In celebration of our nation's 237th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the Battle at Gettysburg...

American creation [Large print]: triumphs and tragedies at the founding of the Republic by Joseph J. Ellis

Benjamin Franklin [large print] by Edmund S. Morgan

Bunker Hill [large print]: a city, a siege, a revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick

The killer angels [Large print] by Michael Shaara

Samuel Adams [Large print]: a life by Ira Stoll

This month in history Benedict Arnold was executed, Marilyn Monroe was born, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album was released, WWII Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, and the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York.

The real Benedict Arnold by Jim Murphy

The making of Some like it hot: my memories of Marilyn Monroe and the classic American movie by Tony Curtis with Mark A. Vieira

D-day: the battle for Normandy by Antony Beevor

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

Enlightening the world: the creation of the Statue of Liberty by Yasmin Sabina Khan

Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated new film Lincoln opens on November 9. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as our 16th president, and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, it is inspired by Doris Kearns Goodwin's 2005 book Team of Rivals: the political genius of Abraham Lincoln. The film focuses on Lincoln's final few months in office, specifically his tireless efforts to get the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (abolishing slavery) passed. Other historical figures portrayed in the movie are the abolitionist congressman from Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens (portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones), and Secretary of State William Henry Seward (David Straithairn). The library's biography and history collections are full of great reads to help you get acquainted with one of our greatest presidents and one of the most tumultuous periods of American history.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the War of 1812. It was on June 18, 1812 that the United States declared war on Great Britain, and although it is arguably one of America's least remembered wars, it was during this time that many legendary battles were fought, heroes made, and memorable events occurred. It was during this war that the British burned the White House and First Lady Dolley Madison helped to save several valuable items — such as George Washington's portrait and original drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It was during this war that Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner at Fort McHenry.

1493: uncovering the new world Columbus created by Charles C. Mann

Almost president: the men who lost the race but changed the nation by Scott Farris

Hedy's folly: the life and breakthrough inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the most beautiful woman in the world by Richard Rhodes

The swerve: how the world became modern by Stephen Greenblatt

Why America failed: the roots of imperial decline by Morris Berman

If you have read Kevin Boyle's Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, the 2011-2012 Great Michigan Read try David Halberstram or Branch Taylor or one of the many documentaries about Civil Rights in America produced over the years.

Faith in the city: preaching radical social change in Detroit by Angela D. Dillard; with a foreword by Charles G. Adams

Race and remembrance: a memoir by Arthur L. Johnson

Sweet land of liberty: the forgotten struggle for civil rights in the North by Thomas J. Sugrue

The children by David Halberstam

In 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 National American Indian Heritage Month. Similar proclamations have been issued each year since 1994. The National Register of Historic Places has put together a list of sites promoting the history and culture of Native Americans. The following Special Collection is designed to highlight some of the library's many resources about Native Americans.

General Reference

Historical Dictionary of North American Archaeology edited by Edward B. Jelks: This comprehensive guide to mainly prehistoric sites, cultures and artifacts in the United States and Canada features some 1800 signed entries by 151 expert contributors.

American Indians edited by Harvey Markowitz: This three-volume set, arranged alphabetically in an encyclopedia style, highlights hundreds of important characters, events, places and concepts in Native American culture. Also included are a timeline, addresses of educational institutions, agencies, museums as well as statistical information.