“Saga of the Sioux by Dwight” Jon Zimmerman. This lavishly illustrated retelling of the classic work “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown is targeted for a younger audience, but still a powerful read for all ages. Original text, combined with new maps and stunning photographs, create a dramatic edition that reveals the other side of the frontier saga--how the West was lost.
“Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy” by Albert Marrin. On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City burst into flames. Because the doors were locked, 0ne hundred forty-six people perished, making it one of the most lethal workplace fires in American history. This is the also the ensuing story of the fearless immigrant women who then stood up to business, got America on their side, and finally changed working conditions for the entire nation. This book was a National Book Award Finalist.
“Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature” by George Sullivan. When Charles Stratton was born in 1838, he seemed perfect in every way. But then he stopped growing. Soon he garnered the interest of the showman P.T. Barnum, who persuaded Charles’s parents to exhibit their son as a curiosity. Charles was a natural performer, and became enormously popular and wealthy, as the character “General Tom Thumb.” This is his story.
“Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl” by Albert Marrin. The author documents the extraordinary and devastating tragedy of the American Dust Bowl, chronicling the walls of dust that invaded the Great Plains. The storms buried crops, blinded animals, and suffocated children, covering entire cities in prairie dirt. The book also discusses the government response to save America’s soil and the farm families struggling to survive.
“Skywalkers: Mohawk Ironworkers Build the City” by David Weitzman. Hundreds of feet in the air, Mohawk ironworkers walked the girders, riveting steel beams in place to construct the skyscrapers that we see every day. This fascinating book takes a look at some of the men who risked their lives to build our cities, exploring their long history in building and the cultural roots of heroism.
“How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous” by Georgia Bragg. From King Tut’s ancient autopsy to Henry VIII’s explosive demise to Albert Einstein’s great brain escape, these pages contain the gory details of the awful ends of nineteen very famous people.
Sharon Sturgis is the librarian at the Ellinwood School/ Community Library.