Books

On May 23, 1783, South Carolina became the 8th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. I searched the catalog for "South Carolina" and was surprised at how much material we have in our collection about the 8th state. While many of the books deal with the Civil War, Reconstruction, and race, but there is a lot of online material from as far back as 1729! Some of our online resources include speeches, state assembly acts and resolutions, association and society constitutions, and a whole lot more. Much of these online resources can be found in the Early Americana database.

       

On May 22, 1813, noted German opera composer Richard Wagner was born. Wagner was a colorful figure. Because of his political involvement, he was exiled and spent time in Venice, Switzerland, and Paris. He was invited back to Munich by King Ludwig (Mad King Ludwig) and eventually settled in Bayreuth where he supervised the design and construction of a new opera house. An annual Wagner festival, the Bayreuth Festival, is held at this opera house.

The library has many books about Richard Wagner and the Bayreuth Festival, and we have some musical scores written by Wagner. Watch dozens of performances at the Bayreuth Festival in Naxos Video Online, listen to hundreds of tracks composed by Wagner in Classical Music Library, and see a few more Wagner operas in Classical Music in Video.

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On May 21, 1863, during the Civil War, the siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana began. The library has access to memoirs from two of the generals that were on the union side. Halbert Paine wrote A Wisconsin Yankee in Confederate Bayou Country: The Civil War Reminiscences of a Union General. Paine was born in Ohio, lived in Mississippi, but served as a Union general of the 4th Infantry from Wisconsin. Benjamin Grierson was the author of A Just and Righteous Cause: Benjamin H. Grierson's Civil War Memoir (edited by Bruce J. Dinges and Shirley A. Leckie). Grierson was born in Pennsylvania and served as a cavalry officer from Illinois (and died in Michigan many years after the Civil War).

Read both of their accounts of the events surrounding the Port Hudson siege and the Vicksburg campaign.

   

The list of new books and other materials added to the library’s collection in April has been posted. Click on “…more New Arrivals” on the library’s home page. Or, go directly to http://library.umd.umich.edu/newbooks/.

Examples from the April list include:

       

On May 13, 1913, Igor Sikorsky test piloted the first four-engine aircraft. However, he is better known for his work on helicopters, including the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.

The library has several online books about helicopters as well as chapters in online books through ENGnetBASE.

       

On May 10, 1863, one of the most famous figures of the Civil War died. Confederate General Thomas Jonathan Jackson, better known as "Stonewall" Jackson died of pneumonia after having been shot by his own troops at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. He was only 39 years old. The library has several biographies about Jackson (both books and e-books) and the history databases have much information about both him and the Civil War.

       

On May 9, 1813, British soldiers and Canadian militia the command of General Henry Proctor and Indians led by Chief Tecumseh ended the first siege of Fort Meigs on the Maumee River in Ohio. The library has a book with a chapter about Fort Meigs and there are hundreds of articles available if you search Summon. But, wouldn't it be much better to visit the fort to learn about its history and importance during the War of 1812? The 100th anniversary event commemorating the first siege was last weekend, but there are many more events and reenactments throughout the summer at Fort Meigs, which is only about an hour from Dearborn.

   

Did you start reading something for fun now that summer has started? I just started reading The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. The book is set at a Division III college on the shore of Lake Michigan near Green Bay, Wisconsin. So far, the book is primarily about a phenomenal college shortstop who's about to set the college record for consecutive games played without an error, his roommate, his mentor (I think that's the best way to describe Mike Schwartz), the college president, and the president's daughter.

I'm enjoying this book, but what are you reading? Share with us.

On this date in 1963, the James Bond movie Dr. No was released. This was the first James Bond movie starring Sean Connery.

The Mardigian Library does not have a copy of Dr. No, but you can order both the movie and the book the movie was based on -- and many other movies and books -- through MeLCat.

If you would like to find out more about Dr. No -- or another movie -- check our Film databases for plot descriptions, cast lists, production credits, and lots of other information. For example:

On May 7, 1763, an attack on Fort Detroit by the Ottawa Chief Pontiac was thwarted by British Major Henry Gladwin. Pontiac and his men entered the fort with weapons under trading blankets. Their goal was to attack the unwitting soldiers. However, the plot had been previously uncovered and the men of the fort were prepared. Without the element of surprise, Pontiac exited the fort, but then laid siege for several months. The attempt to take Fort Detroit was part of what is known as Pontiac's Rebellion. In the following weeks, allies of Pontiac took 10 of the 13 British forts in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley region. Fort Detroit was one that did not fall during the rebellion.

To find out more about the events that lead up to the rebellion and about its aftermath, check out some of the library's resources. We have several books about Pontiac's Rebellion. We also have newspaper accounts of Pontiac from the 1700s in 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers and Accessible Archives. (Note: Pontiac is usually spelled "Pondiac" in these newspaper accounts.)

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On April 12, 1888, Cecil Kimber was born. You probably don't know Cecil Kimber, but you might recognize the famous sports car company that he founded -- MG. The Mardigian Library doesn't have any books specifically about MG cars, but you can find several at local libraries. You can always check if a library close to you has books about MG (or any other subject) by checking WorldCat.

The list of new books and other materials added to the library’s collection in March has been posted. Click on “…more New Arrivals” on the library’s home page. Or, go directly to http://library.umd.umich.edu/newbooks/.

Examples from the March list include:

       

On April 9, 1963, by an Act of Congress and Presidential Proclamation, former British prime minister and Nobel laureate Winston Churchill was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States.

Churchill was a historian and writer; his Nobel Prize was for literature in 1953. The library has several books written by him. However, Churchill is best known as the British Prime Minister during World War II who served the British government for 50 years. The library has dozens of books written about Churchill.

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No, we don't mean the bad driving you might be seeing as you commute. We're talking about our new CD audio books collection that includes authors such as James Patterson, John Sandford, Sara Paretsky, J. K. Rowling, and more. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, V.I. Warshawski, and Harry Bosch are just a few of the popular series available for your listening pleasure. Audio titles can be found in our Browsing Collection located near the Circulation Desk or in the audio collection located on the first floor.


       

This Friday and Tuesday, April 16, there will be Public Observing Sessions at the SLRC Observatory. The first session will be about Jupiter and the Constellation Taurus. The second session will be about the moon and Jupiter.

If you are interested in learning more, the Mardigian Library has a few books and e-books about Jupiter, constellations, and the moon. However, many more are available through MeLCat — dozens of books and some videos are available.

Haven't used MeLCat? It's easy. Just go to MeLCat. You can order books or audiovisual materials from another library in Michigan and have them delivered right to the Mardigian Library for pick-up. For more about MeLCat, see How to use MeLCat.

Note: All of the e-books pictured below are available in the SpringerLink database.