The Peter White Public Library offers these new non-fiction books.

“Genealogy for Beginners” by Katherine Pennavaria.

A step-by-step guide for researching your family tree. Includes passages about the harrowing journeys and challenges faced by immigrants and how this affected the data you will be sifting through, how to interview elders in your family, getting the most out of DNA testing services should you choose to use them, and how to search several prominent databases, including Ancestry.com. PWPL has a paid subscription to Ancestry Library Edition, and hosts genealogy workshops several times a year. If you are looking to dig deeper into your family history, start with the book, and follow up with these other resources.

New adult non-fiction 929.1 PE

“Windows 11 in Easy Steps” by Nick Vandome.

With every new Windows operating system comes changes users must navigate. Whether you are coming from Windows 10, 8, or 7, there will be a learning curve. This guide gives you the necessary information to navigate the changes, and improve productivity by using the built-in features of the new operating system. If you have Windows 10 and are happy with it, there’s still a lot of time before support for it ends in October 2025.

New adult non-fiction 005.446 VA

“Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain’s Lost Cities and Vanished Villages” by Matthew Green.

Historian and BBC broadcaster Green offers a compilation of cities and settlements that have ceased to be. Some have been forgotten, some rediscovered, and others only a memory. Here are some examples of the stories within. The Orkney Islands in Scotland have what has come to be known as “Skara Brae”, a neolithic community dating to 3200 BC. It was completely forgotten, until a fierce storm in 1850 uncovered parts of ten stone structures. In Wales, Green investigates a controversial archaeological site claimed to be the largest city in Wales during medieval times, which turned up under a field. In England, the port of Dunwich was once the capital of the Kingdom of East Anglia, and thousands of people lived there in the early Middle Ages. It succumbed to a series of sea storms in the 12th and 13th centuries, erasing most of it from the map. Dunwich is now a small village with a population of 84.

New adult non-fiction 941.03 GR

“Lake Superior Rocks & Minerals Field Guide” by Dan R. Lynch.

A comprehensive guide to identifying 75 rocks and minerals found in the region. Some are rarer, and some more common. The guide identifies areas where each can be found, how to identify them, in an excellent format with clear pictures. This new expanded edition includes location data for the Canadian side of Lake Superior. The author gained an interest in local rocks and minerals in Two Harbors, Minnesota, being the son of parents who owned a rock shop. He has a series of books focused on identifying the natural world.

New adult non-fiction 552.0097 LY

“North Korea in a Nutshell: A Contemporary Overview” by Kongdan Oh and Ralph Hassig.

Written with a chapter-by-chapter focus: geography, leadership, human rights, government, military, foreign relations, culture, and economy, each chapter can stand on its own. Veteran analysts Oh and Hassig examine the society that has come under the control of the Kim regime, one which the authors maintain cannot endure indefinitely, as the population becomes more aware of the outside world and the disparities in their society compared to other countries in the region. They also remind us that even though North Korea is a vastly different country, it is also a society of 25 million people who must navigate through the challenges of living in a closed society.

New adult non-fiction 951.9304 OH

By Bruce MacDonald

Assistant Director

& Head of Technology