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Showing 1 - 20 of 13434 items
The informant: the FBI, the Ku Klux Klan, and the murder of Viola Liuzzo
By Gary May. 2005
Examines the role of FBI informant Gary Thomas Rowe Jr., who infiltrated the Alabama Klan and identified suspects in the…
1965 murder of civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo, a white woman from Detroit, while he participated in other race crimes. Criticizes the effectiveness of the FBI's reliance upon informants. 2005
Martian summer: robot arms, cowboy spacemen, and my 90 days with the Phoenix Mars Mission
By Andrew Kessler. 2011
Author recounts spending the summer of 2008 in mission control of the Phoenix Mars expedition with one hundred thirty scientists…
and engineers. Describes the team's discovery of ice on Mars, discusses the possibility of life on the planet, and addresses conspiracy stories about the mission's findings. 2011
Cultural history of women in American law enforcement focuses on events that helped or hindered their progress toward equality. Uses…
archival documents and interviews to illuminate the expansion of women's roles from the 1840s, when matrons guarded prisoners, to the twenty-first century. Highlights incidents of workplace discrimination. Some violence. 2010
God is not one: the eight rival religions that run the world--and why their differences matter
By Stephen R. Prothero. 2010
Author of Religious Literacy (DB 64243) posits that religion is more than a private matter and affects the world socially,…
economically, politically, and militarily--as a force for both good and evil. Discusses the major religions, their traditions, and the importance of the differences among them. 2010
The triple agent: the al-Qaeda mole who infiltrated the CIA
By Joby Warrick. 2011
Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist details the December 30, 2009, gathering in Khost, Afghanistan, of CIA and U.S. military officials…
and Pakistani and Afghani operatives to meet Jordanian pediatrician and spy Humam Khalil al-Balawi. Relates Balawi's subsequent suicide bombing, which killed himself and seven CIA personnel. 2011
Sex on the moon: the amazing story behind the most audacious heist in history
By Ben Mezrich. 2011
Detailed account of college intern Thad Roberts's theft of moon rocks from NASA in 2002 and the FBI sting that…
snared him. Describes Roberts's sheltered upbringing, his estrangement from his parents, and his romance with a coworker that motivated the heist. Some strong language. 2011
Through veterans' eyes: the Iraq and Afghanistan experience
By Larry Minear. 2010
Commentary from post-9/11 veterans collected from the Library of Congress Veterans History Project and supplemented by author interviews. Covers reasons…
for enlisting; dealing with combat, local populations, and contractors; and living with post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injury. Strong language and some violence. 2010
Busted: a tale of corruption and betrayal in the city of brotherly love
By Wendy Ruderman, Barbara Laker. 2014
Two Philadelphia Daily News reporters chronicle their probe into corruption in the Philadelphia Police Department narcotics squad, for which they…
won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Some strong language. 2014
Theoretical physicist and author of From Eternity to Here (DB 71474) explains the research involved in and the potential impact…
of the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson, also known as the God particle, that gives particles their mass. Details the role of engineers, theorists, and experimentalists. 2012
A grand complication: the race to build the world's most legendary watch
By Stacy Perman. 2013
Journalist explores the rivalry between financier Henry Graves Jr. and automobile magnate James Ward Packard to build and own the…
most remarkable watch in history. Graves and Packard spurred Swiss watchmaker Patek Phillipe to manufacture the Graves Supercomplication--the most complex mechanical watch ever created. Details early-twentieth-century watchmaking techniques. 2013
A universe from nothing: why there is something rather than nothing
By Lawrence M. Krauss, Lawrence Maxwell Krauss. 2012
Arizona State University cosmologist challenges belief in a divine creator and describes modern research in quantum mechanics that suggests the…
universe originated out of nothing--and could eventually return to that. Includes afterword by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, author of The Greatest Show on Earth (DB 70102). 2012
Jungleland: a mysterious lost city, a WWII spy, and a true story of deadly adventure
By Christopher S. Stewart. 2013
Journalist recounts his 2008 search for the lost city of Ciudad Blanca in Central America. Discusses studying the 1940 expedition…
journals of American spy Theodore Morde, who claimed to have found the city. Compares Morde's journey with his own. Young adult appeal. 2013
Paradox: the nine greatest enigmas in physics
By Jim Al-Khalili. 2012
Physicist and author of The House of Wisdom (DB 75023) discusses nine theories and ideas that seem to defy common…
sense, including the Paradox of the Twins and Achilles and the Tortoise. Explains the science and math required to understand these brainteasers. 2012
The savage city: race, murder, and a generation on the edge
By T. J. English. 2011
Explores tensions between the African American community and the NYPD during the 1960s. Examines the murders of two white upper-East-Side…
women and the coerced confession of nineteen-year-old drifter George Whitmore Jr., corruption on the police force, and the roles played by leading activists. Violence and strong language. 2011
Bomb: the race to build and steal the world's most dangerous weapon
By Steve Sheinkin. 2012
Award-winning author recounts the history of the atom bomb and the race among the United States, Nazi Germany, and the…
Soviet Union to build--or steal--the deadly weapon during World War II. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2012
In the name of the children: an FBI agent's relentless pursuit of the nation's worst predators
By Marilee Strong, Jeffrey L. Rinek. 2018
Former FBI agent recounts his career working on cases of kidnapped and murdered children. Discusses investigative techniques, the ways the…
FBI interacts with other agencies, and sensational crimes such as the 1999 Yosemite National Park murders. Relates the psychological effects on him, including suicide attempts, and his family. Violence. 2018
The Black Lives Matter movement
By Peggy J. Parks. 2018
Explores the Black Lives Matter movement that was launched in 2013 to address civil rights issues against African American citizens.…
Covers the divide between black citizens and the police, the formation of the movement, its detractors, and law enforcement accountability. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2018
The rise of Islamic state: ISIS and the new Sunni revolution
By Patrick Cockburn. 2015
A description of the rise of conditions leading to terrorist group ISIS's explosive success, including the Iraqi and Syrian civil…
wars. Additionally, the author examines the principles of the group, also known as the Islamic State, which combine religious fanaticism and military prowess. Some violence. 2015
Chasing the scream: the first and last days of the war on drugs
By Johann Hari. 2015
After travel and research, journalist Johann Hari posits three truths about the War on Drugs: first, that drugs are not…
what we think they are; second, that addiction is not what we think it is; and third, that the drug war's motives are different from those broadcast. Some violence and some strong language. 2015
Tommy: the gun that changed America
By Karen Blumenthal. 2015
Overview of the development and history of John Taliaferro Thompson's lightweight, fast-firing weapon. The Tommy gun was designed for the…
military, but it instead became the weapon of choice for criminals, gangsters, and bootleggers. Some violence. For grades 6-9 and older readers. 2015