|
New Nonfiction April 2021
|
|
These are many of the recently published nonfiction books the library has received. Click on a title to see it in the catalog and to place a hold. If you are having trouble viewing the newsletter in your email, click the View Online option.
|
|
|
Surviving the White Gaze : A Memoir
by Rebecca Carroll
"A stirring and powerful memoir from black cultural critic Rebecca Carroll recounting her struggle to overcome a completely white childhood in order to forge her identity as a black woman in America"
|
|
|
Lady Bird Johnson : hiding in plain sight
by Julia Sweig
A magisterial portrait of Lady Bird Johnson, and a major reevaluation of the profound yet underappreciated impact the First Lady’s political instincts had on LBJ’s presidency.
|
|
|
Greenlights
by Matthew McConaughey
"Drawing on the Academy Award-winning actor's journals and diaries from the last 40 years, this book presents a uniquely McConaughey approach to achieving success and satisfaction"
|
|
|
Consent : a memoir
by Vanessa Springora
A powerful indictment of gender inequality and child sexual exploitation describes the author’s perspectives as a 13-year-old girl who was seduced, manipulated and publicly heralded as the muse of a celebrated, 50-year-old writer.
|
|
|
Just as I am : a memoir
by Cicely Tyson
The Academy, Tony, and three-time Emmy Award-winning actor and trailblazer tells her stunning story, looking back at her six-decade career and life.
|
|
000s - Computers/General Knowledge
|
|
|
A brief history of artificial intelligence : what it is, where we are, and where we are going
by Michael J. Wooldridge
"From Oxford's leading AI researcher comes a fun and accessible tour through the history and future of one of the most cutting edge and misunderstood field in science: Artificial Intelligence The somewhat ill-defined long-term aim of AI is to build machines that are conscious, self-aware, and sentient; machines capable of the kind of intelligent autonomous action that currently only people are capable of. As an AI researcher with 25 years of experience, professor Mike Wooldridge has learned to be obsessively cautious about such claims, while still promoting an intense optimism about the future of the field. There have been genuine scientific breakthroughs that have made AI systems possible in the past decade that the founders of the field would have hailed as miraculous. Driverless cars and automated translation tools are just two examples of AI technologies that have become a practical, everyday reality in the past few years, and which will have a huge impact on our world. While the dream of conscious machines remains, Professor Wooldridge believes, a distant prospect, the floodgates for AI have opened. Wooldridge's A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence is an exciting romp through the history of this groundbreaking field--a one-stop-shop for AI's past, present, and world-changing future"
|
|
|
Humor, seriously : Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life - and How Anyone Can Harness It. Even You
by Jennifer Lynn Aaker
"Anyone-even you!-can learn how to harness the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Many people understand humor's power intuitively. But when it comes to using it with intention, far fewer know how. As a result, humor is vastly underleveraged in most workplaces today, impacting our performance, relationships, and health, and contributing to a permanent and unsightly frown known as "resting boss face." In fact, research shows that humor is one of the most powerful tools we have for accomplishing serious things. Top executives know this, which is why 98 percent prefer employees with a sense of humor, and 84 percent believe these employees do better work. Studies show that humor makes us appear more competent and confident, strengthens relationships, unlocks creativity, and boosts our resilience during difficult times. That's why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford GraduateSchool of Business, where they help some of the world's most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds build levity into their organizations and lives. In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, advice from world-class comedians, and stories from real-life business leaders to reveal how humor works and-more important-how you can make greater and better use of it. Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and how to craft a joke. They show how to use humor to make a strong first impression, deliver difficult feedback, and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive. And they explore the gray areas of humor: how to keep it appropriate-and recover if you cross a line. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done." If Eisenhower-the second least naturally funny president ever (after Franklin Pierce)-thought humor was necessary to win wars and build highways, then you might consider learning it too. Seriously"
|
|
|
Keep sharp : build a better brain at any age
by Sanjay Gupta
The Emmy Award-winning CNN chief medical correspondent and best-selling author of Chasing Life draws on cutting-edge scientific research to outline strategies for protecting brain function and maintaining cognitive health at any age.
|
|
|
Professional troublemaker : the fear fighter manual
by Luvvie Ajayi Jones
The award-winning podcaster, motivational speaker and author of the best-selling I’m Judging You shares whimsical, transformational advice based on her grandmother’s techniques to counsel readers on how to overcome fear-related obstacles and pursue meaningful goals through disruptive choices. Illustrations.
|
|
|
Learning to pray : a guide for everyone
by James Martin
Explains what prayer is, what to expect from praying, how to do it, and how it can transform lives when it becomes a regular practice, discussing different styles and traditions of prayer throughout Christian history and encouraging readers to experimentand discover which works best for them
|
|
|
Being peace
by Nhãát Hòanh
This stunning hardcover commemorative edition of the spiritual classic is a timeless introduction to his most important teachings that reveal a connection between peace in oneself and peace in the world.
|
|
|
The Qur'an : what everyone needs to know
by Jane Dammen McAuliffe
""The connectivity fostered by globalization coupled with the increased tension generated by the tragedies of September 11th and other terrorist atrocities have created an intellectual hunger on both sides of the divide between the West and the Islamic world. Americans, Europeans, and others in "the West" want adequate and reliable information about Islam and the Muslim world. But what they get is often misleading, distorted and sensationalized. To offset this, those of us who know something about these subjects have been working overtime to correct the inaccuracies and to stop the flow of misinformation. Many religious leaders and scholars in the Muslim world are on a similar quest. They want to know how people in non-Muslim countries learn about Islam,the Qur'an, and the fundamentals of Muslim faith and practice because they, too, are fully aware of the falsehoods and fabrications that often pass for the truth in many American and European media outlets, whether news media or social media. Even more urgently, they seek to present a counter-narrative to the perverse and corrupted versions of Islam preached by groups like the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Boko Haram. Hope this book will be helpful in their efforts. ""
|
|
|
No pain, no Gaines : the good stuff doesn't come easy
by Chip Gaines
The star of HGTV’s Fixer Upper shares anecdotal insights into the value of a strong network, explaining how a team of family members, friends and neighbors can become an essential component of personal success.
|
|
|
Under a white sky : The Nature of the Future
by Elizabeth Kolbert
"The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction returns to humanity's transformative impact on the environment, now asking: After doing so much damage, can we change nature, this time to save it? That man should have dominion "over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" is a prophecy that has hardened into fact. So pervasive are human impacts on the planet that it's said we live in a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. In Under a White Sky, Elizabeth Kolbert takes a hard look at the new world we are creating. She meets scientists who are trying to preserve the world's rarest fish, which lives in a single, tiny pool in the middle of the Mojave. She visits a lava field in Iceland, where engineers are turning carbon emissions to stone; an aquarium in Australia, where researchers are trying to develop "super coral" that can survive on a hotter globe; and a lab at Harvard, where physicists are contemplating shooting tiny diamonds into the stratosphere in order to reflect sunlight back to space and cool the earth. One way to look at human civilization, says Kolbert, is as a ten-thousand-year exercise in defying nature. In The Sixth Extinction, she explored the ways in which our capacity for destruction has reshaped the natural world. Now she examines how the very sorts of interventions that have imperiled our planet are increasingly seen as the only hope for its salvation. By turns inspiring, terrifying, and darkly comic, Under a White Sky is an utterly original examination of the challenges we face"
|
|
|
Gender : what everyone needs to know
by Laura Erickson-Schroth
"Gender is all around us. Beliefs about gender impact our jobs, families, schools, religions, laws, politics, relationships, sports, clothes, and so much more. Gender permeates almost every aspect of our lives as humans. Although this book is part of a series called "What Everyone Needs to Know," it would be impossible to cover everything known about gender in one book, and, since gender is something we all have in common and at the same time all experience differently, a consensus on the "most important" parts of gender differs based on personal experience and interest. In this book we've tried to give you the highlights, so that you can dig deeper on your own if you hit a topic that's interesting to you"
|
|
|
Prey : immigration, Islam, and the erosion of women's rights
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
"The New York Times bestselling author of Infidel, Nomad, and Heretic argues that waves of Muslim immigration are transforming sexual politics in Europe in ways that threaten to undermine the hard-won rights of Western women"
|
|
|
Caste : the origins of our discontents
by Isabel Wilkerson
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns identifies the qualifying characteristics of historical caste systems to reveal how a rigid hierarchy of human rankings, enforced by religious views, heritage and stigma, impact everyday American lives
|
|
|
The sum of us : what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together
by Heather C. McGhee
"Heather C. McGhee's specialty is the American economy--and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. As she dug into subject after subject, from the financial crisis to declining wages to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common problem at the bottom of them all: racism--but not just in the obvious ways that hurt people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It's the common denominator in our most vexing public problems, even beyond our economy. It is at the core of the dysfunction of our democracy and even the spiritual and moral crises that grip us. Racism is a toxin in the American body and it weakens us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out? To find the way, McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Mississippi to Maine, tallying up what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm--the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she collects the stories of white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams and their shot at a better job to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how public goods in this country--from parks and pools to functioning schools--have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world's advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare. It's why we fail to prevent environmental and public health crises that requirecollective action. But in unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee also finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: gains that come when people come together across race, to the benefit of all involved"
|
|
|
The tyranny of merit : what's become of the common good?
by - Sandel, Michael J.
The world-famous philosopher reveals the driving force behind the resurgence of populism, which is the tyranny of the meritocracy and the resentments it produces, as well as the broader moral dimensions of our current crisis.
|
|
|
Parent like it matters : how to raise joyful, change-making girls
by Janice Johnson Dias
The sociologist mother of #1000BlackGirlBooks teen activist Marley Dias explains how self-realized girls are created through intentional upbringing decision, challenging today’s parents to give their daughters the resources and foundation to control their own futures and create sustainable change.
|
|
|
Untamed
by Glennon Doyle
An activist, speaker and philanthropist offers a memoir wrapped in a wake-up call that reveals how women can reclaim their true, untamed selves by breaking free of the restrictive expectations and cultural conditioning that leaves them feeling dissatisfied and lost.
|
|
|
Unsung : unheralded narratives of American slavery & abolition
by Kevin Young
This historical anthology from transatlantic slavery to Reconstruction focuses on Black people’s roles as activists and agents of change in their own eventual liberation and includes rare histories and first-person narratives about slavery.
|
|
|
Thaddeus Stevens : Civil War revolutionary, fighter for racial justice
by Bruce C. Levine
The best-selling author of Confederate Emancipation presents a portrait of the 19th-century statesman that includes discussions of Stevens’s decades-long fight against slavery, key role in the Union war effort and postwar legislation for American racial justice.
|
|
|
Evil geniuses : the unmaking of America : a recent history
by Kurt Andersen
The best-selling author of Fantasyland presents a deeply researched history of America’s 20th-century transition toward government-sanctioned, normalized inequalities that favor big business and resist progressive change while rendering everyday workers increasingly powerless.
|
|
|
Broke in America : seeing, understanding, and ending US poverty
by Joanne Samuel Goldblum
"Joanne Samuel Goldblum, CEO and founder of the National Diaper Bank Network, and Colleen Shaddox, a journalist and activist, give a book shedding light on the realities faced by those living in poverty across the United States and provide a road map foreradicating poverty via policy changes"
|
|
|
Saving Justice : Truth, Transparency, and Trust
by James Comey
The former FBI Director and best-selling author of A Higher Loyalty illuminates the inner workings of America’s justice system and what he believes needs to be done to promote equality and equity in the law.
|
|
|
Blood gun money : how America arms gangs and cartels
by Ioan Grillo
The award-winning author of El Narco presents a sobering investigation into the connection between the illicit drug trade and black-market firearms in the U.S. and Mexico, identifying simple legislative measures for addressing gun-lobby vulnerabilities.
|
|
|
Waste : one woman's fight against America's dirty secret
by Catherine Coleman Flowers
The Equal Justice Initiative’s “Erin Brockovich of Sewage” traces her evolution as an activist and the growing environmental justice movement on behalf of rural Americans whose are losing access to basic sanitation because of racism, poverty and climate change.
|
|
|
The Babysitter : My Summers With a Serial Killer
by Liza Rodman
Documents the co-author’s childhood summer experiences in 1960s Cape Cod under the care of a friendly neighbor, who years later was discovered to be the infamous serial killer of numerous women.
|
|
|
The music advantage : how music helps your child develop, learn, and thrive
by Anita Collins
An expert in cognitive development and music education explains how learning music and listening to it can positively impact numerous aspects of a child’s development, improving language abilities, social skills, concentration, impulse control, emotional development, working memory, and planning competence.
|
|
|
Come fly the world : the jet-age story of the women of Pan Am
by Julia Cooke
Documents the high standards once required of Pan Am stewardesses, from second-language fluency and a college education to youth and a trim figure, sharing the stories of remarkable, high-achieving women who served during the jet age.
|
|
|
Gory details : adventures from the dark side of science
by Erika Engelhaupt
Blending humor and journalism, and featuring interviews with leading researchers, the author of National Geographic’s popular Gory Details blog investigates the gross, strange and morbid absurdities of our bodies and our universe.
|
|
|
First light : switching on stars at the dawn of time
by Emma Chapman
Discusses the very earliest period in the history of the universe, known as the Epoch of Reionization, when the first stars came into being after hundreds of millions of years of dark, uneventful expansion following the big bang, and reveals the latest research into how these stars formed, why they were so unusual, and what they can teach us about the universe today
|
|
|
Life's edge : searching for what it means to be alive
by Carl Zimmer
The New York Times “Matter” columnist investigates the science community’s conflicting views on what it actually means to be alive as demonstrated by laboratory attempts to recreate life and the examples of particularly remarkable life forms.
|
|
|
Beloved beasts : fighting for life in an age of extinction
by Michelle Nijhuis
"A vibrant history of the modern conservation movement-told through the lives and ideas of the people who built it. In the late nineteenth century, as humans came to realize that our rapidly industrializing and globalizing societies were driving other animal species to extinction, a movement to protect and conserve them was born. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the movement's history: from early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today's global effort to defend life on a larger scale. She describes the vital role of scientists and activists such as Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson as well as lesser-known figures in conservation history; she reveals the origins of vital organizations like the Audubon Society and the World Wildlife Fund; she explores current efforts to protect species such as the whooping crane and the black rhinoceros; and she confronts the darker side of conservation, long shadowed by racism and colonialism. As the destruction of other species continues and the effects of climate change escalate, Beloved Beasts charts the ways conservation is becoming a movement for the protection of all species-including our own"
|
|
600s - Health, Cooking & Parenting
|
|
|
Breath : the new science of a lost art
by James Nestor
"No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how resilient your genes are, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you're not breathing properly. There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Science journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong with our breathing and how to fix it. Why are we the only animals with chronically crooked teeth? Why didn't our ancestors snore? Nestor seeks out answers in muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hetracks down men and women exploring the science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe. Modern research is showing us that changing the ways in which we breathe can jump-start athletic performance, halt snoring, rejuvenate internal organs, mute allergies and asthma, blunt autoimmune disease, and straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is. Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again"
|
|
|
Between two kingdoms : a memoir of a life interrupted
by Suleika Jaouad
An Emmy Award-winning writer and activist describes the harrowing years she spent in early adulthood fighting leukemia and how she learned to live again while forging connections with other survivors of profound illness and suffering.
|
|
|
Lawns into meadows : growing a regenerative landscape
by Owen Wormser
"In Lawns Into Meadows, landscape designer Owen Wormser makes a case for the power and generosity of meadows. In a world where lawns have wreaked havoc on our natural ecosystems, meadows offer a compelling solution. They establish wildlife and pollinatorhabitats. They're low-maintenance and low-cost. They have a built-in resilience that helps them weather climate extremes, and they can draw down and store far more carbon dioxide than any manicured lawn. They're also beautiful, all year round. Owen describes how to plant an organic meadow that's right for your site, whether it's a yard, community garden, or tired city lot. He shares advice on preparing your plot, coming up with the right design, and planting--all without using synthetic chemicals. He passes along tips on building support in neighborhoods where a tidy lawn is the standard. Owen also profiles twenty-one starter grasses and flowers for beginning meadow-makers, and offers guidance on how to grow each one. To illuminate the many joys of meadow-building, Owen draws on his own stories, including how growing up off the grid in northern Maine, with no electricity or plumbing, prepared him for his work. The book, part how-to guide and part memoir, is for environmentalists and climate activists, gardeners and non-gardeners alike"
|
|
|
Simply Julia : 110 easy recipes for healthy comfort food
by Julia Turshen
A New York Times best-selling cookbook author offers 110 foolproof recipes for healthier, but still satisfying, comfort foods including Stewed Chicken with Sour Cream + Chive Dumplings, Hasselback Carrots with Smoked Paprika and Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes.
|
|
|
Modern comfort food : A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
by Ina Garten
A collection of eighty-five all-new recipes by the James Beard Award-winning host of the Emmy Award-winning Food Network series features comforting twists on childhood favorites, including cheesy chicken enchiladas, tomato and goat cheese crostata, and banana rum trifle
|
|
|
The New York Times cooking no-recipe recipes
by Sam Sifton
A debut cookbook from the popular New York Times website and NYT Cooking mobile app provides 100 vibrantly photographed “No Recipe Recipes” for weeknight meals, from Smothered Pork Chops to Fettucine with Minted Ricotta.
|
|
|
The Food of Oaxaca
by Alejandro Ruiz
One of Mexico’s most revered chefs introduces us to the vibrant foods of his home state through 50 recipes both ancestral and original, along with thoughtful essays on dishes, ingredients, kitchen tools and local traditions.
|
|
|
Food between friends
by Jesse Tyler Ferguson
The Modern Family star and his "Julie & Jesse" co-blogger present a debut cookbook inspired by the traditional foods of their Southwestern and Southern hometowns, offering adaptations for such classic favorites as hatch green chile mac and cheese and grilled chicken with Alabama white BBQ sauce
|
|
|
Rodney Scott's world of BBQ : every day is a good day
by Rodney Scott
The chef and co-owner of Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston, South Carolina, shares home-state traditions and tips on building a barbeque pit to make pit-smoked turkey, barbecued spare ribs, smoked chicken wings, hush puppies, Ella’s Banana Puddin’.
|
|
|
The all-purpose baker's companion
by King Arthur Baking Company
"Trusted recipes, revised and updated for a new generation of home bakers. Comprehensive in scope, authoritative in style, and offering clear, practical, and encouraging instruction, The King Arthur Baking Company's All-Purpose Baker's Companion is the one book you'll turn to every time you bake. In it, the experts from King Arthur lead home bakers through hundreds of easy and foolproof recipes from yeast breads and sourdoughs to cakes and cookies to quick breads and brownies. Winner of the 2004 Cookbookof the Year Award by the James Beard Foundation, this dependable cookbook has been reinvigorated with new photography, recipes, and revisions to keep it relevant to today's modern baker. Decades of research in their famous test kitchen shaped the contents of this book: 450+ recipes, a completely up-to-date overview of ingredients (including gluten-free options), substitutions and variations, and troubleshooting advice. Sidebars share baking secrets and provide clear step-by-step instructions. Techniques are further explained with easy-to-follow illustrations. The King Arthur Baking Company's All-Purpose Baker's Companion is an essential kitchen tool"
|
|
|
Mend it, wear it, love it! : stitch your way to a sustainable wardrobe
by Zoe Edwards
"Have you ever thrown good clothes away simply because you didn't know how to mend them? Have you got clothes that you can't bear to part with, but need a fresher look? Then this book is for you. With fast fixes and complete makeovers, Mend It, Wear It, Love It! has everything you need to mend and care for your clothes, and stitch your way to a more sustainable wardrobe"
|
|
|
The art of impossible : a peak performance primer
by Steven Kotler
The peak performance expert and author of The Rise of Superman draws on cutting-edge neuroscience to outline a blueprint for extreme performance improvement based on the examples of history's elite athletes, artists, scientists and CEOs.
|
|
|
House to home : designing your space for the way you live
by Devi Dutta-Choudhury
An architect who founded her own studio offers a beginner-friendly guidebook for making your house into a home using charts, questionnaires and sketch pages to help define renovations and explaining core concepts about privacy, use of space, lighting and access.
|
|
|
Mini amigurumi animals : 26 tiny creatures to crochet
by Sarah Abbondio
"This charming book is full of wonderfully cute tiny animals, such as a dog, cat, camel, monkey and rabbit, that can be crocheted by small amounts of yarn in your stash - all you need is a crochet hook and some yarn. The animals can be used to hang on keyrings, baby buggies, watches, bag pendants, as little toy figures for a doll's house, or whatever you like. There are 26 cute little amigurumi animals to choose from, so there is plenty of choice!"
|
|
|
Brother Robert : growing up with Robert Johnson
by Annye C Anderson
The stepsister of Robert Johnson presents an intimate portrait of the blues legend that goes beyond the legacy of his music to discuss his upbringing in the Mississippi Delta and the true story of his tragic death.
|
|
|
Decoding "Despacito" : an oral history of Latin music
by Leila Cobo
The Billboard VP of Latin music and the world’s ultimate authority on popular Latin music presents this ultimate insider’s history of Latin music that reveals the stories behind the biggest Latin hits of the past fifty years.
|
|
|
Singular sensation : the triumph of Broadway
by Michael Riedel
The New York Post theater columnist draws on more than 150 insider interviews to celebrate the productions, artists and movements that shaped Broadway in the years spanning Sunset Boulevard through The Lion King.
|
|
|
A window to heaven : the daring first ascent of Denali, America's wildest peak
by Patrick Dean
"In 1913, four men made a months-long journey by dog sled to the base of the tallest mountain in North America. Denali experiences weather more severe than the North Pole, with temperatures of forty below zero and winds that howl at 80 to 100 miles per hour for days at a stretch. But in 1913 none of this mattered to Hudson Stuck, a fifty-year old Episcopal priest, Harry Karstens, the hardened Alaskan wilderness guide, Walter Harper, part of the Koyukon people, and Robert Tatum, a divinity student, both just in their twenties"
|
|
|
The 24 Hour Plays viral monologues : new monologues created during the Coronavirus pandemic
by Howard Sherman
"Since 1995 The 24 Hour Plays have been responding to theatre in the moment. As the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic brought an end to live theatre in the USA and Europe, the company sprang to work to keep the arts alive. Bringing together some of America's most prolific writers for the stage and screen, this unique and contemporary book of monologues collates the responses in dramatic fashion, making for an anthology of work that is timely, moving, irreverent and at its best, transcendent"
|
|
|
Obit : poems
by Victoria Chang
"After her mother died, poet Victoria Chang refused to write elegies. Rather, she distilled her grief during a feverish two weeks by writing scores of poetic obituaries for all she lost in the world. In Obit, Chang writes of "the way memory gets up aftersomeone has died and starts walking." These poems reinvent the form of newspaper obituary to both name what has died ("civility," "language," "the future," "Mother's blue dress") and the cultural impact of death on the living. Whereas elegy attempts to immortalize the dead, an obituary expresses loss, and the love for the dead becomes a conduit for self-expression. In this unflinching and lyrical book, Chang meets her grief and creates a powerful testament for the living"
|
|
|
Dusk, night, dawn : on revival and courage
by Anne Lamott
The New York Times bestselling author, drawing from her own experiences, shows us the intimate and human ways we can adopt to move through life’s dark places and toward the light of hope that still burns ahead for all of us.
|
|
|
Queens of the crusades : 1154-1291
by Alison Weir
Packed with incredible true stories and legendary medieval intrigue, an epic narrative history chronicles the first five queens from the powerful royal family that ruled England and France for over 300 years.
|
|
|
The daughters of Kobani : a story of rebellion, courage, and justice
by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
"The extraordinary story of the women who took on the Islamic State and won In 2014, northeastern Syria might have been the last place you would expect to find a revolu-tion centered on women's rights. And yet that year, an all-female militia faced off against ISIS in a little town few had ever heard of. The Islamic State by then had swept across vast swaths of the country, taking town after town and spreading terror as the civil war burned all around it. From that unlikely showdown in the town of Kobaniemerged a fighting force that would wage war against ISIS across northern Syria as partner of the United States. In the process, these women would spread their own political vision, determined to make women's equality a reality by fighting--house by house, street by street, town by town--the men who bought and sold women. Based on years of on-the-ground reporting, The Daughters of Kobani is the unforgettable story of the women of the Kurdish militia that improbably became part of the world's best hope for stopping ISIS in Syria. Over hundreds of hours of interviews, bestselling author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon introduces us to the women fighting on the front lines, determined to not only extinguish the terror of ISIS but also prove that women could lead in war and must enjoy equal rights come the peace. In helping to cement the territorial defeat of ISIS, whose savagery toward women astounded the world, these women played a central role in neutralizing the threat the group posed worldwide. In the process theyearned the respect--and significant military support--of U.S. Special Operations Forces. Rigorously reported and powerfully told, The Daughters of Kobani shines a light on a group of women intent on not only defeating the Islamic State on the battlefieldbut also changing women's lives in their corner of the Middle East and beyond"
|
|
|
A worse place than hell : how the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg changed a nation
by John Matteson
"Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Matteson illuminates three harrowing months of the Civil War and their ineradicable legacy for America. In December 1862, the Battle of Fredericksburg shattered Union forces and threatened to break apart Abraham Lincoln's government. Five extraordinary individuals experienced Fredericksburg's cataclysmic repercussions - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, John Pelham, and Arthur Fuller. Guided by duty, driven by desire, they moved toward lofty destinies: a young Harvard intellectual steeped in courageous ideals, a gay Brooklyn poet condemned by guardians of propriety, a struggling writer desperate to serve the cause and gain her philosopher father's admiration, a West Point cadet from Alabama excelling in artillery tactics, and a one-eyed minister seeking to prove his manhood. Because of what they saw and suffered, America, too, would never be the same. In A Worse Place Than Hell, John Matteson creates a gripping tale of the Civil War and profound cultural transformation. He etches an exquisite portrait, revealing through these lives how America was redefined by its most tragic conflict"
|
|
|
A promised land
by Barack Obama
"In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both hispolitical education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency--a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil"
|
|
|
|
|
|