My Booklist

  • To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations - such is a pleasure beyond compare.  ~Kenko Yoshida

    If you resist reading what you disagree with, how will you ever acquire deeper insights into what you believe?  The things most worth reading are precisely those that challenge our convictions.  ~Author Unknown

    The book list provided below is a good resource for you when doing research for homework assignments or specific class topics. The books are organized by groups for easy reference. Simply click on the book title link to view additional information. All books listed here, I have read personally. Check back from time to time...I am always reading new material!  If you have read a book that you loved, please share it with me.  I am always interested in new reading material.

Global History 9

  • 4,000 Days: My Life and Survival in a Bangkok Prison

    by Warren Fellows Year Published: Average
    In the late 1970s, author Warren Fellows and two of his friends had the perfect scheme: they would traffic heroin between Australia and Thailand, concealing it flawlessly in high-tech, invisible compartments in suitcases. The money was there, and the process seemed foolproof--especially because they hadn't gotten caught in all their prior attempts at smuggling. But in 1978, all that would change, and Fellows would spend the next twelve years of his life enduring violations of his human rights of unimaginable hideousness. Fellows, convicted in Thailand, spent these twelve years in Bangkok's infamous Bang Kwang prison, witnessing atrocities committed by both prison officials and his fellow inmates. He survived countless torturous beatings, was forced to eat rats, and endured solitary confinement under terrifyingly inhumane conditions. On a daily basis, Fellows also witnessed the torture and execution of those around him, their screams as common as the insects and vermin in his cell. Many of the prisoners in Bang Kwang turned to heroin--the vice that landed Fellows there in the first place--to escape their daily nightmares, and the prison guards often helped feed this deadly addiction. Fellows, now a free man, has lived to write about these twelve ghastly years. He has captured the filth, pain, anger, hopelessness, and torture of life in a Thai prison with vivid, engrossing detail and brutal honesty

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • A Peace to End All Peace

    by David Fromkin Year Published: Challenging
    A story of how the downfall of the Ottoman Empire led to the current situation in the Middle East.
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  • At First They Killed My Father

    by Loung Ung Year Published: Average
    A personal account of the Cambodian genocide led by the Khmer Rouge.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Born in the Big Rains

    by Fadumo korn Year Published: Average
    A memoir of Somalia and Survival The author offers a first hand account of life in a traditional, nomadic family in Somalia.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Bound

    by Donna Jo Napoli Year Published: Easy Reading
    A Cinderella like story set in Ming China.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Guns, Germs and Steel

    by Jared Diamond Year Published: Challenging

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Half the Sky

    by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn Year Published: Average
    Featured on Oprah, this book focuses on how women in developing nations are economically disadvantaged and how nations can attempt to restore their economic power.
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  • Kaffir Boy

    by Mark Mathabane Year Published: Challenging
    A story of a young boy living under the system of apartheid in South Africa.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • King Leopold's Ghost

    by Adam Hochschild Year Published: Challenging
    Details how a less powerful nation, Belgium, led by King Leopold imperialized the Congo. Describes the story of Dr. Livingston and the oppressive conditions that the native population contended with.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Life and Death in Shanghi

    by Nien Cheng Year Published: Average
    A personal account of life during the Cultural Revolution in China.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Novel Without A Name

    by Duong Thu Huong Year Published: Average
    Personal narrative of a North Vietnamese solider.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

    by Lisa See Year Published: Easy Reading
    Set in China around the 1850's, the novel covers the life of two girls who were promised to be laotongs ("old sames") by their families. Covers the traditional role of women in China as well as other cultural values.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace through Education in Afghanistan and Pakistan

    by Greg Mortenson Year Published: Easy Reading
    The follow up to "Three Cups of Tea," "Stones into Schools" updates the reader on the new projects that Dr. Mortenson and the CAI as been working on. Offers a great, brief history of this region and places emphasis on the effects of geography and diversity.
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  • The Bastard of Istanbul

    by Elif Shafak Year Published: Average
    Personal story about two families that are linked by the Armenian genocide.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • The Birth of Vensus

    by Sarah Dunant Year Published: Average
    A novel that is set during the Renaissance in Florence, Italy. The novel focuses on a young girl from a wealthy family who challenges the traditional cultural norms for a young Italian women. Fits with the Global 10 course, more than the Global 9 material. ** Some parts of the novel are sexual in nature. Please be advised! **

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky

    by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak Year Published: Easy Reading
    The true story of three Lost Boys from Sudan.
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  • Three Cups of Tea

    by Greg Mortenson and David Olver Relin Year Published: Easy Reading
    A story of how an American travelled to Pakistan to spread education to remote, improvised areas. Dr. Mortenson's idea is that education can improve the standard of living of the population he seeks to serve.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • When Heaven and Earth Change Places

    by Le Ly Hayslip & Jay Wurts Year Published: Average
    The story of a young girl who grows up in war torn Vietnam and her return to the Communist nation in 1986.
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Global History 10

  • 1491 New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus

    by Charles C. Mann Year Published: Challenging
    Historical account of pre-Columbian Indians

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • A Stranger to Myself: Inhumanity of War: Russia 1941-1944

    by Willy Peter Reese Year Published: Average
    Personal account of a German solider in Russia.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Borderland: A Journey through the history of the Ukraine

    by Anna Reid Year Published: Average
    Brief history of the Ukraine
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  • Dark Continent: Europe's 20th Century

    by Mark Mazower Year Published: Challenging
    Investigates the rise and fall of democratic institutions in Europe in the 20th Century.
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  • From Voting to Violence

    by Jack Snyder Year Published: Challenging
    A historical discussion on nationalism and the dangers that come with the movement.
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  • Napolean and Hitler

    by Desmond Seward Year Published: Challenging
    A comparative biography
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  • The Pillars of the Earth

    by Ken Follett Year Published: Challenging
    Tom Builder's dream is to build a cathedral, but in the meantime, he must scrounge about to find a lord that will hire him. His search pulls him and his family into the politics of 12th-century England, as different lords vie to gain control of the throne in the wake of the recently deceased king. Prior Phillip, a man raised in the monastery since childhood, also finds himself drafted into the brewing storm as he must protect the interests of a declining church. Richard E. Grant seduces readers early on with a soft and deliberate voice that is like a loud whisper. However, his full range quickly reveals itself as he delves into characters with animated voices that exert their true essence. Even throughout the narrative, Grant musters a lively voice that imbues energy into the story. The only shortcoming is that the abridgment of Follett's 1989 novel proves to be too choppy. Though the story appears complete, there still remain abrupt moments throughout the tale.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • World Without End

    by Ken Follett Year Published: Challenging
    Eighteen years after Pillars of the Earth weighed in with almost 1,000 pages of juicy historical fiction about the construction of a 12th-century cathedral in Kingsbridge, England, bestseller Follett returns to 14th-century Kingsbridge with an equally weighty tome that deftly braids the fate of several of the offspring of Pillars' families with such momentous events of the era as the Black Death and the wars with France. Four children, who will become a peasant's wife, a knight, a builder and a nun, share a traumatic experience that will affect each of them differently as their lives play out from 1327 to 1361. Follett studs the narrative with gems of unexpected information such as the English nobility's multilingual training and the builder's technique for carrying heavy, awkward objects. While the novel lacks the thematic unity of Pillars, readers will be captivated by the four well-drawn central characters as they prove heroic, depraved, resourceful or mean. Fans of Follett's previous medieval epic will be well rewarded.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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US History

  • 1776

    by David McCullough Year Published: Challenging
    A history of how the American revolution can to be.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Bury the Chains

    by Adam Hochschild Year Published: Average
    A history of the slave trade and the anti-slave movement in England.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • Founding Fathers

    by No Author Text Year Published: Challenging
    Different stories about the men who shaped early American history. Some young readers may find this work to be somewhat dry. Be it is very imformative.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • John Adams

    by David McCullough Year Published: Challenging
    A history of one of the most important founding fathers.
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  • Mightier than the Sword; Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Battle for America

    by David S. Reynolds Year Published: Average
    An academic discussion on the impact that Uncle Tom's Cabin had on American society. Discusses Harriet Beecher Stowe's perspective on religion, politics and slavery.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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  • The Creature from Jekyll Island

    by G. Edward Griffin Year Published: Challenging
    Describes the creation of the Federal Reserve System and investigates the value of this very powerful government entity. Some young readers might find this book to be dry.
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  • The Island at the Center of the World

    by Russell Shorto Year Published: Challenging
    A history of the development of NYC, in particular the island of Manhattan.

    Note: This book is available in our Library.
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General Reading