The Irish in the American Civil War

By Shiels, Damian

Publishing Date: 2013

Classification: 900

Call Number: 973.7089 SHI

This is the story of the forgotten role of the 200,000 Irish men and women who were involved in various ways in the American Civil War.

Differ we must: how Lincoln succeeded in a divided America

By Inskeep, Steve

Publishing Date: 2023

Classification: 900

Call Number: 973.7092 INS

"From journalist and historian Steve Inskeep, a compelling and nuanced exploration of the political acumen of Abraham Lincoln via sixteen encounters before and during his presidency, bringing to light not only the strategy of a great politician who inherited a country divided, but lessons for our own disorderly present. In 1855, as the United States found itself at odds over the issue of slavery, then lawyer Abraham Lincoln composed a note on the matter to his close friend, the heir to a slaveholding family in the South. Lincoln--who was morally against the institution of slavery--rebuked his friend for his opposing views, he lectured him, he challenged him. But in the end, he wrote: "If for this you and I must differ, differ we must." Throughout his life and political career, Lincoln often agreed to disagree. Democracy demanded it--even an adversary had a vote. The man who went on to become the sixteenth president of the United States has assumed many roles in our historical consciousness, but most notable is that he was, with no apology, a politician. And as Steve Inskeep argues, it was because he was willing to engage in politics--to work with his critics, to compromise with those whom he deeply opposed, and to move only as fast as voters would allow--that he was able to lead a social revolution. In DIFFER WE MUST, Inskeep illuminates this master politician's life through sixteen encounters. Some of these meetings are well known, and others more obscure, but all take on new significance when examined in detail. Each interaction was with a person who differed from Lincoln, and in each someone wanted something from the other. While it isn't clear if Lincoln was able to alter his critics' beliefs--many went to war against him--nor if they were able to change his, what is notable is that he learned how to make his beliefs actionable, via precise and practical techniques. Lincoln was a skilled storyteller, and a great orator. He told jokes, he relied on sarcasm, and often made fun of himself. But behind the banter was a master storyteller, who carefully chose what to say and what to withhold. He knew his limitations and, as history came to prove, he knew how to prioritize. As the host of NPR's Morning Edition for almost two decades, Inskeep has mastered the art of bridging divides and building constructive debate in interviews; in DIFFER WE MUST, he brings his skills to bear on a prior master and in doing so forms a fresh and compelling narrative of Lincoln's life. With rich detail and enlightening commentary, Inskeep expands our understanding of a politician who held strong to his moral compass while navigating between corrosive political factions, one who began his career in the minority party and not only won the majority, but succeeded in uniting a nation"--

NEW RELEASE

The demon of unrest: a saga of hubris, heartbreak, and heroism at the dawn of the Civil War

By Larson, Erik

Publishing Date: [2024]

Classification: 900

Call Number: 973.711 LAR

"On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. ...[An] account of the chaotic months between Lincoln's election and the Confederacy's shelling of Sumter--a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were 'so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.' At the heart of this ... narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter's commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable--one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans. Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story..."--

CSS Alabama vs USS Kearsarge: Cherbourg 1864

By Lardas, Mark

Publishing Date: 2011

Classification: 900

Call Number: 973.75 LAR

By the time of American Civil War things had changed from the Age of Fighting Sail - steam power and explosive shells were transforming naval warfare. Iron was beginning to supplant wood. Britain had just finished HMS Warrior, an iron-hulled warship and coastal ironclads dominated the waters off the United States. The changes meant that ships sank, during battles instead of afterwards. The fights were no less bloody, but in addition to flying splinters, a host of other dangers were added - burst steam boilers, fire due to exploding shells, and the burst from the shells themselves. But, just as in the age of sail, warship captains that won one-on-one battles with another warship became as famous as modern sports stars. During the course of the American Civil War, three single ship actions were fought between Union cruisers and Confederate raiders: CSS Florida vs. USS Wachusett, CSS Alabama vs. USS Hatteras, and CSS Alabama vs. USS Kearsarge. This book will present those, with an emphasis on the most famous battle: Alabama's fight with Kearsarge. Next to the battle between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia, no other naval duel of the American Civil War drew as much interest. That story is told from the eyes of the participants filtered through the lens of historical analysis available since the battles were fought. This includes archeological studies of wrecks of some of these ships, making this book an indispensible guide for anyone interested in Civil War and naval history.- (Random House, Inc.)

Mabel Dodge Luhan: new woman, new worlds

By Rudnick, Lois Palken

Publishing Date: [1984]

Classification: 900

Call Number: 973.9092 RUD

This fascinating biography reveals a complex and talented woman who tried to influence the course of American history and in so doing captured the imaginations of writers and artists seeking to come to terms with their visions of the twentieth century. Luhan's life is the story of America's emergence from the Victorian age, and, in particular, the story of the conflicts that American women experienced in their struggle to become movers and shakers. Both as a woman and as a legend, Mabel Dodge Luhan embodies the cultural forces that have shaped modern America. - Back cover.

Fire and rain: Nixon, Kissinger, and the wars in Southeast Asia

By Eisenberg, Carolyn Woods

Publishing Date: [2023]

Classification: 900

Call Number: 973.924 EIS

"Fire and Rain is a compelling, meticulous narrative of the way national security decisions formed at the highest levels of government affect the lives of individuals at home and abroad. By drawing these connections, Carolyn Woods Eisenberg brings to life policy decisions about Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, conveying their significance to a new generation of readers. She breaks fresh ground in contextualizing Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger's decisions within a wider institutional and societal framework. While recognizing the distinctive personalities and ideas of these two men, this study more broadly conveys the competing roles and impact of the professional military, the Congress, and a mobilized peace movement."--Amazon.com.

Winter: notes from Montana

By Bass, Rick

Publishing Date: [1991]

Classification: 900

Call Number: 978.6 BAS

Describes winter in a remote valley of inhabitants, the last valley in Montana without electricity.

100 years of real living, Bishop, Calif., 1861-1961: mementos of Bishop, California

By Bishop (Calif.). Chamber of Commerce.

Publishing Date: [1961]

Classification: 900

Call Number: 979.4 ONE

The tall mountain cast its shadow / Dorothy C. Cragen -- When there was pioneering to be done / Eva L. Yaney -- The century truns and thime marches on / Lillian Meacham -- The newlyweds came to Bishop on the Slim Princess / William G. Dixon -- Pickles and Durocs, brahmas and reatas / Glee Earl -- It was known as the Fandango / C. Lorin Ray -- A Greek laborer sweats in the high Sierra and a ball mill rolls in Goldfield / Jack Salter -- A dollar and a desire is all we require / Jack Foley -- Post office progress -- The gold mirage up Bishop Creek -- Stoping Moly down to the grizzlies / H.E. Hennas -- The fingers wrote and vanished / Genny Schumacher -- Up from the earth for her complexion / H.F. Buchholtz -- Bishop vigilantes / Eugene Mallory.

Lava Beds National Monument

By Lamb, Susan

Publishing Date: 1991

Classification: 900

Call Number: 979.421 LAM

NEW RELEASE

Ghost town living: mining for purpose and chasing dreams at the edge of Death Valley

By Underwood, Brent

Publishing Date: [2024]

Classification: 900

Call Number: 979.487 UND

"A radical vision for setting impossible goals and being brave enough to see them through-no matter the risk or the challenge-from the creator of hit YouTube channel Ghost Town Living"--

Federico Garcia Lorca: a life

By Gibson, Ian

Publishing Date: 1989

Classification: 900

Call Number: B GIB

Lorca scholar Gibson, author of the authoritative Death of Lorca ( LJ 7/73), revised and translated his two-part work in Spanish to produce this colorful, articulate, and well-documented study of the life of one of 20th-century Spain's most famous men of letters. Adroitly eschewing critical analysis of works (no mean feat in a literary biography), Gibson focuses instead on the poet's temperament, mood swings, and acquaintances; especially commendable is the unabashed candor with which he confronts Lorca's homosexuality, which the author analytically interprets as the underlying, pervasive motive for much of Lorca's behavior and output. An indispensable contribution to Lorca literature and currently the front runner for the definitive Lorca biography.-- Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio Copyright 1989 Cahners Business Information.

NEW RELEASE

Once upon a time: the captivating life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy

By Beller, Elizabeth

Publishing Date: 2024

Classification: 900

Call Number: B KENNEDY, CAROLYN

"The life and legacy of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, wife of John F. Kennedy Jr., are reexamined in this captivating and effervescent biography that is perfect for fans of My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy, What Remains, and Fairy Tale Interrupted. A quarter of a century after the plane crash that claimed the lives of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn, and sister-in-law Lauren, the magnitude of this tragedy remains fresh. Yet, Carolyn is still an enigmatic figure, a woman whose short life in the spotlight was besieged with misogyny and cruelty. Amidst today's cultural reckoning about the way our media treats women, Elizabeth Beller explores the real person behind the tabloid headlines and media frenzy. When she began dating America's prince, Carolyn was increasingly thrust into an overwhelming spotlight filled with relentless paparazzi who reacted to her reserve with a campaign of harassment and vilification. To this day, she is still depicted as a privileged princess-icy, vapid, and drug-addicted. She has even been accused of being responsible for their untimely death, allegedly delaying take-off until she finished her pedicure. But now, she is revealed as never before. A fiercely independent woman devoted to her adopted city and career, Carolyn relied on her impeccable eye and drive to fly up the ranks at Calvin Klein in the glossy, high-stakes fashion world of the 1990s. When Carolyn met her future husband, John was immediately drawn to her strong-willed personality, effortless charm, and high intelligence. Their relationship would change her life and catapult her to dizzying fame, but it was her vibrant life before their marriage and then hidden afterwards, that is truly fascinating. Based on in-depth research and exclusive interviews with friends, family members, teachers, roommates, and colleagues, this comprehensive biography reveals a multi-faceted woman worthy of our attention regardless of her husband and untimely death"--

Memoirs: a twentieth-century journey in science and politics

By Teller, Edward

Publishing Date: 2001

Classification: 900

Call Number: B TEL

The story of Edward Teller is the story of the twentieth century. Born in Hungary in 1908, Teller witnessed the rise of Nazism and anti-Semitism, two world wars, the McCarthy era, and the changing face of big science. A brilliant and controversial figure, Teller brings to these events a perspective that is at once surprising and insightful. Edward Teller is perhaps best known for his belief in freedom through strong defense. But this extraordinary memoir at last reveals the man behind the headlines -- passionate and humorous, devoted and loyal. Never before has Teller told his story as fully as he does here. We learn Teller's true position on everything from the bombing of Japan to the pursuit of weapons research in the post-war years. In clear and compelling prose, Teller chronicles the people and events that shaped him as a scientist, beginning with his early love of music and math, and continuing with his study of quantum physics under Werner Heisenberg. Present at many of the pivotal moments in modern science, Teller also describes his relationships with some of the century's greatest minds -- Einstein, Bohr, Fermi, Szilard, von Neumann -- and offers an honest assessment of the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs, the founding of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, and his complicated relationship with J. Robert Oppenheimer. He also offers, for the first time, a moving portrait of his childhood, his marriage and family life, and his deep friendship with physicist Maria Mayer. Writing about those aspects of his life that have had important public consequences -- from his conservative politics to his relationships with scientists and presidents -- Teller reveals himself to be a man with deep beliefs about liberty, security, and the moral responsibility of science. - Jacket flap.

The salt path

By Winn, Raynor

Publishing Date: 2019

Classification: 900

Call Number: B WIN

"Just days after Raynor Winn learns that Moth, her husband of thirty-two years, is terminally ill, their house and farm are taken away, along with their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, through Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea, and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable and life-affirming journey. Powerfully written and unflinchingly honest, The Salt Path is ultimately a portrayal of home--how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways"--