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- The evolution of Charles Darwin : the epic voyage of the Beagle that forever changed our view of life on earth / by Preston, Diana,1952-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."When twenty-two-year-old aspiring geologist Charles Darwin boarded the HMS Beagle in 1831 with his microscopes and specimen bottles-invited by ship's captain Robert FitzRoy who wanted a travel companion at least as much as a ship's naturalist-he hardly thought he was embarking on what would become perhaps the most important and epoch-changing voyage in scientific history. Nonetheless, over the course of the five-year journey around the globe in often hard and hazardous conditions, Darwin would make observations and gather samples that would form the basis of his revolutionary theories about the origin of species and natural selection. Drawing on a rich range of revealing letters, diary entries, recollections of those who encountered him, and Darwin's and FitzRoy's own accounts of what transpired, Diana Preston chronicles the epic voyage as it unfolded, tracing Darwin's growth from untested young man to accomplished adventurer and natural scientist in his own right. Darwin often left the ship to climb mountains or ride hundreds of miles, accompanied by local guides whose languages he barely understood, across pampas and through rainforests in search of further unique specimens. From the wilds of Patagonia to the Galápagos and other Atlantic and Pacific islands, as Preston vibrantly relates, he collected and contrasted giant fossils and volcanic rocks, observed the Argentinian rhea, Falklands fox, and Galápagos finch, through which he began to discern connections between deep past and present. Darwin never left Britain again after his return in 1836, though his mind journeyed far and wide to develop the theories that were first revealed, after great delay and with trepidation about their reception, in 1859 with the publication of his epochal book On the Origin of Species. Offering a unique portrait of one of history's most consequential figures, The Evolution of Charles Darwin is a vital contribution to our understanding of life on Earth"--- Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882; Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.; Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Evolution (Biology); Natural history.; Naturalists;
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- America, América : a new history of the New World / by Grandin, Greg,1962-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The story of how the United States' identity was formed is almost invariably told by looking east to Europe. But as Greg Grandin vividly demonstrates, the nation's unique sense of itself was in fact forged facing south-no less than Latin America's was indelibly stamped by the looming colossus to the north. In this stunningly original reinterpretation of the New World Grandin reveals how North and South emerged from a constant, turbulent engagement with each other. America, América traverses half a millennium, from the Spanish Conquest-the greatest mortality event in human history-through the eighteenth-century wars for independence, the Monroe Doctrine, the coups and revolutions of the twentieth century, and beyond. Grandin shows, among other things, how royalist Spanish America, by sending troops and supplies, helped save the republican American Revolution; how in response to U.S. interventions, Latin Americans remade the rules, leading directly to the founding of the United Nations; and how the Good Neighbor Policy allowed FDR to assume the moral authority to lead the fight against world fascism. Grandin's book sheds new light on well-known historical figures like Bartolomé de las Casas, Simón Bolívar, and Woodrow Wilson, as well as lesser-known actors such as the Venezuelan Francisco de Miranda, who almost lost his head in the French Revolution and conspired with Alexander Hamilton to free America from Spain; the Colombian Jorge Gaitán, whose unsolved murder inaugurated the rise of Cold War political terror, death squads, and disappearances; and the radical journalist Ernest Gruening, who in championing non-interventionism in Latin America, helped broker the most spectacularly successful policy reversal in United State history. This is a monumental work of scholarship that will fundamentally change the way we think of slavery and racism, the rise of universal humanism, and the role of social democracy in staving off extremism. At once comprehensive and accessible, America, América shows that centuries of bloodshed and diplomacy not only helped shape the political identities of the United States and Latin America but also the laws, institutions, and ideals that govern the modern world. A culmination of a decades-long engagement with hemispheric history, drawing on a vast array of sources, and told with authority and flair, this is a genuinely new history of the New World"--- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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- The bookshop : a history of the American bookstore / by Friss, Evan,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-385) and index."An affectionate and engaging history of the American bookstore and its central place in American cultural life, from department stores to indies, from highbrow dealers trading in first editions to sidewalk vendors, and from chains to special-interest community destinations Bookstores have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers, and influencing our tastes, thoughts, and politics. They nurture local communities while creating new ones of their own. Bookshops are powerful spaces, but they are also endangered ones. In The Bookshop, we see those stakes: what has been, and what might be lost. Evan Friss's history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, catalogs, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many -- not just as a merchant, but as a gathering place for likeminded people who cherish books. The story begins with Benjamin Franklin's first bookstore in Philadelphia, and takes us to a range of booksellers including The Strand, Chicago's Marshall Field & Co., Gotham Book Mart, specialty stores like Oscar Wilde and Drum and Spear, sidewalk sellers of used books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Books, and Parnassus. The Bookshop is also a history of the leading figures in American bookselling, often impassioned eccentrics, and a history of how books have been marketed and sold over the course of more than two centuries -- including, for example, a 3,000-pound elephant who appeared to sign books at Marshall Field's in 1944. The Bookshop is a book every bookstore will want to carry, as there has never been a more affectionate and engaging celebration of this beloved institution"--- Subjects: Booksellers and bookselling; Bookstores.; Bookstores;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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- People vs. Donald Trump : an inside account / by Pomerantz, Mark F.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Mark Pomerantz was a retired lawyer living a calm suburban life when he accepted an unexpected offer to join the staff of the district attorney of New York County in February 2021 to work on the investigation of former president Donald Trump. The Manhattan DA was interested in Pomerantz because he brought vast experience in litigating white collar and organized crime cases, having worked as a federal prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney for decades. Pomerantz had prosecuted and defended cases involving murder, drug trafficking, political corruption, tax evasion, and financial fraud. His clients had included governors and senators, business leaders, financial institutions, and also gangsters and murderers. Over the next year, Pomerantz investigated the world of Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. He interviewed potential witnesses, scrutinized financial records, and learned everything he could about Trump's business practices. The investigation led him to believe that the former president's approach to business had much in common with the business practices of another well-known public figure--former mob boss John J. Gotti. Ultimately, Pomerantz gathered enough evidence to support the view--held by many of his colleagues on the case, including former Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.--that former president Donald Trump should be indicted for a number of financial crimes. But that indictment never happened. This book explains why. Pomerantz's work ultimately led to the indictment of the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, who pleaded guilty to tax fraud. But that indictment was merely the prelude to a larger criminal case that Pomerantz urged the Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg, to bring against Donald Trump. When the DA refused to authorize that prosecution, Pomerantz and his colleague Carey Dunne resigned. Aspects of the case Pomerantz wanted to bring are currently being pursued against Trump by the attorney general of New York State in a civil fraud case that does not involve criminal penalties. In People vs. Donald Trump, Pomerantz tells the story of his unprecedented investigation, why he believes Donald Trump should be prosecuted, and what we can learn about the nature of justice in America from this extraordinary case. Pomerantz draws from a lifetime of legal experience to tell a devastating and frequently entertaining story of how prosecutors think, how criminals act, and how our justice system works-and sometimes doesn't work. Pomerantz has written a cautionary tale that illuminates the challenges of prosecuting Donald Trump, why Trump manages to dance between the raindrops of accountability, and how others might bring him to justice."--- Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Pomerantz, Mark F.; Trump, Donald, 1946-; Trump, Donald, 1946-; Trump Organization (New York, N.Y.); Trump Organization (New York, N.Y.); Commercial crimes; Corruption investigation; Criminal investigation; Finance; Governmental investigations; Justice, Administration of; Political corruption; Presidents; Presidents; Public prosecutors;
- Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Results 61 to 64 of 64 | « previous