History Daily: The Attempted Assassination of Pope John Paul II

A Promised Land is Barack Obama’s memoir of his early political career and the first two years of his presidency. Obama takes us on his journey from relative obscurity as a biracial kid from Hawaii to becoming a transformative figure as the nation’s first African-American president. At every step of his career, Obama was guided by a deep faith in the fundamental unity of Americans; the potential and promise of America; the necessity of compromise and seeking common ground; and above all, the power of the democratic system to heal our divisions and effect real change for ordinary people.

After entering a Saudi consulate for paperwork, Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the current Crown Prince’s regime, vanished. Intelligence later revealed that he was murdered by Saudi officials who tried to cover up the assassination.

The Other Wes Moore chronicles the lives of two men with the same name. Both Wes Moores are black men who grew up in the inner-city communities of Baltimore City and the Bronx. Both were raised by single mothers within the same era. So how did one end up a decorated military veteran and academic scholar, and the other a convicted murder with a life sentence?

The book, written by Wes Moore the Army veteran, searches for answers by parsing their histories. Part memoir, part biography, this book questions the influence of family and environment in young men’s lives and what's needed to ensure success, especially in the lives of those without privilege or resources.

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein is a study of the history of economic shock therapy, which aims to quickly improve a country’s economy through rapid privatization, deregulation, and severe cuts in government spending. She also describes how it gave rise to the disaster capitalism complex: a privatized system of destruction and rebuilding that funnels billions of dollars into corporate pockets. The book discusses the incredible harm that economic shock therapy and disaster capitalism have caused to millions of people all over the world.

Klein is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and activist. She’s dedicated her life to studying the personal and environmental harms that result from wars and unchecked capitalism.

A Promised Land is Barack Obama’s memoir of his early political career and the first two years of his presidency. Obama takes us on his journey from relative obscurity as a biracial kid from Hawaii to becoming a transformative figure as the nation’s first African-American president. At every step of his career, Obama was guided by a deep faith in the fundamental unity of Americans; the potential and promise of America; the necessity of compromise and seeking common ground; and above all, the power of the democratic system to heal our divisions and effect real change for ordinary people.

According to writers Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer represents a modern-day Prometheus, the Greek Titan eternally punished for stealing fire from the gods and imparting it to humanity. In American Prometheus, Bird and Sherwin provide a comprehensive biography of Oppenheimer, a historical figure best known for developing the atomic bomb. And although Bird and Sherwin focus on Oppenheimer’s work on the bomb, they also shed light on his personal life, detailing his evolution from adolescent activist to eventual political martyr.

In this guide, we’ll examine Oppenheimer’s life before the bomb, his role in developing the atomic bomb at the Manhattan Project, and the politically motivated security hearing that saw him lose his security clearance in 1954. To conclude, we’ll touch on Oppenheimer’s transformation post-hearing, detailing his exile from the upper ranks of US government. Throughout this guide, we’ll also present further historical context for key events and assess the contemporary impact of Oppenheimer’s work.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a 2012 nonfiction account of the lives of residents of a slum in Mumbai called Annawadi, which sat adjacent to the Mumbai International Airport. U.S. author and journalist Katherine Boo follows the stories of a handful of the slum’s residents, including that of Abdul Husain, whose family’s fight with a neighbor changes the course of his life.

The poverty and hardship faced by the slum’s people reflect a globalized world—offering more wealth and supposedly more opportunity, but where many still struggle to survive day to day. The poor try to exploit one another to get ahead, and government officials and agencies exploit the poor, leaving them with little power and few resources.

Long Walk to Freedom chronicles Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life story, as told by the man himself. Mandela is known as one of history’s great peacemakers, but his own life wasn’t a peaceful one. He fought against South Africa’s racist government policies and its system of apartheid from the 1940s to the 1960s. He then spent 27 years in prison, where he became a worldwide symbol of the South African struggle for freedom.

This guide explores Mandela’s experiences during four time periods: his childhood, his time as a young political activist, the years he spent in prison, and the time after his release. Our commentary provides background information about South Africa, including its political parties and important historical figures, as well as explores broader global trends of racism and oppression. We’ll also briefly examine Nelson Mandela’s legacy and what South Africa is like in its post-apartheid years.

A Promised Land is Barack Obama’s memoir of his early political career and the first two years of his presidency. Obama takes us on his journey from relative obscurity as a biracial kid from Hawaii to becoming a transformative figure as the nation’s first African-American president. At every step of his career, Obama was guided by a deep faith in the fundamental unity of Americans; the potential and promise of America; the necessity of compromise and seeking common ground; and above all, the power of the democratic system to heal our divisions and effect real change for ordinary people.