Call number: DS109.9 .C367 2011

James Carroll’s urgent, masterly Jerusalem, Jerusalem uncovers the ways in which the ancient city became, unlike any other in the world—reaching deep into our contemporary lives—an incendiary fantasy of a city.

In Carroll’s provocative reading of the deep past, the Bible’s brutality responded to the violence that threatened Jerusalem from the start. Centuries later, the mounting European fixation on a heavenly Jerusalem sparked both anti-Semitism and racist colonial contempt. The holy wars of the Knights Templar burned apocalyptic mayhem into the Western mind. Carroll’s brilliant and original leap is to show how, as Christopher Columbus carried his own Jerusalemcentric worldview to the West, America too was powerfully shaped by the dream of the City on a Hill—from Governor Winthrop to Abraham Lincoln to Woodrow Wilson to Ronald Reagan. The nuclear brinksmanship of the 1973 Yom Kippur War helps prove his point: religion and violence fuel each other, with Jerusalem the ground zero of the heat.

To the standard set by Constantine’s Sword, Jerusalem, Jerusalem is again a “rare book that combines searing passion . . . with a subject that has affected all our lives” (Chicago Tribune).

Call number: D756.5.B7 H66 2011

The Battle of Britain paints a stirring picture of an extraordinary summer when the fate of the world hung by a thread. Historian James Holland has now written the definitive account of those months based on extensive new research from around the world including thousands of new interviews with people on both sides of the battle. If Britain’s defenses collapsed, Hitler would have dominated all of Europe. With France facing defeat and British forces pressed back to the Channel, there were few who believed Britain could survive; but, thanks to a sophisticated defensive system and the combined efforts of the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the defiance of a new Prime Minister, Britain refused to give in. From clashes between coastal convoys and Schnellboote in the Channel to astonishing last stands in Flanders, slaughter by U-boats in an icy Atlantic and dramatic aerial battles over England, The Battle of Britain tells this epic story in a fresh and compelling voice. (From Google Books)

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 American War Library is a series of vividly written, multi-volume sets that examine the most fascinating topics about each of America’s wars. Individual volumes in every set present readers with a historical perspective and a comprehensive picture of the causes of the war, crucial battles, key personalities, weaponry, daily life on the battlefield, public sentiment toward the war, and the war’s eventual outcome. Dramatic narrative enlivened by primary and secondary source accounts, offers young readers insight into the triumphs and tragedies of war. Each volume in the series includes a bibliography for further research, a thorough list of works consulted, a chronology of important events, sidebars, and numerous maps and photographs. Each set serves as an excellent resource for research projects and will also appeal to the casual reader. (From Google Books)

Call number: D773 .S43 2011

In a grand sweeping narrative, Pacific Air tells the inspiring story of how, despite initial disastrous defeats, a generation of young naval aviators challenged and ultimately vanquished a superior Japanese air force and fleet in the Pacific. The instruments of the United States aviators’ triumphs were the elegantly designed F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, as well as the lethal TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. With superbly trained U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators at their controls, these planes became the most successful aerial weapons in naval history.
A majestic portrait of a proud era from dual perspectives–the inventive minds of young aeronautical engineers and the deadly artistry of even younger combat pilots–Pacific Air brings this important yet underappreciated chapter of World War II vividly to life. (From Google Books)

Call number: E443 .G46 1976

A profound, learned and detailed analysis of Negro slavery. It covers an incredible range of topics and offers fresh insights on nearly every page… the author’s great gift is his ability to penetrate the minds of bothslaves and masters, revealing not only how they viewed themselves and each other, but also how they contradictory perceptions interacted. (From Google Books)