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Are you a history buff? Or do you just like to dabble occasionally in things historical? Well, we have a great online resource for you. The Great Courses offers video-based learning which you can watch at a time, place and pace that suits you.

This week I would like to draw your attention to one of the libraries online resources, the RB digital magazine collection.

Family connections have a special significance for us at the moment, and I’ve been thinking about my great grandmother’s story espeicially. Born in the middle of a cholera epidemic, she went on to survive the long uncertain absences of her sailor husband, the death of several of her children and two world wars. Our ancestors were survivors!If you have a little extra time on your hands, why not try and find out a bit more about your family heroes, or indeed your black sheep? You can begin to put some flesh to the bones of your family stories using the free online resources available to any member of Dublin City Libraries.BorrowboxWhy not start by soaking up inspiration from other people’s family histories? There are some fascinating memoirs, biographies and family sagas available as ebooks or e-audio books on Borrowbox. You could try A Bold and Dangerous Family: The Rossellis and the Fight Against Mussolini by Caroline Moorhead, the story of one family’s couragous fight against fascism. Or Robert Tickner’s Ten Doors Down: The Story of an Extraordinary Adoption Reunion, a deeply moving memoir that describes the author’s search for his birth mother who was forced to give him up for adoption.Watch our how-to video on Borrowbox. Access eBooks/eAudiobooks on your phone, tablet or reader. Once you have installed the app, search for Dublin in the ‘Library’ field provided and then sign in using your library membership card number and PIN. Members of other library authorities will need to access BorrowBox using a different link.The Great Courses PlusYou might prefer to begin your family history journey by taking a self-paced course in genealogy. The Great Courses Plus offers online lectures by experts on all sorts of subjects, including 15 hours worth of tuition on Discovering Your Roots:  An Introduction to Genealogy. Alternatively, check out Genealogy 101 on Universal Class where you can choose to work towards a certificate or just follow the classes for fun.RBdigitalFamily history magazines are also available to you via RB Digital. Titles like Who Do You Think You Are?, Your Family History, Irish Roots and Military Family History provide great ‘how to’ guides for using a host of family history resources as well as amazing insights into a whole range of historical events that your ancestors might have lived through, or their experiences at work or play.And when we’re up and running again, don’t forget to come in and check out Find My Past or the Irish Newspaper Archives at your local library and begin tracing your family’s journey! 

Did you know you can download digital history magazines for FREE with your library membership?  RG Digital (formerly Zinio) for Libraries offers hundreds of full-colour, interactive digital magazines. As Dublin Festival of History launches today, we thought we should highlight the FREE history magazines that are available on RG Digital.  Happy reading!All you need to do is register for this service using your library membership card number and complete the registration form at https://www.rbdigital.com/lgma/service/magazines/landing (Select 'Create New Account').Some of the perks:Download current and back issues!Sign up for weekly email reminders and never miss the latest issue of your favourite magazinesThere is no limit and permanent checkout, meaning you can check out as many issues as you want and keep them in your account as long as you wishDownload and read magazines on 95% of mobile devices, including iOS (Apple), Android, and Kindle Fire/HD/HDX. (Don't forget to save your data and use Wi-Fi when you are downloading!General History MagazinesAll About HistoryAll About History is the stunningly realised new magazine from the makers of How It Works and All About Space. Featuring beautiful illustrations, photos and graphics depicting everything from ancient civilisations to the Cold War, All About History is accessible and entertaining to all and makes history fun for the whole family.BBC History MagazineBBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past. Magazines for researching your family treeWho Do You Think You Are?Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine not only explores the stories behind the popular BBC genealogy TV series, but also helps you uncover your own roots. Each issue is packed with practical advice to help you track down family history archives and get the most out of online resources, alongside features on what life was like in the past and the historic events that affected our ancestors.Your Family HistoryYour Family History is the most respected genealogy magazine around. Balancing the use of PCs and the Net with the many traditional means of research, Your Family Tree makes tracing family history accessible and rewarding for everyone. It offers practical advice, written by experts, on all areas of family history research. Please note: This digital version of the magazine does not include the covermount items you would find on printed newsstand copies Magazines for younger history buffsHorrible HistoriesHorrible Histories magazine is the funniest, foulest and goriest magazine you’ll ever see! If you dare, you’ll discover so much stuff about the awful Egyptians, rotten Romans, terrible Tudors, vile Victorians and more that you’ll become a horrible expert! Join TV star Rattus and the gang and begin a journey through the putrid past – all the gore and more!   Dublin Festival of HistoryDublin Festival of History takes place all over Dublin city from 23 September to 8 October. Once again the Festival programme offers lectures, film, walking tours and exhibitions. History will be brought to people’s doorsteps via the city’s branch library network with a series of talks and workshops.  SEE ALSO:Festival of History Reads - A book list for anyone wishing to know more about the interesting areas discussed at this year's festival.Ten History eBooks you can borrow or reserve noweAudiobooks you can borrow or reserve now 

Dublin Festival of History begins tomorrow and to celebrate we have picked out a selection of history eBooks which you can download and read. Now, we absolutely love history books but sometimes it can be tricky to squeeze that fabulous hard back tome into your bag to read on the bus or on holidays.  So this is where the eBook and your library step in! We have hundreds of history books ready for you to download right now. All you need is a WiFi connection and your library membership!If you haven't signed up already, visit library.bolindadigital.com/dublin and sign in using your library membership card number and PIN. You can borrow up to 5 eBooks and 5 eAudiobooks at a time to read on your phone, tablet or reader. Historically Inevitable? Turning Points of the Russian Revolution by Tony BrentonThe essential analysis of the events leading up to October 1917 and beyond, by the world's foremost experts of Russian historyMarx held that the progression of society from capitalism to communism was 'historically inevitable'. In Russia in 1917, it seemed that Marx's theory was being born out in reality. But was the Russian Revolution really inevitable? This collection of fourteen contributions from the world's leading Russian scholars attempts to answer the question by looking back at the key turning points of the revolution. From the Russo-Japanese conflict of 1904-5 through to the appropriation of church property in 1922, and focusing especially on the incredible chain of events in 1917 leading to the October Revolution itself, Historically Inevitable? is a forensic account of Russia's road to revolution.Battling with the Truth: The Contrast in the Media Reporting of World War II bY Ian GardenIn Battling with the Truth (a follow-up to The Third Reich's Celluloid War) Ian Garden offers fascinating insights into the ways by which both the Axis and Allies manipulated military and political facts for their own ends. The general assumption is that the Allies were the 'good guys' in WWII and always told the truth in their media coverage with the Nazis through their Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda deliberately misled their people. But to what extent is this borne out by the facts? Did the Allies always tell the truth? Did the Nazis always tell lies? How is it possible to tell the truth and still tell a lie? How did each side portray the bombing of the likes of Dresden and Coventry? By analysing Allied and German media reports this book unearths a number of surprising revelations as to which side actually told the truth. Daughters of Ireland: Exceptional Irish Women by Debbie BlakeDaughters of Ireland is a collection of fifteen mini-biographies of exceptional Irish women in history who were pioneers in their field.The chapters follow the lives of each women from their parentage, birth and early lives, teen and school years, through to their careers, achievements and legacies. Each woman followed a different path, achieving their goals in various professions including aviation, nursing, veterinary, education, architecture and the performing arts. Drawing from primary and secondary sources, including the women's own writings or that of a close connection, this work explores their fascinating and inspiring stories.Miami and the Siege of Chicago: An Informal History of the Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1968 BY Norman MailerIn this landmark work of journalism, Norman Mailer reports on the presidential conventions of 1968, the turbulent year from which today’s bitterly divided country arose. The Vietnam War was raging; Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy had just been assassinated. In August, the Republican Party met in Miami and picked Richard Nixon as their candidate, to little fanfare. But when the Democrats backed Lyndon Johnson’s ineffectual vice president, Hubert Humphrey, the city of Chicago erupted. Anti-war protesters filled the streets and the police ran amok, beating and arresting demonstrators and delegates alike, all broadcast on live television—and captured in these pages by one of America’s fiercest intellects.  A Royal Affair: George III and his troublesome siblings by Stella TillyardThe young George III was a poignant figure, humdrum on the surface yet turbulent beneath: hiding his own passions, he tried hard to be a father to his siblings and his nation. This intimate, fast-moving book tells their intertwined stories. His sisters were doomed to marry foreign princes and leave home forever; his brothers had no role and too much time on their hands - a recipe for disaster.  At the heart of Tillyard's story is Caroline Mathilde, who married the mad Christian of Denmark in her teens, but fell in love with the royal doctor Struensee: a terrible fate awaited them, despite George's agonized negotiations. At the same time he faced his tumultuous American colonies. And at every step a feverish press pounced on the gossip, fostering a new national passion - a heated mix of celebrity and sex.See also: A Royal Affair film starring Alicia Vikander which depicts the life of Caroline Mathilde [Danish with English subtitles]Battle Story: Somme 1916 by Andrew RobertshawThe Battle of the Somme raged from 1 July to 18 November 1916 and was one of the bloodiest fought in military history. From the Battle Story series.It has come to signify for many the waste and bloodshed of the First World War as hundreds of thousands of men on all sides lost their lives fighting over small gains in land. Yet, this battle was also to mark a turning point in the war and to witness new methods of warfare, such as all-arms integrated attacks, with infantry units and the new Tank Corps fighting alongside each other.Search for more eBooks on the subject of the Somme.  For more recommended reads on the Somme, see Reading the Somme.Face of Britain: The Nation through Its Portraits by Simon SchamaSimon Schama brings Britain to life through its portraits, as seen in the five-part BBC series The Face of Britain and the major National Portrait Gallery exhibition.In the age of the hasty glance and the selfie, Simon Schama has written a tour de force about the long exchange of looks from which British portraits have been made over the centuries: images of the modest and the mighty; of friends and lovers; heroes and working people. Each of them - the image-maker, the subject, and the rest of us who get to look at them - are brought unforgettably to life. Together they build into a collective picture of Britain, our past and our present, a look into the mirror of our identity at a moment when we are wondering just who we are.Van Diemen's Women: An Irish History of Transportation to Tasmania by Joan Kavanagh and Dianne SnowdenOn 2 September 1845 the convict ship Tasmania left Kingstown Harbour for Van Diemen's Land, with 138 female convicts and their 35 children. On 3 December, the ship arrived in Hobart. This book looks at the lives of all the women, and focuses on two women in particular; Eliza Davis, who was transported, from Wicklow Gaol, for life for infanticide, having had her sentence commuted from death and Margaret Butler sentenced to seven years transportation for stealing potatoes in Carlow. What emerges is a picture of the reality of transportation, together with the legacy left by these women in Tasmania, and the possibility that this Draconian punishment was, for some, a life-saving measure. Inside the GPO 1916: A First-hand Account by Joe GoodA first-hand account of the 1916 Rising and its aftermath brings alive the historic events that ushered in the beginnings of an independent Irish state.A Londoner and a member of the Irish Volunteers, Joe Good guarded the approach across O'Connell Bridge as the rebels took the centre of Dublin. He joined the garrison in the GPO, and describes at first hand the events of insurrection: the confusion, the heroism, and the tragedy of Easter Week. After the Rising, Joe Good worked as an organiser for the Volunteers. He was a close associate of Michael Collins and his portrait of Collins provides fresh insight into his character, his competitiveness, and how he related to his men. He wrote his journal in 1946 for his son Maurice, who has now edited it for publication. 50 Things you didn't know about the 1916 Easter Rising by Mick O'FarrellA collection of intriguing and unusual details from one of the biggest events in Irish history.The 1916 Rising was Ireland’s first step on the road to independence, but even those who know a great deal about it may not know that there were temporary ceasefires around St Stephen’s Green to allow the park-keeper to feed the Green’s ducks. Few know that the first shots of the Rising were actually fired near Portlaoise or indeed that both sides issued receipts: the rebels for food, the British for rebels! 50 Things You Didn’t Know About 1916 features excerpts from two previously unpublished diaries – one written by a civilian, and one written under fire by a member of the Jacob’s factory garrison. Dublin Festival of HistoryDublin Festival of History takes place all over Dublin city from 23 September to 8 October. Once again the Festival programme offers lectures, film, walking tours and exhibitions. History will be brought to people’s doorsteps via the city’s branch library network with a series of talks and workshops.SEE ALSO:Festival of History Reads - A book list for anyone wishing to know more about the interesting areas discussed at this year's festival.History eAudiobooks you can borrow or reserve now