Our teen book spotlight this week is on some amazing YA nonfiction titles! Nonfiction does not have to be boring and these books are going to prove it; there is something out there for everyone. Many of the titles featured this week are some of my personal favorites and I cannot recommend them enough!! These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #amazingyanonfiction as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
Hunting Charles Manson by Liz Wiehl--Explores the true story of Charles Manson and relates the details of the manhunt that followed in the weeks and months that followed the murders he committed in Los Angeles, culminating in the arrest of Manson and his "family" and the bizarre court cases and hearings that followed.
American Kingpin by Nick Bilton--Explores the true story of Ross William Ulbricht and how he created the Silk Road Website on the "Dark Web," a part of the Internet that is unable to be monitored by governments, a site devoted to trading drugs, hacking software, counterfeit cash, poisons, fake passports--anything at all. Tracks the two-year manhunt for Ulbricht by governments around the world, who only knew him by his moniker, the "Dread Pirate Roberts."
The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming--Here is the story of the last imperial family of Russia, the family of Tsar Nicholas II. The last tsar came to power in 1894 and was unprepared for it. Even with the German-born Tsarina Alexandra by his side, Nicholas II could not prevent the rise of Lenin and the Russian Revolution. Author Fleming offers an in-depth look at the family life of the Romanovs, profiling Anastasia and their three other daughters, as well as their hemophiliac son and other key figures of the time, like Lenin and Rasputin.
The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum--Depicts Dr. Charles Norris, the first trained chief medical examiner, and Alexander Gettler, the first toxicologist, who were pioneers in the field of forensic science in early twentieth-century New York and discusses the importance of their work. Presents eleven kinds of poison and describes the ingenious methods created by the medical examiner's office to detect them.
The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff--This book tells the story of September 11, 2001 as it was lived—in the words of those who lived it. Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, recently declassified documents, original interviews, and oral histories from nearly five hundred government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends, and family members, Graff paints the most vivid and human portrait of the September 11 attacks yet. The result is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives.
Sabotage: The Mission to Destroy Hitler’s Atomic Bomb by Neal Bascomb--In 1939, a Norsk Hydro plant in Vemork was the world's sole producer of “heavy water,” the key ingredient in developing a nuclear fission bomb. The Nazis invaded the country, and quickly took over Vemork to start making Hitler's very own nuclear bomb. It could have ended the war, but the Allies discovered the plan. After a group of British operatives failed to take down the industrial fortress, the task fell to a band of young Norwegian commandos, armed only with skis and explosives. With great courage, they pulled off probably the greatest act of sabotage of World War II.