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Dreaming of Washington, D.C.? We've compiled our favorite library resources and web links for a virtual travel experience. Happy journey!
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Streaming Films: Presidents, Spies, and More
- The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara
Former Secretary of Defense, under President Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara was one of the most controversial and influential political figures of the 20th century. Now - for the first time ever - he sits down one on one with award-winning director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) to offer a candid and intimate journey through some of the most seminal events in contemporary American history. As leader of the world's most powerful military force during this nation's most volatile period in recent years, McNamara offers new and often surprising insights into the bombing of Tokyo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the effects of the Vietnam War. Featuring newly released Oval Office recorded conversations with Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. - Man from Plains
Embarking on a national publicity tour to promote his new book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid," former US President Jimmy Carter ignites an international firestorm of controversy when he argues that only Israel's complete withdrawal from the occupied territories can bring lasting peace to the Middle East. Intimate, informative and altogether engrossing, Jimmy Carter Man from Plains is a candid portrait of a Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian and statesman whose compassion and steadfast sense of justice remains undiminished by time. - The Man Nobody Knew
As powerful and riveting as a John Le Carre thriller, The Man Nobody Knew uncovers the hidden life of legendary CIA spymaster William Colby. The consummate American soldier-spy, Colby took on the government's dirtiest assignments without question - until the day he defied presidential orders and revealed to Congress the CIA's "family jewels" - their darkest, deepest secrets. Told by his son Carl Colby and featuring a who's who of the intelligence community, including former National Security Advisers Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense and Director of CIA James Schlesinger, as well Pulitzer Prize journalists Bob Woodward, Seymour Hersh and Tim Weiner, Colby's story unmasks the lies, myths, truths, sacrifices and casualties of a covert spy. - Rise of the Wahine : Champions of Title IX
In the years following the Civil Rights movement and the passage of Title IX in 1972, Dr. Donnis Thompson (a headstrong African-American female coach), Patsy Mink (the first Asian-American U.S. congresswoman), and Beth McLachlin (the team captain of a rag-tag female volleyball team), battle discrimination from the halls of Washington D.C. to the dusty volleyball courts of the University of Hawaii, fighting for the rights of young women to play sports. - We Will Rise: Michelle Obama's Mission to Educate Girls Around the World
Around the world, more than 62 million girls are not in school, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As girls grow into adolescence, cultural and familial pressures often make it harder for them to stay in school, though educating women correlates to lower rates of infant mortality, increased GDP, and greater economic security for families. CNN Films has produced a new film about girls overcoming incredible challenges to achieve their educations and change their own lives, with contributions from First Lady Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, and CNN journalist Isha Sesay. Singer Andra Day’s motivational anthem, ‘Rise Up’ will serve as the theme for the film. Sesay, a native of Sierra Leone, who has passionately covered Africa and issues related to women and girls on the continent throughout her career, guides viewers of this poignant film through a moving and motivational journey.
Fiction Books Set in Washington, D.C.
Almost Doesn't Count by Call Number: eAudiobookPublication Date: 2013-05-01Between conniving exes, power hungry bosses, meddling relatives, and secrets that just won't stay hidden, Sherise, Billie and Erica are making their own personal headlines in the world's most newsmaking city.
D. C. Dead by Call Number: Print, eAudiobook, Book on CDPublication Date: 2011-12-22Stone Barrington, his former NYPD partner Dino Bachetti and CIA agent Holly Barker investigate a possible serial killer with ties to the White House.
Dust by Call Number: Print, eAudiobook, Book on CDPublication Date: 2013-11-12After working one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history, Scarpetta returns home to Massachusetts, when she receives an unsettling call. The body of a young woman has been discovered on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's rugby field and physical evidence links the case to a series of uniquely weird homicides in Washington, D.C., where Scarpetta's FBI husband has been deployed to help capture a serial killer dubbed the Capital Murderer.
Fatal Reckoning by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: 2019-03-26A peaceful morning is shattered when Washington Metro Police lieutenant Sam Holland's beloved father succumbs to injuries from an unsolved shooting while on duty four years ago. As the community rallies around Sam and her family, one thing becomes crystal clear: her father's death has turned the unsolved case into a homicide--and it's on her to bring her father's killer to justice.
The Fifth Assassin by Call Number: Print, eAudiobook, Book on CDPublication Date: 2013-01-15Archivist Beecher White discovers a connection that may link the individuals responsible for the only four successful assassinations of American Presidents after discovering a modern-day killer who is recreating the assassins' crimes.
Hidden Order by Call Number: Print, eAudiobook, Book on CDPublication Date: 2013-07-09When a string of high-profile kidnappings in Washington, D.C., escalate upon the discovery that the victims are being murdered, an eventual ransom demand triggers terror throughout the country and covert counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath is summoned to put an end to the crisis.
The President Is Missing by Call Number: Print, eBook, eAudiobook, Book on CDPublication Date: 2018-06-04The White House is the home of the President of the United States, the most guarded, monitored, closely watched person in the world. So how could a U.S. President vanish without a trace? And why would he choose to do so? An unprecedented collaboration between President Bill Clinton and the world's bestselling novelist, James Patterson, The President Is Missing is a breathtaking story from the pinnacle of power.
Razor Sharp by Call Number: eBook, Book on CDPublication Date: 2009-10-01When it comes to repaying a debt, the women of the Sisterhood--Myra, Annie, Kathryn, Alexis, Yoko, Nikki, and Isabelle--never forget. And now one of their allies needs help only they can give. A powerful attorney with a cut-throat reputation, Lizzie Fox has just taken on a high-profile new client--Lily Flowers, the Madam of a high-end bordello operating under the guise of a summer camp. The chips--a.k.a. the prominent Washington politicians who frequent the bordello--are stacked against Lily and her girls. But one phone call to the Sisterhood might just swing the vote. And soon, even the highest courts in the land will prove no match for seven fearless friends determined to ensure that real justice is served, Sisterhood style.
Red, White and Royal Blue by Call Number: Print, eAudiobookPublication Date: 2019-05-14What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?
The Street Lawyer by Call Number: Print, eAudiobook, Book on CDPublication Date: 1998-02-16A corporate lawyer in Washington goes to war against his own company to defend the homeless. It happens after Michael Brock is abducted by a homeless man and held hostage. The homeless man is killed by a police sharpshooter and the lawyer is rescued, but the experience changes his life.
The Ways of the Dead by Call Number: Print, eAudiobookPublication Date: 2014-06-12When the teenage daughter of a powerful Washington, D.C., judge is found dead, three local black kids are arrested for her murder--but reporter Sully Carter suspects there's more to the case. From the city's grittiest backstreets to the elegant halls of power, wry yet wounded Sully pursues a string of cold cases, all the while fighting against pressure from government officials, police, suspicious locals, and his own bosses at the newspaper.
