Staff Reviews

There are troves of books and documentaries produced on the Vietnam Era, but critics and audiences alike have discovered a fresh perspective in director Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s new documentary. The 10-part series, which was released on DVD and started airing on PBS last week, follows the U.S.’ controversial involvement through the eyes of more than 80 interviewees.

A companion book, written by historian Geoffrey C. Ward, has also been released. You can check out both titles via JDL below. The series soundtrack is available in our Hoopla music collection as well.

PBS is also asking viewers to submit their own stories from the Vietnam War. Veterans are encouraged to share their stories here.

The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War: An Intimate History by Geoffrey C. Ward

For a portion of America’s voters, the title of Hillary Clinton’s latest memoir is still a pressing question: What Happened? Though media polls and analyst predictions had essentially declared Clinton as the victor of 2016’s presidential election, the election results were a different story. While Clinton ran an outspoken campaign, the months that followed Donald Trump’s presidential victory were notoriously silent ones for Clinton, and What Happened presents her first long-form reaction since last year’s election. From qualms with Bernie Sanders to former FBI Director James Comey, to a retelling of her concession call to Donald Trump, many of Clinton’s tales have already made national news. You can check the whole thing out for yourself via JDL.

Anyone who has turned on a TV or computer this month is probably well aware of the looming solar eclipse, the United States’ first total eclipse since 1979. The event will take place Monday, Aug. 21 between 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in Jackson, according to Space.com. Though Jackson is out of the “path of totality,” meaning the disc of the moon will not completely eclipse the sun, we can expect an 80 percent eclipse around 2:25 EST.

For anyone interested in learning more about solar eclipses, we have many titles. Check out a few below.

American eclipse : a nation’s epic race to catch the shadow of the moon and win the glory of the world
Totality [electronic resource] : eclipses of the sun.
Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets
Mask of the Sun: The Science, History and Forgotten Lore of Eclipses