[bksvol-discuss] Re: Fw: History and Current Events August 2009

  • From: "Shelley L. Rhodes" <guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:58:10 -0400

So many good books on this list.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Amber Wallenstein 
  To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:37 AM
  Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Fw: History and Current Events August 2009


  New and Recently Released!

  Rocket Men: The Triumph and Tragedy of the First Americans on the Moon - by 
Craig Nelson
  Publisher: Viking
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 06/25/2009
  ISBN-13: 9780670021031
  ISBN-10: 0670021032
  Forty years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, this thorough retelling of the 
efforts that put Neal Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins in space
  should amply satisfy fans of space history. Having delved into declassified 
CIA documents, interviews, and oral histories, author Craig Nelson provides
  biographies of the three astronauts and shares copious technical and 
scientific details of the space program. Even NASA's bureaucracy and the role 
of the
  press come into play in this comprehensive history, which Publishers Weekly 
calls both extensively researched and exciting.

  Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town - by Nick Reding
  Publisher: Bloomsbury
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 06/16/2009
  ISBN-13: 9781596916500
  ISBN-10: 1596916508
  During the last years of the 20th century, as family farms were replaced by 
corporate agriculture and manufacturing jobs disappeared, many in the small
  Iowa town of Oelwein turned to meth abuse and production--to the point that 
even children riding bikes have come to play a part. Having earned the trust
  of both local addicts and those fighting to save their town, author Nick 
Reding uses Oelwein to humanize the destruction that meth addiction can bring
  to rural communities. Reding also explores the international drug trade and 
U.S. regulations, and brings light to a problem that isn't limited just to
  tiny Oelwein. As the reviewer for The New York Times warns, "...attention 
must be paid. Right now. Or else."
  First Chapter

  Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History - by Margaret MacMillan
  Publisher: Modern Library
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 07/07/2009
  ISBN-13: 9780679643586
  ISBN-10: 0679643583
  OK, history readers--gather 'round. Dangerous Games offers something a little 
different than a history of an event or a time period. Rather, it's a meditation
  on the uses and abuses of history, from the way that it can provide a sense 
of identity to the way it can be manipulated to support or justify questionable
  political campaigns or religious movements. The author, a professor of 
history, includes discussions on the rewriting of history, the way in which 
faulty
  memory can lead to false conclusions, and the promoting of positive--rather 
than realistic--perspectives of certain events. Publishers Weekly calls it
  "a must read for anyone who wants to understand the importance of correctly 
understanding the past."
  First Chapter

  In Fed We Trust : How the Federal Reserve Became the Fourth Branch and 
Bernanke Battled to Keep the Big Panic from Becoming the Great Depression - 
Wessel,
  David
  Publisher: Random House Inc
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 08/04/2009
  ISBN-13: 9780307459688
  ISBN-10: 0307459683
  As the central bank of the U.S., the Federal Reserve sets interest rates and 
provides liquidity to banks in order to provide stability to the financial
  system. When the financial meltdown that began in 2007 led to the 
unprecedented failures of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG, WaMu, 
and Lehman
  Brothers, the Fed was called on to take a much larger role, essentially 
becoming an independent fourth branch of the government. It is often said that
  the Fed chairman is the second most powerful person in the world, and when 
Alan Greenspan left the post in 2005, his successor, Ben Bernanke, along with
  Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, would soon face problems that were far more 
challenging than those of Greenspan's tenure. Wessel's account is a history
  of the Fed, a biography of Bernanke, and a blow-by-blow account of the 
decision-making process that took place as Bernanke and Paulson used desperate 
measures
  to try to right a rapidly sinking ship. Bernanke failed to anticipate the 
severity of the financial downturn, but perhaps he did the best that any man
  could be expected to do. (Booklist Review)

  The Illustrious Dead: The Terrifying Story of How Typhus Killed Napoleon's 
Greatest Army - by Stephan Talty
  Publisher: Crown Publishers
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 06/02/2009
  ISBN-13: 9780307394040
  ISBN-10: 0307394042
  In this fascinating history of Napoleon's unsuccessful invasion of Russia, 
author Stephan Talty argues that it was an outbreak of typhus that effectively
  caused Napoleon's defeat. Approaching Russia in the spring of 1812 with 
690,000 men under his command, Napoleon retreated from Moscow in November having
  lost close to 400,000 soldiers; Talty suggests that half of those were killed 
by typhus--carried by lice--and that those who survived likely went on to
  infect their families on their return home. Readers interested in either 
military history or epidemiology (or both!) won't go wrong with this 
well-researched
  and compellingly written history. For more on the consequences of disease in 
a large population, try Steven Johnson's The Ghost Map, about a cholera outbreak
  in Victorian London.
  iViva la Revolución!

  The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg - by Helen Rappaport
  Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 02/03/2009
  ISBN-13: 9780312379766
  ISBN-10: 0312379765
  For weeks before their grisly deaths, Tsar Nicholas II and his family were 
imprisoned within their Ekaterinburg home; it is their last 13 days that form
  the center of this history of the Russian Revolution. Drawing on a wide range 
of sources to bring each of the family members to life, author Helen Rappaport
  has created an "emotionally powerful work" (Booklist) that captures the royal 
family's imprisonment and brutal murder moment by moment. In addition, Rappaport
  summarizes Nicholas's reign and covers the political maneuverings of those 
trying to save or destroy him and his family, making for a "solid political
  and social history, related with the vigor of a true-crime thriller" (Kirkus 
Reviews).
  Table of Contents

  Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution - by Simon Schama
  Publisher: Vintage Books
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 03/01/1990
  ISBN-13: 9780679726104
  ISBN-10: 0679726101
  Though this book was first published 20 years ago, it remains one of the best 
books available on the French Revolution. It has also received its share of
  criticism, mostly focusing on author Simon Schama's view of the legacy of the 
revolution and his assertion that the path of the revolution was set early
  on. But it's also liberally sprinkled with detailed anecdotes that even 
readers unfamiliar with French history will enjoy. For a close look at what 
brought
  on the French revolution, as well as how it unfolded and why, check out 
Citizens; you can follow it up with David Andress' The Terror, which was 
published
  in 2006.

  Our First Revolution: The Remarkable British Uprising That Inspired America's 
Founding Fathers - by Michael Barone
  Publisher: Crown Publishers
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 05/08/2007
  ISBN-13: 9781400097920
  ISBN-10: 1400097924
  Long before America's Founding Fathers started thinking about the separation 
between church and state or the power of constitutional law, English 
Parliamentarians
  encouraged William of Orange to overthrow their Catholic king, James II. One 
result was a Bill of Rights that weakened the monarchy's hold on England and
  encouraged the growth of England's parliamentary democracy. Our First 
Revolution is an examination of the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 and its 
consequences,
  and it details the revolution's impact on the American fight for independence 
less than 100 years later. Whether you're interested in British or American
  history or are curious about the foundations of the democracies of today, 
you'll want to read this skillful analysis.
  First Chapter

  A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America - by Stacy 
Schiff
  Publisher: Henry Holt
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 01/10/2006
  ISBN-13: 9780805080094
  ISBN-10: 0805080090
  This critically acclaimed book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff 
reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, reluctant 
monarchists,
  and the British secret service to successfully convince France to underwrite 
America's experiment in democracy. Though Franklin had little diplomatic 
experience--and
  only a rudimentary grasp of the French language--he was nevertheless able to 
use his personal charm and a natural understanding of politics to great effect.
  Though this book is clearly of interest to armchair historians interested in 
colonial history, Francophiles will especially enjoy learning how France aided
  in the creation of the United States.
  First Chapter

  A Concise History of the Russian Revolution - by Richard Pipes
  Publisher: Vintage Books
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 12/01/1996
  ISBN-13: 9780679745440
  ISBN-10: 0679745440
  Just as the title says, this is a detailed yet succinct look at the decay of 
Russia's tsarist empire and the causes and consequences of the revolution;
  it's perfect for those not willing to attempt the author's two-volume 
version. Emphasizing, however, that what happened in October 1917 was a coup 
d'état
  rather than a revolution, Pipes goes on to explore how Russia was governed 
both before and after and discusses the Bolshevik regime in great detail. With
  illustrations (including maps), a glossary, a chronology, and suggestions for 
further reading, Pipes' Concise History is a great introduction to Russia's
  revolution.

  The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 - by 
Jay Winik
  Publisher: HarperCollins
  Check Library Catalog
  Pub Date: 09/01/2007
  ISBN-13: 9780060083137
  ISBN-10: 0060083131
  The end of the 18th century was a period of tumultuous change marked by 
Russia's war with the Ottoman Empire, the revolution in France, and America's 
new
  constitution (ratified in 1788) and transfer of power from the Federalists to 
the Democratic-Republicans (in 1800). None of these dramatic events happened
  in isolation; author Jay Winik sheds light on the connections between these 
nations and their leaders, including Catherine the Great, Louis XVI, 
Robespierre,
  and Thomas Jefferson. This "outstandingly wide-ranging account of this vital 
era in world history" (Booklist) should appeal to historians of all stripes.
  First Chapter

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