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 December 2004 Book Picks
Real life can be more interesting than fiction.
Try one of these non-fiction titles!
Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmit Till Case
by Chris Crowe
On a summer day in 1955 in Mississippi, fourteen-year-old Emmit Till stopped into a store with some friends to get a drink. Likely showing off to his friends, Emmit whistled at a white woman in the store. It was a mistake for which Emmit would pay dearly. Three days later his body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River. The extreme violence of the crime outraged both white and black America, especially when the two white men who were accused of Emitt's murder were quickly acquitted by an all-white jury. This case was a defining moment in American history. Emitt's death spurred civil rights activists such as Rosa Parks to take action, and the events of the time were a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.
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Stick Figure-- A Diary of My Former Self
by Lori Gottlieb
In the 1970s Lori Gottlieb was eleven years old. And like many girls her age, she started a diary. In that diary Lori often commented on her life in Beverly Hills, California. She reflected on her life and how she had always felt different than her friends whose attentions were mostly focused on shopping and boys. Lori often felt that she could never measure up-- until she found an activity at which she felt very successful-- dieting. Her diary records Lori's transformation from a bright, healthy kid to a hospital patient on the verge of death, back to a young adult committed to a healthy lifestyle. |
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Geeks: How Two Boys Rose the Internet out of Idaho
by Jon Katz
Jesse and Eric has spent most of their teen years on the fringe of society. They were seen by their peers as geeks-- technically savvy, but socially inept. They spent every spare cent on their computers and every spare moment online. For them high school had been a nightmare; nobody spoke to them much less for them. That is, until author Jon Katz found Jesse and Eric online. He convinced the two that they could use their computer knowledge to make money and a better life for themselves among those who would appreciate their talent and not torture them for it. This is their story. |
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Left for Dead: The True Story of the U.S.S. Indianapolis
by Pete Nelson
The sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis was one of the worst sea disasters in United States history, and no one knew anything about it. That is until Hunter Scott, a curious eleven-year-old, uncovered the story. The Indianapolis was sunk by the Japanese in July of 1945. As the ship sunk into the Pacific Ocean the crew was dumped overboard and spent two days floating in the ocean. Starving, freezing and dying they resorted to any means possible to survive. Then the sharks came. Many died and the Navy, looking for a scapegoat, court martialed Captain MacVay and tried to burry the tragedy forever. Little did they know that Hunter Scott would innocently uncover their story and do the impossible-- change history. |
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In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote
This work of nonfiction was published in 1967. It is the story of four members of the Clutter family who were murdered by unknown assassins on November 15, 1959. Author Truman Capote was intrigued by their story and decided to write about the murders. Until this time readers were accustomed to reading true stories told like a documentary or news report. Capote was the first author to bring the victims back to life by recreating their world for the reader. In his descriptions we see sixteen-year-old Nancy Clutter telling a friend how to bake a cherry pie, or Perry Smith's Gibson guitar hanging on the wall as he describes his dream of one day living in a tropical paradise. This book is hailed as a classic; it was the first time that a true event was told as a story. It left a lasting impression in the minds of its readers. |
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