Social Justice and the Funny Books

Ok, the term ‘funny books’ certainly shows my age (which will be hinted at but never revealed).  The comics of my day have grown from mere colorful depictions of Archie led high jinks and the exciting adventures of the brave, but tragically fashioned challenged, men and women of Marvel and DC to literary showcases of deep, meaningful topics.  While the NHTI Library has many books covering events that are covered under the topic of social justice another layer of understanding is added when the book combines both pictures and words as is the case of graphic novels.  The graphic novels listed below are a sample of the gems you will find in the collection.

 

I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina

Alfonso can't wait to play the role of Hamlet in his school's hip-hop rendition of the classic play. But as he is buying his first suit, an off-duty police officer mistakes a clothes hanger for a gun and shoots Alfonso. When Alfonso wakes up in the afterlife, he's on a ghost train guided by well-known victims of police shootings, who teach him what he needs to know about this subterranean spiritual world. Meanwhile, Alfonso's family and friends struggle with their grief and seek justice for Alfonso in the streets.

 

Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery Novel by Mat Johnson

In the early 20th Century, when lynchings were commonplace throughout the American South, a few courageous reporters from the North risked their lives to expose these atrocities. They were African-American men who, due to their light skin color, could "pass" among the white folks. They called this dangerous assignment going "incognegro.".

 

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Speigelman

A brutally moving work of art--widely hailed as the greatest graphic novel ever written--Maus  recounts the chilling experiences of the author's father during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats.

 

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

Long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future.  In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten "relocation centers," hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.

They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.

Climate Changed: A Personal Journey Through the Science by Philipp Squarzoni

Based on the analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but seen through the perspective of everyman journalist Philippe Squarzoni, this graphic novel explains how our environment functions; outlines the consequences of climate change and asks: is our society able to pursue a proactive policy in regard to ecological issues. Philippe Squarzoni weaves together scientific research, interviews with leading experts, personal reflections and a call for action starting at a grassroots level. 

'Tis the Season....for an inauguration, that is! by: Annie Gagne

January 20, 2021 is Inauguration Day for the United States, an important piece in the presidential cycle. The inauguration of the president of the United States is a ceremony to mark the commencement of a new four-year term of the president of the United States. The inauguration takes place for each new presidential term, even if the president is continuing in office for a second term. 

The office of the presidency is a vital one, carrying with it the responsibility for the wellbeing of our country and its citizens. The holders of this office are varied in life history and experience and a glimpse into their backgrounds and presidencies can be fascinating. The NHTI Library and Learning Commons has many books covering our long line of leaders. Here are just a few to get you into the political season spirit!

 

President Carter: The White House Years
 by: Stuart Eizenstat

The Carter presidency is the most underappreciated of the last century. Often considered just a smiling but ineffectual Southerner in a sweater, Carter deserves to be remembered instead as a risk taker who always did the right thing, not the political thing, whose legacy led to presidential successes long after his term, and whose list of lasting achievements reshaped the country. Stuart Eizenstat saw everything firsthand. As Carter's chief domestic policy adviser, he was directly involved in all domestic and economic decisions as well as in many involving foreign policy. Famous for the legal pads he took to every meeting, he draws on more than 5,000 pages of contemporaneous notes, as well as declassified documents and the 350 interviews he conducted with the era's key players from both parties, to write this comprehensive, yet intimate history.This book is no apologia, however. Eizenstat analyzes Carter's triumphs and failures honestly so we can understand how he confronted some of the most intractable challenges any president has faced. In the end you'll agree that this good man from Georgia was a greater president than history has allowed--and that President Carter: The White House Years is the definitive history of his one consequential term.

 

Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power 
by: Richard Carwardine

As a defender of national unity, a leader in war, and the emancipator of slaves, Abraham Lincoln lays ample claim to being the greatest of our presidents. But the story of his rise to greatness is as complex as it is compelling. In this superb biography, the highly regarded Oxford University historian Richard Carwardine examines Lincoln both in his dramatic political journey and in his nation-shaping White House years. Through his groundbreaking research, Carwardine probes the sources of Lincoln’s moral and political philosophy. We see how, while pursuing office, Lincoln drew strength from public opinion and the machinery of his party. We see him, as a wartime president, recognizing the limits as well as the possibilities of power, and the necessity of looking for support beyond his own administration. We see how he turned to the churches, to their humanitarian agencies, and to the volunteer Union Army for allies in his struggle to end slavery.

In illuminating the political talents that went hand in hand with large and serious moral purpose, Carwardine gives us a fresh, important portrait of the incomparable Abraham Lincoln.

 Obama: An Oral History 2009-2017 
by: Brian Abrams

In this candid oral history of a presidential tenure, author Brian Abrams reveals the behind-the-scenes stories that illuminate the eight years of the Obama White House through more than one hundred exclusive interviews. Among those given a voice in this extraordinary account are Obama's cabinet secretaries; his teams of speechwriters, legal advisers, and campaign strategists; as well as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who fought for or against his agenda. They recall the early struggles of an idealistic outsider candidate and speak openly about the exacting work that led to cornerstone legislation. They share the failures and dissent that met Obama's efforts and revisit the paths to his accomplishments. As eyewitnesses to history, their accounts combine to deliver an unfiltered view of Obama's battle to deliver on his promise of hope and change.

This provocative collage of anecdotes, personal reminiscences, and impressions from confidants and critics not only porvides an authoritative window into the events that defined an era but also offers the first published account into the make of the forty-fourth president of the United States - one that history will not soon forget.

 My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush 
by: Doro Bush Koch

'My Father, My President' takes a fascinating look at the life of former United States President George Bush. The book, written by his only daughter, Doro Bush Koch, is filled with personal stories, family memories and never-before-seen photos.

 The Kennedy Half Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy by: Larry Sabato

John F. Kennedy died almost half a century ago-yet because of his extraordinary promise and untimely death, his star still resonates strongly. On the anniversary of his assassination, celebrated political scientist and analyst Larry J. Sabato-himself a teenager in the early 1960s and inspired by JFK and his presidency-explores the fascinating and powerful influence he has had over five decades on the media, the general public, and especially on each of his nine presidential successors.

A recent Gallup poll gave JFK the highest job approval rating of any of those successors, and millions remain captivated by his one thousand days in the White House. For all of them, and for those who feel he would not be judged so highly if he hadn't died tragically in office, The Kennedy Half-Century will be particularly revealing. Sabato reexamines JFK's assassination using heretofore unseen information to which he has had unique access, then documents the extraordinary effect the assassination has had on Americans of every modern generation through the most extensive survey ever undertaken on the public's view of a historical figure. The full and fascinating results, gathered by the accomplished pollsters Peter Hart and Geoff Garin, paint a compelling portrait of the country a half-century after the epochal killing. Just as significantly, Sabato shows how JFK's presidency has strongly influenced the policies and decisions-often in surprising ways-of every president since.