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This week, we feature a long-ranging history of Western civilization that explores the Middle Ages and an award-winning children’s book featuring a cowgirl.
History
By Kenneth Clark
Originally published in 1969, Kenneth Clark’s magisterial work is of tremendous importance as it dispels myths and falsehoods: namely, that the Dark Ages were completely dark and the Medieval Period contributed little to civilization. Clark was one of Great Britain’s most accomplished 20th-century intellectuals. He guides the reader through the importance of the artistic creations of this multi-century period between the fall of Rome and the rise of the Renaissance. A necessary book for any reader.
Hodder Pb, 272 pages, 2005
Technology
By Thomas Wildenberg
Charles Stark “Doc” Draper ran MIT’s Instrumentation Laboratory (today’s Draper Labs) for nearly 40 years. He led the development of some of the 20th century’s most important guidance and navigation advances. This is Draper’s biography and a history of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. The two stories are indivisible. A fascinating study of a protean engineer, it captures the spirit of engineering from the 1930s through the 1970s, highlighting one of its most influential engineers.
Naval Institute Press, 2019, 320 pages
Mystery
By Leta Serafim
Yiannis Patronas is the chief of the local police force on the Greek island of Chios. Murders are rare, but when dismembered body parts are found near an archaeological dig site, it’s obvious that there’s been a murder. The remains belonged to archaeologist Eleni Argenti. Additionally, her assistant Petros, a local boy, is missing and presumed dead. Why were they killed and who did it? It’s up to Yiannis, who has never investigated a murder, to find out. The first of a series set in the Greek Islands.
Coffeetown Press, 2014, 256 pages
Non-Fiction
‘The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free’
By Pete Hegseth
In this exposé of the higher-ups who are radically changing our military, decorated Army veteran and bestselling author Pete Hegseth addresses the politicizing of our armed forces, training programs that damage unit integrity, and battlefield policies that endanger American soldiers’ lives. Filled with names, incidents, data, and his own anecdotes, this straightforward account identifies the people and forces that have caused this damage. It aims for the restoration of a combat-ready military.
Broadside Books, 2024, 256 pages
Classics
By Charles Dickens
In what many consider the finest of Dickens’ novels, we follow the fortunes and trials of Philip Pirrip, “Pip,” from the age of 7 to his mid-30s. Along the way we meet some of Dickens’s great characters: the gentle blacksmith Joe Gargery; the embittered Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted protegee Estella; the criminal Magwitch; and more. On this journey of self-discovery, loss, and suffering, Pip eventually learns to distinguish false values from true virtue. Ages 12 and up.
Wordsworth Editions, Ltd., 2000, 410 pages
For Kids 
By Erica Silverman and Betsy Lewin
This light-hearted, easy reader is full of simple, farmyard fun. Kate is a hard-working cowgirl who has a special and often humorous bond with her horse, Cocoa. Get ready for giggles as you read about their antics together as a family. Or, let growing readers delight in this fun, vibrantly illustrated chapter book on their own.
Clarion Books, 2006, 44 pages
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