History

Journey back in time, fact or fiction, explore your own family tree.

Books About the Early United States

July 2, 2017 | strande

The Fourth of July holiday serves as an inspiration to look back at the beginning of the United States. The following materials might interest readers who enjoy the early history of our country, or who like learning new and surprising things. Click on the titles for location and availability.

Ladies of liberty : the women who shaped our nation by Cokie Roberts

Shares the stories of remarkable women who shaped American history between 1796 and 1828, including Dolley Madison, Isabella Graham, and Sacajawea.

A Spy called James : the True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent by Anne F Rockwell

The true story of James Armistead Lafayette--a slave who spied for George Washington's army during the American Revolution. But while America celebrated its newfound freedom, James returned to slavery. His service hadn't qualified him for the release he'd been hoping for. For James the fight wasn't over; he'd helped his country gain its freedom, now it was time to win his own.

Discover America

June 26, 2017 | SuzyQ
Booknotes : stories from American history
The American mind : an interpretation of American thought and character since the 1880's by Henry Steele Commager
Here is where : discovering America's great forgotten history by Andrew Carroll

Watergate Break-In : 45 Years Ago

June 17, 2017 | SuzyQ

On the morning of June 17, 1972, five burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee which was located in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.  An FBI investigation discovered there was a connection between cash found on the burglars and a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, which was the official organization of President Richard Nixon's campaign.This led led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration, articles of impeachment, and ultimately the resignation of Nixon.

Watergate : the presidential scandal that shook America by Keith W. Olson
Abuse of power : the new Nixon tapes

It Was 50 Years Ago Today

June 7, 2017 | SuzyQ

Check out some of these timeless films that were released in 1967!

Bonnie and Clyde [videodisc]

This film is based on the exploits of the notorious American outlaws of the 1930's, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.

Cool hand Luke [videodisc]

Lucas Jackson is a man who refuses to be nailed down, conform to rules and regulations, or fit into society, and now, he's on a chain gang. He's a likable enough guy, always smiling, always ready for a little fun. He eats 50 hard-boiled eggs on a bet and collects all the money in the camp. He's more or less like the people he hangs around with, except he won't be pushed. He knows his own mind. This makes him the only prisoner with guts enough to talk back to the bosses and the only one with nerve enough to escape.

Truth or Consequences

June 7, 2017 | SuzyQ
Brave new world revisited by Aldous Huxley
Goebbels : a biography by Peter Longerich

Longerich engages and challenges the careful self-portrait that Goebbels left behind in his diaries, and, as he delves deep into the mind of Hitler's master propagandist, and discovers first-hand how the Nazi message was conceived.

Axis Sally : the American voice of Nazi Germany by Richard Lucas

A Tale of Two, or Three, or More Cities

June 1, 2017 | SuzyQ
Once in a great city : a Detroit story by David Maraniss
Paris : the secret history by Andrew Hussey
Florence : a portrait by Michael Levey

JFK @ 100

May 29, 2017 | SuzyQ

May 29 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of John F. Kennedy. Learn more about our 35th president by checking out some of the Library's many resources.

An unfinished life : John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek
Ask not: the inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the speech that changed America by Thurston Clarke

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

May 27, 2017 | SuzyQ

Originally released in the UK on May 26, 1967, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' landmark album. The U.S. release was on June 1.

Beatles '66 : the revolutionary year by Steve Turner

A riveting look at the transformative year in the lives and careers of the legendary group whose groundbreaking legacy would forever change music and popular culture. They started off as hysteria-inducing pop stars playing to audiences of screaming teenage fans and ended up as musical sages considered responsible for ushering in a new era. The year that changed everything for the Beatles was 1966-- the year of their last concert and their first album, Revolver, that was created to be listened to rather than performed. This was the year the Beatles risked their popularity by retiring from live performances, recording songs that explored alternative states of consciousness, experimenting with avant-garde ideas, and speaking their minds on issues of politics, war, and religion. 

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [sound recording]

Remembering Those Who Served

May 19, 2017 | durbinm

Memorial Day is a federal holiday that celebrates the men and women who have died in military service for the United States. Learn more about this important holiday and some of our brave heroes in the following books:

 

Memorial Day by Trudi Strain Trueit

Loose Lips Sink Ships

May 16, 2017 | SuzyQ
Three minutes to doomsday : an agent, a traitor, and the worst espionage breach in US history by Joe Navarro
Stalin's Englishman : Guy Burgess, the Cold War, and the Cambridge spy ring by Andrew Lownie

Guy Burgess was the most important, complex, and fascinating of The Cambridge Spies--Maclean, Philby, Blunt--brilliant young men recruited in the 1930s to betray their country to the Soviet Union. An engaging and charming companion to many, an unappealing, utterly ruthless manipulator to others, Burgess rose through academia, the BBC, the Foreign Office, MI5 and MI6, gaining access to thousands of highly sensitive secret documents which he passed to his Russian handlers.

The main enemy : the inside story of the CIA's final showdown with the KGB by Milt Bearden

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