In the News

The Catholic Church

Week of February 25, 2013

In the News: The Catholic Church

Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will resign as leader of the Catholic Church on February 28, 2013. Born Joseph Ratzinger, he becomes the first pope in almost 600 years to step down from the papacy. Pick up one of these books to learn more about Pope Benedict, popes of the past, and the Catholic Church.

 

 

Against Ratzinger
By Anonymous. Translated by Antony Shugaar. Seven Stories Press, 2008
Call Number: BX1378.6 .C6613 2008

Agony in the Garden: Sex, Lies, and Redemption from the Troubled Heart of the American Catholic Church
By John Van der Zee. Thunder’s Mouth Press/Nation Books, 2002
Call Number: BX1912.9 .V36 2002

The Catholic Church and American Culture: Why the Claims of Dan Brown Strike a Chord
By Eric Plumer. University of Scranton Press, 2009
Call Number: BX1406.3 .P58 2009 Continue reading

Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar

Week of February 18, 2013

In the News: Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar

The novel The Bell Jar,  about a college woman who suffers through a mental breakdown in the 1950s, was originally published fifty years ago under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. It would turn out to be the only novel published by poet Sylvia Plath. Like the book’s main character, Plath herself had gone through periods of depression that required psychiatric hospitalization. Approximately one month after the book’s release, Plath committed suicide.

 

The Bell Jar
By Sylvia Plath. HarperPerrenial, 2005
Call Number: PS3566 .L27 B4 2005

Bitter Fame: A Life of Sylvia Plath
By Anne Stevenson. Houghton Mifflin, 1989
Call Number: PS3566 .L27 Z9134 1989

The Cambridge Companion to Sylvia Plat
Edited by Jo Gill. Cambridge University Press, 2006
Call Number: PS3566 .L27 Z595 2006 Continue reading

Drone Strikes

Week of February 11, 2013

In the News: Drone Strikes

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, used in warfare to kill militants have recently come under intense public scrutiny as John Brennan, President Obama’s nominee for director of the C.I.A. and current counterterrorism advisor, met with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence for his confirmation hearing. A 16-page White House paper obtained by NBC News outlines what the Administration deems to be the legal use of drone strikes against suspected Al Qaeda operatives, including those who are American citizens.

 

The Age of Airpower
By Martin van Creveld. Public Affairs, 2011
Features the following chapter: “Missiles, Satellites, and Drones”
Call Number: UG630 .V285 2011

Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base
By Annie Jacobsen. Little, Brown and Co., 2011
Features the following chapter: “Dull, Dirty, and Dangerous Requires Drones”
Call Number: UA26 .N4 J33 2011

The CIA at War: Inside the Secret Campaign against Terror
By Ronald Kessler. St. Martin’s Press, 2003
From the book’s summary: “The CIA at War tells the inside story of how Tenet, a son of Greek immigrants, turned around the CIA from a pathetic, risk-averse outfit to one that has rolled up three thousand terrorists since 9/11, that was critically important to winning in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that now kills terrorists with its Predator drone aircraft.”
Call Number: JK468 .I6 K42 2003 Continue reading

Tarantino / Elvis

Week of January 28, 2013

In the News: Quentin Tarantino / Elvis Presley

Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained recently received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Tarantino first garnered major critical acclaim over twenty years ago with the release of Reservoir Dogs (1992) – Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Brown, Mr. Pink….

Also In the News: Elvis Presley’s concert, Aloha from Hawaii, was broadcast live via satellite forty years ago in 1973.

   

QUENTIN TARANTINO

Inglourious Basterds (DVD)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Universal Studios Home Entertainment, 2009
Call Number: PN1997.2 .I5526 2009 (At Jupiter)

Jackie Brown (DVD)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Miramax Home Entertainment, 2002
Call Number: PN1997 .J233 2002 (At Jupiter)

Kill Bill. Vol. 1 (DVD)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Miramax Home Entertainment, 2004
Call Number: PN1997.2 .K544 2004 (At Jupiter) – on order at Boca Continue reading

Hockey

Week of January 14, 2013

In the News: Hockey

Hockey returns…. The NHL and the players union have reached an agreement that would end the 113-day lockout. The 48-game season is slated to begin on January 19.

30 for 30 (Volume 01, DVD 01) (DVD)
ESPN. 2010
Call Number: GV576 .A1522 2010
Kings ransom: Explores the changes that occurred in 1988 in the National Hockey League after the game’s biggest star, Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. By playing in the United States, Gretzky caused something of a renaissance for the sport there, but in Canada, where hockey is the most popular sport, the trade was met with outrage. The documentary also features glimpses of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including John Candy, Kevin Costner, Timothy Hutton and Tony Danza.

The Big M: The Frank Mahovlich Story
By Ted Mahovlich. Edited by Susan M. McKinney. Sports Pub., 1999
Call Number: Available online via EBSCOhost

Brian McFarlane’s History of Hockey
Sports Pub., 1997
Call Number: Available online via EBSCOhost Continue reading

The Rolling Stones

Week of January 7, 2013

In the News: The Rolling Stones at 50

The Rolling Stones keep on rolling….The British band, featuring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts, celebrated their fiftieth anniversary in 2012.

 

According to the Rolling Stones
By Mick Jagger et al. Edited by Dora Loewenstein and Philip Dodd. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003
Call Number: ML421 .R64 A3 2003

Blown Away: The Rolling Stones and the Death of the Sixties
By A. E. Hotchner. Simon and Schuster, 1990
Call Number: ML421 .R64 H65 1990

Dance with the Devil: The Rolling Stones and Their Times
By Stanley Booth. Random House, 1984
Call Number: ML421 .R64 B66 Continue reading

Cigarettes & Lincoln

Week of November 26, 2012

In the News: Cigarette Packaging / Lincoln

The cigarette plain-packaging law goes into effect on December 1st … in Australia. From that date, all cigarettes must be sold in dark brown packaging and be free of any logos.

Also In the News: Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, Lincoln, opened in theaters on November 9th. To supplement your viewing experience, pick up one of the many books (published between 2010 and 2012) that we have on the 16the U.S. president.

 

   

CIGARETTES AND SMOKING

Advertising Sin and Sickness: The Politics of Alcohol and Tobacco Marketing, 1950-1990

By Pamela E. Pennock. Northern Illinois University Press, 2007
Call Number: HF6161 .L46 P46 2007

Ashes to Ashes: America’s Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris
By Richard Kluger. Alfred A. Knopf, 1996
Call Number: HV5760 .K58 1996

The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product that Defined America
By Allan M. Brandt. Basic Books, 2007
Call Number: HD9130.8 .U5 B72 2007 Continue reading

New York City / George McGovern

Week of November 5, 2012

In the News: Hurricane Sandy and New York City / George McGovern (1922-2012)

Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the Mid-Atlantic, New England, Southeastern, and Midwestern states last week causing billions of dollars in damages and leaving millions in the dark without power. Although many cities were heavily hit by the storm (especially places like Atlantic City and Hoboken in New Jersey, which may have suffered the worst damage), our In the News main topic this week focuses on books about New York City, the most populous city in the country and one of the hardest hit by Sandy.

Also In the News: George McGovern, retired senator from South Dakota and former Democratic Presidential nominee in 1972, died on October 21.

   

NEW YORK CITY

722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York
By Clifton Hood. Johns Hopkins UP, 1995
Call Number: TF847 .N5 H66 1995

740 Park: The Story of the World’s Richest Apartment Building
By Michael Gross. Broadway Books, 2005
Call Number: F128.67 .P3 G76 2005

Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century
By John F. Kasson. Hill & Wang, 1978
Call Number: F129 .C75 K37 1978 Continue reading

James Bond / Russell Means

Week of October 29, 2012

In the News: 50th Anniversary of James Bond Film Series / Russell Means (1939-2012)

The James Bond films series celebrates its 50th anniversary. From Dr. No (1962) to Skyfall (2012), viewers have enjoyed watching 007 (played throughout the years by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig) on the big screen as he sipped martinis that were shaken, not stirred.

Also In the News: Russell Means, Native American Lakota activist and prominent member and leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM), died of cancer on October 22.

 

     

JAMES BOND

Bond Films
By Jim Smith and Stephen Lavington. Virgin, 2002
Call Number: PN1995.9 .J3 S65 2002

Casino Royale (DVD)
Directed by Martin Campbell. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2007
Call Number: PN1997.2 .C3756 2007

The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia
By Steven Jay Rubin. Contemporary Books, 1990
Call Number: PN1995.9 .J3 R78 1990

Continue reading

2012 Presidential Election

Week of October 15, 2012

In the News: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

This week’s theme of presidential elections includes titles on the following related topics: voter fraud, the electoral college, liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, third party candidates, the 2008 presidential election, Kennedy vs. Nixon, [Ted] Kennedy vs. Carter, the Tea Party movement, Herman Cain, Geraldine Ferraro, John Edwards, Ralph Nader, Sarah Palin, Shirley Chisholm, Ross Perot, and more. There are also book by and/or about the two leading candidates and their running mates (yes, we have Young Guns co-written by Paul Ryan as well as the 2010 Joe Biden biography). These and other books are on display  through November 6 in the Wimberly Library lobby on the Boca Raton Campus.

The 2008 Elections in Florida: Change! But Only at the Top of the Ticket
By Robert E. Crew, Jr. and Slater Bayliss. University Press of America, 2011
Call Number: JK4416 .C74 2011

The 2008 Presidential Elections: A Story in Four Acts
Edited by Erik Jones and Salvatore Vassallo. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009
Call Number: JK526 2008 .A18 2009

All the Way with LBJ: The 1964 Presidential Election
By Robert David Johnson. Cambridge University Press, 2009
Call Number: E850 .J64 2009

Continue reading