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The end is always near : apocalyptic moments, from the Bronze Age collapse to nuclear near misses / by Carlin, Dan,1965-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Do tough times create tougher people? Can humanity handle the power of its weapons without destroying itself? Will human technology or capabilities ever peak or regress? No one knows the answers to such questions, but no one asks them in a more interesting way than Dan Carlin. In The End is Always Near, Dan Carlin looks at questions and historical events that force us to consider what sounds like fantasy; that we might suffer the same fate that all previous eras did. Will our world ever become a ruin for future archaeologists to dig up and explore? The questions themselves are both philosophical and like something out of The Twilight Zone. Combining his trademark mix of storytelling, history and weirdness Dan Carlin connects the past and future in fascinating and colorful ways. At the same time the questions he asks us to consider involve the most important issue imaginable: human survival. From the collapse of the Bronze Age to the challenges of the nuclear era the issue has hung over humanity like a persistent Sword of Damocles. Inspired by his podcast, The End is Always Near challenges the way we look at the past and ourselves. In this absorbing compendium, Carlin embarks on a whole new set of stories and major cliffhangers that will keep readers enthralled. Idiosyncratic and erudite, offbeat yet profound, The End is Always Near examines issues that are rarely presented, and makes the past immediately relevant to our very turbulent present.
Subjects: Trivia and miscellanea.; Catastrophical, The; Catastrophical, The.; Civilization; Imaginary histories.; World history; World history.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The mimicking of known successes / by Older, Malka,1977-author.;
"The Mimicking of Known Successes presents a cozy Holmesian murder mystery and sapphic romance, set on Jupiter, by Malka Older, author of the critically-acclaimed Centenal Cycle. On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony's erudite university-and Mossa's former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth's pre-collapse ecosystems. Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort towards a possible return to Earth. When Mossa unexpectedly arrives and requests Pleiti's assistance in her latest investigation, the two of them embark on a twisting path in which the future of life on Earth is at stake-and, perhaps, their futures, together."--
Subjects: Science fiction.; Novels.; Lesbians; Missing persons; Space colonies;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Ron Thom, architect : the life of a creative modernist / by Weder, Adele,1961-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."When the pandemic began in March 2020, Calgary emergency physician Heather Patterson was already feeling burnt out. Photography had always been a way of unwinding for her and, as the pandemic gathered speed, Patterson decided to begin chronicling it. Shadows and Light presents a selection of Patterson's images, taking readers to the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and giving them an illuminating, behind-the-scenes view of the real impact of the virus and the heroic frontline workers who have been fighting it for over two years. Patterson's expert lens gives incredible insight into the life of healthcare workers--physicians, nurses, and hospital support staff--during the pandemic, and what patients experience when hospitalized with COVID. Yet, amid the isolation of lockdowns and seemingly never-ending cycle of new restrictions associated with new variants, Patterson finds hope and a renewed sense of purpose in the resilience of the human spirit and the inspiring fortitude of Canada's often invisible pandemic heroes."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Thom, Ronald James, 1923-1986.; Architects;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Two wheels good : the history and mystery of the bicycle / by Rosen, Jody,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The bicycle is a vestige of the Victorian era, seemingly out of pace with our age of smartphones and ridesharing apps and driverless cars. Yet we live on a bicycle planet. Across the world, more people travel by bicycle than by any other form of transportation. Almost anyone can learn to ride a bike--and nearly everyone does. In Two Wheels Good, writer and critic Jody Rosen reshapes our understanding of this ubiquitous machine, an ever-present force in humanity's life and dreamlife--and a flashpoint in culture wars--for more for than two hundred years. Combining history, reportage, travelogue, and memoir, Rosen sweeps across centuries and around the globe, unfolding the bicycle's saga from its invention in 1817 to its present-day renaissance as a "green machine," an emblem of sustainability in a world afflicted by pandemic and climate change. Readers meet unforgettable characters: feminist rebels who steered bikes to the barricades in the 1890s, a prospector who pedaled across the frozen Yukon to join the Klondike gold rush, a Bhutanese king who races mountain bikes in the Himalayas, a cycle rickshaw driver who navigates the seething streets of the world's fastest-growing megacity, astronauts who ride a floating bicycle in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station"--
Subjects: Bicycles; Cycling;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Shadows and light : a physician's lens on COVID / by Patterson, Heather(Emergency physician),author,photographer.;
"When the pandemic began in March 2020, Calgary emergency physician Heather Patterson was already feeling burnt out. Photography had always been a way of unwinding for her and, as the pandemic gathered speed, Patterson decided to begin chronicling it. Shadows and Light presents a selection of Patterson's images, taking readers to the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and giving them an illuminating, behind-the-scenes view of the real impact of the virus and the heroic frontline workers who have been fighting it for over two years. Patterson's expert lens gives incredible insight into the life of healthcare workers--physicians, nurses, and hospital support staff--during the pandemic, and what patients experience when hospitalized with COVID. Yet, amid the isolation of lockdowns and seemingly never-ending cycle of new restrictions associated with new variants, Patterson finds hope and a renewed sense of purpose in the resilience of the human spirit and the inspiring fortitude of Canada's often invisible pandemic heroes."--
Subjects: Photobooks.; COVID-19 (Disease); COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-; Medical personnel;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Mamelukes / by Pournelle, Jerry,1933-2017.; Weber, David,1952-; Pournelle, Phillip.;
"Rick Galloway's still not sure what inspired him to volunteer to fight Cubans in Angola, and he certainly never expected to end his African adventure shanghaied by a flying saucer when his CIA superiors cut him and his men adrift as the Cubans overran their final position. He didn't expect to end up on the planet Tran, God only knew how many light-years from Earth, raising drugs for an alien cartel under the auspices-more or less-of a galactic civilization administered and run by a slave class of humans for their alien masters, either. But he did. And since then, he's survived mutinies, civil wars, battles against Byzantine "Romans," medieval knights, and Mongol raiders on a world where catastrophic "climate change" races unchecked through a 600-year cycle. Along the way he's found love, lost it, found it again, and become a great noble . . . all the while knowing his alien "employers" will probably nuke his people back into the Stone Age when they're done. He's managed his impossible balancing act for 13 years. He's lost people he cared about, been forced to do things he's hated, and tried along the way to make life better for the people trapped on Tran with him, and he's tired. So tired. But now, everything has changed . . . again. New Starmen have arrived on Tran, with dangerous gifts and star weapons of their own. Everything Rick Galloway thought he knew about his mission on Tran is about to be turned on its head. And everyone expects him to fix it."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Science fiction.; Imaginary wars and battles; Human-alien encounters; Life on other planets;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Somewhere : stories of migration by women from around the world / by Clark, Helen,1950-writer of foreword.; Harvey, Lorna Jane,1977-editor.;
Somewhere is an inspiring collection of stories about migration. Written from twenty women's perspectives, it brings a refreshing and uniting voice to this compelling and trending topic. More people are likely to be migrating now than at any other time in history, and this is set to increase as climate change and political unrest pushes even more people to relocate. The implications of migration, especially for women, are often unknown, unheard, unspoken. From the fleeing refugee to the political and economic migrant, a broad range of migration by people of many cultures, ethnicities, and beliefs is shared in this book. Identity, belonging, assimilation and alienation are some of the key topics in this sometimes sad but also joyful book. Treasures of wisdom and heartfelt honesty are found in the stories. The book will give the reader hope, encouragement, or insight into a globally relevant subject on a personal level rather than through distant, abstract news stories. Somewhere encourages open-mindedness and is filled with stories that will likely have a strong impact on the reader.
Subjects: Women immigrants; Emigration and immigration.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Tin man / by Winman, Sarah,1964-author.;
"From internationally bestselling author Sarah Winman comes an unforgettable and heartbreaking novel celebrating love in all its forms and the little moments that make up the life of an autoworker in a small working-class town. This is almost a love story. But it's not as simple as that. Ellis and Michael are twelve when they first become friends, and for a long time it is just the two of them, cycling the streets of Oxford, teaching themselves how to swim, discovering poetry, and dodging the fists of overbearing fathers. And then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more. But then we fast-forward a decade or so, to find that Ellis is married to Annie, and Michael is nowhere in sight. Which leads to the question, what happened in the years between? With beautiful prose and characters that are so real they jump off the page, Tin Man is a love letter to human kindness and friendship, and to loss and living"--
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Friendship; Painting; Raffles;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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The darkness manifesto : on light pollution, night ecology, and the ancient rhythms that sustain life / by Eklöf, Johan,author.; DeNoma, Elizabeth,translator.; translation of:Eklöf, Johan.Mörkermanifestet.English.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In the tradition of Why We Sleep and The Sixth Extinction, an urgent and insightful look at the hidden impact of light pollution, and a passionate appeal to cherish natural darkness for the sake of the environment, our own wellbeing, and all life on earth. How much light is too much light? Satellite pictures show our planet as a brightly glowing orb, and in our era of constant illumination, light pollution has become a major issue. The world's flora and fauna have evolved to operate in the natural cycle of day and night. But in the last 150 years, we have extended our day--and in doing so have forced out the inhabitants of the night and disrupted the circadian rhythms necessary to sustain all living things, including ourselves. In this persuasive, well-researched book, Swedish conservationist Johan Eklöf urges us to appreciate natural darkness, its creatures, and its unique benefits. He ponders the beauties of the night sky, traces the swift dives of keen-eyed owls, and shows us the bioluminescent creatures of the deepest oceans. As a devoted friend of the night, Eklöf reveals the startling domino effect of diminishing darkness: insects, dumbfounded by streetlamps, failing to reproduce; birds blinded and bewildered by artificial lights; and bats starving as they wait in vain for insects that only come out in the dark. For humans, light-induced sleep disturbances impact our hormones and weight, and can exacerbate chronic stress and depression. Streetlamps, floodlights, and the ever more pervasive and searingly bright LED lights are altering entire ecosystems, and scientists are only just beginning to understand the long-term effects. Educational, eye-opening, and ultimately encouraging, The Darkness Manifesto outlines simple steps that we can take to benefit ourselves and the planet. In order to ensure a bright future, we must embrace the darkness"--
Subjects: Light and darkness; Light pollution.; Night;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The ghost garden : inside the lives of schizophrenia's feared and forgotten / by Hannaford, Susan Doherty,1957-author.;
"A rare work of narrative non-fiction that beautifully illuminates a world most of us try not to see: the daily lives of the severely mentally ill, who are medicated, marginalized, locked away and shunned. Susan Doherty's groundbreaking book brings us a population of lost souls, ill-served by society, feared, shunted from locked wards to rooming houses to the streets to jail and back again. For the past ten years, some of the people who cycle in and out of the severely ill wards of the Douglas Institute in Montreal, have found a friend in Susan, who volunteers on the ward, and then follows her friends out into the world as they struggle to get through their days. With their full cooperation, she brings us their stories, which challenge the ways we think about people with mental illness on every page. The spine of the book is the life of Caroline Evans (not her real name), a woman in her early sixties whom Susan has known since she was a bright and sunny school girl. Caroline has given Susan complete access to her medical files and her court records; through her, we experience what living with schizophrenia over time is really like. She has been through it all, including the way the justice system treats the severely mentally ill: at one point, she believed that she could save her roommate from the devil by pouring boiling water into her ear ... Susan interleaves Caroline's story with vignettes about her other friends, human stories that reveal their hopes, their circumstances, their personalities, their humanity. She's found that if she can hang in through the first ten to fifteen minutes of every coffee date with someone in the grip of psychosis, then true communication results. Their "madness" is not otherworldly: instead it tells us something about how they're surviving their lives and what they've been through. The Ghost Garden is not only touching, but carries a cargo of compassion and empathy."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Schizophrenia.; Schizophrenics.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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