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History and Current Events April 2021
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Can't slow down : how 1984 became pop's blockbuster year
by Michaelangelo Matos
Describes how Top 40 radio in the mid-1980s was both the cutting edge of pop culture and a battleground for morals that saw huge, and eternally popular releases and hits from Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen.
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Ticking clock : behind the scenes at 60 minutes
by Ira Rosen
The two-time Peabody Award-winning writer and producer shares intimate stories from his decades at 60 Minutes, offering behind-the-scenes anecdotes about his work with such colleagues as Mike Wallace, Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters. Illustrations.
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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"
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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. Illustrations.
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The book of unconformities : speculations on lost time
by Hugh Raffles
The award-winning author of Insectopedia shares the remarkable stories behind historical stones. Drawing on history, anthropology, accounts of exploration, and observation, Hugh Raffles undertakes a journey to places north--to investigate the uncertain survival and unsettling presence of ancient stones and the alluring glimpse that these stones openinto lives and meanings now faded from view. He travels to Iceland, to the once standing Odin Stone in the Orkney Islands, to the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides, to the coal mines of Spitsbergen, and to the Museum of Natural History in New York to see theCape York meteorite that Admiral Peary brought back from Greenland. Raffles also journeys to his own everyday north, on a crowded uptown New York City subway, rattling beneath Broadway, hurtling to a place called Marble Hill--the subterranean marble thatsoared into peaks, weathered into wooded hills, extruded and folded to form an island that once roamed upon an ancient ocean. Raffles's meditation leads him to understand how these fundamental objects and places can seem to lose their solidity and becomeinextricable from historic account and the architecture of human fate
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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.
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Social chemistry : decoding the patterns of human connection
by Marissa King
Conventional wisdom says it's the size of your network that matters, but social science research has proven otherwise. King explains that the quality and structure of our relationships has the greatest impact on our personal and professional lives. As she shows, there are only three basic types of networks, so readers can see the role they are already playing: Expansionist, Broker, or Convener. This network decoder enables readers to own their network style and modify it for better alignment with their life plans and values. High-quality connections in your social network strongly predict cognitive functioning, emotional resilience, and satisfaction at work. A well-structured network is likely to boost the quality of your ideas, as well as your pay. Beyond the office, social connections are the lifeblood of our health and happiness.
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Black Futures
by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham (editors)
What it is: an inventive and nonlinear mixed-media anthology that asks: "What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?"
What's inside: poetry, artwork, essays, memes, recipes, and interviews.
Contributors include: Ta-Nehisi Coates; Zadie Smith; Kiese Laymon; Samantha Irby; Hanif Abdurraqib; Ziwe Fumudoh.
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Culture warlords : my journey into the dark web of white supremacy
by Talia Lavin
The unapologetic journalist and anti-discrimination activist recounts her immersive investigation into white supremacy to reveal how it proliferates online, exposing a rampant Web subculture of religious extremism, misogyny, racism and anti-Semitism.
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Saving justice : truth, transparency, and trust
by James B. 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.
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America and Iran : a history, 1720 to the present
by John H. Ghazvinian
A portrait of the two-centuries-long entwined histories of Iran and America, and the first book to examine, in all its aspects, the rich and fraught relations between these two powers—once allies, now adversaries. Illustrations.
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Work : a deep history, from the stone age to the age of robots
by James Suzman
An anthropological study of the role of work in human evolution challenges deeply held assumptions to explain the different ways our ancient ancestors conducted and regarded work prior to the eras of migration, food production and city development. Illustrations.
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Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America's Cheap Goods
by Amelia Pang
What it is: journalist Amelia Pang's sobering investigation of Chinese labor camps, where exploited workers endure brutal working conditions to manufacture products for American consumers.
Featuring: political prisoner Sun Yi, whose handwritten plea for help found in a package of Halloween decorations led to global media coverage of China's "reeducation through labor."
Why it matters: This thought-provoking exposé will make readers think twice about the origins and unseen costs of the goods they consume.
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The new great depression : winners and losers in a post-pandemic world
by James Rickards
In The New Great Depression, James Rickards pulls back the curtain to reveal the true risks to our financial system and what savvy investors can do to survive -- even prosper -- during a time of unrivaled turbulence. Drawing on historical case studies, monetary theory, and behind-the-scenes access to the halls of power, Rickards shines a clarifying light on the events taking place, so investors understand what's really happening and what they can do about it.
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The Battle of Hastings : The Fall of the Anglo-saxons and the Rise of the Normans
by Jim Bradbury
A rousing historical narrative of the best-known and arguably most significant battle in English history. The effects of the Battle of Hastings were deeply felt at the time, causing a lasting shift in British cultural identity and national pride. Jim Bradbury explores the full military background of the battle and investigates both what actually happened on that fateful day in 1066 and the role that the battle plays in the British national myth. The Battle of Hastings starts by looking at the Normans--who they were, where they came from--and the career of William the Conqueror before 1066. Next, the narrative turns to the Saxons in England, and to Harold Godwineson, successor to Edward the Confessor, and his attempts to create unity in the divided kingdom. This provides the background to an examination of the military development of the two sides up to 1066, detailing differences in tactics, arms, and armor. The core of the book is a move-by-move reconstruction of the battle itself, including the advance planning, the site, the composition of the two armies, and the use of archers, feigned retreats, and the death of Harold Godwineson. In looking at the consequences of the battle, Jim Bradbury deals with the conquest of England and the ongoing resistance to the Normans. The effects of the conquest are also seen in the creation of castles and developments in feudalism, and in links with Normandy that revealed themselves particularly in church appointments. This is the first time a military historian has attempted to make accessible to the general reader all that is known about the Battle of Hastings and to present as detailed a reconstruction as is possible. Furthermore, the author places the battle in the military context of eleventh-century Europe, painting a vivid picture of the combatants themselves--soldiery, cavalry, and their horses--as they struggled for victory.
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The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice
by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
What 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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Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (editors)
What it is: a thoughtful anthology of essays, poems, profiles, and testimonies chronicling four centuries of Black American history.
Why you should read it: This well-researched tome features a diverse array of more than 80 contributors and spotlights lesser known events and figures that have all but been erased from history.
Reviewers say: "An impeccable, epic, essential vision of American history" (Kirkus Reviews).
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George Washington : the political rise of America's founding father
by David O. Stewart
The award-winning author of The Summer of 1787 traces the political evolution of George Washington, examining how he matured from a headstrong youth to the commander in chief of the Continental Army and unanimously elected first American President. Maps.
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Soul City : race, equality, and the lost dream of an American utopia
by Thomas Healy
A history of Floyd McKissick's 1969 plan to build a Black city in North Carolina, examining the story of the idealists who settled there, the obstacles that derailed the project, and what Soul City's saga says about Black opportunity, capitalism, and power then and now.
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A Smoky Mountain Boyhood : memories, musings, and more
by Jim Casada
This book comprises the recollections of one man, Jim Casada, who was born in Bryson City, North Carolina, and has had a long career as an outdoorsman and author. Casada gathers his reminiscences on Smokies life in four parts: holidays, seasons of the Smokies, mountain childhood, and a concluding section where special memories blend with a once prominent culture in the Smokies. Casada's gift for storytelling pairs with his training as a historian to produce a highly readable memoir of mountain life in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
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| The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code 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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Don't believe a word : the surprising truth about language
by David Shariatmadari
Draws on the latest understandings in linguistic science to share compelling insights into the cultural roles of folklore, “untranslatable” words and the surprising contributions of grammatical mistakes to urge readers to discover the fascinating realities of language-related phenomena. Illustrations.
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25 great sentences and how they got that way
by Geraldine Woods
A master writing instructor reveals the underlying craft that goes into the creation of a memorable sentence, sharing analytical insights into the lasting power of well-written lines by such literary intellects as Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison and Jack Kerouac.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Iredell County Public Library 201 North Tradd Street Statesville, North Carolina 28677 704-878-3090www.iredell.lib.nc.us/ |
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