Ballots and Books: Election 2024

"In the early 19th century, a French sociologist and political scientist undertook a seven-month journey throughout the newly formed United States. Alexis de Tocqueville surveyed the young nation's religious, political, and economic character and reported his findings in two volumes, published in 1835 and 1840. Two centuries later, Democracy in America remains among the most astute and influential surveys of American politics and society. de Tocqueville...

"Over the last two decades, there has been an inescapable rise of anger and aggression across our planet. Hate speech has become increasingly prevalent online, Western governments are turning towards authoritarianism and populism, and extremist groups are rising across both the left and the right ends of the political spectrum. Every day, it seems, we're hearing more angry voices and fearful opinions, we're seeing more threats and frightening news,...

"The Farewell was published at the end of Washington's second term. It was reprinted in newspapers across the country. The President began the letter during his first term intending to retire but was persuaded by Hamilton and Jefferson to run for a second. By the end of that term he was the object of scurrilous press attacks and alarmed by the growing partisan bitterness. Fearful for the country's future, Washington pled with his countrymen to resist...

"From the arrival of Columbus through the historic election of Barack Obama and beyond, Davis carries readers on a rollicking ride through more than five hundred years of American history. In this newly revised, expanded, and updated edition of the classic anti-textbook, he debunks, recounts, and serves up the real story behind the myths and fallacies of American history."--Page 4 of cover.

Investigation and report of the burglary at the Watergate Hotel that culminated with President Richard Nixon's resignation from office. "With a new foreword by the authors for the fiftieth anniversary of the event, the most devastating political detective story of the century, two Washington Post reporters, whose brilliant, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation smashed the Watergate scandal wide open, tell the behind-the-scenes drama the way it really...

Funding for libraries cannot be left to chance. Librarians, library trustees and Friends groups must be willing to play the game, focusing on strategies that include educating the community and motivating people to come out and vote to support library issues at the polls. This book will give you the tools you need to think through all the angles and win the elections.

"The Big Guy loves his family, money and country. Undone by the results of the 2008 presidential election, he taps a group of like-minded men to reclaim their version of the American Dream. As they build a scheme to disturb and disrupt, the Big Guy also faces turbulence within his family. His wife, Charlotte, grieves a life not lived, while his 18-year-old daughter, Meghan, begins to realize that her favorite subject--history--is not exactly what...

When a misleading photo of them goes viral, political consultant Thom Morgan and data analyst Clay Parker--sworn enemies working with a presidential candidate--are forced to fake a relationship to save the campaign, and soon the political turns personal. Political consultant Thom Morgan is working on the governor of California's presidential campaign. If only he didn't have to deal with Clay Parker, the smug data analyst who gets under Thom's skin...

"The world is awash in bullshit, and we're drowning in it. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. These days, calling bullshit is a noble act. Based on Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West's popular course at the University of Washington, Calling Bullshit is a modern handbook to the art of skepticism. Bergstrom, a computational biologist, and West, an information scientist,...

"A thrilling new biography of Dwight Eisenhower set in the months leading up to D-Day, when he grew from a well-liked general into one of the singular figures of American history"-- Provided by publisher. On June 6, 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower addressed the thousands of American troops preparing to invade Normandy, exhorting them to embrace the "Great Crusade" they faced. Then, in a fleeting moment alone, he drafted a resignation letter in case...