History
Let's celebrate Emancipation Day & Juneteenth
Barbara DeRubertis
j394.263 DeRubertis
History
Abolitionists like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth fought for freedom from slavery for all African Americans. They fought with speeches, writings, and even daring rescue missions! Every year on both Emancipation Day and Juneteenth we honor and continue their fight for freedom and equality.
The story behind Juneteenth
Jack Reader
j394.263 Reader
History
"Juneteenth, which is celebrated each year on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Interestingly, this holiday began in 1865--more than two years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. News spread much slower back then, and when slaves in Texas finally learned of their freedom, the holiday was born. In this book, readers are given an in-depth look at the history of Juneteenth, including the events leading up to its creation. Readers will love learning about how this important moment in U.S. history is celebrated each year"--
Added by Anne W
The Barbizon : the hotel that set women free
Paulina Bren
305.409 /Bren
Nonfiction, History
World War I had liberated women from home and hearth, setting them on the path to political enfranchisement and gainful employment. Arriving in New York to work in the dazzling new skyscrapers, they did not want to stay in uncomfortable boarding houses; they wanted what men already had: exclusive residential hotels that catered to their needs, with daily maid service, cultural programs, workout rooms, and private dining. The Barbizon would become the most famous residential hotel of them all. Bren shows how young women arrived at the Barbizon with a suitcase, and hope, and found a chance to remake themselves however they pleased. -- adapted from jacket
What a fun book. I’ve always been fascinated by the Barbizon, and it was wonderful to read a book on its history that also is a marvelous history lesson in mid-century New York for women. The author details so many interesting women who lived in the Barbizon, most particularly the guest editors of Mademoiselle magazine over the years (like Sylvia Plath and Joan Didion). I could barely keep up with the wealth of information and all the intriguing characters and stories over the many decades of the Barbizon, and kept pausing to look more into many of them. This is as much of a page-turner as a non-fiction book can be! -Amanda
One day : the extraordinary story of an ordinary 24 hours in America
Gene Weingarten
973 /Weingarten
Nonfiction, History
"The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America"--
Washington Post humor columnist Gene Weingarten picked a single day from the last 40 years to see if there was anything worth noting about an ordinary day in America. At first, he thought he was doomed. The day chosen at random was December 28, 1986, a Sunday that landed right in the middle of two major holidays. This time of year is always a slow news time. But Weingarten found some truly extraordinary stories from around the country, including Cedar Rapids. This book is both funny and heartbreaking, containing stories of individual triumphs as well as tragedies. It may be a snapshot of America in the late 1980's, but many of the themes hold for today. -Anne M
Fallout : the Hiroshima cover-up and the reporter who revealed it to the world
Lesley M. M. Blume
940.5425 /Blume
Nonfiction, History
"New York Times bestselling author Lesley M.M. Blume reveals how a courageous reporter uncovered one of greatest and deadliest cover-ups of the 20th century-the true effects of the atom bomb-potentially saving millions of lives"--
"Fallout" chronicles the writing of John Hersey's "Hiroshima," originally published in the August 31st, 1946 issue of "The New Yorker." The article chronicled the experiences of six survivors of the United States' dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. What is now seen as a standard text, assigned reading in many high schools, may never have been written. Hersey faced an uphill climb to report the story. There was the United States government and its limitations on where journalists could go and what they could report, as well as their denial of long-term health effects, such as radiation sickness. Also, how do you report this story to an American public that is ready to move on after a decade of war information? Every day they saw images of bomb-out cities and read statistics of the dead and the wounded in the newspapers. They spent years seeing the Japanese as an enemy. How could Hersey make this story resonate? Blume provides a fascinating account of how Hersey struck a chord. If you are a reader of "The New Yorker," this book provides great insight on the inner workings of the magazine during the 1940's. -Anne M
Railway Jack : the true story of an amazing baboon
KT Johnston
j599.865 Johnston
History
"Jim was a South African railway inspector in the late 1800s who lost his legs in an accident while at work. Unable to perform all his tasks with his disability but desperate to keep his job, Jim discovered a brilliant solution, a baboon named Jack. Jim trained Jack to help him both at home and at the depot. But when the railway authorities and the public discovered a monkey on the job, Jack and Jim had to work together to convince everyone that they made a great team. This inspiring true story celebrates the history of service animals and a devoted friendship"--
Added by Anne W
Disability rights movement
Amy Hayes
j323.37 Hayes
History
Traces the history of people with disabilities from the discrimination they endured during much of history through the earliest efforts at change to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the current situation.
Added by Anne W
The 1918 flu pandemic : core events of a worldwide outbreak
John Micklos
j614.518 Micklos
History
"Explains the 1918 Flu Pandemic, including its chronology, causes, and lasting effects"--
Added by Anne W
Tales of the mighty code talkers
COMIC Tales
Read Woke, History, Graphic Novels
"There has been a great deal of writing the past several decades about Native American Code Talkers of World War Two. The published works have been about Navajos and the tremendous contribution they made in the Pacific campaigns of the war. What is often overlooked is the role played in both World Wars by men of other tribes. There were Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Creek and other tribal representatives with their languages involved as well. Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers, a graphic anthology of historically based stories, begins to fill that void. Seven stories -- two by the book's editor, Arigon Starr, dealing with Choctaw and Comanche code talkers, one by Roy Boney, Jr. on Cherokees, one by Johnnie Diacon on Creeks, and one by Jonathan Nelson on Navajos, plus stories from Lee Francis IV and Michael Sheyahshe -- provide an excellent rendering of the subject."
Added by Casey
An indigenous peoples' history of the United States for young people
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
970.1 /Dunbar-Ortiz
Young Adult, Nonfiction, History
"Going beyond the story of America as a country "discovered" by a few brave men in the "New World," Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity. The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history"--
Added by Anne W
Added by Anne W