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A (very) short history of life on Earth : 4.6 billion years in 12 pithy chapters / by Gee, Henry,1962-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In the tradition of E.H. Gombrich, Stephen Hawking, and Alan Weisman-an entertaining and uniquely informed narration of Life's life story. In the beginning, Earth was an inhospitably alien place-in constant chemical flux, covered with churning seas, crafting its landscape through incessant volcanic eruptions. Amid all this tumult and disaster, life began. The earliest living things were no more than membranes stretched across microscopic gaps in rocks, where boiling hot jets of mineral-rich water gushed out from cracks in the ocean floor. Although these membranes were leaky, the environment within them became different from the raging maelstrom beyond. These havens of order slowly refined the generation of energy, using it to form membrane-bound bubbles that were mostly-faithful copies of their parents-a foamy lather of soap-bubble cells standing as tiny clenched fists, defiant against the lifeless world. Life on this planet has continued in much the same way for millennia, adapting to literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter and thriving, from these humblest beginnings to the thrilling and unlikely story of ourselves. In A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, Henry Gee zips through the last 4.6 billion years with infectious enthusiasm and intellectual rigor. Drawing on the very latest scientific understanding and writing in a clear, accessible style, he tells an enlightening tale of survival and persistence that illuminates the delicate balance within which life has always existed"--
Subjects: Evolution (Biology); Life;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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In the blood : how two outsiders solved a centuries-old medical mystery and took on the US Army / by Barber, Charles,1962-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The incredible true story of how an absent-minded inventor and a down-on-his-luck salesman joined forces to create a once in a generation lifesaving product--and were persecuted for it by the U.S. Army. At the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, dramatized by the popular film Black Hawk Down, the majority of soldiers who died bled to death before they could even reach an operating table. This tragedy reinforced the need for a revolutionary treatment that could transform trauma medicine. So, when Frank Hursey and Bart Gullong--who had no medical or military experience--discovered that a cheap, crushed rock called zeolite had blood clotting properties, they brought it to the military's attention. The Marines and the Navy adopted the resulting product, QuikClot, immediately. The Army, however, resisted. It had two products of its own being developed to prevent excessive bleeds, one of which had already cost eighty million dollars. The other, "Factor Seven," had a more dangerous complication: its side effects could be deadly. Unwilling to let its efforts end in failure--and led by the highly influential surgeon Major John Holcomb--the Army set out to smear the reputations of the inventors whose product, they claimed, had its own risk. Over the course of six years, Hursey and Gullong engaged in an epic struggle with Holcomb for recognition--until a whistle blower inside the Army exposed Holcomb's financial ties to the pharmaceutical company that produced Factor Seven, a discovery that led to a massive lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. By withholding QuikClot--which would later become the medical miracle of the Iraq War--and using Factor Seven with its known, life threatening risks, Holcomb imperiled countless American lives. Using deep reportage and riveting prose, In the Blood recounts this little known David and Goliath story of corruption, greed, and power within the military--and the devastating, fatal consequences of unchecked institutional arrogance"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Gullong, Bart.; Hursey, Frank.; Hemorrhage; Medicine, Military; Surgical dressings; Wound treatment equipment industry;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The decline and fall of the human empire : why our species is on the edge of extinction / by Gee, Henry,1962-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."By the award-winning author of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: a history of humanity on the brink of decline. We are living through a period that is unique in human history. For the first time in more than ten thousand years, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. In the middle of this century population growth will stop, and the number of people on Earth will start to decline-fast. In this provocative book, award-winning science writer Henry Gee offers a concise, brilliantly-told history of our species--and argues that we are on a rapid, one-way trip to extinction. The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire narrates the dramatic rise of humanity, how a scattered range of small groups across several continents eventually inbred, interacted, fought, established stable communities and food supplies, and began the process of dominating the planet. The human story is relatively brief-the oldest fossils of H. Sapiens date to approximately 300,000 years ago-yet the spread of our species has been unstoppable ... until recently. As Gee demonstrates, our population has peaked, and is declining; our environment is becoming inimical to human life in many locations; our core resources of water, arable land, and air are diminishing; and new diseases, simmering conflicts, and ambiguous technologies threaten our collective health. Can we still change our course? Or is our own extinction inevitable? There could be a way out, but the launch window is narrow. Unless Homo sapiens establishes successful colonies in space within the next two centuries, our species is likely to stay earthbound and will have vanished entirely within another ten thousand years, bringing the seven-million-year story of the human lineage to an end. With assured narration, dramatic stories, and his signature sprightly humor, Henry Gee envisions new opportunities for the future of humanity--a future that will reward facing challenges with ingenuity, foresight, and cooperation"--
Subjects: Human beings; Human evolution.; Philosophical anthropology.;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Killer thriller / by Goldberg, Lee,1962-author.;
Everybody loves Ian Ludlow's action novels - especially the CIA - because the spies know something the public doesn't: his fictional plots have a frightening tendency to come true. Ian is in Hong Kong with his resourceful assistant Margo French to research his wildest story yet - a deadly global conspiracy by Chinese intelligence to topple the United States. What Ian doesn't know is that his horrifying scenario is happening and that the Chinese mistakenly believe he's an undercover superspy assigned to foil their scheme. Now Ian is trapped in his own terrifying thriller, on the run from assassins, and racing against time to prevent an epic disaster. He's written himself into a corner that could cost his life ... and his country.
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Spy fiction.; Ludlow, Ian, 1962-; Authors; Spies; Assassins; Conspiracies;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Fake truth / by Goldberg, Lee,1962-author.;
Author Ian Ludlow writes great adventures ... but after helping Chinese movie star Wang Mei defect to the United States, he becomes the accidental hero of a real-life espionage thriller. Now he's stuck with the actress--and suffering a nasty case of writer's block--when he stumbles into a secret Russian plot using "fake news" to outrage Americans into believing a terrifying lie. It's up to Ian and Margo French, his researcher-turned-spy, to discover the connection between a barbaric drug lord in Mexico, a homicidal maniac in California, a rogue citizen army in Texas, a raging TV pundit in New York, and two dead tourists in Portugal ... before the president of the United States makes a catastrophic mistake that could resurrect the Soviet Union. The only weapon Ian has against the global conspiracy, and the assassins who are closing in on him, is his vivid imagination. If his story isn't a killer thriller, he's dead.
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Spy fiction.; Ludlow, Ian, 1962-; Authors; Spies; Assassins; Conspiracies; Fake news;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Grant Fuhr : the story of a hockey legend / by Fuhr, Grant,1962-author.; Dowbiggin, Bruce,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Fuhr, Grant, 1962-; Hockey goalkeepers; Hockey players; Black Canadian hockey players;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The drive across Canada : the remarkable story of the Trans-Canada Highway / by Richardson, Mark,1962-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.The Trans-Canada Highway is one of the longest highways in the world--7,700 kilometres from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia, with almost the same distance again on secondary routes. It's ironically Canadian, but its story is a long and winding journey. In The Drive Across Canada, automotive journalist Mark Richardson tells the stories of the pioneers who first drove across the country in the early days of cars and motorcycles, even before any roads existed, and of the political fight to create a physical link that would connect Canadians to every province of their vast country. Richardson drove the length of the Trans-Canada Highway in 2023, repeating the drive he first completed in 2012. In his most recent journey, he encounters a hurricane in Newfoundland, a firestorm in British Columbia, and unspeakable tragedies on the Prairies. He meets people whose lives have been changed by the highway, sometimes in ways they could never have imagined, and along the way the highway changes his life too.
Subjects: Travel writing.; Richardson, Mark, 1962-; Automobile travel; Roads;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Food for thought : essays & ruminations / by Brown, Alton,1962-author.;
"From Alton Brown, the New York Times bestselling cookbook author and beloved culinary food personality, a debut collection of personal essays defined by his flair, wit, and insight. From cameraman to chef, musician to food scientist, Alton Brown has had a diverse and remarkable career. His work on the Food Network, including creating Good Eats and hosting Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen, has resonated with countless viewers and home cooks. Now, he shares exactly what's on his mind, mixing compelling anecdotes from his personal and professional life with in-depth observations on the culinary world, film, personal style, defining meals of his lifetime, and much more. With his whip-smart and engaging voice, Brown explores everything from wrestling a dumpster full of dough to culinary cultural appropriation to his ultimate quest for the perfect roast chicken. Deliciously candid and full of behind-the-scenes stories fans will love, Food for Thought is the ultimate reading experience for anyone who appreciates food and the people that prepare it"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Brown, Alton, 1962-; Celebrity chefs; Cooking; Food on television; Food; Television personalities;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Comedy comedy comedy drama : a memoir / by Odenkirk, Bob,1962-author.;
"Bob Odenkirk's career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explain it here, because that is what memoirs are for. Charting a "Homeric" decades-long "Odyssey" from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago all the way to a dramatic career that is baffling to his friends, it's almost like there are two or three Bob Odenkirks ... but there is just one and one is enough, frankly. Bob embraced a life in comedy after a chance meeting with Second City's legendary Del Close, which eventually led to a job as a writer at SNL. As he weathered the beast that is live comedy, he stashed away the secrets of sketch writing-employing them in the immortal "Motivational Speaker" sketch for his friend Chris Farley, honing them on The Ben Stiller Show, and perfecting them on Mr. Show With Bob and David, which inspired an entire generation of comedy writers and stars. Then his career met the hope-dashing machine that is Hollywood development. But when all hope was lost for the umpteenth time, Bob was more astonished than anyone to find himself on Breaking Bad. His embrace of this strange new world of dramatic acting led him to working with Steven Spielberg, Alexander Payne, and Greta Gerwig, until finally re-re-inventing himself as a bona-fide worldwide action star for reasons that even he does not fully grasp! Read this and do your own psychoanalysis-it's fun!"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Odenkirk, Bob, 1962-; Actors; Comedians; Television comedy writers; Television producers and directors;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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On foot to Canterbury : a son's pilgrimage / by Haigh, Ken,1962-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Setting off on foot from Winchester, Ken Haigh hikes across southern England, retracing one of the traditional routes that medieval pilgrims followed to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Walking in honour of his father, a staunch Anglican who passed away before they could begin their trip together, Haigh wonders: Is there a place in the modern secular world for pilgrimage? On his journey, he sorts through his own spiritual aimlessness while crossing paths with writers like Anthony Trollope, John Keats, Jane Austen, Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens, and, of course, Geoffrey Chaucer. On Foot to Canterbury is part travelogue, part memoir, part literary history, and all heart."--
Subjects: Haigh, Ken, 1962-; Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages; Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages; Hiking; English literature;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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