Not sure what to read next? Try a book from this mixed bag of selections that offer unique perspectives on recent and not-so-recent events. They are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.
The Castaway’s War: One Man’s Battle Against Imperial Japan by Stephen Harding
Injured and thrown into the water after his destroyer was hit by a Japanese torpedo, a young lieutenant survived three days at sea, found his way to an occupied island, and launched a one-man war against the enemy.
Jefferson’s America: The President, the Purchase, and the Explorers Who Transformed a Nation by Julie M. Fenster
In addition to Lewis and Clark, Thomas Jefferson sent four other expeditions into the West after making the Louisiana Purchase.
The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939-1945 by Max Hastings
Espionage successes and failures by the US, Britain, Russia, Germany, and Japan influenced the course of the war and its final outcome.
Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street’s Great Foreclosure Fraud by David Dayen
A nurse, car dealership worker and insurance fraud specialist helped uncover a scandal that implicated dozens of major executives on Wall Street.
The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland by Dan Barry
A group of developmentally disabled workers was forced to work under harrowing conditions for twenty-five years with virtually no wages.
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
Following Washington’s evacuation of New York in September 1776, Benedict Arnold succeeded in postponing the British naval advance, but four years later he fled to the enemy after a foiled attempt to surrender the fortress at West Point.
The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb by Neal Bascomb
British Special Ops, a brilliant scientist and refugee Norwegian commandos foiled Hitler’s nuclear ambitions with a raid against occupied Norway’s Vemork hydroelectric plant’s heavy water production.
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
In 2012, as Al Qaeda militants seized control of Timbuktu and threatened to destroy thousands of ancient manuscripts, a mild-mannered archivist organized a dangerous operation to get all 350,000 volumes to safety.
A Grizzly in the Mall and Other Adventures in American History by Tim Grove
An insider’s tour of interesting historic sites includes stories about planting a cotton patch on the National Mall, riding a high-wheel bicycle, flying the transcontinental airmail route and harnessing a mule.
The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle that Brought Down the Klan by Laurence Leamer
The brutal killing of a young black man and subsequent conviction of two Klansmen in 1981 Alabama led to the civil suit that exposed the true motives of the organization and ultimately bankrupted them.
First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama by Joshua Kendall
Parenting styles reveal much about presidential beliefs, psychological make-ups and fathering experiences and have changed the course of American history.
The Fall of Heavens: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran by Andrew Scott Cooper
A gripping account of the rise and fall of Iran’s glamorous dynasty was written with the cooperation of the late Shah’s widow, Iranian revolutionaries and officials from the Carter administration.
The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer by Kate Summerscale
In the summer of 1895, a thirteen-year-old boy and his twelve-year-old brother were arrested for the murder of their mother and sent for trial at London’s Old Bailey.
American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin
Two months after the February 1974 kidnapping of Hearst heiress and college sophomore Patty Hearst, a self-styled group of revolutionaries calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army released a tape saying she had joined the SLA and adopted the name “Tania”.
September 9, 2016