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The last politician : inside Joe Biden's White House and the struggle for America's future / by Foer, Franklin,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 379-397) and index."On January 20, 2021, standing where only two weeks earlier police officers had battled with right-wing paramilitaries, Joe Biden took his oath of office. The American people were still sick with COVID-19, his economists were already warning him of an imminent financial crisis, and his party, the Democrats, had the barest of majorities in the Senate. Yet, faced with an unprecedented set of crises, Joe Biden decided he would not play defense. Instead, he set out to transform the nation. He proposed the most ambitious domestic spending bills since the 1960s and vowed to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan, ending the nation's longest war and reorienting it toward a looming competition with China. With unparalleled access to the tight inner circle of advisers who have surrounded Biden for decades, Franklin Foer dramatizes in forensic detail the first two years of the Biden presidency, concluding with the historic midterm elections. The result is a gripping and high-definition portrait of a major president at a time when democracy itself seems imperiled. With his back to the wall, Biden resorted to old-fashioned politics: deal-making and compromise. It was a gamble that seemed at first disastrously anachronistic, as he struggled to rally even the support of his own party. Yet, as the midterms drew near, via a series of bills with banal names, Biden somehow found a way to invest trillions of dollars in clean energy, the domestic semiconductor industry, and new infrastructure. Had he done the impossible-breaking decisively with the old Washington consensus to achieve progressive goals? The Last Politician is a landmark work of political reporting-which includes thrilling, blow-by-blow insider reports of the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan and the White House's swift response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine-that is destined to shape history's view of a president in the eye of the storm."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Biden, Joseph R., Jr.; Political culture; Presidents;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Brothers in arms : one legendary tank regiment's bloody war from D-day to VE-day / by Holland, James,1970-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In the annals of World War II, certain groups of soldiers stand out, and among the most notable were the Sherwood Rangers. Originally a cavalry unit in the last days of horses in combat, whose officers were landed gentry leading men who largely worked for them, they were switched to the "mechanized cavalry" of tanks in 1942. Winning acclaim in the North African campaign, the Sherwood Rangers then spearheaded one of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, led the way across France, were the first British troops to cross into Germany, and contributed mightily to Germany's surrender in May 1945. Inspired by Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers, acclaimed WWII historian James Holland memorably profiles an extraordinary group of citizen soldiers constantly in harm's way. Their casualties were horrific, but nonetheless their ranks immediately refilled. Informed by never-before-seen documents, letters, photographs, and other artifacts from Sherwood Rangers' families-an ongoing fraternity-and by his own deep knowledge of the war and of tank warfare, Holland offers a uniquely intimate portrait of the conflict at ground level. He introduces heretofore unknowns such as Commanding Officer Stanley Christopherson, squadron commander John Semken, Sergeant George Dring, the remarkable regimental chaplain Leslie Skinner, and other memorable characters who helped the regiment become the single unit with the most battle honors of any ever in the British army. Following the Sherwood Rangers' brutal journey over the dramatic eleven months between D-Day and VE-Day, weaving their exploits into the larger narrative and strategy of the war, Holland argues that the U.S.-built Sherman tank in which they fought was one of the finest in action, and he presents a vivid and original perspective on the endgame of WWII in Europe"--
Subjects: Great Britain. Army. Nottinghamshire Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry.; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A Newfoundlander in Canada / by Doyle, Alan,1969-author.;
"Following the fantastic success of his bestselling memoir, Where I belong, Great Big Sea front man Alan Doyle returns with a hilarious, heartwarming account of leaving Newfoundland and discovering Canada for the first time. Armed with the same personable, candid style found in his first book, Alan Doyle turns his perspective outward from Petty Harbour toward mainland Canada, reflecting on what it was like to venture away from the comforts of home and the familiarity of the island. Often in a van, sometimes in a bus, occasionally in a car with broken wipers "using Bob's belt and a rope found by Paddy's Pond" to pull them back and forth, Alan and his bandmates charted new territory, and he constantly measured what he saw of the vast country against what his forefathers once called the Daemon Canada. In a period punctuated by triumphant leaps forward for the band, deflating steps backward and everything in between--opening for Barney the Dinosaur at an outdoor music festival, being propositioned at a gas station mail-order bride service in Alberta, drinking moonshine with an elderly church-goer on a Sunday morning in PEI--Alan's few established notions about Canada were often debunked and his own identity as a Newfoundlander was constantly challenged. Touring the country, he also discovered how others view Newfoundlanders and how skewed these images can sometimes be. Asked to play in front of the Queen at a massive Canada Day festival on Parliament Hill, the concert organizers assured Alan and his bandmates that the best way to showcase Newfoundland culture was for them to be towed onto stage in a dory and introduced not as Newfoundlanders but as "Newfies." The boys were not amused. Heartfelt, funny and always insightful, these stories tap into the complexities of community and Canadianness, forming the portrait of a young man from a tiny fishing village trying to define and hold on to his sense of home while navigating a vast and diverse and wonder-filled country."--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Doyle, Alan, 1969-; Great Big Sea (Musical group); Musicians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The evolution of Charles Darwin : the epic voyage of the Beagle that forever changed our view of life on earth / by Preston, Diana,1952-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."When twenty-two-year-old aspiring geologist Charles Darwin boarded the HMS Beagle in 1831 with his microscopes and specimen bottles-invited by ship's captain Robert FitzRoy who wanted a travel companion at least as much as a ship's naturalist-he hardly thought he was embarking on what would become perhaps the most important and epoch-changing voyage in scientific history. Nonetheless, over the course of the five-year journey around the globe in often hard and hazardous conditions, Darwin would make observations and gather samples that would form the basis of his revolutionary theories about the origin of species and natural selection. Drawing on a rich range of revealing letters, diary entries, recollections of those who encountered him, and Darwin's and FitzRoy's own accounts of what transpired, Diana Preston chronicles the epic voyage as it unfolded, tracing Darwin's growth from untested young man to accomplished adventurer and natural scientist in his own right. Darwin often left the ship to climb mountains or ride hundreds of miles, accompanied by local guides whose languages he barely understood, across pampas and through rainforests in search of further unique specimens. From the wilds of Patagonia to the Galápagos and other Atlantic and Pacific islands, as Preston vibrantly relates, he collected and contrasted giant fossils and volcanic rocks, observed the Argentinian rhea, Falklands fox, and Galápagos finch, through which he began to discern connections between deep past and present. Darwin never left Britain again after his return in 1836, though his mind journeyed far and wide to develop the theories that were first revealed, after great delay and with trepidation about their reception, in 1859 with the publication of his epochal book On the Origin of Species. Offering a unique portrait of one of history's most consequential figures, The Evolution of Charles Darwin is a vital contribution to our understanding of life on Earth"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882; Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.; Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Evolution (Biology); Natural history.; Naturalists;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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The silence of the girls / by Barker, Pat,1943-author.;
"From the Booker Prize-winning author of the Regeneration trilogy comes a monumental new masterpiece, set in the midst of literature's most famous war. Pat Barker turns her attention to the timeless legend of The Iliad, as experienced by the captured women living in the Greek camp in the final weeks of the Trojan War. The ancient city of Troy has withstood a decade under siege of the powerful Greek army, who continue to wage bloody war over a stolen woman--Helen. In the Greek camp, another woman watches and waits for the war's outcome: Briseis. She was queen of one of Troy's neighboring kingdoms, until Achilles, Greece's greatest warrior, sacked her city and murdered her husband and brothers. Briseis becomes Achilles's concubine, a prize of battle, and must adjust quickly in order to survive a radically different life, as one of the many conquered women who serve the Greek army. When Agamemnon, the brutal political leader of the Greek forces, demands Briseis for himself, she finds herself caught between the two most powerful of the Greeks. Achilles refuses to fight in protest, and the Greeks begin to lose ground to their Trojan opponents. Keenly observant and cooly unflinching about the daily horrors of war, Briseis finds herself in an unprecedented position to observe the two men driving the Greek forces in what will become their final confrontation, deciding the fate, not only of Briseis's people, but also of the ancient world at large. Briseis is just one among thousands of women living behind the scenes in this war--the slaves and prostitutes, the nurses, the women who lay out the dead--all of them erased by history. With breathtaking historical detail and luminous prose, Pat Barker brings the teeming world of the Greek camp to vivid life. She offers nuanced, complex portraits of characters and stories familiar from mythology, which, seen from Briseis's perspective, are rife with newfound revelations. Barker's latest builds on her decades-long study of war and its impact on individual lives--and it is nothing short of magnificent"--
Subjects: War fiction.; Historical fiction.; Trojan War;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The six : the lives of the Mitford sisters / by Thompson, Laura,1964-author.; revision of:Thompson, Laura,1964-Take six sisters.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The eldest was a razor-sharp novelist of upper-class manners; the second was loved by John Betjeman; the third was a fascist who married Oswald Mosley; the fourth idolized Hitler and shot herself in the head when Britain declared war on Germany; the fifth was a member of the American Communist Party; the sixth became Duchess of Devonshire. They were the Mitford sisters: Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. Born into country-house privilege in the early years of the 20th century, they became prominent as "bright young things" in the high society of interwar London. Then, as the shadows crept over 1930s Europe, the stark--and very public--differences in their outlooks came to symbolize the political polarities of a dangerous decade. The intertwined stories of their stylish and scandalous lives--recounted in masterly fashion by Laura Thompson--hold up a revelatory mirror to upper-class English life before and after WWII."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Mitford family.; Mitford, Jessica, 1917-1996.; Mitford, Nancy, 1904-1973.; Mitford, Pamela, 1907-1994.; Mitford, Unity, 1914-1948.; Mosley, Diana, 1910-2003.; Devonshire, Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford Cavendish, Duchess of, 1920-2014.; Authors, English; Sisters; Women authors, English;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The house of Kennedy / by Patterson, James,1947-author.; Fagen, Cynthia,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-421).The Kennedys have always been a family of charismatic adventurers, raised to take risks and excel, living by the dual family mottos: "To whom much is given, much is expected" and "Win at all costs." And they do--but at a price. Across decades and generations, the Kennedys have occupied a unique place in the American imagination: charmed, cursed, at once familiar and unknowable. The House of Kennedy is a revealing, fascinating account of America's most storied family, as told by America's most trusted storyteller.
Subjects: Biographies.; Biographies.; Biographies.; Biographies.; Kennedy family.; Politicians; Kennedy, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1888-1969.; Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald, 1890-1995.; Kennedy, Kathleen, 1920-1948.; Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.; Kennedy, Rosemary, 1918-2005.; Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968.; Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994.; Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009.; Kennedy, John F., Jr., 1960-1999.; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY; TRUE CRIME; Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994.; Kennedy, Rosemary, 1918-2005.; Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald, 1890-1995.; Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968.; Kennedy, Kathleen, 1920-1948.; Kennedy, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1888-1969.; Kennedy, John F., Jr., 1960-1999.; Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.; Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009.; Kennedy family.; Politicians.; Presidents; Politicians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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All or nothing : how Trump recaptured America / by Wolff, Michael,1953-author.;
"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fire and Fury delivers a breathtaking insider account of the 2024 Trump campaign -- undoubtedly the wildest, most unpredictable campaign in U.S. history, including multiple criminal trials, two assassination attempts, and a sudden switch of opponents. All or Nothing takes readers on a journey accompanying Donald Trump on his return to power as only Michael Wolff, the foremost chronicler of the Trump era, can do it. As Trump cruelly and swiftly dispatches his opponents, heaps fire and fury on the prosecutors and judges who are pursuing him, and mocks and belittles anyone in his way, including the president of the United States, this becomes not just another election but perhaps, both sides say, the last election. The stakes could not be clearer: Either the establishment destroys Donald Trump, or he destroys the establishment. What soon emerges is a split-screen reality: On one side, a picture that could not be worse for Trump: an inescapable, perhaps mortal legal quagmire; on the other side, an entirely positive political outlook: overwhelming support within his party, ever-rising polling numbers, and lackluster opposition. Through personal access to Trump's inner circle, Wolff details a behind-the-scenes, revealing landscape of Trumpworld and its unlikely cast of primary players as well as the candidate himself, the most successful figure in American politics since, arguably, Roosevelt, but who might easily seem to be raving mad. Threading a needle between tragedy and farce, the fate of the nation, the liberal ideal, and democracy itself, All or Nothing paints a gobsmacking portrait of a man whose behavior is so unimaginable, so uncontrolled, so unmindful of cause and effect, that it defeats all the structures and logic of civic life. And yet here in one of the most remarkable comebacks in American political history, Trump is victorious. This is not just a story about politics: It is a vivid exposé of the demons, discord, and anarchy -- the fire, fury, and future -- of American life under Trump"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Trump, Donald, 1946-; Political culture; Presidents;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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The missing millionaire : the true story of Ambrose Small and the city obsessed with finding him / by Daubs, Katie,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The gripping true crime story of the disappearance of a millionaire from Toronto in 1919, one hundred years ago, which captivated the city and remains one of the great unsolved mysteries. For readers of Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City and Charlotte Gray's The Massey Murder. In 1919, Ambrose Small was another ghost in the city of the missing. Thousands hadn't come home from the First World War, but it was the disappearance of Ambrose Small that captivated Toronto's attention. In this brilliant new book, Katie Daubs unwinds the story of the mercurial Small, who assembled an Ontario theatre empire in the dawn of the twentieth century, sold it for an unbelievable $1.75 million, and disappeared before he could spend a cent. Weaving together a remarkable true crime narrative with social and cultural history, Daubs masterfully tells the story of Ambrose's sensational disappearance. She examines the wild lives of the cast of characters who surrounded him and became prime suspects: his independent, powerful wife, Theresa Small; his longtime personal secretary Jack Doughty, charged with theft and kidnapping; his two unmarried sisters; Patrick Sullivan, a lawless policeman; and Austin Mitchell, a hapless detective. As the years passed, a series of sensational trials exposed the relationships and resentments of Ambrose and his inner circle; allegations of sexual impropriety, murder plots, and confessions swirled; and an explosive OPP report revealed the incompetence of the police. But as the main players died off, nobody would be found guilty, and their secrets were buried for good: Ambrose Small would forever be missing. Drawing on extensive research, from police investigations to political dossiers, private correspondence, and press reports, and her own interviews with surviving descendants of key figures, Katie Daubs masterfully recreates Toronto as it was following the First World War, painting a rich portrait of a city undergoing immense cultural and social change, which protected its elite and was just as hard then as it is now."--
Subjects: True crime stories.; Small, Ambrose, 1866-1919.; Missing persons; Cold cases (Criminal investigation);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The fight for history : 75 years of forgetting, remembering, and remaking Canada's Second World War / by Cook, Tim,author.;
"A masterful telling of the way World War Two has been remembered, forgotten, and remade by Canada over seventy-five years. The Second World War shaped modern Canada. It led to the country's emergence as a middle power on the world stage; the rise of the welfare state; industrialization, urbanization, and population growth. After the war, Canada increasingly turned toward the United States in matters of trade, security, and popular culture, which then sparked a desire to strengthen Canadian nationalism from the threat of American hegemony. The Fight for History examines how Canadians framed and reframed the war experience over time. Just as the importance of the battle of Vimy Ridge to Canadians rose, fell, and rose again over a 100-year period, the meaning of Canada's Second World War followed a similar pattern. But the Second World War's relevance to Canada led to conflict between veterans and others in society--more so than in the previous war--as well as a more rapid diminishment of its significance. By the end of the 20th century, Canada's experiences in the war were largely framed as a series of disasters. Canadians seemed to want to talk only of the defeats at Hong Kong and Dieppe or the racially driven policy of the forced relocation of Japanese-Canadians. In the history books and media, there was little discussion of Canada's crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic, the success of its armies in Italy and other parts of Europe, or the massive contribution of war materials made on the home front. No other victorious nation underwent this bizarre reframing of the war, remaking victories into defeats. The Fight for History is about the efforts to restore a more balanced portrait of Canada's contribution in the global conflict. This is the story of how Canada has talked about the war in the past, how we tried to bury it, and how it was restored. This is the history of a constellation of changing ideas, with many historical twists and turns, and a series of fascinating actors and events."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: World War, 1939-1945; Collective memory; Memorialization;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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