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History and Current Events April 2021
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The Black Church : This is Our Story, This is Our Song
by Henry Louis Gates
The Harvard University professor, NAACP Image Award recipient and Emmy Award-winning creator of The African Americans presents a history of the Black church in America that illuminates its essential role in culture, politics and resistance to white supremacy. Illustrations.
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The Doctors Blackwell : How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women--and Women to Medicine (ebook and Audiobook)
by Janice P. Nimura
"The vivid biography of two pioneering sisters who, together, became America's first female doctors and transformed New York's medical establishment by creating a hospital by and for women. Elizabeth Blackwell believed from an early age that she was destined for greatness beyond the scope of "ordinary" womanhood. Though the world recoiled at the notion of a woman studying medicine, her intelligence and intensity won her the acceptance of the all-male medical establishment and in 1849 she became the first woman in America to receive a medical degree. But Elizabeth's story is incomplete without her often forgotten sister, Emily, the third woman in America to receive a medical degree. Exploring the sisters' allies, enemies and enduring partnership, Nimura presents a story of both trial and triumph: Together the sisters' founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, the first hospital staffed entirely by women."
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| The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice (ebook and Audiobook) by Gayle Tzemach LemmonWhat it's about: the Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ), an all-female militia established in 2013 to combat the Islamic State in Syria.
Don't miss: a pulse-pounding account of the Siege of Kobani; profiles of four YPJ fighters instrumental in retaking the city.
Reviewers say: "A well-told story of contemporary female warriors and the complex geopolitical realities behind their battles" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Dress Codes : How the Laws of Fashion Made History
by Richard T. Ford
A law professor and cultural critic offers an eye-opening exploration of the laws of fashion throughout history, from the middle ages to the present day, examining the canons, mores and customs of clothing rules that we often take for granted. 50,000 first printing. Illustrations.
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| The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code (also on Audiobook) by Margalit FoxWhat it's about: the decades-long quest to decipher Linear B, a long-lost Mycenean (c.1400 BCE) script that resurfaced in 1900 Crete.
Cracking the code: Though British architect Michael Ventris deciphered Linear B in 1952, his efforts were aided by the work of American scholar Alice Kober, who painstakingly constructed syllabic grids at her kitchen table in the 1940s but died before she was able to solve the mystery.
Who it's for: This suspenseful history will appeal to language geeks, armchair archaeologists, and puzzle addicts. |
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| A World Without "Whom": The Essential Guide to Language in the Buzzfeed Age by Emmy J. Favillatl;dr: This witty and irreverent guide to webspeak was written by Buzzfeed copy chief and style guide creator Emmy J. Favilla.
YMMV: A World Without "Whom" offers a lighthearted ode to rule-breaking in language usage and includes quizzes, style debates, and official Buzzfeed word lists for the United States and United Kingdom.
BTW: "This is the rare style manual that is as entertaining as it is instructive" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca by John McWhorterWhat it is: a thought-provoking and accessible collection of essays on Black English, formerly known as Ebonics.
Topics include: Black English's origins and history (including its usage in 19th-century minstrel shows); debates surrounding its grammatical complexity and legitimacy; code-switching.
About the author: Linguist and Columbia University professor John McWhorter is the author of Words on the Move. |
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| How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish (ebook and Audiobook) by Ilan Stavans and Josh Lambert (editors)What it is: an engaging anthology of previously published pieces exploring Yiddish language and culture in North and South America.
What's inside: recipes, comics, essays, short stories, and poetry; contributions from Emma Goldman, Allen Ginsberg, Leonard Nimoy, Michael Chabon, Liana Finck, and more.
Reviewers say: "A wonderful compilation sure to please new and old lovers of Yiddish culture, Jewish history, and linguistics" (Library Journal). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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