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History and Current Events January 2017
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Queer : a graphic history
by Meg John Barker
Activist-academic Meg John Barker and cartoonist Julia Scheele illuminate the histories of queer thought and LGBTQ+ action in this groundbreaking non-fiction graphic novel. From identity politics and gender roles to privilege and exclusion, Queer explores how we came to view sex, gender and sexuality in the ways that we do; how these ideas get tangled up with our culture and our understanding of biology, psychology and sexology; and how these views have been disputed and challenged. Along the way we look at key landmarks which shift our perspective of what's 'normal' - Alfred Kinsey's view of sexuality as a spectrum, Judith Butler's view of gendered behaviour as a performance, the play Wicked, or moments in Casino Royale when we're invited to view James Bond with the kind of desiring gaze usually directed at female bodies in mainstream media. Presented in a brilliantly engaging and witty style, this is a unique portrait of the universe of queer thinking.
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The platinum age of television : from I love Lucy to The walking dead, how TV became terrific
by David Bianculli
Television shows have now eclipsed films as the premier form of visual narrative art of our time. This new book by one of our finest critics explains--historically, in depth, and with interviews with the celebrated creators themselves--how the art of must-see/binge-watch television evolved. Darwin had his theory of evolution, and David Bianculli has his. Bianculli's theory has to do with the concept of quality television: what it is and, crucially, how it got that way. In tracing the evolutionary history of our progress toward a Platinum Age of Television--our age, the era of The Sopranos and Breaking Bad and Mad Men and The Wire and Homeland and Girls--he focuses on the development of the classic TV genres, among them the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the western, the animated series and the late night talk show. In each genre, he selects five key examples of the form, tracing its continuities and its dramatic departures and drawing on exclusive and in-depth interviews with many of the most famed auteurs in television history. Television has triumphantly come of age artistically; David Bianculli's book is the first to date to examine, in depth and in detail and with a keen critical and historical sense, how this inspiring development came about.
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| Secret Service Dogs: The Heroes Who Protect the President of the United States by Maria GoodavageThe U.S. Secret Service is famous for protecting the President, the Vice President, their families, and their residences, but the canine corps has always stayed in the background. For Secret Service Dogs, journalist and dog-lover Maria Goodavage received permission to interview Secret Service personnel and observe their dogs' work, producing this fascinating glimpse into their activities. Goodavage covers the history of the Service's dog teams, their training, the personalities and off-duty lives of dogs and handlers, and intriguing specific incidents involving the canines. For additional engaging depictions of specially trained dogs and their people, try the author's Soldier Dogs. |
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The undoing project : a friendship that changed our minds
by Michael Lewis
Forty years ago, Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky wrote a series of breathtakingly original studies undoing our assumptions about the decision-making process. Their papers showed the ways in which the human mind erred, systematically, when forced to make judgments in uncertain situations. Their work created the field of behavioral economics, revolutionized Big Data studies, advanced evidence-based medicine, led to a new approach to government regulation, and made much of Michael Lewis's own work possible. Kahneman and Tversky are more responsible than anybody for the powerful trend to mistrust human intuition and defer to algorithms. The Undoing Project is about a compelling collaboration between two men who have the dimensions of great literary figures. They became heroes in the university and on the battlefield--both had important careers in the Israeli military--and their research was deeply linked to their extraordinary life experiences. By the best-selling author of The Blind Side.
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| "They Can't Kill Us All": Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice... by Wesley LoweryIn "They Can't Kill Us All", Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery chronicles his odyssey reporting from U.S. cities where officers have killed unarmed black men, beginning with Ferguson, MO. Depicting family members, protesters, and activist leaders, he sheds light on the experiences and responses of individuals in each situation. The development of the #BlackLivesMatter movement also comes to life in this unbiased report, which draws on data collection and a clear understanding of the dangers facing police officers, in addition to historical perspectives on black-white community relations over a half-century. This book is highly recommended for those seeking additional clarity on the subject. |
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| Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File by John Edgar WidemanWhile the events surrounding the 1955 death of teenager Emmett Till in Money, MS have attracted numerous writers, award-winning author John Wideman adds new details to the story in Writing to Save a Life. When Wideman learned that Emmett's father Louis had been executed by the Army for rape and murder in 1945, he was struck by the similarities between the father's and son's deaths. Through research into Louis Till's case, he developed a new narrative of Louis and Emmett's stories. Combined with his own reflections on race and justice in America, this book offers a moving and thought-provoking meditation on the subject. |
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| What Have We Done: The Moral Injury of Our Longest Wars by David WoodIn this searing, elegantly told study of an under-reported aspect of war's effects, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Wood analyzes the moral and spiritual impact on soldiers who have killed noncombatants. While post-traumatic stress disorder receives considerable attention in the news, "moral injury" can be equally devastating. Wood's primary focus is veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, but he includes accounts of experiences in other wars. Depicting the work of chaplains and therapists, interviewing military personnel who have faced this trauma, and critiquing the American military command, Wood's eye-opening examination complements David Finkel's Thank You for Your Service and Kevin Sites' The Things They Cannot Say. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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