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Waste land : a world in permanent crisis / by Kaplan, Robert D.,1952-author.;
"We are entering a new era of global cataclysm in which the world faces a deadly mix of war, climate change, great power rivalry, rapid technological advancement, the end of both monarchy and empire, and countless other dangers. In Waste Land, Robert D. Kaplan, geopolitical expert and author of more than twenty books on world affairs, incisively explains how we got here and where we are going. Kaplan makes a novel argument that the current geopolitical landscape must be considered alongside contemporary social phenomena such as urbanization and digital news media, grounding his ideas in foundational modern works of philosophy, politics, and literature, including the poem from which the title is borrowed, and celebrating a canon of traditionally conservative thinkers, including Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Jeane Kirkpatrick, and many others. As in many of his books, Kaplan looks to history and literature to inform the present, drawing particular comparisons between today's challenges and the Weimar Republic, the post-World War I democratic German government that fell to Nazism in the 1930s. Just as in Weimar, which faced myriad crises inextricably bound up with global systems, the singular dilemmas of the twenty-first century -- pandemic disease, recession, mass migration, the destabilizing effects of large-scale democracy and great power conflicts, and the intimate bonds created by technology -- mean that every disaster in one country has the potential to become a global crisis, too. According to Kaplan, the solutions lie in prioritizing order in governing systems, arguing that stability and historic liberalism rather than mass democracy per se will save global populations from an anarchic future"--
Subjects: Geopolitics.; Globalization; International relations; Power (Social sciences);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Survival of the richest : escape fantasies of the tech billionaires / by Rushkoff, Douglas,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."The tech elite have a plan to survive the apocalypse: they want to leave us all behind. Five mysterious billionaires summoned theorist Douglas Rushkoff to a desert resort for a private talk. The topic? How to survive the "Event": the societal catastrophe they know is coming. Rushkoff came to understand that these men were under the influence of The Mindset, a Silicon Valley-style certainty that they and their cohort can break the laws of physics, economics, and morality to escape a disaster of their own making-as long as they have enough money and the right technology. In Survival of the Richest, Rushkoff traces the origins of The Mindset in science and technology through its current expression in missions to Mars, island bunkers, AI futurism, and the metaverse. In a dozen urgent, electrifying chapters, he confronts tech utopianism, the datafication of all human interaction, and the exploitation of that data by corporations. Through fascinating characters-master programmers who want to remake the world from scratch as if redesigning a video game and bankers who return from Burning Man convinced that incentivized capitalism is the solution to environmental disasters-Rushkoff explains why those with the most power to change our current trajectory have no interest in doing so. And he shows how recent forms of anti-mainstream rebellion-QAnon, for example, or meme stocks-reinforce the same destructive order. This mind-blowing work of social analysis shows us how to transcend the landscape The Mindset created-a world alive with algorithms and intelligences actively rewarding our most selfish tendencies-and rediscover community, mutual aid, and human interdependency. In a thundering conclusion, Survival of the Richest argues that the only way to survive the coming catastrophe is to ensure it doesn't happen in the first place"--
Subjects: Billionaires; Survivalism; Technology and civilization;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Shell : a novel / by Olsson, Kristina,1956-author.;
"In this spellbinding and poignant historical novel--perfect for fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Flamethrowers--a Swedish glassmaker and a fiercely independent Australian journalist are thrown together amidst the turmoil of the 1960s and the dawning of a new modern era. 1965: As the United States becomes further embroiled in the Vietnam War, the ripple effects are far-reaching--even to the other side of the world. In Australia, a national military draft has been announced and Pearl Keogh, a headstrong and ambitious newspaper reporter, has put her job in jeopardy to become involved in the anti-war movement. Desperate to locate her two runaway brothers before they're called to serve, Pearl is also hiding a secret shame--the guilt she feels for not doing more for her younger siblings after their mother's untimely death. Newly arrived from Sweden, Axel Lindquist is set to work as a sculptor on the besieged Sydney Opera House. After a childhood in Europe, where the shadow of WWII loomed large, he seeks to reinvent himself in this utterly foreign landscape, and finds artistic inspiration--and salvation--in the monument to modernity that is being constructed on Sydney's Harbor. But as the nation hurtles towards yet another war, Jørn Utzon, the Opera House's controversial architect, is nowhere to be found--and Axel fears that the past he has tried to outrun may be catching up with him. As the seas of change swirl around them, Pearl and Axel's lives orbit each other and collide in this sweeping novel of art and culture, love and destiny"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Women journalists; Brothers and sisters; Sculptors; Vietnam War, 1961-1975;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The snowbirds : a novel / by Clancy, Christina,author.;
"The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is in Trouble in this page-turning story of a couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads. Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their "separate but together" partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant's mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face. When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone's business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time, he's really left her. Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be-and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found."--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Missing persons; Spouses;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Freakslaw [electronic resource] : by Flett, Jane.aut; CloudLibrary;
“THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING . . . an ode to Tod Browning’s Freaks, Kathryn Dunn’s Geek Love, and Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes . . . Grotesque, creepy, and celebratory, Freakslaw is sure to be one biggest books of the year (and possibly, one of the defining novels of the century).” —CrimeReads An LGBTQ Reads Most Anticipated 2025 • A CrimeReads and Goodreads Most Anticipated Horror Novel of 2025 In this riotous horror debut, a traveling carnival of troublemakers arrive in a small Scottish town and perform their favorite pastime: revenge. It is the summer of ‘97 and the repressed Scottish town of Pitlaw is itching for change. Enter the Freakslaw—a travelling carnival of deviant queers and architects of mayhem. There’s Gloria, fortune teller and worm charmer; her daughter Nancy, a contortionist witch; big-hearted tightrope walker, Werewolf Louie; not to mention illusionists and conjoined twins, Cass and Henry, and tattooed human pincushion, the Pin Gal. Against Pitlaw’s miserably grey landscape, the carnival shines electric and bright, and it doesn’t take long for the town’s teenagers to be seduced by its neon charms and the possibility of escape. But beneath it all, these newcomers are harboring a darker desire: revenge. Revenge for being cast out, never allowed to settle, punished for purely existing. And as tensions reach fever pitch between the stoic, unwelcoming locals and the dazzling intruders, a violence that has been bubbling for centuries is about to be unleashed . . . Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love meets Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus in this sizzling debut by a writer as captivating as she is incisive, as wild as she is precise. Read this and try not to run away with the Freakslaw. Go on. We dare you.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Literary; Coming of Age; Occult & Supernatural; Horror;
© 2025., Zando,
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The biggest ideas in the universe : space, time, and motion / by Carroll, Sean M.,1966-author.;
"The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers to grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come"--
Subjects: Physics.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Yellow Bird : oil, murder, and a woman's search for justice in Indian country / by Murdoch, Sierra Crane,author.;
"When Lissa Yellow Bird was released from prison in 2009, she found her home, the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, transformed by the Bakken oil boom. In her absence, the landscape had been altered beyond recognition, her tribal government swayed by corporate interests, and her community burdened by a surge in violence and addiction. Three years later, when Lissa learned that a young white oil worker, Kristopher 'KC' Clarke, had disappeared from his reservation worksite, she became particularly concerned. No one knew where Clarke had gone, and no one but his mother was actively looking for him. Unfolding like a gritty mystery, Yellow Bird traces Lissa's steps as she obsessively hunts for clues to Clarke's disappearance. She navigates two worlds -- that of her own tribe, changed by its newfound wealth, and that of the non-Native oil workers, down on their luck, who have come to find work on the heels of the economic recession. Her pursuit becomes an effort at redemption -- an atonement for her own crimes and a reckoning with generations of trauma. Yellow Bird is both an exquisitely written, masterfully reported story about a search for justice and a remarkable portrait of a complex woman who is smart, funny, eloquent, compassionate, and -- when it serves her cause -- manipulative. Ultimately, it is a deep examination of the legacy of systematic violence inflicted on a tribal nation and a tale of extraordinary healing"--
Subjects: Yellow Bird, Lissa.; Clarke, Kristopher.; Criminal investigation; Missing persons; Oil industry workers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Beautiful Dream A Memoir [electronic resource] : by Hutchinson, Atiba.aut; Robson, Dan.; cloudLibrary;
“A captivating read from one of our country’s greatest athletes.” ―Christine Sinclair, former captain of the Canadian Women's National Soccer Team and National Bestselling Author of Playing the Long Game Out of the Toronto suburb of Brampton comes an irresistible story of trials, perseverance, the limelight of international soccer, and—above all—heart. Despite debuting on Canada’s senior national soccer team 20 years ago, scarce is known of Atiba Hutchinson. We’ve watched him win Canadian Men’s Player of the Year six times; celebrated his club team championships; and mourned his injuries. We’ve lamented the state of Canadian soccer and cursed the lost potential—and years. Yet, we know little about Atiba’s personal life, or how he rose from suburban Brampton to becoming Canada’s most-capped national men’s team player, often described as the country’s greatest athlete you haven’t heard about. For the first time, Atiba is ready to share the extraordinary story of his ascent to the heights of professional soccer, nationally and internationally, and what he believes makes a true champion. The Beautiful Dream is an intimate account of Atiba’s awe-inspiring career, from his humble beginnings to playing across Europe; the crushing disappointment of failing national team competitions in the 2010s that nearly led to his resignation from the national program; all the way to his triumphant arrival in Qatar to face off against 31 other nations at the world’s most pre-eminent soccer competition. He has strived to better not only his own game but the landscape of Canadian soccer for over two decades, culminating in Canada’s first trip to the FIFA World Cup since 1986. Yet, as the reflective midfielder shows, this isn’t just his story: The Beautiful Dream is the story of countless Canadians, who strive and scrape for a seemingly unreachable dream—until their fingertips finally graze the surface. It’s a lesson about the unyielding belief required when taking the long road to success. Atiba's journey mirrors the progression of Canadian soccer, and the story of Canada itself: goals that may begin as outsized but as we work towards them, our world changes with us.  Atiba’s journey of hope, belief, and resilience connects the country’s modest soccer past to a bold, exciting future in the game. It’s a story that transcends the pitch, exploring what it means to be a kid who dares to dream of achieving the impossible, and the man who perseveres to get there.  
Subjects: Electronic books.; Personal Memoirs; Sports; Soccer;
© 2024., Penguin Canada,
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Mamaskatch : a Cree coming of age / by McLeod, Darrel,1957-author.;
"A powerful story of resilience-a must-read for all Canadians. Growing up in the tiny village of Smith, Alberta, Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded by his Cree family's history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family and the cruelty that she and her sisters endured in residential school. Darrel was comforted by her presence and that of his many siblings and cousins, the smells of moose stew and wild peppermint tea, and his deep love of the landscape. Bertha taught him to be fiercely proud of his heritage and to listen to the birds that would return to watch over and guide him at key junctures of his life. However, in a spiral of events, Darrel's mother turned wild and unstable, and their home life became chaotic. Sweet and innocent by nature, Darrel struggled to maintain his grades and pursue an interest in music while changing homes many times, witnessing violence, caring for his younger siblings and suffering abuse at the hands of his surrogate father. Meanwhile, his older brother's gender transition provoked Darrel to deeply question his own sexual identity. The fractured narrative of Mamaskatch mirrors Bertha's attempts to reckon with the trauma and abuse she faced in her own life, and captures an intensely moving portrait of a family of strong personalities, deep ties and the shared history that both binds and haunts them. Beautifully written, honest, and thought-provoking, Mamaskatch-named for the Cree word used as a response to dreams shared-is ultimately an uplifting account of overcoming personal and societal obstacles. In spite of the traumas of Darrel's childhood, deep and mysterious forces handed down by his mother helped him survive and thrive: her love and strength stay with him to build the foundation of what would come to be a very fulfilling and adventurous life."--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; McLeod, Darrel, 1957-; McLeod, Darrel, 1957-; Cree Indians; Native men;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The cautious traveller's guide to the Wastelands / by Brooks, Sarah,1980-author.;
"For fans of Piranesi and The Midnight Library, a stunning historical fantasy novel set on a grand express train, about a group of passengers on a dangerous journey across a magical landscape It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket. There is only one way to travel across the Wastelands: on the Trans-Siberian Express, a train as famous for its luxury as for its danger. The train is never short of passengers, eager to catch sight of Wastelands creatures more miraculous and terrifying than anything they could imagine. But on the train's last journey, something went horribly wrong, though no one seems to remember what exactly happened. Not even Zhang Weiwei, who has spent her life onboard and thought she knew all of the train's secrets. Now, the train is about to embark again, with a new set of passengers. Among them are Marya Petrovna, a grieving woman with a borrowed name; Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist looking for redemption; and Elena, a beguiling stowaway with a powerful connection to the Wastelands itself. Weiwei knows she should report Elena, but she can't help but be drawn to her. As the girls begin a forbidden friendship, there are warning signs that the rules of the Wastelands are changing, and the train might once again be imperiled. Can the passengers trust each other, as the wildness outside threatens to consume them all?"--
Subjects: Fantasy fiction.; Novels.; Female friendship; Passenger trains; Railroad trains; Railroad travel; Secrecy; Voyages and travels;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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