M. McPherson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 7/1/2002
ISBN: 9780195135213
ISBN-10: 0195135210
Part of Oxford University Press' Pivotal Moments in American History series,
Crossroads of Freedom looks at the furious 24-hour battle at Antietam, where
close to 6,000 Union and Rebel soldiers were killed and 15,000 were wounded,
and which had repercussions well off the battlefield. Author James M. McPherson
argues that the Union "victory"--hard-won, limited, and more strategic than
tactical--was a political and moral turning point, and that "No other campaign
and battle in the war had such momentous, multiple consequences." The Economist
states that McPherson's account is remarkable for its "scholarly brilliance
and passion."
Table of Contents
The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory
- by Robert V. Remini
Publisher: Penguin Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/1/2001
ISBN: 9780141001791
ISBN-10: 0141001798
The War of 1812 may not be the first conflict you think of when you think of
U.S. military history, but the American victory helped cement the bonds between
the states. And the Battle of New Orleans, the most decisive battle in the war,
produced a war hero who would go on to be president. Historian Robert V.
Remini provides a colorful and engaging account of the 1815 battle, and in the
process shows how Andrew Jackson and his motley crew of frontiersmen, pirates,
free blacks, and regular soldiers managed to defeat the battle-tested British
troops in New Orleans. It's "an exceptional book that combines impressive
scholarship with a riveting narrative" (The New York Times).
Table of Contents
First Chapter
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