Bringing Down the Colonel -- Patricia Miller

Staff Pick

The trial at the heart of Bringing Down the Colonel offers a glimpse into life during the Gilded Age and, more importantly, how women can bring about important social change. Madeleine Pollard, the woman at the center of the trial, truly puts the whole system on trial when she sues Colonel Breckinridge for “breach of promise,” demanding that he be held to the same standards as she is. Many women—before, alongside, and after Madeleine Pollard—also helped bring down this system, making this book about more than one woman’s quest for justice: it is inspiration for when the fight seems futile.

Bringing Down the Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the
$28.00
ISBN: 9780374252663
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Sarah Crichton Books - November 13th, 2018

Black Flags, Blue Waters - Eric Jay Dolin

Staff Pick

You may be thinking you’ll want to read this book with a ‘Yo Ho Ho! And a Bottle of Rum, for it’s a Pirate’s Life for Me!’ But you’ll reconsider after reading this epic retelling of the Golden Age of American piracy in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s. This is a definitive history on piracy off the American coast, as well as by Americans over in the Indian Ocean. Filled with colorful biographies of all the famous pirates, such as Captain Kidd and Blackbeard, this book also examines the social, political and economic reasons so many men turned to piracy in those days. This is a fascinating look at how piracy was encouraged by many Americans, so long as it didn’t affect their pockets, and how the tide then turned against the buccaneers after a prolonged government campaign and crackdown. You’ll never look at Captain Jack Sparrow the same way again.

Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates By Eric Jay Dolin Cover Image
$29.95
ISBN: 9781631492105
Availability: Backordered
Published: Liveright - September 18th, 2018

The Field of Blood - Joanne B. Freeman

Staff Pick

Though today’s Congress seems combative, all the filibusters and name-calling are nothing compared to when Congressmen actually stabbed and shot one another. From the infamous caning of Charles Sumner to endless duel challenges, historian Joanne Freeman shows that these frayed tensions were practically destined to erupt into Civil War. Remembering the Congress of the past solely as hallowed halls and dignified men is dangerous, she argues, as the real history reveals uncomfortable yet necessary truths about a union on the brink of collapse. Written with wit, flair, and a hint of cheek, Freeman presents these Congressmen as petty, triumphant, stoic, and vengeful—or, as she puts it more simply, human.

The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War By Joanne B. Freeman Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780374154776
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - September 11th, 2018

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