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On book banning / by Wells, Ira,1981-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."A lively, accessible survey of literary censorship through the ages. The freedom to read is under attack. There are, today, more efforts to ban books from libraries than ever before. The supposed "dangers" posed by books including The Handmaid's Tale, Gender Queer, Huckleberry Finn, and the works of Dr. Seuss ... leading children down a path of sexual deviance, or harming them with racist language or non-inclusive narratives ... fuel the puritanical zeal of De Santis Republicans and progressive educators alike. On Book Banning argues that today's culture warriors proceed from a misunderstanding of literature as instrumental to the pursuit of their ideological agendas. In treating libraries as sites of contagion and exposure, censors are warping our children's relationship with literature and teaching them that the solution to opposing viewpoints is cancellation or outright expurgation. On Book Banning provides a lively, accessible survey of literary censorship through the ages ... from the destruction of libraries in ancient Rome, to the Catholic Church's attempts to tamp down religious dissent and scientific innovation, to state-sponsored efforts to suppress LGBTQ literature in the 1980s and beyond. Throughout, Ira Wells demonstrates how today's book bans stem from the ineradicable human impulse toward social control. In a whistle-stop tour of landmark legal cases, literary controversies, and philosophical arguments, we discover that the freedom to read and publish is the aberration in human history, and that censorship and restriction have been the rule. 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 reject the conflation of art and propaganda, for whom books remain sacred vessels of our shared humanity, and who will always insist upon reading for ourselves."--
Subjects: Censorship.;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Finding Larkspur : a return to village life / by Needles, Dan,author.;
"Bestselling chronicler of village life Dan Needles (author of the Wingfield Farm stage plays) leads an insightful and laugh-out-loud tour through the quirks and customs of today's Canadian small town. Modern literature has not been kind to village life. For almost two centuries, small towns have been portrayed as backward, insular places needing to be escaped. But anthropologists tell us that the human species has spent more than 100,000 years living in villages of 100 to 150 people. This is where the oldest part of our brain, the limbic system, grew and adapted to become a very sophisticated instrument for reading other people's emotions and figuring out how we might cooperate to find food, shelter and protection. By comparison, the frontal cortex, which helps us do our taxes, drive a car and download cat videos, is a very recent aftermarket addition, like a sunroof. And it is the village where almost half the world's population still chooses to live. Finding Larkspur takes a walk through the Canadian village of the twenty-first century, observing customs and traditions that endure despite the best efforts of Twitter, Facebook and Amazon. The author looks at the buildings and organizations left over from the old rural community, why they were built in the first place and how they have adapted to the modern day. The post office, the general store, the church, the school and the service club all remain standing, but they operate quite differently than they did for our ancestors. Drawing from his experience working in rural communities across Canada and in other countries, Needles reveals how a national conversation may be driven by urban voices but the national character is often very much a product of its small towns and back roads."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Sociology, Rural; Villages; Villages;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Escaping Hitler : heroic true stories of great escapes in Nazi Europe / by Halls, Monty,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-303).Some of the most extraordinary stories of courage and endurance in the Second World War concern the freedom trails, the dangerous escape routes out of Nazi Occupied Europe. Over 5,000 British, Commonwealth and American servicemen made the journey over the Pyrenees, the Slovenian mountains and the Italian alps. Many also died en route, killed by the perilous conditions or caught by the German army. Here, Monty Halls recreates the stories of some of the most charismatic figures of the Second World War, men like Major Gordon Lett who escaped a POW camp in Italy and fought behind enemy lines at the head of the International Brigade. He was joined by an SAS team who took on the German army in Operation Galia and then, exhausted and pursued by the enemy, made a perilous escape across the Apennine mountains in Italy. There's also Australian Ralph Churches who orchestrated the mass escape of 100 POWs from Slovenia - the largest successful Allied escape of the entire war. And Len Harley, a Londoner who owed his life to a young Italian girl called Rosina. Monty also describes the bravery of the local people who sheltered POWs and kept the escape routes open - often paying a terrible price. Andree de Jongh risked her life to smuggle men through occupied France, survived being sent to two concentration camps, and has been described by MI-9 as 'the greatest of our war-time agents'. Mixing new research, interviews with survivors and his own experience of walking the trails, Monty brings the past to life in this dramatic and gripping slice of military history.
Subjects: Halls, Monty; Escaped prisoners of war; Prisoner-of-war escapes; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sixty-one : life lessons from Papa, on and off the court / by Paul, Chris,1985-author.; Wilbon, Michael,author.;
"By the NBA superstar: A powerful and unexpected memoir of family, faith, tragedy, and life's most important lessons. The day after future NBA superstar Chris Paul signed his letter of intent to play college basketball for Wake Forest, he received a world-shattering phone call. His grandfather, Nathaniel "Papa" Jones, a pillar of the Winston-Salem community where he owned and operated the first Black-owned service station in North Carolina, was mugged and ultimately died from a heart attack resulting from the assault. His funeral filled the largest church in the county, which held over one thousand people. He was sixty-one years old. The day after burying his grandfather, Chris was coping the best way he knew how: by playing basketball for his high school team. After pouring in shot after shot, his last attempt was an airball purposely flung out of bounds from the foul line before Chris exited the game. The next day, local news headlines declared that he fell six points shy of the statewide single game high school scoring record. But he accomplished exactly what he set out to do: scoring sixty-one points, one for each year of life lived by his grandfather. In Sixty-One, Chris opens up about life beyond basketball and the role his grandfather played in molding him into the man and father he is today. He'll speak about the foundation of faith and family he built his life upon, what it means to be a positive light within your community and beyond, and the importance of setting the proper example for future generations. Most importantly, Chris will talk about his home, Winston-Salem, and the close-knit family and village that raised him to become one of the most respected leaders in all of sports"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Paul, Chris, 1985-; Paul, Chris, 1985-; Community life; Grandparent and child.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The deeper the roots : a memoir of hope and home / by Tubbs, Michael,1990-author.;
"The making of a visionary political leader-and a blueprint for a more equitable country "Don't tell nobody our business," Michael Tubbs's mother often told him growing up. For Michael, that meant a lot of things: don't tell anyone about the day-to-day struggle of being Black and broke in Stockton, CA. Don't tell anyone the pain of having a father incarcerated for 25 years to life. Don't tell anyone about living two lives, the brainy bookworm and the kid with the newest Jordans. And also don't tell anyone about the particular joys of growing up with three "moms"-a Nana who never let him miss church, an Auntie who'd take him to the library any time, and a mother, "She-Daddy", who schooled him in the wisdom of hip-hop and taught him never to take no for an answer. So for a long time Michael didn't tell anyone his story, but as he went on to a scholarship at Stanford and an internship in the Obama White House, he began to realize the power of his experience, the need for his perspective in the halls of power. By the time he returned to Stockton to become, in 2016 at age 26, its first Black mayor and the youngest-ever mayor of a major American city, he knew his story meant something. The Deeper the Roots is a memoir astonishing in its candor, voice, and clarity of vision. Tubbs shares with us the city that raised him, his family of badass women, his life-changing encounters with Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama, the challenges of governing in the 21st century and everything in between-en route to unveiling his compelling vision for America rooted in his experiences in his hometown"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Tubbs, Michael, 1990-; Stanford University; African American mayors; African American politicians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Desperation Reef A Novel [electronic resource] : by Parker, T. Jefferson.aut; Curda, Major.nrt; Németh-Parker, Stephanie.nrt; cloudLibrary;
In this high-stakes thriller by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker, ("A marvel...hits the high-water mark for crime fiction every time out." —Gregg Hurwitz), a big wave surfer and her sons compete in the same contest that killed her husband many years before. Jen Stonebreaker hasn't entered into a big-wave surfing competition since witnessing her husband's tragic death twenty-five years ago at the Monsters of the Mavericks. Now, Jen is ready to tackle those same Monsters with her twin sons Casey and Brock, who have become competitive surfers in a perilous sport. When he’s not riding waves, modeling for surfing magazines, or posting viral content for his many fans, Casey Stonebreaker spends his days helping with the family restaurant — catching fish in the morning and bartending at night. Casey’s love for the ocean and his willingness to expose illegal poachers on his platforms puts him on a collision course with a crime syndicate eager to destroy anyone threatening their business. Outspoken Brock Stonebreaker couldn’t be more different from his twin. The founder of Breath of Life, a church and rescue mission that assists with natural disasters that no one else will touch, Brock has lived an adventurous and sometimes violent life. Not everyone appreciates the work that Brock's Breath of Life mission accomplishes, and threats to destroy his mission—and his family—swirl around him. As the big-wave contest draws closer, a huge, late fall swell is headed toward the Pacific coastline. Jen's fears gnaw at her—fear for herself, for her sons, for what this competition will mean for the rest of her life. A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Forge.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Suspense; Crime;
© 2024., Macmillan Audio,
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Arkangel A Sigma Force Novel [electronic resource] : by Rollins, James.aut; cloudLibrary;
Currently in development as a TV series from Amazon MGM Studios, a story of a thrilling hunt around the globe, pitting nation against nation, as ancient myths of a lost continent prove all too real—the latest novel in the bestselling Sigma Force series from James Rollins, #1 New York Times master of international thrillers  The execution of a Vatican archivist within the shadow of the Kremlin exposes a conspiracy going back three centuries—to the bloody era of the Russian Tsars. Before his murder, he manages to dispatch a coded message, a warning of a terrifying threat, one tied to a secret buried within the Golden Library of Tsars, a vast and treasured archive that had vanished into history. As combative forces race for the truth behind this death and alarming discovery, Sigma Force is summoned to aid in the search—not only for this missing trove of ancient books, but to follow a trail far into the Arctic, to search for the truth about a lost continent and a revelation that could ignite a global war. But Sigma Force has its own difficulties at home after an explosive attack on the National Mall—one aimed at the heart of their covert agency—has left them vulnerable and exposed. The growing conflict—both on Russian soil and deep in the Arctic—will reignite a centuries-old war between the newly resurgent Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican, while sabers rattle across the nations of the Arctic Circle, threatening to turn those icy seas into a fiery conflagration. Facing enemies on all sides, it will be up to Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force to unravel a mystery going back millennia—and uncover the truth about a lost civilization and an arcane treasure that could save the planet…or destroy it.  
Subjects: Electronic books.; Military; Action & Adventure; Suspense;
© 2024., HarperCollins,
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Behind the pickle jar / by McQuaig, Wendy,author.;
Amy Hewston, Assistant Manager of Ultra Luscious Relaxation Spa, is so stressed she can barely function. Her anxiety on overdrive, she finds herself forced to take some time off work, despite her Type A, goal-oriented personality. Her well-meaning husband Matt decides the best road to recovery would be to rent a farmhouse north of the city, where the whole family can relax and regroup. Their two teens are far from onside when their family van pulls into the old farmhouse on Concession 5. While fixing a broken window in the cellar, Amy and Matt come across a diary behind a long-forgotten jar of pickles. The diary belonged to Isabel Huntly who lived in the farmhouse at the turn of the 20th century. As Amy gradually reads through its pages, the history of the century home and the family who lived there takes hold of her psyche. Fascinated by the simple farm lifestyle and the intricate community, in contrast to her own harried existence, there is something about the diary that speaks to her. Suddenly her life choices, which once seemed so clear, are put to the test. She finds herself torn between the need to return to her stressful, high-paced career and her desire to live a simpler life, following her passion for opening a piano bar in a small town. Fraught with indecision, whichever choice Amy makes at this crossroad will affect herself and her family forever. This historical fiction, partially narrated by the old farmhouse itself, takes the reader on a journey through yesteryear, from horse-drawn buggies and church socials to Instagram and iPhones. Many people today can relate to Amy Hewston's hectic life. Her daily struggles, eventual crisis and life-altering decisions, would lead to great discussions over a glass of wine at any book club.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Diary fiction.; Novels.; Diaries; Families; Farmhouses; Women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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One Perfect Couple [electronic resource] : by Ware, Ruth.aut; Church, Imogen.nrt; cloudLibrary;
Ruth Ware, the powerhouse New York Times bestselling author with over six million books sold to date, returns with her ninth novel, which promises to be the summer’s most gripping beach read. Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctorate research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure her contract will not be extended, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, The Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. This is the big break she needs! A whirlwind preproduction process later, Lyla finds herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joe and Romi, and Connor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize. Alas, not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start going wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to reach the boat and crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. Tensions run high and fresh water runs low. Then, one by one, contestants start to die. Lyla suddenly realizes she and Nico are trapped on the island with a murderer on the loose…and nowhere to hide. A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Contemporary Women; Psychological; Suspense;
© 2024., Simon & Schuster,
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A boy is not a bird / by Ravel, Edeet,1955-;
A young boy named Natt finds his world overturned when his family is uprooted and exiled to Siberia during the occupation of the Soviet Ukraine by Nazi Germany. In 1941, life in Natt's small town of Zastavna is comfortable and familiar, even if the grown ups are acting strange, and his parents treat him like a baby. Natt knows there's a war on, of course, but he's glad their family didn't emigrate to Canada when they had a chance. His mother didn't want to leave their home, and neither did he. He especially wouldn't want to leave his best friend, Max. Max is the ideas guy, and he hears what's going on in the world from his older sisters. Together the boys are two brave musketeers. Then one day Natt goes home and finds his family huddled around the radio. The Russians are taking over. The churches and synagogues will close, Hebrew school will be held in secret, and there are tanks and soldiers in the street. But it's exciting, too. Natt wants to become a Young Pioneer, to show outstanding revolutionary spirit and make their new leader, Comrade Stalin, proud. But life under the Russians is hard. The soldiers are poor. They eat up all the food and they even take over Natt's house. Then Natt's father is arrested, and even Natt is detained and questioned. He feels like a nomad, sleeping at other people's houses while his mother works to free his father. As the adults try to protect him from the reality of their situation, and local authorities begin to round up deportees bound for Siberia, Natt is filled with a sense of guilt and grief. Why wasn't he brave enough to look up at the prison window when his mother took him to see his father for what might be the last time? Or can just getting through war be a heroic act in itself?LSC
Subjects: Historical fiction.; World War, 1939-1945; Exile (Punishment); Friendship; Families;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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Results 381 to 390 of 412 | « previous |