March by John Lewis

Title: March
Author: John Lewis
Genre: graphic novel, American history, Southern history, African American history, YA non-fiction, civil rights


** The following was originally posted to a discussion board for my Children's Literature class **

My first YA pick for this week’s post is March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin. Aside from reading the Archie and Veronica comics as a kid, I can count on one hand the number of graphic novels I have read in my life. It’s one of the few literary genres that doesn’t appeal to me (the others are poetry and short stories), but I decided to give March a shot because a) I have heard rave reviews about it and b) like most things outside of one’s comfort zone, I figured it would be good practice for me to read something in unfamiliar territory. As a librarian, I need to be aware of the various genres (even the ones that are not personally appealing) since I will deal with patrons of various reading levels and reading desires.

Because I am not immersed in the graphic novel world, I was not aware that March was released in three separate volumes, so I would like to thank and applaud our classmate that posted a question about this for clarification. I would also like to thank our professor for allowing us extra time with this module. We were only required to read volume three, but I went ahead and checked out all three volumes from the library because a) I can’t stand reading books out of order (probably due to my Type-A personality) and b) reading all three volumes would let me experience the events in the graphic novels in proper context.

Volume 1 explains John Lewis’ childhood in Alabama, his college years, and how he became involved in local civil rights movements in Nashville. Volume 2 shows how the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) strategically desegregated department store lunch counters, fast food restaurants, cafeterias, and movie theaters. Once these places were successfully desegregated, the SNCC turned its sights on desegregating buses and swimming pools, and revamping employment practices. During this time, Lewis was privy to negotiations with RFK and worked with MLK on various projects. Volume 3 is the most intense of the set: it opens with the Birmingham church bombing that claimed the lives of four little girls. The novel continues with members of the SNCC traveling throughout the South spearheading voter registration drives and marches/stand ins at county courthouses. Sprinkled throughout the various protests and jail times are JFK’s assassination, internal strife with the SNCC and other African American groups, the Civil Rights Act, betrayal at the Democratic National Convention, Lewis’ life changing trip to Africa, Malcolm X’s assassination, and the historic march in Selma.

This graphic novel set was intense, even for me, a grown woman, but I did learn a few things. The march in Selma was a series of marches that had to be repeated due to various legal maneuverings. Also, despite all the hard work in setting up protest lines, marches, and voter registration drives, “By the end of the month, fewer than 60 people had even allowed into the courthouse to attempt to register—and every single one of them was rejected” (Lewis and Aydin, 2016, p.166). My impression was that during these protests and marches some African Americans were successful in registering to vote- only because the federal government made the state government cooperate. I also learned a lot of names that I will need to research later!

The themes in this set of graphic novels are courage, civil rights, American history, African American history, non-violence, equality, perseverance, and justice. Due to the triggering content, I would recommend this book for high schoolers and above (a mature middle schooler might be able to handle it. That’s up to the patron and his or her parent to decide). There are swear words and racial slurs scattered throughout the text (used by the angry mobs in various states against the protestors). There are two to three references to sex, mostly in volume 3, and there is lots of violence, individual violence and state-sanctioned violence. Although most high schoolers are exposed to swearing, sex talk, and, unfortunately, some forms of violence, Horning recommends that a book reviewer “mention potentially controversial elements ‘only if they warrant analysis as an important aspect of the work’” Horning, 2010, 175).

Since I am not an avid graphic novel reader, it’s hard for me to recommend any read-a-likes. I did read the Persepolis graphic novel (and watch the movie) for a world history class during my undergrad degree. Persepolis also deals with injustice, among many other themes. Since I lack in the literary recommendations, I’m also going to recommend an article by the Huffington Post (cited below), that lists six civil rights museums appropriate for children and their families, along with the movies Selma and Malcolm X. I believe these various resources are valuable supplements to one’s education about the Civil Rights movement.

Citations:

Bower, N., Colson, C., DuVernay, A., Gardner, D., Garnes, P., Kleiner, J., McCracken, C., McKeown, D., Morales, N., Pitt, B., Winfrey, O. (Producers), & DuVernay, A. (Director). (2014). Selma [Motion picture]. United States: Harpo Films.

Holmes, P.L., Kilik, J., Lee, S., Murad, A., Ross, M., Sulichin, F., Worth, M. (Producers), & Lee, S. (Director). (1992). Malcolm X [Motion picture]. United States: 40 Acres a Mule Filmworks.

Horning, K.T. (2010). From cover to cover: evaluation and reviewing children’s books. New York: HarperCollins.

Lewis, J. and Aydin, A. (2016). March. Marietta, GA: Top Shelf Productions.

Mahoney, M. (2017, December 6). Six civil rights museums your kids will never forget. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/maura-mahoney/six-civil-rights-museums-_b_9351576.html

This Fight is Our Fight

Title: This Fight is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class
Author: Elizabeth Warren
Genre: politics, American history, economics, non-fiction

In This Fight is Our Fight, Elizabeth Warren mixes American history, personal family struggles, and stories from ordinary Americans to demonstrate how regulations against Big Banks protect Americans and their money. Senator Warren recounts how social programs and government projects enacted during the Great Depression put money in the pockets and food on the table of millions of Americans in the 1930s. She also shares stories of Americans affected by the Great Recession, student loan debt, exploitative labor practices, and low or stagnant wages. Senator Warren rails against Big Banks (the 2008 bailout occurred since American banks are now a huge part of our economy) and is not afraid to name Washington insiders with connections to big money and lobbyists.

Senator Warren views lobbyists as “the most dangerous kind of corruption…is perverting our government and make sure that day after day, decision after decision, the rich and powerful are always taken care of. This corruption is turning government into a tool of those who have already gathered wealth and influence. This corruption is hollowing out America’s middle class and tearing down our democracy” (5).

Senator Warren calls for increased and responsible funding of our infrastructure. Not only is subpar infrastructure physically dangerous (collapsing bridges, leaking dams and levees, etc.), it is also economically dangerous in the form of lost jobs, lack of internet access for rural communities. Senator Warren believes that innovation, education, and opportunity are intertwined. Investment in American infrastructure drives innovation; innovation is dependent upon education (and proper funding for education), and the accessibility of education and opportunity for American citizens. “The country’s failure to build and maintain infrastructure has robbed us of our vitality…Over the long run, infrastructure dollars buy workers something even more important. Infrastructure spending is a collective investment that makes it easier for businesses to flourish right here in America. Roads and bridges, cheap and dependable energy, rapid communication, educated workers- all these investments create a more favorable business climate” (130).

All the Shah's Men

Title: All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror
Author: Stephen Kinzer
Genre: non-fiction, American history, Middle Eastern history, Iranian history, politics

**This review has been adapted from an essay I wrote for my Modern World Civilization class**

            Before I read All the Shah’s Men, my personal knowledge about Iran was very limited. I knew that the Shah had been overthrown in the 1970s, with help from the United States government, and that the Ayatollah was put in place as ruler in the Shah’s stead. I have also hard about the American hostage crisis that took place in Iran in the late 1970s, but I have not completed any in-depth research about either event. Before reading this book, I had never heard about the 1953 coup in Iran (orchestrated with assistance from the U.S. government). I knew that Iran and the United States have had unfriendly diplomatic relations for decades and this book explains the beginnings of this animosity. I have described the events of this book to a few other people and they had never heard of the 1953 Iranian coup either.

            Iran, like the Congo, was a victim of European imperialism. Africa was carved and divvied up between European powers in 1885 at the Berlin Conference, with no African input. Iran suffered a similar fate in 1907 when Great Britain and Russia met in Saint Petersburg and divided Iranian soil between them, with no Iranian say-so in the matter (I see a disturbing pattern here….): “Britain assumed control of the southern provinces, while Russia took the north. A strip between the two zones was declared neutral, meaning that Iranians could rule there as long as they did not act against the interests of their privileged guests” (38). Britain was interested in Iran because of its proximity to India and the Russians were also interested in Iran since it was adjacent to its southern border. This paternalistic attitude towards Iran was indicative of the imperialistic and condescending attitudes many powerful Westerners held towards non-Western peoples and societies.

Iran’s relationship with Great Britain can be traced back to numerous bad business and economic decisions made by Nasir al-Din Shah, who “came up with the idea of raising cash by selling Iran’s patrimony to foreign companies and governments” (31). The Shah’s plan was implemented after he and his hundreds of children had bankrupted the country with their lavish lifestyles. Soon after the Shah put Iran’s various industries up for sale, the British obtained exclusive control of Iran’s agriculture, mining, railroad, banking, and tobacco industries. Muzzafar al-Din Shah continued his father’s poor business legacy with the sale of Iran’s natural gas and oil industry to British banker William Knox D’arcy in 1901. With the growing popularity of automobiles in the early twentieth century, the British realized if they “could not find oil somewhere, they would no longer be able to rules the waves or much of anything else” (48).

After the confirmed discovery of oil in Iran, the British created the Anglo-Persian Oil Company “to take control of oil exploration and development in Iran” (49) and to enrich British coffers. Unfortunately, only the British were enjoying the perks of the booming petroleum profits. While British petroleum workers lived in individual, comfortable housing with access to many amenities (shops, theaters, swimming pools, etc.), the lower class Iranian workers enjoyed no such luxuries and “lived in slums and long dormitories with only primitive sanitation” (50). Iranians viewed the Shah as a literal sellout and his most vocal critic was Mohammad Mossadegh who despised the British takeover of his country: “If bringing prosperity to the country through the work of other nations were of benefit to the people, every nation would have invited foreigners into its home. If subjugation were beneficial, no subjugated country would have tried to liberate itself through bloody wars and heavy losses” (59). The British government offered a Supplemental Agreement in 1949 that guaranteed increased petroleum royalties, more Iranian promotions, and less drilling. The Iranian legislative assembly debated for months on whether to accept this deal and things were coming to a stalemate when the Iranian government learned that Saudi Arabia had reached an agreement with Aramco to split all oil profits on a 50/50 basis. When a similar idea was floated to the British government regarding Iran, they rejected the idea of an even split of profits (77). In Iran, calls for nationalization of the country’s oil field divided legislators, angered the British, and was looked upon favorably by the Truman administration who felt that “if the United States did not align itself with nationalist forces in the developing world, those forces would turn toward Marxism and the Soviet Union” (88).

Mohammad Reza Shah officially dismantled the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company on May 1, 1951, and created the National Iranian Oil Company; the British were furious since they considered Iranian oil, found on Iranian land to be British property. The Truman administration “worried that the argument between the United States and Britain over how to deal with Mossadegh might spiral out of control and split the Atlantic alliance” (99). During this time of heightened tensions with the Soviet Union, the United States wanted to maintain as many alliances as possible to stop the spread of communism.

When outright political demands and hostility refused to sway the pro-nationalist Iranians, the British took to more subtle forms of economic sabotage: British refinery managers refused to repair or replace equipment and refused to properly train new managers; the British persuaded their western European allies to deny visas to petroleum workers applying for relocation to Iran. In a desperate move, the British government took their case to the United Nations to justify their monopoly on Iran’s oil industry. That tactic failed as well but a change in the leadership and diplomatic styles in the American and British governments in 1952-1953 brought the United States, Great Britain, and Iran on a collision course. The United States and Great Britain co-authored plans for a coup to overthrow Mossadegh titled Operation Ajax. “One looked forward to recovering its oil concession. The other saw a chance to deliver a devastating blow against communism” (164). Intelligence operatives from both countries used their extensive network of local contacts to start protests and counter-protests to keep the Iranian government and people distracted from the true architects of the imminent coup. After Mossadegh’s overthrow, the British government tried to reinsert itself on the Iranian oilfields but ironically “the logic of power dictated that since the United States had done the dirty work of overthrowing Mossadegh, American companies should share the spoils” (195).

From the 1950s American perspective, the overthrow of Mossadegh and reinstatement of the Shah appeared to be a success but six decades later the world is paying the price of American and British greed and demand for oil that was deemed more important than Iranian democracy. The proverb “Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive” is an apropos viewpoint of the 1953 coup and its after effects. The Middle East is in a constant state of political, economic, and religious turmoil, most Iranians hate the Americans for butting into situations in which they weren’t asked to assist, and the West has inadvertently contributed to the spread of terrorism. Some members of the British and the US governments still subscribed to imperialism in the 1950s and this narrowmindedness and ethnocentrism blinded government leaders to the long-term consequences of interfering in another country’s politics and industry. The Western powers did not realize that interfering in Iran would have negative ripple effects in a globalized world. I think the worst thing about this is that the United States still has not learned its lesson in orchestrating coups. The US was also involved in disastrous diplomatic incidents in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Iran again in 1979; this is why studying history is so important- so we don’t make the same mistakes as our predecessors!

Black and Blue

Title: Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America
Author: Jeff Pegues
Genre: nonfiction, American history, racism, civil rights, African American history

**This review has been adapted from a book review I wrote for my Anthropology and Pop Culture class**

            The beating of Rodney King was one of the most infamous police brutality cases of the twentieth century. Police brutality cases involving African American men appear to be on the rise in recent years- between 2014 and 2017, Laquan McDonald, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Keith Lamont Scott, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Philando Castile, and Terrence Crutcher died during police interactions or while in police custody. Jeff Pegues, in Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America, brings to light why police brutality is once again making headlines throughout America: the roots of racism in police brutality, the lack of accountability in policing, and the need for reconciliation between the police and the African American community.

            The first theme that Pegues tackles in his book is accountability. Members of the police and African American communities were interviewed by Pegues about their thoughts on police accountability. Both sides agreed that police need to be held accountable and punished when they overstep their bounds but each side measured that accountability in different ways. Achieving accountability was on the minds of many Chicagoans after the police shooting death of Laquan McDonald in 2014. After the shooting, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) originally released a statement that the shooting was justified after McDonald had acted in an aggressive manner; when the video was released to the public thirteen months later, the video revealed that “Van Dyke fired the first sixteen shots, and Laquan McDonald was leaning away from the officer. The CPD’s so-called code of silence had been exposed along with other systemic problems going back decades” (Pegues 2017:63).

            What is the “code of silence’? It depends on whom Pegues interviewed. Mayor Rahm Emanuel described the code of silence as “the tendency to ignore. It is the tendency to deny. It is the tendency [to] in some cases cover up the bad action of a colleague or colleagues” (Pegues 2017:46). Dean Angelo, a CPD veteran and president of the Fraternal Order of Police claims the thin blue line “keeps the beast from the door” and is “the line of separation between the good and the bad” (Pegues 2017:54). To Angelo the code of silence is not covering a colleague’s bad behavior but “listening, not talking. Learn by observing, learn by hearing” (Pegues 2017: 190). The police view the thin blue line and the code of silence as the noble concepts of protection and duty while the African American community views it as an “oppressive force” (Pegues 2017:50) of corruption.

            In response to the Laqaun McDonald shooting the CPD established the Police Accountability Task Force to “actively seek out, listen, and respond to voices all over this city” (Pegues 2017:63). The Police Accountability Task Force would also be responsible for the thousands of abuse complaints that are lodged against the CPD every year: “From 2011 to 2015, 40 percent of complaints against police officers were not investigated” (Pegues 2017:114). The Task Force also recommended the creation of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability- this agency would have “greater power to investigate alleged police abuse and the use of deadly force…offer recommended changes to both police policy and procedure” (Pegues 2017:222); Unfortunately, the civilian task force was a voter-based ordinance which was struck down by voters, especially voters in white neighborhoods that contained police residents.

            The rejection of the civilian-led accountability agency by white Chicagoans sheds light on a dirty secret within the police community (and the second theme of this book): the infiltration of white supremacists in the law enforcement community. Some of this infiltration manifests itself in obvious ways and sometimes racial bias within in police ranks is more insidious. In our class lecture, we learned that some Los Angeles police officers hailed originally from Mississippi and they brought their racial biases with them to California. These LAPD officers were known to cruise African American neighborhoods for the sole purpose of stirring up trouble by yelling racial epithets and acronyms from their police cruisers (Trunzo class lecture, September 5, 2017). Liberal San Francisco was no better in their viewpoints towards African Americans- one police precinct in an African American neighborhood was known to have a picture of a KKK grand wizard displayed on a public bulletin board (Trunzo class lecture, September 5, 2017).

            An example of insidious racial bias within law enforcement is the controversial “stop and frisk” policies initiated by the New York Police Department that were later adopted throughout the country. The original purpose of stop and frisk was crime prevention: “officers were encouraged to stop and question pedestrians and then frisk them for weapons” (Pegues 2017:26) but complaints and statistics show that this policy was abused by cops with racial motives and usually only enforced in minority communities. For example, in Baltimore stop and frisk was “concentrated in predominantly African American neighborhoods and often lacked reasonable suspicion” (Pegues 2017:22) and

BPD searched African Americans more frequently during pedestrian and vehicle stops, even though searches of African Americans were less likely to discover contraband. Indeed, BPD officers found contraband twice as often when searching white individuals compared to African Americans during vehicle stops and 50 percent more often during pedestrian stops (Pegues 2017:23).

On paper, this aggressive form of law enforcement appeared to lower crime but there were other repercussions: the breakup of families, job loss, increased prison populations, and the temptation by police departments to turn stop and frisk into a source of revenue.

            The final theme in Black and Blue is reconciliation which is repeatedly mentioned in the book by Pegues and by many of his interview subjects. Pegues recognizes that reconciliation will be a long process and hard work for both sides of the thin blue line. Pegues recommends a multi-step reconciliation process: acknowledgement, expungement of bad cops, sessions of open dialogue, and the establishment of positive interactions between civilians and the police.

            “This divide in the United States between law enforcement and black Americans shows that our country is still grappling with a troubled past when it comes to race” (Pegues 2017:99). The “troubled past” this quote refers to are the slave patrols in the colonial and antebellum periods of U.S. history and the Jim Crow laws “which set different rules for blacks and whites…based on the theory of white supremacy” (Pegues 2017:100). Because of hundreds of years of oppressive regulations, laws, and policing techniques, the African American community not only distrusts most police departments but has also had to resort self-protection because they knew help would not be available outside their community. Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) points out that acknowledgment of racial bias must also include racism within the police ranks, not just racism between police officers and the community (208).

            The cliché “one bad apple spoils the bunch” is also symbolic about bad cops who ruin the reputation of their own police department and the entire law enforcement community. The Chicago Police Data Project found that police officers “with 10 or more complaints- make up about 10% of the force but receive 30% of all complaints” (Pegues 2017:229). Another way to root out bad cops is the prevention of bad hires in the first place. Various entities quoted within this book mentioned that hiring standards for police officers needed to be increased: stricter psychological testing, increased salaries for police officers, and continuous training which includes: “bias awareness, crisis intervention, mental health issues, interpersonal and communication skills” (Pegues 2017:135) just to name a few, and police departments need to acknowledge that not every police academy candidate is mentally capable be a police officer. Local government officials also need to view police as “critical infrastructure… If we don’t invest in our infrastructure, what happens? It breaks down” (Pegues 2017:133). Finally, Pegues believes there must be civil, open dialogue between the police and the local African American community to build trust with one another. This tenuous trust must be sustained through continuous positive interactions between African Americans and law enforcement.

           

Title: Darkroom
Author: Lila Quintero Weaver
Genre: graphic novel, memoir, Hispanic author, non-fiction, Southern history, American history


Psst! I have a confession to make.... I just read a graphic novel for the first time last night.....I read Archie and Veronica comics as a kid but I never did become a huge graphic novel fan- mainly because of the scantily clad women on most of the covers, but the premise behind Darkroom was intriguing: a graphic novel/memoir about growing up Hispanic in a tiny, rural Alabama town during the tumultuous Civil Rights era. Call me a nerd, but that sounded pretty riveting. Instead of the traditional inked comic panels, Darkroom is full of original, detailed pencil drawings. 

Lila Quintero Weaver originally created this as a senior project for her undergrad degree back in 2007. As a non-traditional college student myself, this is inspiring to see her schoolwork become a published work.
Ms. Quintero Weaver came to Augusta a few months ago as part of Augusta University's Latino Americans series but unfortunately, I couldn't attend her lecture due to work and school obligations, but you can watch part of her lecture here: https://vimeo.com/152378185 and you can read more about the Latino Americans series here: http://guides.augusta.edu/latino

Title: The Big One: The Earthquake That Rocked Early America and Helped Create a ScienceAuthors: Jake Page and Charles Officer
Genres: non-fiction, American history, science

Most American are familiar with the San Andreas fault and the infamous earthquakes that rock the West Coast every few decades but the New Madrid area of Missouri is unfamiliar to most. New Madrid lies on the bank of the muddy Mississippi River- not your usual suspect for earthquake activity.... This book takes the reader back to the morning of December 16, 1811. The residents of New Madrid were rudely awakened by the strange lights, geysers of gas, and the ferocious movement of the earth- an earthquake!

The ramifications of the New Madrid earthquake were huge: Congress passed the first disaster relief act in 1815 to aid the homeless residents who were still trying to rebuild their lives four years after the quake. The New Madrid earthquake also helped create the science of seismology. The authors blend historical facts and figures with an action-packed writing style that keeps the science from getting too bogged down with technicalities and jargon. They also cover the beginnings of geology in the US and how early geological research aided the creation of seismology.

Title: Finding Florida: The True History of the Sunshine State
Author: T. D. Allman
Genre: non-fiction, Florida history, American history

As a Florida native, this book caught my eye while browsing the new books section of my local library. As the title suggests, Allman revisits Florida's origins and decimates the myths of Florida that the nation has been subject to for the past 100 years (it never freezes in Florida, Florida is a "paradise," etc.) While revisiting Florida's history Allman sprinkles fun (and not-so-fun) facts about Florida mixed in with some dry wit. The middle section that deals with the Seminole Wars drags a bit but that's because I really don't enjoy reading military history, but someone who loves military history might find this section of the book fascinating.

Florida facts:
* Florida is the only state with no metals (p. x)
* The lack of real soil in Florida limits crop production
* Florida was not named because of floweriness but because of Spain's religious calendar. Ponce de Leon reached Florida's shores a month after Palm Sunday and named the "new" land Pascua Florida.
* de Leon named the Florida Keys, "The Martyrs" because the chain of islands reminded him of decapitated heads. (Living during the Inquisition probably gave a lot of people a morbid outlook on life)
* de Leon was never looking for the Fountain of Youth- this story was spread hundreds of years after the fact by Washington Irving
* "Most of what seems typically Floridian originated someplace else (oranges, flamingos, palmettos)
* Jules Verne predicted space travel would be "in a projectile-vehicle launched from Florida."

Military campaigns in Florida during the 1800s would affect U.S. policy even into the 21st century. Strategy: claim an area/town/village is composed of outlaws and criminals who are a security threat. Ramrod your way into "enemy territory" on a secret mission sanctioned by the President that ignores the Constitution. When the military campaign doesn't go as planned, the press finds out and the President denies any complicity in the matter. (Chapters 8-10) Sound familiar? This happened at the Negro Fort and during the Seminole Wars and happens nowadays when the US becomes involved in modern political hotspots.

Allman also goes into detail about the murky origins of Disney World. The "happiest place on earth" has been allowed by the Florida legislature to permanently damage the environment of Central Florida, be exempted from paying taxes, and allowing loopholes that only gives voting power to stockholders- many of whom do not reside in Florida. After reading this section, I have very little desire to visit a Florida theme park again...

Allman also skewers NASA and their shoddy safety record- if safety protocols had been followed, the Challenger disaster might not have happened.

Title: Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows
Author: Kathleen Collins
Genre: non-fiction, food history, American history

Think lack of cooking skills is a recent, generational problem? Think again! Americans have been culinary-challenged since the early-to-mid twentieth century and in this book Kathleen Collins explores the combination of media and culinary skills.
While we have Food Network, our grandmothers listened to home ec radio shows to get their cooking tips. When TVs became a "must-have" household item, the home ec radio shows evolved into visual cooking shows. Cooking shows in the 1950's to 1970's were more somber and educational than they are now. Cooking shows as entertainment didn't come to fruition until the 1990's- when the Food Network was created. The various cooking shows over the past five decades have helped the American palate to become more sophisticated and more open to a variety of flavors and cuisines.

Title: This Republic of Suffering: Death and the Civil War
Author: Drew Gilpin Faust
Genre: non-fiction, American history, Civil War

I first heard of this book last month when NPR replayed an interview with author Drew Gilpin Faust on September 17, 2012- the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. Suffering was published in 2008, but the interview was very interesting to listen to. You can listen or read about it here: http://www.npr.org/2012/09/21/161544181/civil-war-historian-drew-gilpin-faust-on-pbs

While most Civil War books and historical groups focus on Civil War strategy and Civil War generals'  personalities, Drew Gilpin Faust looks at how the Civil War touched the individual and changed the American culture. Americans had never seen mass slaughter on such a huge scale before the Civil War and unfortunagely the immense loss of life would be a foreshadowing of World War One. The Civil War also brought about the national cemetery system and the next-of-kin notification system- out of necessity to deal with the numerous amounts of unmarked graves and unknown whereabouts of soldiers who had "disappeared" due to being blown up or buried in mass graves or unmarked graves.

But most of all, the Civil War changed the way Americans viewed death. Before the Civil War, a "good death" consisted of dying at home surrounded by family. Dying on the battlefield or from an amputation far from home changed the way Americans perceived and dealth with death. Some Americans' spiritual beliefs would never recover from the events of this war.

Title: Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony
Author: Lee Miller
Genre: American history, non-fiction

Most Americans are familiar with the legend surrounding the Lost Colony of Roanoke: a small group of English settlers attempts to create a colony in the New World only to vanish under mysterious circumstances. Unfortunately, most history books gloss over Roanoke in a paragraph and it's on to the next fact.
Lee Miller digs deeper and comes up with a complicated, yet interesting theory. She theorizes that the Roanoke colonists were a Separatist group seeking asylum and a fresh start in the New World. Unfortunately, they were sabotaged by a member of the royal court who was the archnemesis of Sir Walter Raleigh. Lee Miller also theorizes that the colonists were kidnapped by the local Native American tribes, enslaved by them, and intermarried with them. She based this theory on reports of explorers in the late 1500s and early 1600s that came across "Indians with beards," "Indians with grey eyes," and sightings of Native Americans in English-style houses.
This is a fascinating aspect of American history and Lee Miller spent much time researching this, but the only fault with this book is her writing style. I had read other reviews online that criticized her writing style and I thought the reviewer was being harsh. Now I know what they were talking about. She sprinkles fragmented sentences throughout her paragraphs, like they were quick notes and ideas that were jotted down but not fleshed out. I don't know how this passed by an editor, but it drove me crazy and it took me longer to read this book because of it.

Title: The Island at the Center of the World
Author: Russell Shorto
Genre: non-fiction, American History, New York History

Staten Eylandt
Lange Eylandt
Breuckelen
Bronck
Jonker/Yonkeer

These Dutch names look strange to our American eyes, but we know them by their Angilcized versions: Staten Island, Long Island, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Yonkers. It has been said that history is written by the victors and this is especially true about the history of Manhattan before the English took over in 1664. What most Americans know about the Dutch rule of Manhattan has been reduced to a few paragraphs in our history books: Peter Stuyvesant, his wooden leg, and Indians. In this exhaustive and detailed book (it has the most impressive bibliography I have ever seen!), Russell Shorto takes us back to the discovery of Manhattan by Henry Hudson and explains how seemingly minor details in European history affected Manhattan as well. When the English took over Manhattan, the Dutch background of this important colony was reduced to almost nothing. Thankfully, the discovery and translation of 12,000 Dutch documents is changing the way Americans view New York history.

Page 28: "Upward mobility was part of the Dutch character: if you worked hard and were smart, you rose in stature. Today that is a byword of a healthy society; in the seventeenth century it was weird."
"The whole package- the Founding Father, the young and vibrant republic, the war for independence, the hard-nosed, practical populace that disdains monarchies and maintains a frank acceptance of differences- has a ring of familiarity to it..." Sound familiar? This was the Dutch republic declaring independence from Spain, but these values would emigrate to the Manhattan colony and become part of the American culture and government.