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The Regency years : during which Jane Austen writes, Napoleon fights, Byron makes love, and Britain becomes modern / by Morrison, Robert,1961-author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-336) and index."A surprising history of the era that brought our modern world decisively into view. Though the Victorians are often credited with ushering in our modern era, the seeds were planted in the years before. The Regency (1811- 1820) began when the profligate Prince of Wales replaced his insane father, George III, as Britain's ruler; around the regent surged a society of evangelicalism and hedonism, elegance and brutality, exuberance and despair. The arts showcased extraordinary writers and painters such as Austen, Byron, the Shelleys, Constable, and Turner. Science gave us the steam locomotive and the blueprint for the modern computer. Yet the dark side of the modern era was visible in the poverty, slavery, pornography, opium, and gothic imaginings that birthed Frankenstein. And all the while, the British Empire fought in foreign lands: the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and the War of 1812 in the United States. Exploring these crosscurrents, Robert Morrison illuminates the profound ways this period shaped and indelibly marked the modern world."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Regency; Arts;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Radio free Afghanistan : a twenty-year odyssey for an independent voice in Kabul / by Mohseni, Saad,1966-author.; Krajeski, Jenna,author.;
"From Saad Mohseni, the deeply moving and surprising story of the attempt to build a truly independent media company in contemporary Afghanistan. Saad Mohseni, chairman and CEO of Moby Group, Afghanistan's largest media company, charts a twenty-year effort to bring a free press to his country after years of Taliban rule, and how that effort persists even after the Taliban's return to power in 2021. In the heady early days of the American occupation, Mohseni returns to Kabul which he had last seen as a child before the Soviet invasion. Casting about for ways to be involved in the dawn of a new Afghanistan, Mohseni makes what seems like a quixotic decision to leave the comforts of a career in international banking to start a Kabul radio station with his three siblings. This unlikely venture quickly blossoms into a burgeoning television empire, bringing Mohseni and his family and employees into sometimes uncomfortable contact with everyone who has a stake in the country -- from the government of Hamid Karzai to White House officials. Moreover, their radio and television networks soon become a necessary beacon for millions of Afghans, who rely on them not just for independent news but for joyful pleasures like soap operas and Afghan Star, a beloved national singing competition in a country whose previous rulers had banned (and would again ban) music. Mohseni's position at Moby affords him unique insights into this extraordinary yet troubled country, the youngest in the world outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, and his powerful account captures the spirit and resilience of the Afghan people -- notably the hundreds of men and women still working in Moby's Kabul office today, who, once again under Taliban rule, create programs, report the news, and educate the public. Radio Free Afghanistan is a stunning, vibrant portrait of a nation in turmoil, poised between despair and hope"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Mohseni, Saad, 1966-; Mass media; Mass media;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The most fun thing : dispatches from a skateboard life / by Beachy, Kyle,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."In the tradition of Barbarian Days, THE MOST FUN THING is a memoir in essays of Kyle Beachy's decade-long quest to uncover the hidden meaning of skateboarding--a search that unearthed fresh insights on marriage, love, loss, and American invention. In January 2012, creative writing professor and novelist Kyle Beachy published one of his first essays on skate culture, an exploration of how Nike's corporate strategy successfully gutted the once-mighty independent skate shoe market. For a decade and counting, Beachy has been skate culture's freshest, most illuminating, at times most controversial voice, writing candidly about the increasingly popular and fast-changing pastime Beachy first picked up as a young boy and has continued to practice well into adulthood. What is skateboarding? What does it mean to continue skateboarding after forty, four decades after the kickflip was invented? How does one live authentically as an adult while staying true to a passion cemented in childhood? How does skateboarding shape one's understanding of contemporary American life? Of growing old and getting married? Answering these questions and more, Beachy offers a deep exploration of a pastime, often overlooked, regularly maligned, whose seeming simplicity conceals universal truths. THE MOST FUN THING is both a rich account of a hobby and a life and collection of the varied lessons skateboarding has taught Beachy-what it continues to teach him as he struggles to find space for it as an adult, a professor, and a husband"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Essays.; Beachy, Kyle.; Skateboarders; Skateboarding;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A truth to lie for / by Perry, Anne,author.;
"A lethal new weapon endangers all of Europe-unless Elena Standish can rescue an ingenious scientist from Hitler's clutches-in this action-packed mystery by bestselling author Anne Perry. It is summer 1934, and Hitler is teetering on the edge of supreme power. Any small step forward could vault him toward European domination. When Britain's MI6 gets word that a pair of German scientists have made a breakthrough in germ warfare, they send Elena Standish on a dangerous mission to get one of them out of Germany before he's forced to share his knowledge and its devastating power with Hitler's elite. But the British soon learn that it's more than just time that Elena is working against. The new head of Germany's germ warfare division is an old enemy of Elena's grandfather Lucas, the former head of MI6. And he's bent on using any means to avenge his defeat at Lucas's hands twenty years before. What starts as an effort to save Europe from the devastation of disease soon becomes an intensely personal fight. As Elena and the scientist make their way across Germany, from Berlin to Bavaria and beyond, they confront not only the Gestapo but also a ragtag group of unpredictable Nazi supporters. With Elena's every decision challenged, this compelling mystery takes a searing look at what it means to do what's right in a world rife with so much evil"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Historical fiction.; Spy fiction.; Novels.; Standish, Elena (Fictitious character); Great Britain. MI6; Scientists; Women photographers; Women spies;
Available copies: 3 / Total copies: 3
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Talking about death won't kill you : the essential guide to end-of-life conversations / by Kortes-Miller, Kathy,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."This practical handbook will equip readers with the tools to have meaningful conversations about death and dying. Death is a part of life. We used to understand this, and in the past, loved ones generally died at home with family around them. But in just a few generations, death has become a medical event, and we have lost the ability to make this last part of life more personal and meaningful. Today people want to regain control over health-care decisions for themselves and their loved ones. Talking About Death Won't Kill You is the essential handbook to help Canadians navigate personal and medical decisions for the best quality of life for the end of our lives. Noted palliative-care educator and researcher Kathy Kortes-Miller shows readers how to identify and reframe limiting beliefs about dying with humor and compassion. With robust resource lists, Kortes-Miller addresses: advance care plans for ourselves and our loved ones; how to have conversations about end-of-life wishes with loved ones ; how to talk to children about death; how to build a compassionate workplace; practical strategies to support our colleagues; how to talk to health-care practitioners; how to manage challenging family dynamics as someone is dying; what is involved in medical assistance in dying (MAID). Far from morbid, these conversations are full of meaning and life--and the relief that comes from knowing what your loved ones want, and what you want for yourself."--
Subjects: Death;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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In love : a memoir of love and loss / by Bloom, Amy,1953-author.;
"Amy and Brian's world was changed forever with his diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's. Forced to confront the daily frustrations and realities of the disease and its impact on their lives and marriage, Brian resolved not to let it dictate his life and instead asked himself: What makes life meaningful, and how do I want to live the rest of mine? His decision led them to learn about Dignitas and to fly to Zürich for a peaceful ending of Brian's life. In Love is the illuminating story of a marriage, of the gradual awareness that something was deeply wrong, and of a disease's effect on a man, a woman, a family. What were the signs that Brian and Amy brushed aside, and how did they cope when they could no longer ignore the truth as confirmed by an MRI? Why, in retrospect, did Brian decide to retire from his architecture practice earlier than he had planned? Bloom goes on to recount their search for a dignified and kind solution to the pain of Brian's life, and their discovery of Dignitas in Zurich, where the choice for a dignified end of life can be realized. In this moving memoir, Bloom also writes of their life together before Alzheimer's, and of a love that runs so deep that they were willing to work to find a courageous way to part"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Ameche, Brian A.,; Alzheimer's disease; Alzheimer's disease;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The falcon's eyes : a novel / by Stanfill, Francesca,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Set in France and England at the end of the twelfth century, the moving story of a spirited, questing young woman, Isabelle, who defies convention to forge a remarkable life, one profoundly influenced by the fabled queen she idolizes and comes to know--Eleanor of Aquitaine. Willful and outspoken, sixteen-year-old Isabelle yearns to escape her stifling life in provincial twelfth century France. The bane of her mother's existence, she admires the notorious queen most in her circle abhor: Eleanor of Aquitaine. Isabelle's arranged marriage to Gerard--a rich, charismatic lord obsessed with falcons--seems, at first, to fulfill her longing for adventure. But as Gerard's controlling nature, and his consuming desire for a male heir, become more apparent, Isabelle, in the spirit of her royal heroine, makes bold, often perilous, decisions which will forever affect her fate. A suspenseful, sweeping tale about marriage, freedom, identity, and motherhood, THE FALCON'S EYES brings alive not only a brilliant century and the legendary queen who dominated it, but also the vivid band of complex characters whom the heroine encounters on her journey to selfhood: noblewomen, nuns, servants, falconers, and courtiers. The various settings--Château Ravinour, Fontevraud Abbey, and Queen Eleanor's exiled court in England--are depicted as memorably as those who inhabit them. The story pulses forward as Isabelle confronts one challenge, one danger, after another, until it hurtles to its final, enthralling, page. With the historical understanding of Hillary Mantel and the storytelling gifts of Ken Follett, Francesca Stanfill has created an unforgettable character who, while firmly rooted in her era, is also a woman for all times."--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Eleanor, of Aquitaine, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of England, 1122?-1204; Arranged marriage; Identity (Psychology); Self-realization in women; Young women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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That librarian : the fight against book banning in America / by Jones, Amanda(Librarian),author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-269).One of the things small town librarian Amanda Jones values most about books is how they can affirm a young person's sense of self. So in 2022, when she caught wind of a local public hearing that would discuss "book content," she knew what was at stake. Schools and libraries nationwide have been bombarded by demands for books with LGTBQ+ references, discussions of racism, and more to be purged from the shelves. Amanda would be damned if her community were to ban stories representing minority groups. She spoke out that night at the meeting. Days later, she woke up to a nightmare that is still ongoing. Amanda Jones has been called a groomer, a pedo, and a porn-pusher; she has faced death threats and attacks from strangers and friends alike. Her decision to support a collection of books with diverse perspectives made her a target for extremists using book banning campaigns-funded by dark money organizations and advanced by hard right politicians -- in a crusade to make America more white, straight, and "Christian." But Amanda Jones wouldn't give up without a fight: she sued her harassers for defamation and urged others to join her in the resistance. Mapping the book banning crisis occurring all across the nation, That Librarian draws the battle lines in the war against equity and inclusion, calling book lovers everywhere to rise in defense of our readers.
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Jones, Amanda (Librarian); Censorship; Challenged books; Librarians; Prohibited books;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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You bet your life : from blood transfusions to mass vaccination, the long and risky history of medical innovations / by Offit, Paul A.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Four months into the coronavirus pandemic, as the death count surged, the FDA made a risky decision: it approved an anti-malarial drug as a treatment for coronavirus, despite limited data on its efficacy or side effects. A month later, the FDA withdrew its recommendation, but by then, the damage had been done. The drug was ineffective and sometimes even lethal. The mistake was hardly a one-off. As virologist Paul. A. Offit shows in You Bet Your Life, from antibiotics and vaccines to x-rays and genetic engineering, risk, and our understanding of it, have shaped the course of modern medicine, paving the way for its greatest triumphs and tragedies. By telling the stories of the events--and of the frequent hypocrisy and cravenness of the characters at their center--Offit shows how risk, and failure, have driven innovation, and importantly, how by examining our mistakes we can make better medical predictions and decisions going forward. From the outlandish origins of blood transfusions, which began with humans receiving blood for barnyard animals, to the the disastrous debut of the first polio vaccine, and the backstabbing and infighting that surrounded early gene therapies, he captures the drama that surrounds medical research, the way ego and laziness can collide with science, and ultimately how those factors should inform what we choose to do and have done to us in the clinic. The history is fascinating in its own right, but the worldwide rush to create a coronavirus vaccine only makes learning from the lessons of history essential. Weighing the uncertainties of a treatment against its potential benefits is one of medicine's greatest ethical dilemmas, and Offit examines it from every angle. He explores not just how patients and their families respond to risk but how everyone from physicians and researchers to universities and regulators do, too, and how that ultimately determines what treatments are put forward. Not everyone has the same goal. And too often the patient's health is secondary. But as Offit shows, we can all minimize risk and failure by learning how to recognize conflicts of interest, to draw inferences from animal models, and to evaluate risk, even when we have limited data. Along the way, Offit asks who should decide what risks are acceptable, and who should pay when the results are fatal. In the end, however, Offit argues that we are gambling whatever we do--and that we need to take that seriously, whether we pursue a treatment or decide to do nothing at all. The answers aren't simple, and the outcomes are life or death. Examining these questions with the compassion of a pediatrician and the rigor of a scientist, Offit reminds us that we all have a role to play in ensuring that medicine upholds its very first principle: to do no harm"--
Subjects: Medical ethics.; Risk assessment.; Pharmacology, Experimental.; Drugs;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Parenting Your Parents Straight Talk About Aging in the Family [electronic resource] : by Mindszenthy, Bart J..aut; Gordon, Michael.aut; Rochon, Paula.; cloudLibrary;
A compendium of family scenarios for those dealing with the guilt, worry, and difficult decisions that come with eldercare. Is it time for your aging father to stop driving? How can you balance your career opportunities with your mother’s care needs? Can your parents cope on their own? Is it time for long-term care? Given their reluctance, is that even an option? Millions of people are dealing with aging parents and are stunned with the complexities and demands of their care. As demographics change and societies adapt, that caring — that parenting — isn’t getting any simpler. In the fourth edition of this eldercare classic, advocate Bart J. Mindszenthy and geriatrician Dr. Michael Gordon present twenty-seven case studies of families working through the eldercare puzzle. With new scenarios covering legalized marijuana and medically assisted dying, this revised and updated edition of Parenting Your Parents makes the case for good planning, family unity, and being aware of your loved ones’ health. With the help of Gordon and Mindszenthy’s expert advice, care providers are able to shed guilt and worry and become confident that they have done all they could to make their parents’ latter years as fulfilling and comfortable as possible.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Eldercare; Later Years; Aging;
© 2024., Dundurn Press,
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