Library Picks: 'The Amish', 'To Hell and Back Again'

You might know them as documentaries, but here at the Orion Township Public Library, we like to call them non-fiction DVDs.  Shelved with our non-fiction books by topic, we carry DVDs on everything from rock and roll to candle making.  Because these videos check out for three weeks at a time, there’s never a rush to return them, and you’re almost guaranteed to find something on a topic that interests you.  Here are three of the newest titles to hit our shelves.

The Amish

This PBS documentary looks at the Amish community in the United States, offering mainstream America insight into this little-understood culture, its beliefs and its history.

Hell and Back Again

A 2012 Academy Award® nominee for Best Documentary Feature, this film follows the journey of 25-year-old Marine Sergeant Nathan Harris.  Photojournalist Danfung Dennis was embedded with Harris’ unit when it was attacked in southern Afghanistan in 2009.  When a severely wounded Harris returns home, Dennis accompanies him and documents his re-entry into civilian life. Plagued by both physical and psychological scars, the transition is an arduous one for Harris and his wife, Ashley.  In addition to the Oscar® nod, this moving film also won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Cinematography Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Revenge of the Electric Car

 A follow-up to his 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, writer/director Chris Paine explores the reappearance of the electric vehicle in this award-winning film.  The efforts of auto manufacturers General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla Motors to produce cleaner, greener machines that don’t rely on petroleum are examined.  Whether or not the electric car redefines the automotive industry remains to be seen, but auto aficionados (and who in this town doesn’t love cars?) will want to watch this one.