Social Sciences Resources
Spring 2018
History & Geography
Never Caught
by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
A revelatory account of the actions taken by George Washington to retain his slaves, focusing in particular on one Ona Judge, who was the subject of an intense manhunt led by the first president.
Code Girls
by Liza Mundy
The true tale of the young American women who helped shorten the war and saved thousands of lives by breaking the codes of the German and Japanese armed forces.
The Medici
by Paul Strathern
The author explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence, as well as the Italian Renaissance which they did so much to sponsor and encourage.
The Templars
by Dan Jones
A narrative history of the Knights Templar which draws on extensive original sources to build a gripping account of these Christian holy warriors who have been largely shrouded in myth.
The Vietnam War
by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
What we remember, have forgotten, and never knew about America’s least understood war, is revealed in this richly illustrated volume based on the acclaimed PBS documentary series.
The Story of the Jews, Volume Two
by Simon Schama
Part of a three volume cultural history written in engaging, stylistic prose that details the journey of the Jewish people from 1492 through the end of the nineteenth century.
My Lai
by Howard Jones
A thoroughly researched reexamination of the 1968 My Lai massacre, offering new perspective on the events and their relevance today in light of recent U.S. military scandals.
Queens of the Conquest
by Alison Weir
After being largely obscured by centuries of myth and omission, esteemed biographer Weir provides a fresh perspective on the extraordinary lives of five female English medieval monarchs.
When Montezuma Met Cortés
by Matthew Restall
This book provides a dramatic rethinking of the encounter between Montezuma and Cortés that completely overturns what we know about the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
Istanbul
by Bettany Hughes
Hughes takes you on an energizing historical journey from the Neolithic to the present, exploring this gateway city that has been the capitol of many empires, and examining its worldwide influence.
The Water Kingdom
by Philip Ball
Travel through China’s past and present to discover how the country’s complexity and energy repeatedly comes back to the challenges, opportunities, and inspiration of its waterways.
After the Map
by William Rankin
Rankin shows that the change in mapping practices from largely print to electronic navigation systems is ultimately a transformation of the nature of territory, both social and political.
Political Science
The Far Away Brothers
by Lauren Markham
In this urgent chronicle of contemporary immigration, identical twin brothers Ernesto and Raul flee from brutal gangs in El Salvador to the United States where they fight to survive, to stay, and to belong.
Lost Tribes and Promised Lands
by Ronald Sanders
Once again in print, celebrated historian Sanders weaves complex threads of colonial economics, religious exceptionalism, and xenophobia into a thesis on the history of American racism.
The Gifted Generation
by David Goldfield
A history of the post-World War II decades traces the efforts of an activist federal government to guide the U.S. toward a realization of the American Dream, exploring the era's unprecedented economic, social, and environmental growth.
Jumping at Shadows
by Sasha Abramsky
Abramsky sets his sights on what he describes as the most dangerous epidemic in America: the irrational fear felt towards the unknown, from foreigners to tropical viruses to universal health care.
Vote First or Die
by Scott Conroy
A colorful, behind-the-scenes look at the legendary New Hampshire primary elections, one of the most distinctive and revelatory events on the road to the White House.
The Handy American Government Answer Book
by Gina Misiroglu
Well-researched answers to nearly 800 questions help give readers a comprehensive look at the history, systems, people, and policies that comprise American democracy.
Sociology
Nine to Five
by Joanna L. Grossman
Rich in case studies, this collection of essays highlights legal policies that favor men over women in the workplace in both predictable and surprising ways.
Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud
by Anne Helen Petersen
The popular Buzzfeed culture writer and gossip expert examines the phenomenon of popular provocative womanhood in spite of the nonconforming behaviors exhibited by the featured “unruly” women.
The Hacking of the American Mind
by Robert H. Lustig
Lustig posits that corporate America, along with the help of our government, has imprisoned us in an endless loop of desire and consumption, and offers solutions we can all use in the pursuit of happiness.
Bunk
by Kevin Young
This work asks what it means to live in a post-factual world of 'truthiness' where everything is up for interpretation and everyone is subject to a pervasive cynicism that damages our ideas of reality, fact, and art.
Funding Feminism
by Joan Marie Johnson
Johnson sheds light on an understudied dimension of women’s history in which a group of generous women in the late 18th and early 19th centuries advanced the status of all women through acts of philanthropy.
Social Media Freaks
by Dustin Kidd
Kidd offers a virtual ethnography of social media, teaching readers how to engage it as a tool for social activism while also examining its limits in the quest for social change.
Psychology
Shrinking Violets
by Joe Moran
A deeply perceptive cultural history of shyness that features a collective biography of noteworthy shy individuals throughout history, showing that the trait is not simply a burden, but can be a gift as well.
Freud: The Making of an Illusion
by Frederick Crews
This assessment of psychoanalysis and the views of its creator reveals findings that will revolutionize our conception of Sigmund Freud as a therapist, theorist, and human being.
Before You Know It
by John A. Bargh
A leading expert on the unconscious mind presents a groundbreaking book that gives an entirely new understanding of the mental processes that secretly govern every aspect of our behavior.
Emotional Success
by David DeSteno
In this myth-shattering book, a pioneering psychologist draws on fresh research to reveal how three prosocial emotions can provide the surest, quickest route to success in any realm.
The Origins of Creativity
by Edward O. Wilson
The celebrated biologist shows how the humanities have played a largely unexamined role in defining our species, exploring what we can learn about human nature from a wide range of creative endeavors.
A Fragile Life
by Todd May
In a moving examination of life and the trials that beset it, May shows that our fragility is actually a powerful and essential part of life, and offers a guide on how to positively engage suffering.