Staff Recommendations
Sheryn Morris
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The chancellor : the remarkable odyssey of Angela Merkel
by Marton, Kati
March 23, 2022
Call Number: 92 M5633Ma
There are three major "firsts" in Angela Merkel’s lifetime of public service. She was the first female Chancellor of Germany. She was the first leader of Germany with a doctorate in quantum chemistry who had done extensive research in the field of quantum theoretical chemistry. She was the first Chancellor, raised in East Germany, to be elected to govern a post-World War II unified Germany. As Chancellor she transformed Germany’s economy and its status as a world leader. Never forgetting her own past that was lived under a despotic government where she could only dream about a... Read Full Review
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Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller
by Wassef, Nadia
March 15, 2022
Call Number: 085.462 W321
“Against all odds, we had proven to our doubters and detractors that a modern bookstore could survive in Egypt … Though Diwan was not a huge financial success, it was a moral victory, an experiment in marketing, and a mastery of the will.” These are the words of Nadia Wassef, who, along with her sister, Hind, came up with the idea for a modern bookstore in Cairo. Sharing dinner with friends, several were taken with the idea, and three more people (Ziad, Ali and Nihal) became part of this business adventure. The store called Diwan began in 2002. What began as one store in Cairo, expanded... Read Full Review
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King of the blues : the rise and reign of B.B. King
by De Visé, Daniel
February 17, 2022
Call Number: 789.14 K514De
In this extensively researched biography, which involved interviews with family, band members, other musicians, friends, managers and others, Daniel De Visé has written a biography about one of the all-time great musicians, B.B. King. It is more than a biography of one man, his art and his calling, it is a presentation of times, places, and ways of living, many that still exist in this country, which were integral to forming King's life. In meticulous detail De Visé documents the early, disjointed life of King’s childhood and young adulthood, beginning with a genealogy of King’s family,... Read Full Review
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Until I am free : Fannie Lou Hamer's enduring message to America
by Blain, Keisha N., 1985-
February 9, 2022
Call Number: 323.4092 H214Bl
During the summer of 1964, at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Fannie Lou Hamer brought her voice of discontent about political injustice within the Democratic Party. She was asking for mandatory integrated state delegations, and spoke passionately and eloquently about voter suppression, discrimination and violence leveled at those who were fighting for their civil rights. In co-founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Hamer was challenging local Democratic Party methods to block Black participation and representation in state and national... Read Full Review
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Keep it moving : lessons for the rest of your life
by Tharp, Twyla
January 10, 2022
Call Number: 362.6 T367
When I was in graduate school working on my MLIS, I skipped a class to attend Push Comes to Shove, a dance work choreographed by Twyla Tharp, specifically for Mikhail Baryshnikov, a classically trained ballet dancer, who at the time had recently defected to the West. This would be a break-out work for him. Tharp's techniques and movements were innovative, fresh and challenging. Some live performances are once-in-a-lifetime events, and this was one of those. As for the skipped class, graduate classes were small and attendance was taken, so before my non-appearance, I got the nod of... Read Full Review
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World travel : an irreverent guide
by Bourdain, Anthony
December 7, 2021
Call Number: e-Audiobook
Anthony Bourdain was a world-class explorer, who eagerly traveled domestically and internationally, never intending to report or write about his experiences. He traveled and sampled foods of many places, satisfying his own curiosity, therefore this collection cannot be compared to a regular travel/eatery guide. Bourdain set his own standards, which were for himself and not for the rest of us. With everything that he commented on, from food to many aspects of human behavior and history, he could, at times, be irreverent. At the same time, Bourdain was ceaselessly curious and respectful about... Read Full Review
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How We Go Home: Voices From Indigenous North America
November 23, 2021
Call Number: 970.1 H8475
Sara Sinclair compiled interviews and stories from twelve different Indigenous people whose ancestral tribes and families are from North America (The United States and Canada). These interviews came about because of Sinclair's work with a non-profit oral history project, Voice of Witness. Each person's point of view is unique, but there are common themes to be found in all of them: coerced residential and boarding schools; foster care; and the resulting trauma due to mistreatment, forced assimilation, loss of emotional family connection,... Read Full Review
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Mankiller : a chief and her people
by Mankiller, Wilma, 1945-2010.
November 3, 2021
Call Number: 970.2 M278
Wilma Pearl Mankiller was principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, and the first woman to hold that position. In the Cherokee language, the surname “Mankiller,” Asgaya-dihi, references a traditional Cherokee rank, such as captain or major. Chief Mankiller was the least violent individual on this planet, but she was a commander, comparable to a Four-Star General, for whom the word "no" did not exist, especially when confronted with a problem. She was relentless in seeking solutions and enlisted others to help. Part of working within a group was an implicit aspect of the Cherokee tribe.... Read Full Review
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An elderly lady must not be crossed
by Tursten, Helene, 1954-
October 20, 2021
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She's back. Maud returns, much to this reviewer's surprise and delight. Her first, and supposedly last, appearance was in An elderly lady is up to no good, where she was taking justice into her own hands, and under scrutiny by clever Detective Inspector Irene Huss. In this group of short stories Maud fills in some blank spots about her early life, which explains how she started on this path of crime, aka justice. She was witness to unfair occurrences that took place, reacted, and learned to... Read Full Review
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A farewell to Gabo and Mercedes : a son's memoir of Gabriel García Márquez and Mercedes Barcha
by García, Rodrigo, 1959-
October 6, 2021
Call Number: 863 G216Gar
Gabriel Marquez Garcia was one of the giants among modern writers and his books place him in the pantheon of writers throughout the ages. In 1982 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Not only is he significant in the world of Spanish language writers, he is beloved and respected internationally, and his books have been widely translated. In many of his books he is known for his seamless incorporation of magical realism, which was part of his grandmother's origins in Colombia, and became a literary technique for truthfulness, especially in One Hundred Years of Solitude. ... Read Full Review
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Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge
by Ovenden, Richard
September 29, 2021
Call Number: 323.445 O96
Professor Richard Ovenden is a scholar, and at Oxford University he is the British Librarian in charge of the Bodleian Libraries. His appreciation of libraries and archives and those who create, maintain and protect them is evident in this book. When certain individuals or groups of people vociferously disagree with what someone else has written and do not want anyone else to be able to read those ideas, that is when purposeful destruction of books and libraries takes place. For dictatorial individuals censorship is insufficient, only attempts at complete obliteration will do. The book opens... Read Full Review
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Hurricane season
by Melchor, Fernanda, 1982-
September 23, 2021
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In a fictitious town in Mexico, the body of a woman known as the Witch is found in a filthy irrigation ditch. She was the daughter of another Witch, and both women were thought to possess extraordinary powers, for good and evil, which the town's people feared. Everyone wants to know who killed the Witch and why? Who would dare to kill someone who had powers that could reach beyond the grave? The inhabitants had always presumed the two women had amassed gold and treasures that were hidden in their wretched estate, and that was the motive for the killing. This is a town physically cut off from... Read Full Review