If you are looking for books dealing with human rights, check out those that have been reviewed on this homepage. Our main post with an overview of books and movies were reviewed for human rights day 2016 will be published later. At the moment, enjoy the Rabid Reader’s Book List for Human Rights Day 2016 and make sure to visit this site later.
Contempt of Court: The Turn-of-the-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism by Mark Curriden & Leroy Phillips
Genre: nonfiction, human rights, political science, African-American studies
In 1906, a white woman was brutally raped in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ed Johnson, a black man, was working at his restaurant job when the attack happened but was arrested and charged with the crime. When his lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay of execution and that stay was granted, local folks, led by officials, took the law into their own hands. In a history-changing move, the lynch mob faced federal legal repercussions. Ed Johnson cleared of the rape charges 100 years later. You can read the review of a “Contempt of Court” here.
The Atomic Times by Michael Harris
Genre: nonfiction, memoir, Cold War, human rights
This book is a personal account of Michael Harris as a part of the Operation Redwing, a 1956 series of U.S. nuclear tests. Over 12,000 military personnel and civilian employees participated in these nuclear tests without much knowledge of effects nor consent. The book is 288 pages and you can test-drive it by downloading the prequel (67 pages) A NUKED: I Was A Guinea Pig For The U.S. Army, An excerpt from the memoir THE ATOMIC TIMES on Amazon. Read our review of The Atomic Times here. For further information, check out the film Military Effects on Operation REDWING, available for free on the Internet Archive site.
Survival In Auschwitz by Primo Levi
Genre: biography, history, religion
Primo Levi was a twenty-five-year-old chemist living in Turin, Italy when he was arrested as an Italian Citizen of Jewish Race and deport to Auschwitz. Survival in Auschwitz chronicles the ten months that Levi spent in the death camp and the triumph of human spirit that kept him alive.
Goebbels: A Biography by Peter Longerich
Genre: biography, history, National Socialism
This work is a thorough look at the life of the influential Nazi officer of Goebbels’s own meticulous diaries. Longerich leaves no notable stone unturned in this 992-page work. While the delivery is in the nature of non-fiction work and perhaps dry and academic, the reader has a feeling at the end of really having learned something about this very interesting and horrifying period of history. Read the review of “Goebbels: A Biography” here.
The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap by Paulette Mahurin
Genre: contemporary, history, human rights
Mildred Dunlap is a generous and loving soul, but in the eyes of the townsfolk, already has one strike against her—in the tradition of her father before her, she doesn’t go to church. When news of Oscar Wilde’s conviction in England hits little Red River Pass, Nevada, she discovers that she might have something else to fear. Edra, known to all as Mildred’s cousin, is actually her life partner. With the townsfolk calling for Wilde’s blood, what will happen if they find out about her? She has plans to ward off the busybodies but can she pull it off or, in the end, will everything be made worse? Read a review of “The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap” here. Check out our interview with the author Mildred Dunlap.
The Assassination of Michael Collins: What Happened at Béal na mBláth? by S.M. Sigerson
Genre: nonfiction, history, human rights
The Irish Revolutionary Leader Michael Collins died on August 22, 1922, at Béal na mBláth, a small village in County Cork, Ireland. Author S.M. Sigerson delves beyond the official story of an ambush presenting a new picture of the event by exploring the evidence and eye witness accounts. Can Sigerson crack this cold case? Read the review “The Assassination of Michael Collins” here.
Cowboys, Armageddon, and The Truth: How a Gay Child was Saved From Religion by Scott Terry
Genre: memoir, religion, human rights
This memoir by Scott Terry describes growing up in the 70s, in a home ruled by a tyrannical step-parent and a restrictive religion. Readers follow Terry to adulthood and through his personal struggle with his beliefs and sexuality. Read the review “Cowboys, Armageddon, and The Truth: How a Gay Child was Saved From Religion” here.
Nobody’s Slave by Tim Vicary
Genre: historical fiction, human rights
Madu is a young African warrior-in-training who craves the approval of his stepfather. Tom is a young English boy on a slave ship that has gone hunting for their next human cargo. Two tribes are at war, as the tribe opposing Madu’s makes a deal with the English to give their prisoners into the slave trade. Madu is confused and frightened when he is taken as a prisoner to the slave ship. When the tables are turned will Tom and Madu be able to form a friendship which will have them survive?Read the review “Nobody’s Slave” here.
1963: Ye
ar of Hope and Hostility by Reverend Byron Williams
Genre: history, human rights
1963 was a key year in the Civil Rights Movement. Rev. Williams highlights events and personalities of the day that may not have seemed connected in his book but contributed to the advance toward equality. Read a review of “1963: Year of Hope and Hostility” here.
Audio Book
The Church of Fear by John Sweeney
Genre: nonfiction, religion, culture & society
Former BBC Reporter, John Sweeney, takes readers on a journey into the world of Scientology. Despite intimidation and harassment from church leaders, Sweeney bravely ventures forth to uncover a complex world where high-level members are used as a public face to mask the true insanity of the theology and its members maintained by fear. Read a review of the audio book “The Church of Fear” here.