Nonfiction
Pandora's jar : women in Greek myths
Natalie Haynes
292.211 /Haynes
Nonfiction
The Greek myths are among the world's most important cultural building blocks and they have been retold many times, but rarely do they focus on the remarkable women at the heart of these ancient stories. Stories of gods and monsters are the mainstay of epic poetry and Greek tragedy, from Homer to Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, from the Trojan War to Jason and the Argonauts. And still, today, a wealth of novels, plays and films draw their inspiration from stories first told almost three thousand years ago. But modern tellers of Greek myth have usually been men, and have routinely shown little interest in telling women's stories. And when they do, those women are often painted as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil. But Pandora--the first woman, who according to legend unloosed chaos upon the world-- was not a villain, and even Medea and Phaedra have more nuanced stories than generations of retellings might indicate. Now, in Pandora's Jar, Natalie Haynes--broadcaster, writer and passionate classicist-- redresses this imbalance. Taking Pandora and her jar (the box came later) as the starting point, she puts the women of the Greek myths on equal footing with the menfolk. After millennia of stories telling of gods and men, be they Zeus or Agamemnon, Paris or Odysseus, Oedipus or Jason, the voices that sing from these pages are those of Hera, Athena and Artemis, and of Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Eurydice and Penelope.
Last call at the Hotel Imperial : the reporters who took on a world at war
Deborah Cohen
070.922 /Cohen
Nonfiction, Biographies, History
"Married foreign correspondents John and Frances Gunther intimately understood that it isn't only impersonal, economic forces that propel history, bringing readers so close to the front lines of history that they could feel how personal pathologies became the stuff of geopolitical crises. Together with other reporters of the Lost Generation--American journalists H.R. Knickerbocker, Vincent Sheean, and Dorothy Thompson--the Gunthers slipped through knots of surveillance and ignored orders of expulsion in order to expose the mass executions in Badajoz during the Spanish Civil War, the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, the millions of dollars that Joseph Goebbels salted away abroad, and the sexual peccadillos of Hitler's brownshirts. They conjured what it was like to ride with Hitler in an airplane ("not a word did he say to any soul"); broke the inside story about Mussolini's claustrophobia and superstitions (he "took fright" at an Egyptian mummy that had been given to him); and verified the hypnotic impression Stalin made when he walked into a room ("You felt his antennae"). But just as they were transforming journalism, it was also transforming them: who they loved and betrayed, how they raised their children and coped with death. Over the course of their careers they would popularize bringing the private life into public view, not only in their reporting on the outsized figures of their day, but in what they revealed about their own (and each other's) intimate experiences as well. What were intimate relationships, after all, but geopolitics writ small?"--
I thought this book had a slow start, but as soon as we got to Europe and in the thick of war reporting, I was hooked. Learning about Dorothy Thompson, Frances Gunther, John Gunther, H.R. Knickerbocker, and Vincent Sheean and how they reported on Europe in the 1930s and 1940s showed how important journalists are. -Anne M
Hell's half-acre : the untold story of the Benders, a serial killer family on the American frontier
Susan Jonusas
364.1523 /Jonusas
Nonfiction, True Crime, History, Literary Nonfiction
"In 1873 the people of Labette County in Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town of Cherryvale, in a bloodied cellar and under frost-covered soil, were countless bodies in varying states of decay. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for over two decades, and the land on which the crimes took place became known as 'Hells Half-Acre.' When it emerged that a family of four known as the Benders had been accused of the slayings, the case was catapulted to infamy."
Sometimes, when summer comes, you just want a good, historical true crime book to get lost in. This book does the trick. The author does a good job of telling the eerie story of the Benders and their crimes, while giving context through the descriptions of burgeoning frontier towns, the hardworking people who populated them, the political schemes of the day, and the lawlessness that pervaded an environment that was created by taking the land from one people and giving it to another. A great mix of crime and solid history. -Candice
Mushroom rain
Laura K. Zimmermann
j579.6 Zimmermann
Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature
"Through lyrical text and colorful detailed artwork, the mysterious and sometimes bizarre world of mushrooms is explored. Back matter includes a glossary and science facts"--
Budding mycologists and those less passionate about fungi will equally enjoy this beautifully illustrated nonfiction title. -Casey
Hell's half-acre : the untold story of the Benders, a serial killer family on the American frontier
Susan Jonusas
364.1523 /Jonusas
Nonfiction, True Crime, History
"In 1873 the people of Labette County in Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town of Cherryvale, in a bloodied cellar and under frost-covered soil, were countless bodies in varying states of decay. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for over two decades, and the land on which the crimes took place became known as 'Hells Half-Acre.' When it emerged that a family of four known as the Benders had been accused of the slayings, the case was catapulted to infamy. The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders--one among thousands who were relocating further west looking for land and opportunity after the Civil War--were capable of operating 'a human slaughter pen' appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree, and what became of them when they fled from the law is a mystery that has remains unsolved to this day--not that there aren't some convincing theories. Part gothic western, part literary whodunnit, and part immersive study of postbellum America, Hell's Half-Acre sheds new light on one of the most notorious cases in our nation's history while holding a torch to a society under the strain of rapid change and moral disarray. Susan Jonasus draws on extensive original archival material, and introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, including the despairing families of the victims as well as the fugitives that helped the murderers escape. Hell's Half-Acre is not simply a book about a mass murder. It is a journey into the turbulent heart of nineteenth century America, a place where modernity stalks across the landscape, violently displacing existing populations and wearily building new ones. It is a world where folklore can quickly become fact, and an entire family of criminals can slip right through a community's fingers, only to reappear at the most unexpected of times"--
I love true crime and I love history, so this book hits a sweet spot. The writing is so good--super informative and interesting, and vividly descriptive of not just the crimes, but also the time and setting. A good book to kick the summer off with! -Candice
Queer : the ultimate LGBTQ guide for teens
Belge, Kathy, author.
306.766 /Belge
LGBTQ+, Nonfiction, Young Adult, Self Help
Belge and Bieschke give LGBTQ teenagers everything they need to know about dating, coming out, safe sex, dealing with queerphobia, and standing up for their rights. This revised edition is a must-have for all teens who think they might be queer, or know someone who is. -- adapted from back cover.
Added by Candice
The queer advantage : conversations with LGBTQ+ leaders on the power of identity
Gelwicks, Andrew, author.
306.76 /Gelwicks
LGBTQ+, Nonfiction, Memoir, Self Help
"Collecting incisive, deeply personal conversations with LGBTQ+ trailblazers about how they leveraged the challenges and insights they had as relative outsiders to succeed in the worlds of business, tech, politics, Hollywood, sports and beyond, The Queer Advantage celebrates the unique, supercharged power of queerness"--
Added by Candice
As a woman : what I learned about power, sex, and the patriarchy after I transitioned
Williams, Paula Stone, author.
306.768 /Williams
LGBTQ+, Nonfiction, Biographies
As a father of three, married, and holding several prominent jobs within the Christian community, Williams made the life-changing decision to physically transition from male to female at the age of sixty. Almost instantly, her power and influence in the evangelical world disappeared and her family had to grapple with intense feelings of loss and confusion. Struggling to create a new safe space for herself where she could reconcile her faith, her identity, and her desire to be a leader, Williams found that the key to her new career as a woman came with a deeper awareness of the inequities she had overlooked before her transition. In pulling back the curtain on her transition journey, Williams sheds light on the gendered landscape that impacts many in the LGBTQ+ community. She urges men to recognize the ways in which the world is tilted in their favor and validates the experiences of women who have been disregarded based solely on their gender. -- adapted from jacket and Amazon info
Added by Candice
The queer bible : essays
306.76 /Queer
Nonfiction, LGBTQ+
A wonderful collection of essays written by today's queer heroes, featuring contributions from Elton John, Tan France, Gus Kenworthy, Paris Lees, Russell Tovey, Munroe Bergdorf, and many others. In 2016, model and queer activist Jack Guinness decided that the LGBTQ+ community desperately needed to be reminded of its long and glorious history of stardom, and he was spurred to action. The following year, QueerBible.com was born, an online community devoted to celebrating queer heroes, both past and present.
Added by Candice
Raising LGBTQ: allies A parent's guide to changing the messages from the playground
Chris Tompkins
649.1/Tompkins (NEW SHELF)
LGBTQ+, Nonfiction, Health
Books are like messengers, Tompkins writes, and this volume conveys essential information for all adults with children in their lives about what it means to be LGBTQ, in the context of what he calls MFTP: Messages from the Playground. Playground is meant metaphorically, of course, as are messages. Playground is our mind or, rather, our consciousness, while messages are the dominant societal worldview. Tompkins says that one of the goals of his useful book is to help prevent bullying, heal queerphobia, and create allies on the playground. To this end, he writes extensively of his own experiences as a teacher and counselor with the goal of making the experience of having an LGBTQ child—or knowing one—something to revere. This is a tall order, but Tompkins rises to the occasion, offering thoughtful, informed, affirming, and, yes, inspirational advice on how to change a homophobic and transphobic society. In that context, he invites readers to change their traditional thinking and in so doing to eliminate queerphobia by being open and honest with children. He has succeeded beautifully. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.
Added by Candice
I love Haynes' novel "A Thousand Ships" as well as her podcast, "Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics." This book is also a delight. Haynes provides an incredibly engaging and enjoyable relook at the women of Greek myths, from Medea to Pandora to Clytemnestra to the Amazons. She goes back to the original texts, shows the differences in how their stories are told, how later authors and artists intepreted these women, and how their stories echo into the 21st century. -Anne M