History

  1. A Splash of Red

    Staff Pick Review:
    Fri, May 31, 2013
    A Splash of Red
    Link to this book

     

    This outstanding non-fiction picture book for older readers tells the story of African American artist Horace Pippin.  A quote from the book: "Pictures just come to my mind...and I tell my heart to go ahead," is touching when you think of a child who did not have real art supplies of his own until he won a contest.  During World War I Horace was wounded in the right shoulder, and was unable to draw the way he had loved to so much. 

  2. Henry and the Cannons

    Staff Pick Review:
    Fri, May 10, 2013
    Henry and the Cannons
    Link to this book

     

    In 1775, the British Army had settled in Boston, and General Washington had no way of getting them to leave.  Bookstore owner Henry Knox had the idea to retrieve 59 cannons from Fort Ticonderoga...in the middle of the winter.  This involved traveling over ice, snow, mountains, woods, lakes, and once in a while there was a road to follow.  After fifty days of traveling from Fort Ticonderoga, Henry arrived in Boston with all 59 cannons. 

  3. The Price of Freedom:

    Staff Pick Review:
    Fri, Apr 5, 2013
    The Price of Freedom:
    Link to this book

     

    This superb factual tale of John Price is fascinating.  John Price escaped from slavery in January 1856.  After crossing the frozen Ohio River, he was in Ohio, was slavery was not allowed.  He wasn't completely safe though, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed slave owners to capture their runaway slaves anywhere in the United States, even in states where slavery was against the law, like Ohio.  Canada was Price's destination; slavery was completely outlawed there.  Price stopped for the winter in Oberlin, Ohio.

  4. The Split History of World War II :

    Staff Pick Review:
    Fri, Mar 1, 2013
    Link to this book

     

    In the Perspectives Flip Book series, readers look at critical times in history and in essence read two books, each looking at the time period from a variety of perspectives.  In this book, we start with the allies perspective, and when we flip the book we get the axis perspective.  The series currently includes a book about the American Revolution, the Civil War and about Westward Expansion.

  5. The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill

    Staff Pick Review:
    Wed, Feb 27, 2013
    The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill - Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 (1983)
    The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill - Alone, 1932-1940 (1988)
    Link to this book

    Dozens, if not hundreds, of biographies have been written about Winston Churchill, but none are as insightful, or as gracefully written, as this brilliant work by William Manchester. The book is in two parts: Visions of Glory, which covers the first 58 years of Churchill’s life; and Alone, detailing the 1930s, when Churchill was out of government.

  6. Plutocrats

    Staff Pick Review:
    Wed, Jan 23, 2013
    Plutocrats book cover cover
    Link to this book

    The short version: This informative book should appeal to supporters of both wealthy job creators and 99%-ers, as well as anyone interested in current events or the way money shapes our world.

  7. I Have a Dream

    Staff Pick Review:
    Wed, Jan 23, 2013
    I Have a Dream
    Link to this book

    On August 28, 1963, almost 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his powerful and iconic “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.  The “Dream” portion of the stirring speech provides the narrative for this picture book, illustrated with inspired and inspiring paintings by Caldecott Honor Award-winning artist Kadir Nelson.  Nelson includes portraits of Dr.

  8. Team of Rivals

    Staff Pick Review:
    Wed, Jan 2, 2013
    Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (2005)
    Link to this book

    In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was a former one-term congressman and two-time failed senate candidate from Illinois. Despite this feeble resume, he managed to outmaneuver the top leaders of the Republican party—all far more experienced and better known than Lincoln—and win the nomination for president. Once elected, and as the southern states began pulling out of the Union, Lincoln selected these same political rivals as the members of his new cabinet.

  12. Life as a Viking: an Interactive History Adventure

    Wed, Mar 28, 2012
    Life as a Viking: an Interactive History Adventure
    Link to this book

    This interactive history adventure is part of Capstone Press’ You Choose series.  You the readers choose whether to experience a Viking raid, serve in a Viking army, or fight the last battles of the Vikings, with 24 possible endings.  This book is packed with adventure and the unknown.  Check out other You Choose books such as Life as a Knight,

  13. Listening Is an Act of Love

    Mon, Aug 27, 2012
    Link to this book

    If you listen to NPR on Friday mornings, you may be familiar with the interviews from David Isay’s StoryCorps Project.  Shortly after 9/11, David Isay decided he wanted to record an oral history of America.  Not just any history, mind you, he set out to capture the lives of everyday Americans --- your average John & Jane Doe, not the elite upper-crust celebrities that traditionally dominate the media.  He set up a recording booth in Grand Central Station in New York City where family members and friends can record interviews with each other.  It became so popular tha

  14. The Devil in the White City

    Tue, May 31, 2011
    The Devil in the White City
    Link to this book

    Author Erik Larson details the events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, focusing on the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. I have read a lot of reviews where people had a strong preference for one story or the other, but found both equally intriguing.

  15. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

    Wed, Aug 24, 2011
    True Story of Hansel and Gretel
    Link to this book

    Will we ever truly understand what it was like to be Jewish in World War II? Probably not, but this book adds another perspective. Just like in the fairy tale you remember, two children are abandoned in the woods and if you pay close attention there is even a trail of breadcrumbs. But it isn't because the stepmother doesn't like them. The family is running for their very lives. They must all lose their identities in order to survive. Even their names have to change. There is a cottage in the woods, a mysterious and frightening old woman, and a big oven.

  16. Destiny of the Republic

    Wed, Jul 11, 2012
    Destiny of the Republic
    Link to this book

    The author was inspired to write this book when she was reading a biography of Alexander Graham Bell. This famous inventor, courted by people from around the world due to his invention of the telephone five years before, set aside all his other projects to try to create an instrument that would help heal President Garfield by locating the assassin’s bullet. Her research led her to discover the character of this “minor” President, shot four months into his tenure.

  17. The Poisoner's Handbook

    Wed, Sep 7, 2011
    Link to this book

    Untraceable poisons were easy to get, Tammany Hall controlled the coroner’s office while corrupt cops and politicians ruled Jazz Age New York—it had never been easier to get away with murder. This is how Pulitzer-prize winning author Deborah Blum’s fascinating story about the beginning of forensic and chemical detective work begins.

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