Daring Prison Escapes | Bastille of the Confederacy | 1

The Gulag Archipelago is a work of historical nonfiction that describes life in Soviet prison labor camps, popularly known as gulags, in the USSR from the late 1910s to the mid-50s. Prisoners like author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn were arrested on minor or even fabricated charges, tortured and robbed by security officials, and held in camps for decades, where many were worked to death.

Though the book was banned and Solzhenitsyn persecuted by his own government for publishing it, it exposed human rights abuses by the Soviet Union to the world, counteracting decades of propaganda. In the modern day, it acts as a warning of how governments can use violence, paranoia, and repression to control and exploit their citizens. This guide will consider the book’s historical context, the tools used by authoritarian governments, and how Solzhenitsyn’s account compares to the treatment of prisoners worldwide today.

Orange Is the New Black is Piper Kerman’s memoir of her year at a federal women’s prison. Convicted on drug charges, the privileged, well-educated, white, upper-middle-class Piper is sent to prison in Danbury, Connecticut. There, she finds herself part of a community of women whose backgrounds and life experiences seem vastly different from her own. During her sentence, however, Piper comes to recognize the biases of her privilege; find community and family with her fellow inmates; and discover the systemic failures, gross power disparities, and overall injustices of the prison system.

The Hiding Place is an autobiographical memoir by Corrie ten Boom, a devoutly religious woman who lived in the Holland city of Haarlem during the Nazi occupation. Compelled by her unshakeable Christian morality, she defied tyranny to rescue her Jewish neighbors who faced annihilation during the Holocaust. She was ultimately caught and sent to the notorious Ravensbruck death camp, where she witnessed scenes of unimaginable cruelty. In the camp, it was Corrie’s bedrock faith in the glory of God that sustained her. She discovered that love was a far more powerful force than hate—for God’s love was truly unconquerable.

In Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, Lincoln history buff James L. Swanson draws on archival material and trial transcripts to create a vivid account of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the 12-day pursuit of killer John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators through Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. This book is condensed from a longer book to adapt it for young readers, but the compelling storyline and many lesser-known historical details will interest adult readers as well. The book evokes the unique time of political division, grievance, and danger that threatened the Union in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

The Hiding Place is an autobiographical memoir by Corrie ten Boom, a devoutly religious woman who lived in the Holland city of Haarlem during the Nazi occupation. Compelled by her unshakeable Christian morality, she defied tyranny to rescue her Jewish neighbors who faced annihilation during the Holocaust. She was ultimately caught and sent to the notorious Ravensbruck death camp, where she witnessed scenes of unimaginable cruelty. In the camp, it was Corrie’s bedrock faith in the glory of God that sustained her. She discovered that love was a far more powerful force than hate—for God’s love was truly unconquerable.

In this comprehensive biography, journalist Ron Chernow describes the life and influence of Alexander Hamilton, arguing that Hamilton has been unfairly overlooked compared to other Founding Fathers. Though he never served as president, he had a profound impact on the structure of the American government and its economy. While Hamilton’s life ended in scandal and a fatal duel, Chernow believes that America today is the realization of Hamilton’s vision, far more so than that of his political rivals like Thomas Jefferson.

This guide will consider Hamilton’s life and legacy, including his unlikely ascension from a poor student from the Caribbean to a trusted advisor of George Washington and leader of one of the US’s earliest political parties. We’ll also discuss additional historical context for the 18th century, how the events of Hamilton’s life have influenced America today, historians’ responses to Chernow’s work, and the book’s adaptation into a hit 2015 musical.

In Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, Lincoln history buff James L. Swanson draws on archival material and trial transcripts to create a vivid account of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the 12-day pursuit of killer John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators through Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. This book is condensed from a longer book to adapt it for young readers, but the compelling storyline and many lesser-known historical details will interest adult readers as well. The book evokes the unique time of political division, grievance, and danger that threatened the Union in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

In this comprehensive biography, journalist Ron Chernow describes the life and influence of Alexander Hamilton, arguing that Hamilton has been unfairly overlooked compared to other Founding Fathers. Though he never served as president, he had a profound impact on the structure of the American government and its economy. While Hamilton’s life ended in scandal and a fatal duel, Chernow believes that America today is the realization of Hamilton’s vision, far more so than that of his political rivals like Thomas Jefferson.

This guide will consider Hamilton’s life and legacy, including his unlikely ascension from a poor student from the Caribbean to a trusted advisor of George Washington and leader of one of the US’s earliest political parties. We’ll also discuss additional historical context for the 18th century, how the events of Hamilton’s life have influenced America today, historians’ responses to Chernow’s work, and the book’s adaptation into a hit 2015 musical.