Pioneering women who led and won struggles for equality and civil rights; created and advanced educational and professional opportunities; and made great contributions to the arts, sciences and humanistic causes are honored each year during the month of March — National Women's History Month.

Reference Books

Chronology of women worldwide: people, places & events that shaped women's history by Lynne Brakeman, editor ; Susan Gall, managing editor

Extraordinary women of the Medieval and Renaissance world: a biographical dictionary by Carole Levin ...

The beauty and the sorrow: an intimate history of the First World War by Peter Englund ; translated by Peter Graves

Berlin diary: the journal of a foreign correspondent, 1934-1941 by William L. Shirer ; with a new foreword by Gordon A. Craig

Blue-eyed child of fortune: the Civil War letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw by edited by Russell Duncan

What could be more intriguing than a spy story, where truth is stranger than fiction or fiction incredibly true to life? Here are some suggestions for exciting reading material to "spies" up your life!

Books

General History

Operation Dark Heart: spycraft and special ops on the frontlines of Afghanistan--and the path to victory by Anthony Shaffer — Lt. Colonel Anthony Shaffer had run intelligence operations for years before he arrived in Afghanistan. He was part of the "dark side of the force"—the shadowy elements of the U.S. government that function outside the bounds of the normal system. Operation Dark Heart tells the story of what really went on—and what went wrong—in Afghanistan.

History is full of days and years which have special meaning. 1492? Columbus discovered America. 1776? America declared its independence. 1929? The stock market crashed. We all learned about these significant dates in school. However, these are just some of the years in history worth remembering - for better or for worse.

Discover the intriguing stories behind caviar, rubber, barbed wire, the electric chair and the color blue — among others!

Books

Bananas: an American history by Virginia Scott Jenkins — Before 1880, most Americans had never seen a banana, but by 1910 bananas were so common that the streets were littered with their peels.

You've probably heard the expression "Every picture tells a story." Well, it seems that even the most familiar objects have a story to tell. If you've ever wondered about the origins of your microwave, or why teacups have handles, or just where did those foam peanuts in your package came from, then this is the place for you!

Books

At home: a short history of private life by Bill Bryson — While walking through his own home, a former Church of England rectory built in the 19th century, the author reconstructs the fascinating history of the household, room by room. The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade, and on and on.

Thousands of visitors, including dignitaries and world leaders, are in Berlin today to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Wall divided the city and Germany into East and West for three decades until it was brought down on November 9, 1989. Today's celebration will include concerts, fireworks and the symbolic collapse of a wall of oversize dominoes that has been set up in the area where the Wall once stood. It will be toppled later today - just like the Wall was 20 years ago.

• The Arabs: a short history by Heinz Halm
• Dreams and shadows: the future of the Middle East by Robin Wright
• The great Arab conquests: how the spread of Islam changed the world we live in by Hugh Kennedy
• A history of Islamic societies by Ira M. Lapidus
• A history of the Arab peoples by Albert Hourani
• Kingmakers: the invention of the modern Middle East by Karl E.

In one of history's most fascinating coincidences, February 12, 1809 was the birthday of two of history's most extraordinary and influential figures - Abraham Lincoln and Charl