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Posts tagged with ‘Social History’

WHERE THE JEWS AREN’T by Masha Gessen

December 16, 2016

“THE WORST GOOD IDEA ever”—brilliant, cynical history of the USSR’s ill-fated Jewish Autonomous Region.

Grade: A MINUS

WHERE THE JEWS AREN'T: THE SAD AND ABSURD STORY OF BIROBIDZHAN, RUSSIA'S JEWISH AUTONOMOUS REGION
Knopf Doubleday
2016

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VILLAGE ATHEISTS: HOW AMERICA’S UNBELIEVERS MADE THEIR WAY IN A GODLY NATION by Leigh Eric Schmidt

November 23, 2016

HOW “VILLAGE ATHEISTS” built a free-thought movement in the 19th century US. Absolutely engaging history!

Grade: A MINUS

VILLAGE ATHEISTS: HOW AMERICA'S UNBELIEVERS MADE THEIR WAY IN A GODLY NATION
Princeton University Press
2016

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BETWEEN MAN AND BEAST, by Monte Reel

May 13, 2013

SUPERB TRUE ADVENTURE tale of the first Western explorer/naturalist to study, document (and hunt) gorillas.

Grade: B PLUS

BETWEEN MAN AND BEAST: AN UNLIKELY EXPLORER, THE EVOLUTION DEBATES, AND THE AFRICAN ADVENTURE THAT TOOK THE VICTORIAN WORLD BY STORM
Doubleday
2013

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EAT THE CITY, by Robin Shulman

April 16, 2013

COMPLETELY FASCINATING HISTORY of farming, production of food and drink in New York City past and present.

Grade: B PLUS

EAT THE CITY: A TALE OF THE FISHERS, FORAGERS, BUTCHERS, FARMERS, POULTRY MINDERS, SUGAR REFINERS, CANE CUTTERS, BEEKEEPERS, WINEMAKERS, AND BREWERS WHO BUILT NEW YORK
Crown
2012

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BIRD OF PARADISE, by Raquel Cepeda

April 12, 2013

DOMINICAN-AMERICAN FILMMAKER Raquel Cepeda explores her family history, her Latina identity in charming memoir.

Grade: B PLUS

BIRD OF PARADISE: HOW I BECAME LATINA
Simon and Schuster/Atria
2013

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REST IN PIECES, by Bess Lovejoy

April 3, 2013

THE POST-MORTEM ADVENTURES OF famous people’s remains.  Witty, macabre, well-researched, entertaining!

Grade: B PLUS

REST IN PIECES: THE CURIOUS FATES OF FAMOUS CORPSES
Simon & Schuster
2013

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RUSS & DAUGHTERS, by Mark Russ Federman

March 27, 2013

LOVE LETTER TO New York’s temple of herring, Russ & Daughters, is also a history of Jewish life in the city.

Grade: B PLUS

RUSS & DAUGHTERS: REFLECTIONS AND RECIPES FROM THE HOUSE THAT HERRING BUILT
Schocken Books
2013

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CONSIDER THE FORK, by Bee Wilson

March 25, 2013

WONDERFULLY ENTERTAINING HISTORY, anthropology, and sociology of tools for cooking and eating. Smart fun!

Grade: A MINUS

CONSIDER THE FORK: A HISTORY OF HOW WE COOK AND EAT
Basic Books
2012

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KORE, by Andrzej Szczeklik (translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones)

January 30, 2013

ELOQUENT, COMPASSIONATE WORK by a Polish physician and researcher links medicine with the arts and humanities.

Grade: A MINUS

KORE: ON SICKNESS, THE SICK, AND THE SEARCH FOR THE SOUL OF MEDICINE
Counterpoint
2012

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RASPUTIN: THE UNTOLD STORY, by Joseph T. Fuhrmann

January 14, 2013

WITH INSIGHTS FROM new research and recently opened archives, a fresh biography of Rasputin reveals much.

Grade: SOLID B

RASPUTIN: THE UNTOLD STORY
Wiley
2012

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