ROAR IV: History

Time for some historical ROAR! Make a selection by Monday, March 14

No biographies, think about reading a history of a topic that interests you.

-math (the history of zero)

-chem (the discovery of an element)

-history (the Doner Party)

-ELA (history of curse words)

Here are some choice selections from past years:

The Ultimate History of Video Games By Steven L. Kent

This book is perfect for anyone who has ever touched a joystick or a D-pad. The premise of this book is how each big company or person that has made gaming history, from Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese), to Shigeru Miyamoto (the man behind Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Yoshi, and Star Fox).

The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars By Joel Glenn Brenner

This book was about the war of chocolate. It started off telling about these two men who wanted to pursue a career in creating the best chocolates. The two men were Forrest Mars, and Milton Hershey.

Blue: The History of a Color By Michel Pastoureau

Certain colors were forbidden outside certain social groups. The moral issue was not the actual color, but the product used to create it. This became part of how people distinguished social outcasts. "The crippled, the deformed, lepers, the 'weak bodied,' and those who were 'cretins and funny in the head' were often to wear bright colors" (Pastoureau 91).

Chewing Gum By Michael Redclift

Michael Redclift shows a history of how gum was created. Thomas Adams introduced chicle to the Americans but Wrigley offered baking powder to customers who would buy two packs of gum. He convinced millions of Americans to buy his gum.

Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox By Allan Wood

As the 1918 season ended it was a significant moment for the Red Sox. Unfortunately, it was the last moment worth mentioning for the next 86 years. That year was full of controversy due to the player strike, threat of government shutting down the season, and the lack of players on rosters.

A History of the World in Six Glasses By Tom Standage

Beer, spirits, wine, cola, coffee, and tea are six beverages that were each the most influential drinks at particular eras in history. These six beverages form a chain of drinks that were important to many people because they were used for important events.

Ice Cream: The Delicious History By Marilyn Powell

The book takes you back to when ice cream first came to be, and what an interesting history it is. Marilyn Powell did a great in writing this book. She sure knew how to draw her readers in by intriguing stories, myths, and facts about ice cream.

Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light By Mort Rosenblum

Chocolate, referred to as "the gods' breakfast" is "just about everyone's drug of choice." In the book Chocolate, Mort Rosenblum describes the history and the processes that make chocolate. Based on history, it is said that one hundred beans of cacao was worth one slave.

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation By Jeff Chang

The book Can't Stop Won’t Stop was about the hip-hop generation and how it started. Hip Hop was a very popular type of music in the 1979 when it started. It appealed to people because it was a type of music like no other. Hip Hop originated from the Bronx, New York when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk and disco songs.

The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager By Thomas Hine

In the book the idea of “teenager” was discussed. Amazingly, this word did not always exist. According to Thomas Hine and many other people, teens were invented. "The word was coined during the early 1940's by some anonymous writer or editor to describe an age group that had suddenly become a great interest to marketers and social reformers."

Heroin By Humberto Fernandez

Heroin, the notorious drug known for its addiction and devastation, dates back over 7,000 years ago as the Sumerians made the discovery of opium. One of the main cereal crops that the Sumerians grew was the poppy flower, in which they referred to as "hul gil", or "the plant of joy."

The Devil in the White City By Erik Larson

The two men were very alike in physical features, but had different careers. One is an architect, while the other is a killer. Burnham, the architect, was well known for many of his like the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington. H. H. Holmes was at first a doctor who then built a hotel called "World's Fair Hotel” where the guests were brutally murdered.