National Network for Equitable Library Service

The America that Alexander Hamilton knew was largely agricultural and built on slave labor. He envisioned something else: a multi-racial, urbanized, capitalistic America with a strong central government. He believed that such an America would be a land of opportunity for the poor and the newcomers. But Hamilton’s vision put him at odds with his archrivals who envisioned a pastoral America of small towns, where governments were local, states would control their own destiny, and the federal government would remain small and weak.

12 Years a Slave is the harrowing account of a black man, born free in New York State, who was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in 1841. Having no way to contact his family, and fearing for his life if he told the truth, Solomon Northup was sold from plantation to plantation in Louisiana, toiling under cruel masters for twelve years before meeting Samuel Bass, a Canadian who finally put him in touch with his family, and helped start the process to regain his freedom. This extraordinary text is the basis for the major motion picture starring Brad Pitt.

Published on the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, the epic story of an enormous apartment building where Communist true believers lived before their destruction.

From acclaimed biographer Fred Kaplan comes this exploration of how Abraham Lincoln's and John Quincy Adams' experiences with slavery and race shaped their differing viewpoints. He provides both perceptive insights into these two great presidents and a revealing perspective on race relations in modern America.

December, 1941: Manila is invaded, and Pappy Gunn is ordered to fly key military command out of the country, leaving his family at home. By the end of the war, Pappy's ingenuity and flair for innovation helped revolutionize the art of air warfare and helped transform MacArthur's air force.

By the end of the Civil War, nearly half a million slaves had taken refuge behind Union lines in what became known as "contraband camps." This book probes what the camps were like and how former slaves and soldiers warily united there--an alliance that helped destroy slavery.

The Roaring Twenties is the only decade in American history with a widely applied nickname, and our fascination with this era continues. From prohibition to immigration, the birth of jazz, and the rise of expatriate literature, 1920 was truly a year like no other.

Waldman narrates the real story of how our nation's founders forged a new approach to religious liberty, a revolutionary formula that promoted faith by leaving it alone. The spiritual custody battle over the Founding Fathers and the role of religion in America continues today. Waldman provocatively argues that neither side in the culture war has accurately depicted the true origins of the First Amendment. He sets the record straight, revealing the real history of religious freedom to be dramatic, unexpected, paradoxical, and inspiring.

Ehrenreich presents a fascinating look at one of humanity's oldest traditions: the celebration of communal joy, historically expressed in ecstatic revels of feasting, costuming, and dancing.

High finance, wilderness adventures, violence, and questionable legal tactics all played important roles in the history of the North West Company. William McGillivray, head of the company from 1804 until 1821, was arguably the most powerful businessman in Canada in the early nineteenth century. William McGillivray emigrated from the Scottish Highlands to work for his uncle Simon McTavish when he was twenty years old and became head of the NWC in 1804 upon McTavish’s death.