History

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

 

Hamilton’s America aired on PBS on October 21. A powerful musical, if you haven’t heard it you can borrow a copy of the broadway soundtrack on CD or stream it on Hoopla. You might find that the music inspires you to explore further into our early nation. If so, try some of these additional resources that span fact and fiction from throughout the library. This assorted list includes items from the children’s collection that might be of wide interest, followed by denser materials from the adult collection. Don't find yourself saying, "What'd I Miss?" 

Aaron and Alexander by Don Brown

Explains how political differences between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton escalated their Revolutionary War-era rivalry and culminated in the most famous duel in American history. The final line of this beautifully illustrated picture book should sing out to fans of the musical.

Also available in: e-audiobook | video | e-video

Sheds light on the fascinating life and interests of the Renaissance man who was our third president.

For many, Detroit is the crunch capital of the world. More than forty local chip companies once fed the Motor City's never-ending appetite for salty snacks, including New Era, Everkrisp, Krun-Chee, Mello Crisp, Wolverine and Vita-Boy. Only Better Made remains. From the start, the brand was known for light, crisp chips that were near to perfection. Discover how Better Made came to be, how its chips are made and how competition has shaped the industry into what it is today.

The Ghost Army was officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. From June 1944 to March 1945 it staged 20 battlefield deceptions, beginning in Normandy and ending at the Rhine River. These deceptions included an array of inflatables (tanks, trucks, jeeps, and airplanes), sound trucks, phony radio transmissions and even playacting to fool the enemy.

In the hot and deadly summer of 1964, the nation could not turn away from Mississippi. Over ten memorable weeks known as Freedom Summer, more than 700 student volunteers joined with organizers and local African Americans in a historic effort to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in one of the nation's most segregated states, even in the face of intimidation, physical violence, and death.

In 1948, the Soviet Union blocked access to West Berlin, starving the population and choking commerce. Allied forces refused to cede the city, and for nearly a year, supplied two million civilians and 20,000 allied solders entirely from the air. Through the personal stories of those who were there, this program provides a striking look at the first battle of the Cold War and the largest humanitarian campaign the world has ever seen.

Documents the Vietnam War using footage from the Dick Cavett Show, archival footage and newly filmed interviews.

Recounts the assassination and excruciating final months of President James Garfield's life. A brilliant scholar, courageous general, and fervent abolitionist, Garfield never wanted the job of president. But once in office, he worked tirelessly to reunite a nation still divided 15 years after the Civil War. As he lay dying, the North and South came together to pray for his recovery.

In the early 1900s, San Francisco stood as a proud and flourishing symbol of America's recent conquest of the once-wild West. But on April 19, 1906, the city would experience an awesome reminder of the uncontrollable forces lying dormant just beneath the splendors of its cosmopolitan surface. Thirty times more powerful than the temblor that decimated northern California in 1989, this earthquake measured a ground-wrenching 8.3 on the Richter scale, resulting in the worst catastrophe suffered by a North American city in the twentieth century. Contains rare, newly restored movie footage from the period and the personal accounts of eyewitnesses.

The extraordinary true story of the downfall of one of England's wealthiest families. When the sixth Earl Fitzwilliam died in 1902, he left behind the second largest estate in twentieth-century England -- a lifeline to the tens of thousands of people who worked either in the family's coal mines or on their expansive estate. The earl also left behind four sons, and the family line seemed assured. But was it?

When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed a property listing for a grand estate that had been unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled into one of the most surprising American stories of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Empty Mansions is a rich tale of wealth and loss, complete with copper barons, Gilded Age opulence, and backdoor politics. At its heart is a reclusive 104-year-old heiress named Huguette Clark.

After the Ninth Duke of Rutland, one of the wealthiest men in Britain, died alone in a cramped room in the servants' quarters of Belvoir Castle on April 21, 1940, his son and heir ordered the room, which contained the Rutland family archives, sealed. Sixty years later, Catherine Bailey became the first historian given access. What she discovered was a mystery: the Duke had painstakingly erased three periods of his life from all family records-but why? As Bailey uncovers the answers, she also provides an intimate portrait of the very top of British society in the turbulent days leading up to World War I.

Picture Books

A collection of poems that explore the life of Louis Fuertes and his sense of wonder when he painted living, flying birds in their natural habitats.

Beatrix Potter by Margaret Speaker-Yuan

 

To earn eLectrified badges, follow the links to various media formats of each title, or read the print book to earn your bookworm badges. In the list of people below you will find that all of them have made history, but some are animal lovers, others creative types, and some explore the great outdoors.

Also available in: e-audiobook | video | e-video

Bilingual text, accompanied by colorful photographs, explores the famous artist's life, and illuminates the laughter, love, and tragedy that influenced her work.

Also available in: video | e-video

Follows the life of the famous physicist, from his early ideas to his groundbreaking theories.

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