Matthew White: The Great Big Book of Horrible Things

Original air date: December 30, 2011 “Evangelists of human progress meet their opposite in Matthew White’s epic examination of history’s one hundred most violent events, or, in White’s piquant phrasing, “the numbers that people want to argue about.” Reaching back to 480 BCE’s second Persian War, White moves chronologically through…

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Leanne Meadows Ladin

Legendary Santa’s: Stories from the Chair Original air date: December 23, 2011 “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! He is Legendary Santa and he has made Richmond, Virginia his home for 75 years. From the day after Thanksgiving to the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Legendary Santa, sitting in his…

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Tony Horwitz

Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War Original air date: November 25, 2011   “Plotted in secret, launched in the dark, John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry was a pivotal moment in U.S. history. But few Americans know the true story of the men and…

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Noah Scalin

Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work and in Your Studio Original air date: November 11, 2011 “In this book are 52 inspiring project prompts designed for any field and any level of experience. The activities can be done randomly or one per…

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Amy Stewart

Wicked Bugs Original air date: October 28, 2011 “In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down over one hundred of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most…

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