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Showing posts from March, 2014

Book of the Week: The Scarlet Sisters by Myra MacPherson

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The scarlet sisters : sex, suffrage, and scandal in the Gilded Age   By Myra MacPherson Call Number:  HQ 1412 .M29 2014 Review from the Washington Post Publisher's Description :  A fresh look at the life and times of Victoria Woodhull and Tennie Claflin, two sisters whose radical views on sex, love, politics, and business threatened the white male power structure of the nineteenth century and shocked the world. Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee "Tennie" Claflin-the most fascinating and scandalous sisters in American history-were unequaled for their vastly avant-garde crusade for women's fiscal, political, and sexual independence. They escaped a tawdry childhood to become rich and famous, achieving a stunning list of firsts. In 1870 they became the first women to open a brokerage firm, not to be repeated for nearly a century. Amid high gossip that he was Tennie's lover, the richest man in America, fabled tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, bankrolled the sister...

DVD of the Week (Fruitvale Station)

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Fruitvale Station (DVD) TWC ; a Significant production ; written and directed by Ryan Coogler ; produced by Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker. Call Number: PN 1997.2 .F79 2014 (In the IMC on the Library's 3rd floor) Summary : Fruitvale Station follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of December 31, 2008 and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son to his mother (Octavia Spencer), whose birthday falls on New Year’s Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), who he hasn’t been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to Tatiana (Ariana Neal), their beautiful four year-old daughter. Crossing paths with friends, family, and strangers, Oscar starts out well, but as the day goes on, he realizes that change is not going to come easily. His resolve takes...

Book of the Week (Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen)

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Operation Paperclip:  the Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America By Annie Jacobsen Call Number:  D 810 .S2 J43 2014 Review from the New York Times Book Review Publisher's description:   In the chaos following World War II, the U.S. government faced many difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich's scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis' once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler's scientists and their families to the United States. Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery. They were also directly responsible for major advances in rocketry, medical treatments, and the U.S. space program. Was Operation Paperclip a moral outrage, or did it help America win the Cold War? Drawing on exclusive interviews with dozens of Paperclip family members, coll...