Fifty Years Ago...

1955
The play Bus Stop, by William Inge, opened at the Music Box Theater in NewYork.
Reserve the video!

The play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , by Tennessee Williams, opened on Broadway.
Reserve the video!

Ford Motor Company introduced the Thunderbird to compete with GM's Corvette.
Check out these titles:
100 Years on the Road: A Social History of the Car, by Raymond Flower & Michael Wynn.
How a Car is Built, video for ages 4-12
The Complete History of General Motors, by Richard Longworth
Natchez Trace Parkway: A Road Through the Wilderness: History & Self-guided Tour, audio

Special K, the Kellogg fat-free toasted cereal made its debut.
Check out these titles:
The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook: Eating Well for Better Health
Nutrition for Dummies, by Carol Ann Rinzler

The Detroit Red Wings won the hockey Stanley Cup.
Check out these titles:
Hockey: A History of the Fastest Game on Ice, by Mark Stewart
Hockey for Dummies, by John Davidson
The Concise Encyclopedia of Hockey, by M. R. Carroll

U. S. President Ike Eisenhower had a heart attack.
Check out these titles:
50 Ways to a Healthy Heart, by Christian Barnard
Before It Happens to You: A Breakthrough Program for Reversing or Preventing Heart Disease, by Jonathan S. Bernstein
Heart Diseases for Dummies, by James M. Rippe
Dwight D. Eisenhower, by Tom Wicker

Joe DiMaggio was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Check out these titles:
The American Classic: The World Series at 100, by Ken Leiker
The Book of Baseball Literacy, by David H. Martinez
DiMaggio: Setting the Record Straight, by Morris Engelberg & Marv Schneider

These facts were found at http://www.decades.com. Check it out! What happened the year you were born? Do you share a birthday with someone famous or infamous? See your local librarian if you are looking for further information on any subject!

Best of 2004

It seems that "best of" lists are created each January for just about anything. Google has many lists of best movies of 2004. The Washington Post names the best pictures of the year, USA Today names the top 100 people of 2004, and for a list of lists for 2004, click here!

Books that can be found at your library that have made the Best of 2004 lists at Borders, The New York Times, A & E, Time, and National Public Radio are:

FICTION
The Plot Against America, Philip Roth
Aloft, Chang-Rae Lee
Birds Without Wings, Louis De Bernieres
The Dew Breaker, Edwidge Danticat
The Egyptologist, Arthur Phillips
A Good Year, Peter Mayle
I Am Charlotte Simmons, Tom Wolfe
Little Children: A Novel, Tom Perrotta
A Salty Piece of Land, Jimmy Buffett
Something Rotten: A Thursday Next Novel, Jasper Fforde
The Summer Guest, Justin Cronin
D. B., Elwood Reid
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke
The Game: A Mary Russell Novel, Laurie R. King
Brimstone, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
Shadow of Saganami, David Weber
Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear
The Forest Lover, Susan Vreeland

AFRICAN AMERICAN FICTION
Better Than I Know Myself, Virginia DeBerry
Drive Me Crazy, Eric Jerome Dickey
Gotham Diaries, Tonya Lewis-Lee
Bling: A Novel, Erica Kennedy
Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart: A Novel, Alice Walker
Player Haters, Carl Weber
Pushkin and the Queen of Spades: A Novel, Alice Randall
Somebody's Gotta Be on Top, Mary B. Morrison
Too Much of a Good Thing, Kimberla Lawson Roby

NON FICTION
Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow
Chronicles: Volume One, Bob Dylan
Washington's Crossing, David Hackett Fischer
American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracy, Michael W. Kauffman
The Gourmet Cookbook: More Than 1000 Recipes, Edited by Ruth Reichl
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris
The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain, Alice Weaver Flaherty
My Life, Bill Clinton
American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush, Kevin Phillips
In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat in Iraq, Rick Atkinson
Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the 20th Century, Lauren Slater