History
Save our souls : the true story of a castaway family, treachery, and murder
Matthew Pearl
910.452 /Pearl
History
In this true story, on December 10, 1887, the Walker family's shark fishing boat was split in two by a storm, and they awoke in the morning on an island inhabited by a ragged man named Hans who seemed helpful but had a dark secret.
The sinners all bow : two authors, one murder, and the real Hester Prynne
Kate Winkler Dawson
364.1523 /Dawson
Nonfiction, History, True Crime
"On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Cornell was found hanging in a barn, four months pregnant, after a disgraceful liaison with a charismatic Methodist minister, Reverend Ephraim Avery. Some (Avery's lawyers) claimed her death was suicide--but others weren't so sure. Determined to uncover the real story, intrepid Victorian writer Catharine Williams threw herself into the investigation and wrote what many claim is the first American true-crime narrative: Fall River. The case and Williams's book became a sensation--one that divided thecountry and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. But the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell's death. ... In [this account], ... true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson travels back in time to 19th century small town America, emboldened to finish the work Williams started nearly two centuries before."--
Kate Dawson takes a deep dive into a historical death, using today's methods of investigation to deduce what happened. Along the way, she takes a look at another author who covered the same crime shortly after it happened (possibly the first American work of true crime writing, and one that Dawson clearly finds well-done and admirable), teasing out what their motives were. Dawson does a great job of being up-front with details and facts (which this librarian finds admirable!), while at the same time bringing an empathetic understanding to what was, and still is, a shocking crime. -Candice
The Wager : a tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder
Grann, David, author.
910.9164 /Grann
History, True Crime
A mesmerizing story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as "the prize of all the oceans," it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. But then...six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they had a very different story to tell...
"The Wager" a gripping tale that will be sure to captivate readers who enjoy a real-life story about adventure on the high seas, the lengths people will go to survive, and a historical narrative of seafaring in the 1700s. -Madison C
The sixth extinction : an unnatural history
Elizabeth. Kolbert
576.84 /Kolbert
History, Science
Provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
Who would have thought that humans might actually be the problem? Elizabeth Kolbert, apparently. "Sixth Extinction" is a compelling, eye-opening read about the human-led "sixth extinction" event taking place before our eyes. Part-history on the evolution of the scientific understanding of extinctions, part-commentary on the extinctions actively taking place, this novel forces readers to ask the question: "What will be humankind's lasting legacy?" -Madison C
Every valley : the desperate lives and troubled times that made Handel's Messiah
Charles King
780.92 /Handel
History, Literary Nonfiction, Music
"The epic, dramatic story of the 18th century men and women behind the making of Handel's Messiah, one of the world's most beloved works of classical music, from a New York Times bestselling historian and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. George Frideric Handel's Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras as well as by fans singing along to the lyrics on their cell phones. But this work of triumphant joy was born in an age of anxiety. Britain in the early eighteenth century, the so-called age of Enlightenment, was a time of war, enslavement, political conspiracy, social polarization, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth. Contrary to popular belief, the Messiah was not the product of a lone genius scribbling furiously on a musical staff. It came about because of a depressive political dissenter; an actress plagued by an abusive husband; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies; and Handel himself, once composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audience's attention. Set amid royal intrigue and theatrical scandal, and exploring the rich ideas of its day, Every Valley is a cinematic drama of the entangled lives that shaped a masterpiece"--
"It took a universe of pain to make a musical monument to hope." Charles King provides a riveting account of how Handel's Messiah came to be. -Anne M
The house on the canal : the story of the house that hid Anne Frank
Thomas Harding
j940.5318 Harding
Kids, Nonfiction, History
"In the middle of Amsterdam, next to a canal, stands a tall, narrow house. It was built almost four hundred years ago and has served as a home, a warehouse, a stable, and most notably, a hiding place. Sometimes it was splendidly decorated, humming with life and love; other times, the narrow house stood empty, in near ruins. Sometimes its green door was open and inviting; other times, it was closed against cold and plague or to conceal the victims of wartime persecution. This is the story of an extraordinary building, a structure that Anne Frank called in the pages of her diary 'the old house on the canal.'"--
JUST GO AHEAD AND GIVE BRITTA TECKENTRUP THE CALDECOTT MEDAL FOR THIS RIGHT NOW! -Anne W
Scotland Yard : a history of the London police force's most infamous murder cases
Simon Read
364.1523 /Read
Nonfiction, History, True Crime
"A riveting true-crime history of London's first modern police force as told through its most notorious murder cases. The idea of "Scotland Yard" is steeped in atmospheric stories of foggy London streets, murder by lamplight, and fiendish killers pursued by gentleman detectives. From its establishment in 1829 through the eve of World War II, Scotland Yard--the world's first modern, professional, and centrally organized police force--set new standards for policing and investigating. Scotland Yard advanced ground-breaking use of forensics--from fingerprints to ballistics to evidence collection--made the first attempt at criminal profiling, and captivated the public on both sides of the Atlantic with feats of detective work that rivaled any fictional interpretation. Based on official case files, contemporary newspaper reporting, trial transcripts, and the first-hand accounts of the detectives on the beat, Scotland Yard tells the tales of some of history's most notorious murders--with cases that proved to be landmarks in the field of criminal inquiry"--Dust jacket flap.
You don't have to be addicted to BritBox or Acorn TV to want to enjoy this book, but if you are, then you might really want to check it out! The nitty gritty on the fabled London police force, combined with early cases that they worked on, makes for a very enlightening and entertaining read. -Candice
The language puzzle : piecing together the six-million-year story of how words evolved
Steven Mithen
417.7 /Mithen
Nonfiction, History, Science
"The emergence of language began with the apelike calls of our earliest ancestors. Today, the world is home to thousands of complex languages. Yet exactly how, when, and why this evolution occurred has been one of the most enduring--and contentiously debated--questions in science. In The Language Puzzle, renowned archaeologist Steven Mithen puts forward a groundbreaking new account of the origins of language. Scientists have gained new insights into the first humans of 2.8 million years ago, and how numerous species flourished but only one, Homo sapiens, survives today. Drawing from this work and synthesizing research across archaeology, psychology, linguistics, genetics, neuroscience, and more, Mithen details a step-by-step explanation of how our human ancestors transitioned from apelike calls to words, and from words to language as we use it today. He explores how language shaped our cognition and vice versa; how metaphor advanced Homo sapiens' ability to formulate abstract concepts, develop agriculture, and--ultimately--shape the world. The result is a master narrative that builds bridges between disciplines, stuns with its breadth and depth, and spans millennia of societal development."--Inside flap.
If you're like me, you've often lain awake at night, wondering how language came to be. As in, how did we take that step (more likely, steps) from whoops and grunts and hoots to making sounds that were intentional and imbued with meaning, and how did we get others to agree on those sounds and meanings, and how did we spread this newfound amazing ability, and how did it evolve? And so on. If you've had these thoughts, this book is for you. -Candice
Welcome to Samantha's world, 1904 : growing up in America's new century
Catherine Gourley
j973.91 Gourley
Fiction, Historical Fiction, Kids, Nonfiction, History
An in-depth look at life for girls and women in America in 1904, discussing city and town life, social reform, new inventions, amusements, and more.
If you're like me and grew up with American Girl, you know that this book was a highly sought after item! I, myself, am a Samantha, and was absolutely thrilled to find that ICPL had a copy of Welcome to Samantha's World in the collection! I'd never had the privilege of looking through this book before, but always dreamed about it when I was younger. Catherine Gourley provides a wider historical context for the Samantha books that illustrate what life what like for young girls at the turn of the century. I would definitely recommend for any fans of American Girl! -Violette
The soldier's friend : Walt Whitman's extraordinary service in the American Civil War
Gary Golio
j973.7 Golio
Kids, Picture Books, Nonfiction, History
When Walt Whitman saw his brother's name on a list of wounded Union soldiers, he went to see him in the war hospital, and did not stop visiting and ministering to Civil War soldiers for the next three years.
A moving and fascinating story of poet Walt Whitman's service to wounded Union soldiers during the Civil War. In a period that would profoundly influence Whitman's development as a writer and person, after his brother was injured in the war, Whitman worked at a DC military hospital ministering to the wounded - reading to them, listening to them, helping them write letters, feeding them (many had never tried ice cream before, just one of many treats Whitman brought to the hospital to share), and helping to bury the dead. -Anne W
Save Our Souls is a shipwreck survival book. It has all the elements of a thrilling adventure--being lost at sea, foraging on a deserted island (in this case one of the Midway Islands), and faction-based mutiny. But there is a twist. Someone is already on the island that makes things far more complicated--he knows the island, but why is he there by himself? And there is also the context of the late-19th century. Pearl deftly explains the economics and politics of a European shark fishing boat in the middle of the Pacific.It is a fascinating read. -Anne M