Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936
David Clay Large
The 1936 Olympic Games were held in Berlin during the Nazi Party's ascent. In Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936, David Clay Large examines all aspects of the 1936 Olympic games, and the propaganda value the Nazi Party extracted from hosting this prestigious event. Although the Games themselves are thoroughly covered, most readers will be interested in the political and propaganda aspects. Large details how the cast of characters pulled off this event, and how Leni Riefenstahl's immortalized the 1936 Games and spread the propaganda far and wide in her film, Olympia.
I Am Legend
Richard Matheson
I Am Legend is a book that has spawned three movie adaptations: The Last Man on Earth, with Vincent Price; The Omega Man, staring Charlton Heston; and most recently Will Smith's I Am Legend. This classic work of post-apocalyptic fiction shows a vision being the last remaining human following a worldwide 'vampire-plague'. It is a powerful testament that each generation has been compelled to adapt this enduring story to the big-screen.
The Victorian Internet
Tom Standage
Long before the Internet you are using right now, there was a network-of-networks - an internet - known as the telegraph system. This retro-tech book explores how the telegraph came to be and how it revolutionized communication, obliterating time barriers as news traveled instantly. It is difficult to imagine the transition from a world where the spread of news could take weeks to a world where news is available instantly. The Victorian Internet describes this paradigm shift and how it changed love, war, government, business, and society.
Chanda's Secrets
Allan Stratton
Chanda's Secrets is the story of an African teenager who is forced to deal with the ravages and the stigma of the AIDS epidemic devastating her continent. This book, a 2005 Michael J Printz Honor Book, tells the powerful story of Chanda's attempts to maintain her convictions as she watches AIDS destroy the people she loves. Teenagers and young adults will enjoy and appreciate Allan Stratton's portrait of this girl's strength in the face of tremendous adversity. Teachers may use the book, and the free teacher's guide, to help their students understand the African AIDS epidemic.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon
Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a murder mystery of sorts--one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers.