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Chaos kings : how Wall Street traders make billions in the new age of crisis / by Patterson, Scott,1969-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Written by a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter, this is a fascinating deep dive into the world of billion-dollar traders and high-stakes crisis predictors who strive to turn extreme events into financial windfalls. There's no doubt that our world has gotten more extreme. Pandemics, climate change, superpower rivalries, cyberattacks, political radicalization--virtually, everywhere we look there is mayhem bearing down on us, putting trillions of assets at risk. And at least two factions have formed around how to respond. In Chaos Kings, Scott Patterson depicts how one faction, led by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, bestselling author of The Black Swan, believes humans can never see the big disaster coming. In their view, extreme events--so-called Black Swans--while inevitable, will always catch us by surprise. In 2007, Taleb's longtime collaborator, Mark Spitznagel, launched the Universa hedge fund, which would go on to make billions protecting investors against unforeseen chaos in the market. A second faction, which relies on complex formulas, believes looming chaos can be detected. Chief among these risk prognosticators is Didier Sornette, a colorful French mathematician who enjoys riding his motorcycle at speeds in excess of 170 miles per hour. When Sornette looks out from what he calls his Financial Crisis Observatory in Zurich, Switzerland, what he sees are Dragon Kings--punishing events that are unlikely to occur but have probabilities that can be predicted ... and defended against. Which faction is right? All of our financial futures may depend on the answer."--
Subjects: Business cycles.; Economic forecasting.; Finance; Financial crises.; Forecasting.; Investments.; Stockbrokers.; Uncertainty (Information theory);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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I once was lost : my search for God in America / by Lemon, Don,1966-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Renowned journalist Don Lemon always had a complicated relationship with God. He cherished the Southern Black church he was raised in, but struggled with the fundamentalist rejection of his right to exist as a gay man -- one who wanted to marry his longtime love in a church wedding with all the traditional trimmings. In his work as a reporter, moreover, he saw his fellow Americans losing faith in a higher power, in institutions, and in each other. SSetting out to understand the place that religion has in our lives today, Don turned a journalistic eye on ancient stories and found connections that sparked memories, conversations, and chance encounters. Then, suddenly, his world unraveled: In a blaze of inglorious headlines, Don was ousted from his high-profile network news job and tasked with redefining his role in the shifting media landscape. But through a year of personal changes and professional whiplash, he kept his "eyes on the prize" and ultimately found what he was seeking: grace, within himself and in this nation we call home. Rich with humor and Louisiana realness, I Once Was Lost is a prayer for a country that reflects the multifaceted image of God and a clarion call to those who believe in our common humanity enough to fight for it.
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Lemon, Don, 1966-; African American journalists; Gay men; Religion and culture; Spiritual biography;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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The women of Chateau Lafayette / by Dray, Stephanie,author.;
"An epic generational saga from New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray, based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy in some of humanity's darkest hours. Most castles are protected by powerful men. This one by women ... A reluctant resistor ... 1940. French schoolteacher and aspiring artist Marthe Simone has an orphan's self-reliance and wants nothing to do with war. But as the realities of Nazi occupation transform her life in the isolated castle where she came of age, she makes a discovery that calls into question who she is, and more importantly, who she is willing to become. A daring visionary ... 1914. Glittering New York socialite Beatrice Astor Chanler is a force of nature, daunted by nothing--not her humble beginnings, her crumbling marriage, or the outbreak of war. But after witnessing the devastation in France and delivering war relief over dangerous seas, Beatrice takes on the challenge of a lifetime: convincing America to fight for what's right. A founding mother ... 1774. Gently bred noblewoman Adrienne Lafayette becomes her husband's political partner in the fight for American independence. But when their idealism sparks revolution in France and the guillotine threatens everything she holds dear, Adrienne must choose whether to renounce the complicated man she loves or risk her life for a legacy that will inspire generations to come. Intricately woven and beautifully told, The Women of Chateau Lafayette is a sweeping novel about duty and hope, love and courage, and the strength we find from standing together on the shoulders of those who came before us"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Epic fiction.; Château de Chavaniac-Lafayette (Chavaniac-Lafayette, France);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Hell's half-acre : the untold story of the Benders, a serial killer family on the American frontier / by Jonusas, Susan,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In 1873 the people of Labette County in Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town of Cherryvale, in a bloodied cellar and under frost-covered soil, were countless bodies in varying states of decay. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for over two decades, and the land on which the crimes took place became known as 'Hells Half-Acre.' When it emerged that a family of four known as the Benders had been accused of the slayings, the case was catapulted to infamy. The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders--one among thousands who were relocating further west looking for land and opportunity after the Civil War--were capable of operating 'a human slaughter pen' appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree, and what became of them when they fled from the law is a mystery that has remains unsolved to this day--not that there aren't some convincing theories. Part gothic western, part literary whodunnit, and part immersive study of postbellum America, Hell's Half-Acre sheds new light on one of the most notorious cases in our nation's history while holding a torch to a society under the strain of rapid change and moral disarray. Susan Jonasus draws on extensive original archival material, and introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, including the despairing families of the victims as well as the fugitives that helped the murderers escape. Hell's Half-Acre is not simply a book about a mass murder. It is a journey into the turbulent heart of nineteenth century America, a place where modernity stalks across the landscape, violently displacing existing populations and wearily building new ones. It is a world where folklore can quickly become fact, and an entire family of criminals can slip right through a community's fingers, only to reappear at the most unexpected of times"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Bender family.; Frontier and pioneer life.; Serial murderers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Malady of the mind : schizophrenia and the path to prevention / by Lieberman, Jeffrey A.,1948-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."This brilliant portait of schizophrenia--the most malignant and least understood mental illness--by renowned psychiatrist Jeffrey Lieberman, Chair of Columbia's legendary Psychiatry department, interweaves cultural and scientific history with dramatic patient portraits and clinical experiences to impart a revolutionary message of hope: that for the first time in human history, schizophrenia can not just be effectively treated, but even prevented. Of the many myths and misconceptions that have historically obscured our understanding of schizophrenia, the most pernicious is that there is no effective treatment or cure. The reality couldn't be more different: the truth is that today's treatments have the potential to be game-changing--and often lifesaving. In this rigorously researched, deeply compelling biography of schizophrenia, Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman draws on his four-decade career to tell the story of the past, present, and future of this historically dreaded, often disabling illness. From his vantage point at the pinnacle of academic psychiatry, informed by extensive research experience and clinical care of thousands of patients, Dr. Lieberman describes how the complexity of the brain, the checkered history of psychiatric medicine, and centuries of stigma combined with misguided legislation and health care policies have impeded scientific and clinical progress. And yet, there is hope: by offering evidence-based treatments that combine medication with psychosocial services, doctors are now able to effectively treat schizophrenia. Even more auspiciously, early detection and intervention before the onset of psychotic symptoms can--thanks to decades of scientific work--not only suppress symptoms but also effectively prevent the outbreak of this disorder. A must-read for fans of psychological histories and anyone whose life has been affected by schizophrenia, this revelatory work offers a comprehensive scientific portrait, crucial insights, and, most importantly, hope for those afflicted"--
Subjects: Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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His name is George Floyd : one man's life and the struggle for racial justice / by Samuels, Robert,1984-author.; Olorunnipa, Toluse,1986-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd's life and legacy-from his family's roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education, health care, criminal justice, and policing-telling the singular story of how one man's tragic experience brought about a global movement for change. The events of that day are now tragically familiar: on May 25, 2020, George Floyd became the latest Black person to die at the hands of the police, murdered outside of a Minneapolis convenience store by white officer Derek Chauvin. The video recording of his death set off a series of protests in the United States and around the world, awakening millions to the dire need for reimagining this country's broken systems of policing. But behind a face that would be graffitied onto countless murals, and a name that has become synonymous with civil rights, there is the reality of one man's stolen life: a life beset by suffocating systemic pressures that ultimately proved inescapable. This biography of George Floyd shows the athletic young boy raised in the projects of Houston's Third Ward who would become a father, a partner, a friend, and a man constantly in search of a better life. In retracing Floyd's story, Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa bring to light the determination Floyd carried as he faced the relentless struggle to survive as a Black man in America. Placing his narrative within the larger context of America's deeply troubled history of institutional racism, His Name Is George Floyd examines the Floyd family's roots in slavery and sharecropping, the segregation of his Houston schools, the overpolicing of his communities, the devastating snares of the prison system, and his attempts to break free from drug dependence-putting today's inequality into uniquely human terms. Drawing upon hundreds of interviews and extensive original reporting, Samuels and Olorunnipa offer a poignant and moving exploration of George Floyd's America, revealing how a man who simply wanted to breathe ended up touching the world"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Floyd, George, 1973-2020.; African American men; African Americans; African Americans; Black lives matter movement.; Murder victims; Police brutality; Racism; Trials (Police misconduct);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Proving ground : the untold story of the six women who programmed the world's first modern computer / by Kleiman, Kathy,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."After the end of World War II, top-secret research continued across the United States as engineers and programmers rushed to complete their confidential assignments. Among them were six pioneering women, tasked with figuring out how to program the world's first general-purpose, programmable, all-electronic computer-a machine built to calculate a single ballistic trajectory in twenty seconds rather than forty hours by human hand-even though there were no instruction codes or programming languages in existence. But their story, never told to the reporters and scientists who thronged the huge computer after it became public, was lost. Kathy Kleiman, through meticulous research and vivid prose, brings these women back to life, and back into the historical record. For more than two decades, she met with four of the original six ENIAC Programmers, poured over documentation and images, and recorded extensive oral histories with the women about their work. She found stories that had been relegated and dismissed by even computer history experts, who had assumed the women in the old black-and-white pictures with ENIAC were nothing more than models. PROVING GROUND is a character-driven narrative that restores these women to their rightful place as technological revolutionaries. As the tech world continues to struggle with gender imbalance and its far-reaching consequences, the story of the ENIAC Programmers' groundbreaking work is more urgently necessary than ever before, and PROVING GROUND is the celebration they deserve"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Computer programmers; ENIAC (Computer); Women computer programmers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Churchill and Orwell : the fight for freedom / by Ricks, Thomas E.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From #1 New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Ricks, a dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, with a focus on the pivotal years from the mid-1930s through the 1940s, when their farsighted vision and inspired action in the face of the threat of fascism and communism helped preserve democracy for the world. Both George Orwell and Winston Churchill came close to death in the mid-1930's--Orwell shot in the neck in a trench line in the Spanish Civil War, and Churchill struck by a car in New York City. If they'd died then, history would scarcely remember them. At the time, Churchill was a politician on the outs, his loyalty to his class and party suspect. Orwell was a mildly successful novelist, to put it generously. No one would have predicted that by the end of the 20th century they would be considered two of the most important people in British history for having the vision and courage to campaign tirelessly, in words and in deeds, against the totalitarian threat from both the left and the right. Together, to an extent not sufficiently appreciated, they kept the West's compass set toward freedom as its due north. It's not easy to recall now how lonely a position both men once occupied. By the late 1930's, democracy was discredited in many circles, and authoritarian rulers were everywhere in the ascent. There were some who decried the scourge of communism, but saw in Hitler and Mussolini 'men we could do business with,' if not in fact saviors. And there were others who saw the Nazi and fascist threat as malign, but tended to view communism as the path to salvation. Churchill and Orwell, on the other hand, had the foresight to see clearly that the issue was human freedom--that whatever its coloration, a government that denied its people basic freedoms was a totalitarian menace and had to be resisted. In the end, Churchill and Orwell proved their age's necessary men. The glorious climax of Churchill and Orwell is the work they both did in the decade of the 1940'sto triumph over freedom's enemies. And though Churchill played the larger role in the defeat of Hitler and the Axis, Orwell's reckoning with the menace of authoritarian rule in Animal Farm and 1984 would define the stakes of the Cold War for its 50-year course, and continues to give inspiration to fighters for freedom to this day. Taken together, in Thomas E. Ricks's masterful hands, their lives are a beautiful testament to the power of moral conviction, and to the courage it can take to stay true to it, through thick and thin"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965.; Orwell, George, 1903-1950.; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965; Orwell, George, 1903-1950; Prime ministers; Authors, English; Fascism; Communism; World politics;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Churchill and Orwell [sound recording] : the fight for freedom / by Ricks, Thomas E.,author.; Lurie, James(James Harrison),narrator.; Penguin Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by James Lurie."From #1 New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Ricks, a dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, with a focus on the pivotal years from the mid-1930s through the 1940s, when their farsighted vision and inspired action in the face of the threat of fascism and communism helped preserve democracy for the world. Both George Orwell and Winston Churchill came close to death in the mid-1930's--Orwell shot in the neck in a trench line in the Spanish Civil War, and Churchill struck by a car in New York City. If they'd died then, history would scarcely remember them. At the time, Churchill was a politician on the outs, his loyalty to his class and party suspect. Orwell was a mildly successful novelist, to put it generously. No one would have predicted that by the end of the 20th century they would be considered two of the most important people in British history for having the vision and courage to campaign tirelessly, in words and in deeds, against the totalitarian threat from both the left and the right. Together, to an extent not sufficiently appreciated, they kept the West's compass set toward freedom as its due north. It's not easy to recall now how lonely a position both men once occupied. By the late 1930's, democracy was discredited in many circles, and authoritarian rulers were everywhere in the ascent. There were some who decried the scourge of communism, but saw in Hitler and Mussolini 'men we could do business with,' if not in fact saviors. And there were others who saw the Nazi and fascist threat as malign, but tended to view communism as the path to salvation. Churchill and Orwell, on the other hand, had the foresight to see clearly that the issue was human freedom--that whatever its coloration, a government that denied its people basic freedoms was a totalitarian menace and had to be resisted. In the end, Churchill and Orwell proved their age's necessary men. The glorious climax of Churchill and Orwell is the work they both did in the decade of the 1940'sto triumph over freedom's enemies. And though Churchill played the larger role in the defeat of Hitler and the Axis, Orwell's reckoning with the menace of authoritarian rule in Animal Farm and 1984 would define the stakes of the Cold War for its 50-year course, and continues to give inspiration to fighters for freedom to this day. Taken together, in Thomas E. Ricks's masterful hands, their lives are a beautiful testament to the power of moral conviction, and to the courage it can take to stay true to it, through thick and thin"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Audiobooks.; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965.; Orwell, George, 1903-1950.; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965; Orwell, George, 1903-1950; Prime ministers; Authors, English; Fascism; Communism; World politics;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Unsettled : how the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy failed the victims of the American overdose crisis / by Hampton, Ryan,author.; Aron, Hillel,author.; Foster, Claire Rudy,author.;
A shocking inside account of reckless capitalism and injustice in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case. In September 2019, Purdue Pharma--the maker of OxyContin and a company controlled by the infamous billionaire Sackler family--filed for bankruptcy to protect itself from 2,600 lawsuits for its role in fueling the U.S. overdose crisis. Author and activist Ryan Hampton served as co-chair of the official creditors committee that acted as a watchdog during the process, one of only four victims appointed among representatives of big insurance companies, hospitals, and pharmacies. He entered the case believing that exposing the Sacklers and mobilizing against Purdue would be enough to right the scales of justice. But he soon learned that behind closed doors, justice had plenty of other competition-and it came with a hefty price tag. Unsettled is the inside story of Purdue's excruciating Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the company's eventual restructuring, and the Sackler family's evasion of any true accountability. It's also the untold story of how a group of determined ordinary people tried to see justice done against the odds-and in the face of brutal opposition from powerful institutions and even government representatives. Although America was envisioned as an equitable place, where the vulnerable are protected from the greed of the powerful, the corporate-bankruptcy process betrays those values. In its heart of hearts, this system is built to shield the ultra-wealthy, exploit loopholes for political power, promote gross wealth inequality, and allow companies such as Purdue Pharma to run amok. The real story of the Purdue bankruptcy wasn't that the billion-dollar corporation was a villain, a serial federal offender. No matter what the media said, Purdue didn't do this alone. They were aided and abetted by the very systems and institutions that were supposed to protect Americans. Even on-your-side elected officials worked against Purdue's victims-maintaining the status quo at all costs. Americans deserve to know exactly who is responsible for failing to protect people over profits-and what a human life is worth to corporations, billionaires, and lawmakers. Unsettled is what happened behind closed doors-the story of a sick, broken system that destroyed millions of lives and let the Sacklers off almost scot-free.
Subjects: Purdue Pharma L.P.; Bankruptcy; Opioid abuse; Pharmaceutical industry;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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