[bksvol-discuss] Fw: History and Current Events August 2008
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:29:46 -0400
New and Recently Released!
One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear
War - by Michael Dobbs
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/3/2008
ISBN: 9781400043583
ISBN-10: 1400043581
There are, of course, many books focusing on the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, but
this chronicle of the standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over
the placement of missiles in Cuba draws on previously unused American, Soviet,
and Cuban sources. In analyzing the events and personalities involved,
Washington
Post reporter Michael Dobbs reveals just how close the world came to nuclear
war...and how it was so narrowly avoided. If you're looking for a "densely
packed, fast-paced, suspenseful narrative" (Publishers Weekly) of that tense
time, you need look no further than One Minute to Midnight.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation - by Barbara Ehrenreich
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/24/2008
ISBN: 9780805088403
ISBN-10: 0805088407
Watch out, health insurers, big-buck CEOs, and big-box stores--journalist and
social critic Barbara Ehrenreich is coming for you. In this collection of
essays, Ehrenreich takes aim at the social, political, and economic policies
that are making the gap between America's rich and poor grow wider by the
day. She also dissects political and corporate corruption and provides a wealth
of examples that showcase the growing inequality between the haves and
have-nots. Both entertaining and eye-opening, these previously published essays
are a call to arms.
Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World - by David Maraniss
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 7/1/2008
ISBN: 9781416534075
ISBN-10: 1416534075
As the Olympic Games once again come to town (granted, it's a town far, far
away), this account of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome is certainly timely.
In Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss' latest book, you'll learn
of the first Olympic doping scandal, of the propaganda battle between Cold
War enemies, and how the fight for civil rights played out in the parade of
nations and elsewhere--all at the world's first televised summer Olympics.
Though Maraniss concentrates on events that American athletes predominated in,
his analysis will appeal to anyone interested in the overlap between sports
and politics.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Backstreets of a Changing City - by
Michael Meyer
Publisher: Walker & Company
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/24/2008
ISBN: 9780802716521
ISBN-10: 0802716520
Since 1990, 1.25 million Beijing residents have been evicted from traditional
neighborhoods called hutongs to make way for modern Beijing. As a Peace Corps
volunteer, Michael Meyer lived in one of these areas, which are crisscrossed
with the narrow lanes that give them their name, for two years. In his first
book, the award-winning travel writer describes life in these close-knit
neighborhoods (complete with shared latrines) and the devastating effects that
modernization has had on their residents and the communities they form. Full of
colorful characters--such as Meyer's bossy landlady--as well as insight,
this appealing book will also be of interest to armchair travelers intrigued by
China.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies Over
America on 9/11 - by Lynn Spencer
Publisher: Free Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/3/2008
ISBN: 9781416559252
ISBN-10: 1416559256
In Touching History, commercial pilot and flight instructor Lynn Spencer uses
interviews and transcripts as well as her own considerable understanding of
the airline industry to conduct her own investigation into what went on in the
skies on September 11th, 2001. The result is riveting, if frightening, as
she shows the perspectives of air traffic controllers, pilots, and military
commanders who struggled to communicate and formulate a plan against an unknown
enemy. "Impressively researched and compellingly written," says Library Journal.
First Chapter
Focus on: The Renaissance
Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance - by Lisa Jardine
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/1/1998
ISBN: 9780393318661
ISBN-10: 0393318664
The Renaissance was a time of increased intellectual pursuits and artistic
endeavors, but British professor of English Lisa Jardine argues that it was also
a time of significant business dealings and shopping sprees: advances in
culture and technology spurred the creation of wealth, which in turn increased
international trade and prompted technological innovation. Worldly Goods, which
is full of specific examples and the tales of individuals, also looks at
how the spiritual and the materialistic aspects of the Renaissance came into
conflict. In all it makes for a "fascinating" (The New York Times) read.
The Renaissance: A Short History - by Paul Johnson
Publisher: Modern Library
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 8/1/2002
ISBN: 9780812966190
ISBN-10: 0812966198
Though brief, this comprehensive history of the Renaissance period traces the
economic, technological, and social developments of the era, but focuses on
the artistic contributions made by such figures as da Vinci, Michelangelo, and
Dante. In addition to discussing how the Renaissance movement developed,
historian Paul Johnson also addresses how it ended and how it continues to
influence the achievements of today. As an introduction to the art,
architecture,
and literature of the Renaissance, this book is a "stimulating and
sophisticated, if rapid, tour" (Kirkus Reviews).
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Michelangelo & the Pope's Ceiling - by Ross King
Publisher: Penguin Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 12/1/2003
ISBN: 9780142003695
ISBN-10: 0142003697
These days, the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel attracts so many
admirers that it can be hard to move through the room, but it's unlikely that
many
of them truly appreciate the massive amount of work--and strife--that went into
completing it. This "legend-busting, richly detailed account" (Kirkus Reviews)
would certainly set them straight. Commissioned in 1508 by the demanding Pope
Julius II, Michelangelo, a sculptor, knew little of the art of frescoing.
Nevertheless, in four years (and amid political drama) he was able to create
one of the world's greatest works of art. If the art and architecture of the
Renaissance interests you, try Brunelleschi's Dome, the author's take on the
dome of Florence's Santa Maria del Flore, next.
First Chapter
Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence - by
Tim Parks
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 4/1/2005
ISBN: 9780393058277
ISBN-10: 0393058271
In this "marvelously entertaining history" (Booklist), author Tim Parks shows
how money, politics, and religion mixed in Renaissance-era Florence, as embodied
by the Medici family. His account of the 15th century's preeminent financiers
describes how the Medicis built their fortune by using all the tools at their
disposal, including a great deal of subterfuge. At a time when lending money
for a fee was considered a sin, the Medicis still managed to count the Catholic
Church as a major client. To learn how they did this--and how their power
ultimately withered and died--you'll want to check out Medici Money.
Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's - by R.A. Scotti
Publisher: Viking
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/8/2006
ISBN: 9780670037766
ISBN-10: 0670037761
St. Peter's Basilica is widely considered to be the architectural apex of the
Roman Catholic Church, but building it meant tearing down the most sacred
shrine in Europe--the millennium-old St. Peter's Basilica built by the Emperor
Constantine. Constructing the new St. Peter's was a two-century project
which embroiled countless popes and engaged some of the greatest artists of the
age, among them Michelangelo, Bramante, and Bernini. Author R.A. Scotti
brings the construction, the men, and both the splendor and the scandal to life
in this "fascinating tale of genius, power and money" (Publishers Weekly).
Table of Contents
Other related posts:
- » [bksvol-discuss] Fw: History and Current Events August 2008
