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New History Books at the Library

If you are interested in history, it is a great time to visit the library. We have a lot of new history books on our shelf right now. I’m just going to jump right in and tell you about some of them.

“To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, The Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876” by Bret Baier (921 Grant) is an epic history spanning the battlefields of the Civil War, the violent turmoil of Reconstruction, and a forgotten electoral crisis that nearly fractured a reunited nation.

“The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet” by Nell McShane Wulfhart (331.4813 McShane): During the 1960s, stewardesses — “Sky Girls” — had many restrictions they had to follow to keep their jobs. They had strict weight limits, couldn’t get married or have children, and weren’t allowed to wear glasses. Also, they were only able to work as a stewardess until they were 32, then they lost their jobs. That is until Patt & Tommie caused a revolution when they decided to fight for their rights.

“Watergate: A New History” by Garrett M. Graff (923.924 Graff): In the early hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard named Frank Wills enters six words into the logbook of the Watergate office complex that will change the course of history: “1:47 AM Found tape on doors; call police.” Accessing documents and transcripts that have recently become public, the author takes another look at this pivotal time in our history.

“The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies” by Paul Fischer (777.092 Fischer): Do you think Thomas Edison invented motion pictures? Apparently he didn’t but claimed that he did. In 1890, Louis Le Prince, was ready to show the world his amazing invention…and then he disappeared.

“The Watermen: The Birth of American Swimming and One Young Man’s Fight to Capture Olympic Gold” by Michael Loynd (797.2109 Loynd): If you enjoyed “Boys in the Boat” and “Seabiscuit,” you will want to read this one. It follows Charles Daniels and his courageous fight to be the first American swimmer to win Olympic gold.

“The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World” by Shelley Puhak (920 Bruneha): In sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport — these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe.

“Mutinous Women: How French Convicts Became Founding Mothers of the Gulf Coast” by Joan DeJean (976.02 DeJean): In 1719, women convicts left France, headed for Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley aboard the ship La Mutine (the mutinous woman). Only 62 survived the voyage out of the 132 herded into the ship’s hold in shackles. Many of those women made a name for themselves throughout the Gulf Coast, through marriage, and eventually owning property, they helped to settle New Orleans and the surrounding areas. Mutinous women indeed.

This is just a sample of the history books we have recently added to our shelves. Be sure to stop in and see what interesting stories you can find.

If you are a history lover, you might be interested in attending the library’s History Book Group. It meets on the third Tuesday of each month in the Fred Johnson Room in our upper level. Its next meeting is Tuesday, July 19, at noon. Grab a copy of “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” by Matthew Desmond at the library and join them.

The Brown County Historical Society also has a book group. It meets at the BCHS annex on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. It will be meeting on Wednesday, July 6, to discuss “All the Gallant Men: The First Memoir by a USS Arizona Survivor” by Donald Stratton.

The library will be closed Monday, July 4. The library is located at 17 N. Broadway and is open to the public Monday to Thursday 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

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