Search:

The Mesopotamian riddle : an archaeologist, a soldier, a clergyman, and the race to decipher the world's oldest writing / by Hammer, Joshua,1957-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."It was one of history's great vanishing acts. As early as 3500 BCE, scribes in the mud-walled city-state of Sumer used a reed stylus to press tiny wedge-shaped symbols into clay. For three thousand years, the script chronicled the military conquests, scientific discoveries, and epic literature of the grand kingdoms of Mesopotamia-Assyria, Babylon, the mighty Achaemenid Empire -- along with precious minutia about everyday life so long ago. But as the palaces of these once great kingdoms sank beneath the desert sands, the meaning of these characters was lost. London, 1857. Colossal sculptures of winged bulls and alabaster bas-reliefs depicting cities under siege and vassals bearing tributes to Biblical kings lined the halls of the British Museum. In the Victorian era's obsession with the triumph of human progress, the mysterious kingdoms of ancient Mesopotamia -- the very cradle of civilization -- had captured the public imagination. Yet Europe's best philologists struggled to decipher the strange characters. Cuneiform seemed to have thousands of symbols -- with some scholars claiming each could be pronounced in up to eight, nine, even ten different ways. Others insisted they'd cracked the code and deciphered inscriptions that corresponded precisely to the Old Testament -- proving the veracity of the Word of God. Was it all a hoax? A delusion? A rollicking adventure through the golden age of archaeology, The Writing on the Wall tracks the decades-long race to decipher the oldest script in the world. It's the story of a swashbuckling young archaeologist, a suave British military officer, and a curmudgeonly Irish rector, all vying for glory -- from the ruins of Persepolis to the opulence of Ottoman-era Baghdad -- in a quest to unearth the relics of lost civilizations and unlock the secrets of humanity's past"--
Subjects: Assyriology; Cuneiform inscriptions.; Cuneiform writing.;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Travel thru history. [videorecording] / by TMW Media Group,distributor.;
In this episode of Travel Thru History we visit a city in the Southeastern US that you can hear from miles away. It's rightfully called Music City but you know it as Nashville, Tennessee. We dig deep into the city's past and find that there's more than just a vibrant music scene. There's a melody of Civil War history. First, we take in the magnificent Belmont Mansion. This thirty-six room summer home lies on the campus of Belmont University and is now a museum that boasts the incredible art collection of the original owners. Then we head to the home of the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, 7th US President Andrew Jackson's Tennessee mansion, known as The Hermitage. Next, we learn why Nashville is called the "Athens of the South." And every Athens needs its Parthenon, and Nashville doesn't disappoint. They have an exact replica of the Parthenon built in Ancient Greece. Then we're trekking uphill to the ruins of Fort Negley. Nashville was a city divided as we learn how this star-shaped fort was occupied during the Civil War. We couldn't visit Nashville without stopping by the Grand Ole Opry, the show that made country music famous!E.DVD.
Subjects: Nonfiction television programs.; Documentary television programs.; Travelogues (Television programs);
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

How to be : life lessons from the early Greeks / by Nicolson, Adam,1957-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."What is the nature of things? Must I think my own way through the world? What is justice? How can I be me? How should we treat each other? Before the Greeks, the idea of the world was dominated by god-kings and their priests, in a life ruled by imagined metaphysical monsters. 2,500 years ago, in a succession of small eastern Mediterranean harbour-cities, that way of thinking began to change. Men (and some women) decided to cast off mental subservience and apply their own worrying and thinking minds to the conundrums of life. These great innovators shaped the beginnings of philosophy. Through the questioning voyager Odysseus, Homer explored how we might navigate our way through the world. Heraclitus in Ephesus was the first to consider the interrelatedness of things. Xenophanes of Colophon was the first champion of civility. In Lesbos, the Aegean island of Sappho and Alcaeus, the early lyric poets asked themselves 'How can I be true to myself?' In Samos, Pythagoras imagined an everlasting soul and took his ideas to Italy where they flowered again in surprising and radical forms. Prize-winning writer Adam Nicolson travels through this transforming world and asks what light these ancient thinkers can throw on our deepest preconceptions. Sparkling with maps, photographs and artwork, How to Be is a journey into the origins of Western thought. Hugely formative ideas emerged in these harbour-cities: fluidity of mind, the search for coherence, a need for the just city, a recognition of the mutability of things, a belief in the reality of the ideal--all became the Greeks' legacy to the world. Born out of a rough, dynamic--and often cruel--moment in human history, it was the dawn of enquiry, where these fundamental questions about self, city and cosmos, asked for the first time, became, as they remain, the unlikely bedrock of understanding."--
Subjects: Heraclitus, of Ephesus.; Homer; Sappho; Civilization, Western;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

We're all in this together ... : so make some room / by Papa, Tom,author.; Papa, Tom.Essays.Selections.;
"Stand-up is all well and good, but observational humor that's funny and warm may work best in books. And Tom Papa, whose loyal audiences are packed with "date night" couples of all ages, has perfected the form. In We're All In This Together, Papa's thirty-seven short essays tackle these universal American topics, among others: -Love for Your First Car ("To Buy or Lease") -The Truth about Personal Hygiene ("How You Know When It's Time to Go") -Date Nights ("Will You Go Out with Me?") -Unfamiliar Hotel Rooms ("Why Nothing Works") -Pets ("Cats-Ancient Menace") -Drinking ("There's no Cure for a Hangover") -Ducking your Family, even Though you Love Them ("The Lesson of Mark Twain's Cigars") Tom Papa's books make readers laugh, but--crucially--feel better about themselves while doing it."--
Subjects: Essays.; American wit and humor.; Conduct of life; Interpersonal relations;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The longbow, the schooner & the violin : wood and human achievement / by De Villiers, Marq,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.The English longbow, made of rare yew wood, unmatched for accuracy, speed of fire, and deadliness, shifted Europe's balance of power in the Middle Ages. Schooners, those "able handsome ladies" of the sea, inaugurated a new era of global trade, carrying high-value cargoes of tea and spice to Europe and America with unmatched speed and reliability. The violin, individual examples of which have personalities and histories as brilliant as the performers who play them, brought Western music to the pinnacle of expressiveness. These three iconic artifacts exemplify the inventive ways human ingenuity has employed wood - one of our most extraordinary natural substances - to change its culture and history. In this sweeping and beautifully-written history, award-winning author Marq de Villiers explores our relationship with wood, from ancient times to the present, from the forest to the workshop. Wood, he writes, has always been an essential companion to human development, and its most remarkable applications may still be ahead.
Subjects: Material culture.; Technology and civilization.; Technology; Wood; Woodwork;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The Serpent's Shadow: The Graphic Novel The Kane Chronicles, Book Three [electronic resource] : by Riordan, Rick.aut; Collar, Orpheus.ill; cloudLibrary;
He's b-a-a-ack! Despite their best efforts, Carter and Sadie Kane can't seem to keep Apophis, the chaos snake, down. Now Apophis is threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness, and the Kanes are faced with the impossible task of having to destroy him once and for all. Unfortunately, the magicians of the House of Life are on the brink of civil war, the gods are divided, and the young initiates of Brooklyn House stand almost alone against the forces of chaos. The Kanes' only hope is an ancient spell that might turn the serpent's own shadow into a weapon, but the magic has been lost for a millennia. To find the answer they need, the Kanes must rely on the murderous ghost of a powerful magician who might be able to lead them to the serpent's shadow . . . or might lead them to their deaths in the depths of the underworld. Nothing less than the mortal world is at stake when the Kane family fulfills its destiny in this thrilling conclusion to the Kane Chronicles. This non-stop thrill ride is adapted and brought to life by Orpheus Collar, who previously adapted and illustrated the rest of the Kane Chronicles series: Red Pyramid, The Graphic Novel; and Throne of Fire, The Graphic Novel.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Action & Adventure; Fantasy & Magic; Comics & Graphic Novels;
© 2017., Disney Book Group,
unAPI

Oathbringer / by Sanderson, Brandon.;
Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified. Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.
Subjects: Fantasy fiction.; Kings and rulers; Imaginary wars and battles; Imaginary places; Magic;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Into Iraq / by Palin, Michael,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.In March 2022, Michael Palin travelled the length of the River Tigris through Iraq to get a sense of what life is like in a region of the world that once formed the cradle of civilisation, but that in recent times has witnessed turmoil and appalling bloodshed. It was a journey of sharp, often brutal contrasts. At one moment he would be exploring the old streets of Baghdad or the ancient ruins of Babylon. At the next he would be visiting the war-torn city of Mosul, or learning about the horrific Speicher massacre in Tikrit. Now he shares the journal he meticulously kept during his trip, in which he describes the very varied places he visited, the people he met and the impressions he formed of a country that few outsiders now venture to see. Illustrated throughout with colour photographs taken on the trip, and permeated with his warmth and humour, this is a vivid and varied portrait of a complex country.
Subjects: Biographies.; Travel writing.; Personal narratives.; Palin, Michael;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

On Book Banning Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy [electronic resource] : by Wells, Ira.aut; CloudLibrary;
The freedom to read is under attack. From the destruction of libraries in ancient Rome to today’s state-sponsored efforts to suppress LGBTQ+ literature, book bans arise from the impulse toward social control. In a survey of legal cases, literary controversies, and philosophical arguments, Ira Wells illustrates the historical opposition to the freedom to read and argues that today’s conservatives and progressives alike are warping our children’s relationship with literature and teaching them that the solution to opposing viewpoints is outright expurgation. At a moment in which our democratic institutions are buckling under the stress of polarization, On Book Banning is both rallying cry and guide to resistance for those who will always insist upon reading for themselves.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Books & Reading; Censorship; Civilization; Essays;
© 2025., Biblioasis,
unAPI

A history of women in 101 objects / by Hirsch, Annabelle,1986-author.; Updegraff, Eleanor,translator.; translation of:Hirsch, Annabelle.Die dinge. Eine geschichte der frauen in 100 objekten.English.;
Includes bibliographical references.The way we remember the past today remains dishearteningly patriarchal: a place where women have always been oppressed by men, from ancient times to the present day. 'A History of Women in 101 Objects' tells a new story of female history, revealing the evolution of the role women have played in society through the quiet power of their everyday items. Open up this cabinet of curiosities and you'll find objects that have been highly esteemed-even, like the Bayeux tapestry, fought over by nations-and others that are humble and domestic. There are artefacts of women celebrated by history and of women unfairly forgotten by it; examples of female rebellion and of self-revelation; objects that are inspiring, curious, or (like radium-laced chocolate) just fundamentally ill-conceived. Through the variety and nuance in these 101 objects, Annabelle Hirsch has created a new history-teeming, unexpected, witty, and always illuminating. This overdue corrective reveals what a healed femur says about civilization, what men have to fear from hat pins, and it shows that the past has always been as complicated and fascinating as the women that peopled it.
Subjects: Art; Civilization; Fashion; Feminism.; Women; Women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI